So Saturday began like everyday, Chatty, the rooster that currently holds the title “Bane of My Existence,” crowed at around 6:45, waking me up, and preventing me from getting those last 15 minutes of sleep, the only minutes that really count. To no avail, I lied down until the alarm rang at 7, trying my hardest to get those last precious moments of sleep. Once I was ready, having washed my face, thrown on a shirt and swimsuit, and slipped on my sandals, my cabin and I went down to the the front of Guava Berry where we met the rest of the group and Glenn picked us up. Then, we had a breakfast consisting of assorted breads and cereals and fruits at the marina. After eating breakfast, I jumped on Sea Dragon and rode out to Jesuit Reef where we planted coral. Then we headed back to the marina, hopped on Glenn’s bus, and went back to Guava Berry for showers and to change for church. Church was led by a Canadian priest of about 80. He was very enthusiastic because he had only recently arrived on the island and we were his first really big group. I should mention that we were joined by a family of about 15 vacationing. After church we went to dinner. For dinner, we ate hotdogs and hamburgers on the beach. Right after, we played frisbee until it was time for the night snorkel. Unfortunately, my light was a little old and weak so I mostly had to look at the giant light that Caitlin had. As I was swimming, I suddenly felt a big thump in my shoulder, a few more occurrences around the group and we realized that we were getting hit by needlefish because they were attracted to the light. I saw a couple squid and some bioluminescent marine life, and that was pretty awesome. The next day, day began the same day as always, everyone yelling at Chatty to shut up. Then we had the same breakfast as the day before and jumped on Sea Dragon to ride to the Rhone, an old cruise ship for the wealthy that sank due to a hurricane in the 1800s. It was probably the best dive on the whole trip. Teeming with life, it acted as an artificial reef, providing homes for what looked like thousands of fish. Most importantly, it had schools of squirrel fish, the greatest fish in the entire ocean, a fish whose glory words fail to describe, a fish of great majesty and caliber. Other than the great squirrel fish, there were also a few barracuda, a stingray, squid, and a turtle that swam right in front of us as we swam through the wreckage. Also, we saw a lionfish which MC Nice “kilt” with a speargun. Of course, he did a small victory dance afterwards, a dance that was hilarious because it was 50 feet underwater. After the dive, we went to Cooper Island Beach Club for fish and chips, a delicious meal. Some light snorkeling and a quick boat ride later, we arrived at the marina, unloaded all the gear, and rode back to the cabins where we showered and dressed for dinner, a full meal of nachos and quesadillas. Unfortunately, there was no big game of frisbee after dinner. Luckily, we had played earlier right before dinner. So, it was all cool.
