Today I woke up pretty early, around 6:30am and got a good start to the day. I dreaded getting up early but it was not too bad. We then went to breakfast and Laura gave a lecture on different types of fish and coral species that we would see later today. After the lecture we drove over to Savannah Bay to do some great snorkeling. It was really interesting driving to savannah bay because on one side of the road was the clear turquoise bay, and on the other side was the rough Atlantic Ocean. Once arriving on Savannah Bay we geared up and went snorkeling for an hour. I saw a lot of grouper, and snapper, as well as a few parrotfish. It was really cool doing a little free diving and checking out some of the smaller organisms attached to the reef as well as a handful of larger fish under the sides of the reef.
Next, we took a short break to eat sandwiches on the beach and played frisbee in the water. Also, Casey caught a few crabs and sea amenomes and we looked them up in the identification book. We then went snorkeling for a little while longer before packing up and getting back in the car. We drove down to the docks and boarded the dive boats. We took a boat ride to The Chimney and anchored up. The dive lasted about one hour and it was really fun! We saw so many different fish and Laura quizzed us, pointing at fish and having us identify them. The swim through the chimney was really cool and the walls were lined with countless patches of coral and algae.
After the dive, we went back to the docks and took the taxi back to the villas where we showered, changed, and got re
ady for church. The church sits atop a large hill with a great view of the bay. After the one hour church service, we went back to the villas again and put our swimsuits back on and headed down to the beach. By the time we had gotten there, the Dive BVI team had already put together a great feast that was much needed including hamburgers, bratwursts, drinks, and chips. I was so full when I had finished eating but it just gave me more energy for the night snorkel we did shortly following the meal. Most notably, we saw a huge tarpon swimming around the reef. It was an interesting experience snorkeling at night because we saw different fish than in the daytime and we also saw an octopus which was pretty cool. We did so much stuff today and I am throughly exhausted but the dive tomorrow on The Rhone with hopefully be really fun.
