Today we woke up a little later than yesterday, around 7:15. We got dressed and waited for our taxi at the same spot as yesterday. After that we ate a delicious breakfast at the hotel again. Then one of our dive instructors, Laurie, taught us about the numerous species that inhabit the BVI. We learned about elkhorn and staghorn coral, sea whips and sea fans, brain coral, star coral, and the dreaded fire coral. We also learned about sponges such as the purple tube sponge. The we learned about the herbivores of the ocean like the many types of angelfish and butterflyfish, and the difference between the two. Then the carnivores, such as the barracuda and the snapper. We also learned about echinoderms, and the reef shark and the nurse shark. Finally, we went snorkeling at the beach! Drew was my partner, and although we didn’t venture as far out as some people we got to see a lot of stuff. Fire coral was everywhere. We saw a school of fish, some angelfish, and a few smaller fish here and there. We saw a bunch of coral, like brain coral and sea fans. After snorkeling we ate lunch on the beach. after lunch we hung out a little bit longer on the beach and I played frisbee. Then we got back on the taxi and headed towards the marina. We got our diving gear ready and headed out to chimney island. we jumped into the water, and I immediately looked down to see all of the coral and marine life. The very first fish I saw was the yellow tail snapper, and they accompanied us throughout our dive, fearless little creatures. As we made our descent I could see coral as far as the eye could see. We went exploring throughout the crevices of the reef and we saw stag horn coral, elkhorn coral, and a few striped butterflyfish. Then we went through this cavelike area and saw a hawksbill sea turtle in the distance. We could barely fit in between the coral as we continued our dive. The coral was upon these hill like areas and it was really beautiful to see all of this underwater ecosystem working before our eyes. We saw some parrot fish and blue tang. Afterwards Jeff asked us to identify some fish around the reef. He asked me to identify the yellow tail snapper and I wrote it down with no hesitation. Finally we ascended to the surface and headed back to the marina. We headed back to the cabins and I showered for dinner. We walked again to mad dogs. After dinner we watched two group’s videos. The first one was about ecotourism while the second one was about whaling. Both were interesting. Lastly we went back to the cabins for the night.
