Although I slept through my alarm today, I was extremely fortunate to have my cabin mates come and wake me up. With only ten minutes I threw on my clothes and rushed over to the designated breakfast cabin. After eating, I went back to my cabin, Jasmine, to grab my gear and head out for the last day of scuba diving 🙁 . We went to the Rhone, a shipwreck that is now an aquatic park. The history behind the Rhone is extremely fascinating. Basically on October 29 in the late 1800s, the RMS Rhone was a top grade ship, deemed to be “unsinkable”. At this time it had several British passengers touring the BVIs who decided to meet up with passengers on the other ship, the Conway. Captain Billy of the Rhone had noticed a huge storm on his barometer and was very confused since it currently was not Hurricane season. Sure enough, it was a hurricane. 40 foot waves and 100 mph winds were hitting against both ships, so the Conway decided to leave and head to Tortola, where it crashed on the way. The RMS Rhone remained in place and when Captain Billy looked outside he was killed by a massive wave. Nobody could find his body so it’s still said that he haunts the shipwreck. All the crew members survived the wreck and only one passenger survived. He was Italian and stayed in room 26. When diving, it is very lucky to rub your hand on the port hole to his room. This dive was easily one of my favorites just due to the incredible history. I went through both the stern and bow of the ship and spotted both sea horses and Franc, the 5 foot massive barracuda. After our last dive, we went to Cooper Island which is completely run on green energy. There I had delicious conch fritters. Afterwards we snorkeled the beach where I spotted sting rays, turtles, and barracudas. We then went back to dress for mass. Mass took place in a very scenic location overlooking the Virgin Gorda harbor. We then had hamburgers on the beach and then prepared for our night snorkel. On the night snorkel I saw octopus, tarpon, squid, and a very big lionfish. I really can’t believe that tomorrow is the last day in the BVI. This trip has gone by so fast and probably because it has been so much fun! The memories I had made on this trip will truly be ones I cherish forever and be a highlight of my Jesuit career.
