All I can say is that this is all surreal. This trip has been utterly amazing. As you all know, this was my last day at Virgin Gorda. We woke up around 7:15 and as I was lying in bed I realized it would be the last time I would be able to enjoy a morning here. I packed up some things in my bag for the last time and headed out to go to breakfast. We had breakfast at old yard and afterwards we watched a video on YouTube about freediving while we waited for Joel, the man who was with the turtle conservation people, and some students from Tortola. When Joel got there he gave us a presentation about turtles and how to tag them. There are four types of turtles in the BVI, mainly hawksbill and green sea turtles, but also two other types that were less common and stayed toward the bottom of the ocean. The way you retrieve a turtle from the sea is you put one hand on the top and one on the bottom of the shell. You also need to make sure that the turtle is completely out of the water when you are holding it so it won’t swim away. Then you do a variety of measurements. I’ll get to that in a sec. So after the presentation we headed out to the marina for the last time and got onto a boat with everyone and our snorkel gear. When we got there I geared up and headed out with Caleb as my partner, and drew and will also as a part of my group. Right when we got in we all saw a huge barracuda under our boat. We swam past that and got out farther and in the distance I saw someone take out a huge turtle from the water. We had gotten our first turtle! Afterwards, the four of us didn’t know where to look or where to go after that. We were told to wait until Laura came back but we realized she was busy with something else. So Caleb left and me, drew and will hung around for a while. After about fifteen minutes we decided to venture out. Where we went there were a lot of sea urchins and it got really shallow at some points. I even saw a school of fish in these shallow waters. After a while we found Brian hanging around and we talked with him for a while then headed back to the boat. When we got back the barracuda was still there oddly enough. We got back on the boat, had a snack then went to go see Joel measure and tag the turtle. First he checked to see if it had been tagged before and it wasn’t. Then he examined it and it definitely was a green turtle. Also it was too young to tell if it was a male or female. They mate around twenty five years of age after they have matured and can live up to 200 years. Then he made measurements of the turtle and recorded. He recorded the shells length and width, the stomachs length and width. Then the head, tail and fins. Then it was ready to tag. There were these metal pieces that resembled earrings to put on each fin. After he did that, which looked pretty painful he was ready for the actual tag. He injected the tag into a spot near its neck. After that the turtle was ready to go back into the water. It looked graceful as it swam away. We went back to the marina and then went to old yard again for lunch. Before lunch I swam at the pool at old yard. Jeff came out had led a contest to see who could hold their breath the longest. We took multiple deep breaths before we finally put our head in. We did it three times. My best time was 1 minute and 19 seconds! We went in for lunch after that After a relaxing lunch we had our final. We paired up with our dive buddies and were given ten minutes to go over the two questions we were given and then to answer them in front of everybody. Our first question was how the food chain stayed the way it was and how it all worked. The second was about the adaptations marine animals have for reproduction, predation and finding food. We did a decent job answering the questions. We went back to our cabins and payed for the food we got from the converserry and then got ready for dinner. Tanner and I showered. After my shower I noticed that tanner still had some paint in his hair from the previous day. I tried to get it out and noticed something else in his hair. I saw a bunch of yellowish specs. At first I thought it was dandruff. No, it wasn’t that. Could it be lice eggs? No, lice eggs don’t grow at the base of the head. And then tanner realized what it was. Sand!!! Sand was still in his hair from the beach. I thought that was pretty funny. We then went to dinner at the mermaid restaurant near the marina. We took some pictures on the dock and then went up the stairs for dinner. We had an awesome dinner: ribs, chicken, rice, fish, and fried bread. After eating a delicious meal we watched the video that Laura put together for us. It was really well put together and we all really enjoyed it. Casey also made a video that some video she took over the week. Both were just great. After that Casey gave us a really touching speech about our week and how we touched their lives and vice versa. She stressed how she had a lot of fun with us and it didn’t feel like work to her. She was impressed how well behaved and mature we were and how we now have experience as divers. She wished we could stay and urged us to explore a new country like we did and look back and appreciate what America has to offer. Also, she thanked us for painting the concrete fence and how it changed some people’s lives. She was glad to have us and I was surprised to see her in tears. I know I’m gonna miss her. She bought us key lime pie which was also delicious and then we each stood up and talked about our favorite part of the vacation. Mine was seeing the bow of the Rhone and swimming through it, seeing the sunlight through the cracks at the end. After we did that, we said our goodbyes to Laura and Brian. Laura was soooo nice and I really appreciate what she did for me throughout this trip. She was extremely helpful and friendly and really made me a comfortable diver. Her caring for me when I felt a little seasick really opened my eyes to what the dive BVI staff is all about. They are the nicest people ever. After I gave Laura and Brian a hug we went back to the cabins to pack our things and get ready for bed. We had to wake up at 4:30 am! This trip went by so fast and I know I made some really good memories here. This is by far the best trip I’ve been on and the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I am crossing my fingers for a marine biology 2! This trip definitely made me want to dive for the rest of my life. Everyone and everything I came to experience during this trip has a special place in my heart.
