We arrived at DFW airport at around 6 am and it was a very groggy, but exciting morning. We took off from DFW at about 9am or so and arrived in Miami at around 1pm because of weather in Miami. We took off from Miami at around 1:40pm and arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico at around 4:30pm and we had a layover till our Tortola flight around 7pm. The Seaborne airline plane was very small and it was a little scary but overall a safe flight. We then arrived in the British Virgin Islands and took a boat ride to Virgin Gorda and went straight to bed that night. I didn’t sleep very well the first night because the rooms were extremely hot and I was woken up at around 6 am from a very friendly rooster right outside my cabin. The morning started with a great breakfast and an introduction from Casey. She started teaching the group about beautiful sites on the island to visit. We then began a friendly debate about whether keeping animals in captivity at Sea World are cruel or a service to the world and marine life. After debating, we then took a small break and then created these spectacular shark hats molded out of about 1 and a half paper plates and colored in a green, blue, and purple crayon. Some people call me Picasso. After creating the hats, Casey began teaching us about many different species that are very common to see in the BVI. She taught about different classifications that marine life and fish. After sitting in chairs for a couple of hours, we ate lunch and then went straight out to the boats. Jeremy and Jessica were our two dive instructors on our boat, the Sea Monkey, and Jessica refreshed us on how to set up our scuba kit and she taught us the safety precautions on the boat. We then took a boat ride to the dive site and we were briefed on what sea creatures we would see and what types of coral to be cautious for. We dove right off the coast of dog island and it was amazing. The dive was about 30 minutes and we dove over some coral and through a chimney and that was very cool. Some types of coral I saw were fire coral, staghorn coral, elkorn coral, and sea fan coral. Some sponges I saw were tube sponges and I saw cup coral under a boulder and right around the chimney. I saw many different species of fish but the most interesting creatures I saw were the arrow crabs, the sea shrimp, and the moon jellies. I was actually able to touch the moon jelly and it was very slippery but yet soft. The biggest one I saw was a little bigger than my hand. After the dive, we went back up to the cabins and cleaned up and went to mass at a small church on what seemed like a mountain and the view was amazing. After mass we went back to the cabins, changed clothes, and headed to the beach for dinner. This view of the beach and the rocks was the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen. After dinner I went back to the cabin, played some cards, and am so excited for tomorrow. My expectations of this trip so far have been exceeded and I hope it only gets better from here on out.
