Today was water day. Started in the water for the morning snorkel. I don't remember what happened I just remember it was cold. Breakfast we got pancakes along with the amazing porridge. Some of us were just sitting around waiting for the time to change back into our wet suits for the outer reef snorkel. We made a funny video that I wish I could post here. I will post a picture and let you know it is a POV of a fish when we are snorkeling in the water. ( it is here below) The outer reef snorkel was at the reef next door. We drifted along the current. I never actually swam. My feet were straight down and I pretty much spun in a circle the whole time. I was doing this to optimize my luck of seeing something cool on the reef and something big in the deep. I was so sad because it was our last outer reef snorkel, so getting into the boat was the last thing I wanted to do. However, we did boat over to Heron's Bommie. It was cool, we saw a white tip, turtles, and a massive coral. Getting back we had lunch, then got ready for presentations. I was not feeling good about it, but later Alli and I were given the best presentation award. I got another award. I don't remember the name, and I am too lazy to go find my paper to say the name. I just know it had something to do with my laugh. We went out for a low tide snorkel at North Beach. You had to be very careful otherwise you definitely hit coral or other things. We saw and eel, which I quickly swam away from. Some weird thing that no one knows what it was. I saw a white nudibranch. By the time we made our way back to shore it was 30 minutes until 5:00pm. Meaning that the channel was opening so we could do our nightly snorkel there. There were turtles. One did not like us it swam away real quick. One just kept swimming with us and it was so cute. We saw some white tips, which one was chillin' on the bottom when I swam over the top. He decided to move right then and scared me so I quickly swam closer to the group. At dinner a bird got in the kitchen tons of us were trying to chase it out. The cook was banging a metal bowl at it and almost hit it. I am really sad to leave. I am still considering missing the ferry tomorrow. If I don't make it back to America we all know why. (here's a bunch of pictures just because).
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I really contemplated going on the morning snorkel today. However, I needed to get out of bed anyways to pee. Getting into the water is always the worst part. It is soooooooo cold. Once I am in and looking around I am usually fine. We saw 3 species of sea turtles during the snorkel (hawksbills, green, and loggerhead). This morning we made it to breakfast before the teens thankfully. I even had a nice cup of hot chocolate while waiting to go into the kitchen. When it was time, the porridge was still boiling when I scooped it into my bowl. After breakfast, I went into the lab to listen to music and draw until we needed to get ready for the outer reef dive. I have decided that the boat rides need to be just a little longer. They are so fun. Alli and I were buddies for the snorkel. She had a go pro and was taking cool pictures of the coral and the fish. Braden saw a manta ray and yelled out for us to come see. Sadly, it was gone before I got there. After that though, I kept my eyes on the deeper side willing something to come so I could see it. There were some really big bump head parrotfish which were cool and colorful. I even saw a parrot fish poop. Getting back we all quickly showered and got some yummy carrot cake for morning tea time. Then it was back to projects. Lunch came really quickly, but the kids were gone!! We showed up just in time for lunch and there was no line. It was so nice, and the island sounds much quieter. Alli and I finished up our write-up after lunch then went to the beach to work on our presentation. We sat on a towel and practiced a little bit and enjoyed the nice weather. All I could think is that if I could just do school here I totally would. We made our way back to get some fruit for afternoon tea time. It was just watermelon today. Then, I went with some people to the beach to try and figure out why there were so many helicopters coming and going from the island today. We found out nothing. I made by way to the library. Braden and I ended up playing a game called 'Don't get sniffed" on the computers. It is a problem solving game all while you run away from a giant nose that is trying to sniff you. It took us a bit but we finally defeated it. Then we had to get ready for the evening snorkel. Swimming out to the ship wreck we saw a small white tip just chilling at the bottom of the channel. We also saw tons of sea turtles tucking into the coral for the night. I played in the waves when we got super far out because I wasn't seeing anything. On our way back to the jetty, a black tip swam between the group. Not much farther and a white tip swam right below Braden, Aime, and I. Again not much farther another white tip swam by.
