July 28
Eating breakfast of the dock of the marina, the day begins. The first dive for our group was Paul’s grotto. The dives must increment each time because this dive was better than the last. We saw and touched moon jelly, supposedly a none stinging jellyfish. The coral and marine plants varied in color and shape immensely. Seeing a lobster, a huge sea urchin, and plenty of fish, the west dog lion dive was one to remember. After the hour surface interval, we begin our boat ride to west dog seal island. During this dive I saw a squid and a reef shark. The stag horn coral was very orange as well. When we went through the grotto the coral on the sides of the rock were amazing. The colors, purple orange black, were amazing. I have never seen coral of this magnitude. Next we went to the baths. This place was so awesome. The boulders in this place were sky high. The volcanic eruptions of the plates millions of years ago were never exposed to air or water so the minerals pulled together and created crystals. These huge rocks then brake apart over time, due to the bubbles. That’s what leaves the odd shapes in the rocks. Once the tour ended, our snorkeling began. While snorkeling I saw a blow fish, turtles, a flounder, rays, and countless types of coral. The geography of the route itself was very interesting as well. We swam through a coral laced rock tunnel half way through the route. Once done with the snorkel we ate at a Caribbean restaurant with great chicken. It was a good day.
Day 3
Waking up at 7 am and going to breakfast by 745, we were ready to scuba. Today was the day of the Rhone, a sunken scuba dive treasure. In the 1800’s this ship sunk in a hurricane. All the crew members lived except for captain woody, but all passengers died Exept for one. This Italian gentleman lived to see another day. This dive was by far the best day. I saw a whole different world down there. The color scheme of the coral and the structures that had taken shape was nothing like I had seen before. The marine life was just as magnificent. I saw countless marae eels, schools of countless fish, massive lobsters, flounder, porcupine fish, cow fish, and copious amounts of squirrel fish. The highlight of my dive was seeing an eel attack another fish. After this dive we ate lunch on coopers island, and island that used to be home to barrel makers. The fish and ships and ice cream to quite delicious. The afternoon snorkel began once the food was finished, and this was by far the best on yet. The small grass gave us a chance to see the small juvenile fish. Rays were everywhere as well. The best part was seeing a barracuda the size of my arm. After this dive we had burgers on the beach. A great way to end the day.
