Day 2 started again at 7 AM at the meeting place between cabins. We trekked up to breakfast at the harbor restaurant. I ordered an omelette with sausage and bacon — it was the tastiest omelette I’ve ever had. We then took our boat out, the Sea Dragon, to the Dog Islands where we dived in its coral reefs and practiced fish identification. By the time the second dive rolled around, I had grown to be very proficient fish identifier. After, we had lunch at the marina and then hiked a trail called “The Baths” which led to a popular snorkeling route. It was a scorching afternoon and we were all drenched in sweat as we dipped through the winding dirt path through enormous boulders formed by hot magma from volcanic eruptions. Sarah taught us about the formations of the rocks. She explained that some were called “batholiths” or “shallow rock” and others were “xenolith” or “sharp rock.” There were large craters in the rocks, which were formed by air bubbles in the magma, but were rumored to have been carved by pirates in the shape of skulls to scare other pirates off the islands. During the snorkeling, I got to see some animals I hadn’t seen before such as flounder and rays. Breathing through the snorkel hurt my chest and congested me after a while and I was tired of it by the end. After that, we went to Church on a mountain overlooking most of the island. It was a beautiful structure and the priest gave a sermon on giving up certain aspects in our life, such as sin, in order to form a better relationship with God. We ate dinner at a nice Caribbean restaurant overlooking lush hills and distant islands. The sun was setting and the view was breathtaking. We were served grilled chicken, rice, and fried plantains.
Day 3 began at our usual meeting place at the typical 7 AM. We ate breakfast at the same place as Day 2. I ordered another meat filled omelette and it was just as good as yesterday’s. We dived the RMS RHOME, a sunken ship near Salt Island, which was destroyed during a hurricane. The ship was a huge cargo/passenger ship deemed unsinkable. This was the best dive by far. The colors of the different coral and plant life were extraordinary and much more vivid than the previous dives. The site was an all-around beauty. I really enjoyed the barracuda. It was long and vicious looking, it’s open mouth filled with tiny, razor sharp teeth and it’s skin a striking silver. We had fish and chips at an amazing restaurant on Cooper’s Island with a serene view of 3 or 4 surrounding islands. We took a short snorkeling trip on Cooper’s Island. The most interesting thing I saw there were large, silvery tarpon and sea turtles. We also discovered things like sea worms and even an octopus. We then returned to our cabins to shower and then ate dinner on the beach — hot dogs and hamburgers. We engaged in a night dive with flashlights. We saw intriguing nocturnal life such as night worms and a green octopus along with several rays and hermit crabs. The snorkeling made me sick and I threw up in the water. I don’t know why it makes me sick but I’m not a fan to say the least.
