Today we ate breakfast at 9 at the familiar restaurant on the marina. The bacon and sausage omelette made par with the soaring expectations that it has developed. Today was our service day. This week’s service project was to clean a beach near Savannah Bay. The beach was not much of a beach at all; there was no sand, only a thick cushion of washed up algae due to an algal bloom occurring along the shoreline. The reason this algal bloom is so prominent along the coastline of this particular beach is due to the high levels of runoff from the island being concentrated in its bay. This drainage serves as nourishment for the algae, which causes the population to soar. Our job was to pick up waste along the coastline. This included small items such as pieces of rope and bottle caps to larger ones such as thickets of rope, empty buckets, and even an oil drum. I managed to fill two trash bags with miscallaneous items while also clearing an abandoned pallet and a large plastic pipe. Seeing the progress we made on the beach really showed how I can make a difference. After seeing the trash-filled beach when I had first arrived, I was hopeless. But now, I see that with some time and teamwork, we can make a real difference and give back. Later that day, we had dinner at Mermaids, a restaurant built out on a dock. It was our farewell dinner. The ribs were delicious slog with the corn and rice. We watched a video looking back on our week. We got to see all the highlights of the trip–it was great to look back on it. I watched a school of huge tarpon gather and swarm around the dock, waiting to be fed. After dinner, I thanked all the dive instructors for the amazing opportunity they have given us. It was a life-changing trip that I will never forget, all thanks to the Jesuit marine biology teachers, the Dive BVI staff, and all the company I had on the trip. Thank you all.