Dinner was a celebratory meal for sure (celebrating the absence of 40 tiny children). It was steak, potatoes, and veggies. Even the cook was in a good mood. Dessert was ice cream and chocolate mousse. Today was so good. I hate that it is ending. I might just "accidentally" not make it on to the ferry on Sunday. I love it here. Waking up this morning for the snorkel was a struggle. I turned my alarm off but rolled back into bed. I still got up. I choose to do this and every morning I regret it when the alarm goes off and when we get out of the water. In the water I remember why I do it. But being cold and tired is not a good combo. I had to have some hot chocolate this morning as well as the usually porridge. However, breakfast this morning was a bust. We got there early as usual to claim the front of the line, but a small group of the teens ended up making it into the kitchen before us. This honestly made the whole day just feel off. After breakfast we worked on our projects more. When it was tea time we ate some good cake. Then got back to work. Lunch had soup today so that was nice. After lunch a group of us all decided to take a break and went on a walk to the beach on the side of the island with no wind. We sat in the sun and talked until we needed to head back to get ready for the outer reef snorkel. The boat ride again was so fun. The snorkel was beautiful. Lots of colors to look at. At one point I felt like I wasn't seeing anything new so I decided to just play in the waves. A wave would come and I would jump up with it and then plunge into the water. Or I would look out to the deeper side and just stare hoping to see something big. We eventually had to head back to the boat. Getting back Alli, Avery, and I decided to go on another walk to the beach really quick before the evening snorkel. This evening was only Edd, Braden, and I. Wasn't a ton to look at. The water was just a tiny bit less murky than the last two nights. We saw some turtles and lots of sea cucumbers. By the end I was starving and needed food. So at dinner I made sure to get 2nds. The teens are leaving tomorrow. I think everyone of us are so excited to not have to share the island with them anymore. Bon voyage tiny children.
Morning snorkel was freezing! There was only 5 of us this morning, plus Edd. My dreams of string rays attacking us came true. They kept swimming up to us and practically following us. We all swam back to shore quickly when it was time, but getting out of the water was worse. The wind blowing on us while we are soaking wet is what made it so bad. Porridge was a must after almost freezing to death. After we had a little bit of free time. Some of us went to the beach and just chilled in the sun. Then Braden and I took a walk along the rock to go get his recreation of the David Attenborough pic on the rocks. Lecture at 11 until lunch was about threats to the reef. Guess what was for lunch? Sandwiches. Alli and I finished looking at 2 bags of sand each then took a walk back to the beach. I was laying down and then quickly shot up and looked at Alli. I was like you know what we should do? We should get another sample from each location. She agreed. So, then we went back to the lab finished another two each. Then went out to the beach and got more sand cores. After which we sat in the lab and talked to people until the evening snorkel. The water was once again murky, but the sunset over the water was really pretty. At one point I was swimming backwards and Chris was following me. He made a noise that sounded like he was seeing something in the water. So, I decided to turn around and actually look in the water. Right there was a black tip shark swimming past us. Then again later I wasn't looking the the water and Edd saw a black tip swimming past us. In conclusion, if I am not paying attention then a shark will probably swimming past me.
Dinner was interesting. It was chicken with mustard slapped on top and LOTS of it. I had to scape off most of it. Everything else was good. Hopefully tomorrow the water might be better, but I doubt it. Guess what I found right above my wet suit this morning? I big spider. He is new and so is his web. I was scared that he was connected to my wet suit but its okay. He wasn't. His web was connected to other peoples though. This morning snorkel was nice. We saw a shark and a lionfish. Then breakfast came and it was amazing once again. Porridge for the win. We started on our group projects. Got some yummy cake for teatime, and worked some more. Alli and I had most of the background information done so, we just needed to go collect data. We got lunch and after lunch I saw there was left over cake from teatime so I grabbed some. We had a lecture after lunch, but since I had cake I couldn't go into the lab. So, I stood outside and stared in at people then Jerron and Braden joined me. The lecture was on megafauna. Which was cool to learn about the big things we've been seeing. Following the lecture was more time to work on group project. Now that is was low tide, Alli and I were able to go out and collect data. We are doing microplastic distribution around Heron Island. While we were out there collecting sediment cores we saw tons of sea cucumber and star fish. With the samples we dropped off our samples at the lab. Got some fruit for afternoon teatime, then got to work. We got through two sample. We looked through microscopes and count the individual pieces of microplastics. We decided to go on the evening swim. It was just Alli, Aime, Avery, Brinlee, Braden, and I. We got suited up and waited on the jetty until 5. Then we got in. The water was murky. You couldn't see ANYTHING. We did see a blue-spotted sting ray, and the giant loggerhead turtle. Other than that nothing. So, we swam in circles, saw who could swim highest out of the water, and lots of other dumb stuff until we had to come in. Overall, a great day!!
