Well we made it here finally! After the anticipation, 4:00am wake up call, 5 hour flight, and 5 hour lay over, we are in paradise! It was a early bedtime last night so there wasn’t much to do after arrival. The first day consisted of 6:30 wake up and 7:00 am breakfast with a quick transition to the ocean. Aboard the Sea Monkey, our boat, we became accustomed to our new gear, dive buddies and the staff of Dive BVI. Our first dive was a preparation and practice dive for the rest of the dives on the trip. It took place about a mile away at a smaller island just off Virgin Gorda. Ben, our small group leader for the day, tested our skills and led us on our first BVI dive. The water was incredible! I could see up to 100 feet away from me at some places. We dove for 35 minutes and saw amazing fish, coral, and some eels! After the first dive we hopped back aboard Sea Monkey and traveled a short distance to the next island. For our second dive, we dove at ‘The Chimney’, known for its tight spaces between coral reefs. This dive featured a much greater amount of coral cover and a greater amount of species. On this dive, we dove for 40 minutes and saw anything from angelfish to blue tang to stingrays to parrotfish. My favorite fish on this dive were the adult French angelfish, porcupine fish, and the stingray we saw just before ascending. The second dive didn’t conclude our day though. After this dive we were taken to the beach for a picnic lunch. We sat at picnic tables and enjoyed a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich with our toes in the sand. Shortly after, we snorkeled to The Baths. The Baths are a set of naturally laid boulders in which water flows through, leaving beautiful colors and patterns upon the sides of the massive stones. The Baths were an incredible sight to see and allowed us to take a break from all the activity. To end our day, we snorkeled from the opposite end of The Baths, all the way to our picnic site. As most of us were already exhausted, this made for an even more exhausting swim. This concluded our day of activity and we will end our day with dinner on the beach at 7:00. All around, not too bad of a day in the gorgeous British Virgin Islands.
