After breakfast and our boat ride, we hopped into the water at our first dive site, little tunnels. On this dive I did not see any new species but when we descended I was greeted by thousands of garden eels stream hung across the horizon. This dive was on “the wall” meaning one can look out into the distance and see the deep sea. This wall drops to about 4,000 feet which Is a dangerous depth to dive to. This is because of the intense pressure deeper dives can bring. The pressure reduces the volume of air spaces throughout the body. This leads to more oxygen and nitrogen in the blood. The oxygen is able to be absorbed into tissues but nitrogen remains in the blood stream. This can lead to a slowing of cognitive function as well as decompression sickness and nitrogen narcosis. This is why safety stops are necessary on all dives because even at shallower depths nitrogen can still buildup in the blood. On the second dive we followed a small wall of the reef around and I was able to see a hawksbill turtle only a few feet away from me. I saw some bleached coral on this dive which reminded me of the impact that humans can have on the ocean by pollution and being irresponsible.
After lunch we had free time during which Matthew and I went on a snorkel. We were fortunate enough to see a large pufferfish hiding in a small cave in the water. These pufferfish have poison 1200x as powerful as cyanide. One of these pufferfish has enough toxins to kill 30 adults. Shortly afterwards on the snorkel we saw a very large great barracuda following about 30 feet behind us. It was the best snorkel I have had to date. I am very excited for the Kittiwake dive tomorrow.
