Day 5 and 6
The rooster woke us up again at 7 to lead us to the same breakfast, then we boarded the boat to go to the Jesuit reef. Yes, we have our own reef, mom and dad. After a checkout dive where we saw a plethora of flora and fauna, we decided to replant healthy coral in numerous and various locations. You could call us coral expanders. We would break off the coral pieces and zip tie them to pegs attached to cimmerians blocks. My partner Chris and I lasso the coral and measured the width and length. We replanted the coral twice, and it looked awesome. Finding the best way to salvage and maintain coral is still an enigma, but we are eagerly awaiting the results of our efforts. The sea has been kind to us, and we hope that its generosity will continue. In fact, we turned to God for assistance on our marine adventures by attending Saturday mass, which was terse yet deep. Later, we hit the beach for an afternoon of frisbee throwing and dog whispering with Dixie. We also learned hot to firebend We ravenously demolished hot dogs and hamburgers. We capped off the day with a night snorkel on guavaberry beach. This was a great snorkel- I saw bioluminescence and squirrel fish. Then, I saw an 8 inch squid appear 5 inches from my face. It scared me to death, but it was sweet! I also saw a massive tarpon.
I bit into a sour sop and each teeth mark yielded a spewing of flavor and surprises onto your soggy pallet, the kind that evokes memories of innocence and wonder.
We woke up and ate breakfast just like any other day, and ventured to the Rhone at Salt Island. Jack and I got to drive the boat. This is a sunken ship that is attached to mysterious folklore involving Ghosts, good luck, and Italian trophy wives (I’ll explain in a bit). It was a cruiseliner/mail ship that met its demise in a hurricane. Only one non crew member survived, who was Italian, and his cabin is still slightly intact to this day. If you dive down and rub his cabin window three times, you will have good food, wealth, and the most beautiful wife ever. the ship has now turned into an artificial reef, teeming with life. On our first dive, We saw a turtle, a man sized stingray, eels, and massive fish. The coral was vibrant and abundant. It was a sight to be seen (as opposed to a sight to be felt or tasted).
This is where things get even steamier. It’s the kind of steamy that sticks to your damp skin after a shower, a shower during which you contemplate your purpose in life. It’s the kind of steamy that a hot summer day brings, and the entire town feels the weight of the humidity, that soggy, moist humidity.
When we emerged from the deep blue, Casey challenged us. she held a trivia quiz about the RMS Rhone, and decimated that quiz with flying colors. The prize for winning was getting the opportunity to exterminate a lionfish with a speargun. When I submerged myself in the water, I held the gun up to the first one that I saw, and pulled with all my might. The spear shot like lightening, and impaled the Varmint. I had never killed anything before, so I had a surreal experience. I forgot that I was underwater and let out a cry of joy to the surface, ignoring the fact that Casey tried to give me a High five. The Rest of the dive consisted of seeing the Stern and the Italian’s cabin. There was an abundance of life, minus that dastardly lionfish. When I returned to the boat, I donned a red Cape to symbolize my maturation into a man after my first kill. I decided that I couldn’t be known as as Michael anymore. I am now known as Bloodthirsty Mike. The Red Thirst for retribution for the balance of the ecosystem knew no boundaries. I reminded everyone on the boat that “I kilt it.” we celebrated my kill with lunch at Cooper Island, a meal consisting of fish and chips. It was at that time that I noticed Doc standing on a dock, and I notified him of my ironic observation. He giggled. Lunch was fantastic, and I cried because I didn’t want to stop eating. Alas, I had to, because we we t on a short snorkel afterwards, where I saw sea grass and urchins. We headed back to shower at our cabins. We ate at mad dogs for the last time, since the owner, Inge, is selling the restaurant. We love you Inge. Thank you, and good night.
I’m on the right.
