Today I woke up once more to the familiar calming voice of Mr. Kirby. The early sun lightly touched my face as I walked to the morning meeting spot. We once again took a cab to a delicious breakfast and meeting that set the tone of the day. We begun with exercises strait out of a yoga book, peacefully working on extending our breaths for our later free diving. Once we learned the exercises, we implemented them in the pool, where we looked at a property known as the mammalian response. This phrase describes the reaction a human has when water touches his/her face, stating that we instantaneously slow our heart rate to conserve energy. We also looked at this property in a demonstration where pre and post heart rates were taken after a subject stuck his or her face in a bucket of cold water. Results were interesting, ranging from shifts of 30 beats per minute, to almost 50 beats per minutes. Next came turtle tagging. We listened to a brief but educational lecture on turtle tagging and it’s uses and then hit the water to try it for ourselves. We managed to catch one, and correctly tagged it after returning to the boat. After reenergizing with a hamburger filled lunch we once again set off on another journey. We went to the baths of Virgin Gorda, famous for their beauty and picturesque nature. We wove in and out of cave systems created by overlapping rocks and hardened lava. Our tour guide, Mrs. Casey McNutt, described the makeups of the rocks as well as the controversial history surrounding their naming. One of the ideas states that the baths were named after slave traders used them to clean and ready slaves for selling. After exploring the beautiful cave system, we snorkeled near the shore back to Guavaberry beach. Ominous jellyfish loomed in the water, however the courage and tough skin that each and every one of us Jesuit men possesses proved too great for the jellyfish and small stings were few and far between. We spotted a large sea turtle, small squids, and several parrot fish. After taking a quick showers to wash off the salt we were all caked in from a fun day on the water. Finally we made the small walk to Mad Dog restaurant and feasted on quesadillas. The traditional corn-hole tournament was held and once again the team comprised of Tucker Reed and Guy Harris swept the floor with the competition. Perhaps the most appealing thing at the moment is sleep as I was falling asleep at dinner. Can’t wait for tomorrow, each and every day is a blessing in the BVI.
Photocred: Doctor Todd Gruninger, trip photographer
