Our final day started the same as any other day with breakfast. We were thrown a small curveball because of the massive waves coming in from a small storm so we had to take a bus to where the boats were docked. We left at 8 instead of our usual 7:45 departure and headed to the new dock inside a cove along 7 Mile Beach. I don’t think it really hit everyone that this was our last day of diving until we started the dive briefing. At this point there seemed to be a solemn mood and we all began to really notice the small details surrounding our dive and the dive itself. Our first dive today, Trinity Caves, was a 100 foot and 60 minute dive through what Lee described as, “reef canyons.” About 5 minutes into the dive Jack pointed out a massive green sea turtle, the biggest turtle I saw all trip. I had previously seen hawksbill turtles but this was my first green sea turtle. It’s shell was wide, smooth, and had a brown-olive sort of coloring. It’s skin was a green huish color, which is where it’s name comes from, and a yellowish underbelly. The rest of the dive was spent creeping and sometimes crawling through these canyons. At one point we swam through a dark cave with sand stirred up everywhere, completely making the visibility zero. It gives you a sort of anxiety when you cannot see where you are going but I still enjoyed the thrill. The next dive, Chain Reef, named after chains of a vessel which loom and wrap around the reef. This was my favorite dive of the day, not because of the bountiful marine life I saw, but because of the lawn chairs sitting in the middle of the sand ironically. I got to pose on these chairs and found it hilarious as people laid down and relaxed on it. After this point I started really paying attention to the fish species I saw like the porcupine fish, a wide headed, brown colored, and very funny looking fish. It traveled with a companion as it seemed to try and steal food from other fish off of the reefs. It was funny to notice how the fish became protective of themselves and their area of habitat. I had trouble focusing on individual marine life today because I was really taking jn the whole picture of the dive. I was reflecting on how beautiful and limitless it felt to be underwater in what seemed to be a whole new world. The colors, feelings, and memories from each dive was different and each one left its mark upon me. From the funny poses Jack and I made during our underwater photo shiots with Mr. Marr to the thrilling moments of being immersed around these reefs, this trip was one to remember. I was very disappointed to be back at the resort for once because I wanted this trip to last longer, the dives to continue, and these new found friends to stay together. I am very appreciative to Mr. Marr, Ms. Matthews, Mr. Von, and Mr. Allen for being here on this trip. I was able to make individual memories with each one of them. Mr. Marr was the one I could be extremely sarcastic with and joke around with, Ms. Matthews I continued to joke with her about my responsibility, Mr. Von I connected with because our very stylish Chubbies shorts, and Mr. Allen gave good insight and stories to us that I always found interesting. Marine Biology will be a trip I remember and not just cause of these memories but also because of what I have learned and grown from. I have found a new interest to protect the oceans and the small things I can do to help the earth.