Morning felt like it came too quickly. I have decided I am not going to miss a morning swim. This morning the jellies were out again. So, we saw lots of sea turtles out and about. For some reason today they were stinging us a bit more than yesterday. It doesn't hurt very much just feels like a little prick. Showering this morning was a horrible idea. There was a line and it made me a little late to breakfast. I am usually the first person in the kitchen at every meal but not today. Breakfast was amazing as always. Porridge is the best. After breakfast we were heading out to go do a coral watch survey. Putting the wet suits back on was a struggle because they were still soaking wet from the morning. During the survey we saw a crown of thorns starfish. They are huge and super spikey. There was apparently a black tip hanging around us, but I was so focused on the coral colors that I didn't even notice. Getting out of the water I decided to sit and look out at the water. There was a storm out in the distance so it looked so pretty. Tea time was cupcakes today. I also had another left over dessert. Then we put in data from the coral watch and had a lecture on fish. Lunch = sandwiches... everyday. For some reason I was late to this meal as well. Then we had tons of free time. Issue is we don't know what to do with ourselves if we don't have someone telling us what to do. I went out with my camera and took some pictures of the island. There was a few of us who got matching sweatshirts so we got a group photo. To kill time we played hang man, wikipedia races, and other computer games. Then we made our way to the jetty to watch the sunset. The water was very calm this evening and we could see sharks, fish, sea turtles, and rays really clearly from up on the jetty. We all headed back in for dinner. Dinner was spaghetti. Dessert was jello that I didn't finish because it reminded me of cough syrup. Hopefully I am better at being on time for meals tomorrow. Otherwise the whole trip is ruined. Okay not totally ruined... I don't think anything could really ruin how much fun I am having.
Today's morning wake up wasn't my alarm. It was the annoying sound of young children. The morning snorkel made up for that sad occurrence. In the first 2 minutes of the snorkel we saw a lemon shark. Heading out we saw lots of fish like always and sea turtles. At one point I decided to quit swimming because I saw a school of fish and I wanted them to come near me. They did. On our way back in we saw tons of little jellies. They were so cute, and made all the sea turtles come near us. Guess what we had for breakfast? PORRIDGE!!!! Oh, and some hash browns. Then. it was time for the boat ride to the outer reef. I was nervous we were going to miss tea time, because it was at the time we were leaving. However, Maggie (the cook) brought us our banana bread muffins before we took off! The boat ride was soooooo fun. We were all crowded in a small boat, and the waves would make to boat bounce. We had to jump/fall into the water backwards. This area was AMAZING. The reef was so vibrant and had tons of colors and variety of coral. So many different fish were there. I was naming the ones we have to memorize for the test we had later today. I saw a white tip reef shark right at the start of the snorkel but no other ones. I did see a spotted eagle ray when I swam a little farther from the reef crest. My swim buddy was Jerron and we would point out the cool things we saw to each other. Lunch we had left over muffins as well as the usual sandwiches. I ate a muffin, seafood salad, and the bread. After lunch, we all studied like crazy for the fish ID test. Taking the test sucked, but in the end we all passed (that I know of). Afternoon teatime came around, so we made our way to the kitchen for fruit. The 2 assistant cooks showed us there was desserts left over and that if we wanted them warmed up they could do that for us. I got some left over pudding/crumble thing. Then we all sat around talking for awhile until Edd told us to work on our lab write ups. Dinner was a roast, potatoes, and veggies with a dessert after. Now that I do not have to worry about a test down time might be a good time to nap since I get up earlier than I would ever choose to back home. Here though it's totally worth it. I also think my body is very happy with me. I am on a good sleep schedule, I eat healthy food and lots of it, and I exercise too.
