We began the day with a breakfast at the marina. After eating, we headed out about 20 minutes away. Once we got there, we discussed how we would be collecting and transplanting coral. We first went on a snorkel to scout out any potential areas where coral might be in need of rescuing. After returning to the boat, we went over the proper procedure for breaking the coral. Then, we went into the water to dive for the coral. During the dive, we saw a turtle that swam right by us. Also, I saw an eel defending its cave from another fish. Once the dive ended, we had an hour and a half long interval. We then went back into the water to attach the pieces of coral to blocks that were made last week. After the diving, we went back to our room to rest for a while. After a few hours, we went to a church for a short mass. Soon after, we went to the beach near the resort to play with a frisbee and Jeff & Casey’s dog Dixie. Once the sun set, we had hamburgers and hotdogs. After waiting for it to get darker, we all grabbed flashlights and headed into the water for a night snorkel. We saw several tarpon, which many of us mistook for small sharks. Towards the end of the dive, Michael White and I found a squid that wasn’t more than 6 inches away from us. After the snorkel, we went back to our rooms and slept.
-Next Day-
This morning we woke up normally, went to the marina for breakfast, and rode out to the wreck of the RMS Rhone, which was about 30 minutes away. On our first dive, we explored the front of the boat. Once down on the wreck, we saw several very large Gray Angelfish. We also swam through a section of the boat and saw a massive lobster hiding in a little hole. There were several schools of squirrelfish swimming in the darker parts of the wreck. We surfaced and then listened to Sarah explain the story of the Rhone, including details about how it sank and the people onboard. We then went back down to go around the stern. On this dive, we saw even more schooling fish. While swimming around, Laura spotted a lionfish. After seeing it, she went to go get the harpoon from another instructor. We followed and watched as she speared and killed it, which was fun to watch. Continuing on the dive, another turtle swam past us. There was also a large spiny lobster crawling out of its hole on the sea bottom. After the dive, we went to Cooper Island, which had a restaurant where we ate lunch. After lunch, we went to some sea grass beds for a snorkel. I honestly wasn’t expecting to see very much, but we saw tons of different animals. We first saw about 3 different turtles calming swimming by. They didn’t seem to notice us, and one guy would have easily caught them had we been trying to tag them again. We also saw several Horse-Eyed Jacks, which were silvery and pretty large. We were forced to go back to the boat once the current got too strong. On the way back to the boat, we saw a couple of barracuda. We then went back to the marina and to the shops near it, where I bought a hat and t-shirt. After this, we went to our room where we waited for dinner. At dinner, we had Mexican food, and Inga, the owner of MadDogs, gave each of us a t-shirt. We then walked back to the hotel and wrote blogs.
This picture is one of the many schools of fish near the Rhone, taken by Chris Ayers.