Early morning snorkel got cancelled. We had to be up and geared up by 6:15am. My room had 2 alarms go off at 5:50am and turned the lights on. However, nothing was going to wake me from my dreams. Except Alli. She shook me awake. All I could think of was how I would have gotten up for the morning snorkel, but now it was requited this morning to get up and do a lab. The water was very cold. Jerron my lab partner rolled out our transect line. When it was out I started the go pro to video the fish along the line. In about 2 meters a big wave of water went over and into my snorkel. Breathing in seawater is not fun just so you are aware. So, I had to start my video over. Other than that every thing went really smoothly. Again, after the cold water all we could think about was getting a nice warm bowl of porridge. We all drown it is brown sugar soooooo yummy. After, we just finished writing up our second lab. Morning tea time had really good blueberry muffins. I and a few others volunteered to help out an honors student working on some research here. It was really interesting to see what she was working on. We collected algae and took it back to the lab to sort through and see which species had a certain unicellular protist on them. Lunch was sandwiches again. After lunch we went back out to the area we were this morning and did the exact same thing except during low tide. With out videos done, we went back to the lab to watch the video to count and name the fish. We ended up only finding 8 fish at high tide and 1 at low tide. Quick break for afternoon tea time, which usually means fruit. Then all of us studied for our fish ID test that should be happening tomorrow. There was a evening snorkel but most of us decided to stay behind. We stopped by out beloved touch tank to say hi and then made out way out to the jetty. We sat on the jetty for a bit. The sun was setting so it made the island look so pretty. Then for dinner we had something. I just know that there were sausage thing in it that were definitely from breakfast this morning. The dessert was amazing as always. I'd say today was successful but only based on the fact we beat the tiny children into the kitchen for every meal.
Today felt extra long. I think it was because we did so much. I got up and dressed quickly for the morning snorkel. It seemed extra cold this morning so the thought of getting in the water seemed a bit unappealing at first. I am glad I decided to get up. Snorkeling is such an amazing way to start your day. Today I got to see a big spotted eagle ray. Getting out of the water the first thing that came out of my mouth was "I hope there is porridge for breakfast." Luckily, there was once again. It is so nice to eat something warm after feeling cold. After breakfast. we had a lecture on Invertebrates to get us ready for the lab we were going to be doing. Then, just before lunch we finished our write ups of the lab from yesterday. During this time a group of high schoolers showed up (more on them later). We always gather by the touch tank especially before meals. However, with the kids here we now have to gather closer to the door if we want to get to our food first. (Us gathered by our beloved touch tank below). Lunch was sandwiches once again. Then we all got ready to do the lab. We geared up in our reef/water shoes, rash guards, sunscreen, and hats. Took a nice walk down to shark beach. There we waded into the water being careful to not step on any sting rays, cone shells, or the abundance of sea cucumbers. In our groups we measured out from a reef patch 10 meters and got samples from the sand at 0, 5, and 10. On our way to find a spot one of my partners saw one of the little sharks that walks on its fins. We even saw some cone shells and christmas tree worms. Then we got to stare at sand through microscopes for hours trying to see something, but all I could think about was food. So, me and some others went to the kitchen and got some fruit for teatime!
Snorkel time. I chose to pair up with Aime. We snorkeled by the resort. It was tons of coral everywhere. BUT not just coral. Possibly its poop. It's okay though we saw a GIANT loggerhead sea turtle. Then we floated amongst the poop back to shore. Now, its still in our hair. Never forget! :) And almost likely other places. Dinner was a race against the tiny children. We had to be first. (Edd if you read this... it is the end of the world if we are last). By 6:30am we were all geared up for a early morning snorkel in the channel. Upon getting in we were able to see TONS of cowtail stingrays. There was all kinds of fish and coral everywhere you looked. The group made its way out to the ship wreck that sits beside the channel. We were able to see both whitetip and black tip sharks. There were tons of sea turtles as well. After we get out of the water, we all quickly change and get ready for breakfast. We were met with porridge to help warm up. Today was also our first official lecture. It covered the history, growth forms, reproduction, and other facts on corals. Some of us even went on a walk into the forest and to the other side of the island. There we walked around in the low tide to see some of the reef up close. After a quick lunch, we geared up once again to do the Benthic Cover Lab. Fighting against the current and the rising tide was challenging, however, it ended up being a blast. Before dinner, Alli and I decided to snorkel once again. With the sunsetting over the water it was so beautiful to see. Dinner was spaghetti and there was plenty of it to fill us all. This was followed up by an ice cream cone.
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