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Hi everyone, I don't really know how to start this, so let's set this blog off with a bang!
When we got to Heron Island after the ferry, we were all raring to go. Most of us had spent the ride watching the water for any sign of wildlife. We sadly, didn't see any whales, however, there was a sea turtle riding along the ferry for a little while. We got to see a lot of the reef since it was low tide. The crest of the reef near the islands was just peaking out along the waves while we went past it. Edd was sharing some cool coral facts as we passed by it, explaining the natural sunscreen that the coral gives off so that it doesn't become a baked potato in the sun. That would be a pretty miserable existence if you ask me. Heron Island itself is amazing to look at as you're docking at the jetty. By this point all of us were really hyped up to be on the island and exploring it, even if the place smells a lot like bird poop and sea water (frankly, I'm a big fan of the smell of seawater, but it's not as good mixed with bird poop smell if you know what I mean). After a quick tour, we were shown to our rooms. I'm sleeping in a room with four other girls, so things will get interesting, but they're all really chill. There’s a high school here right now at the exact same time as us, so we’ve seen them all day. They’ll be gone by Friday and we’ll have the whole island to ourselves by that point, but they’re also pretty chill, I spotted some of them playing a game of uno in their snorkeling outfits. That was pretty funny to watch. We have a great chef here named Pat, who has the Pat Challenge named after him. For the challenge we are supposed to find and collect as much plastic as possible while on the island and whoever has the most or gets the biggest piece wins a water bottle. I know the prize sounds lame, but I think the challenge will be fun anyways. After lunch we had a little bit of time to kill before we went to our Safety meeting for last minute instructions, so all of us more or less ended up at the touch tank and messing around with the fish. The touch tank is this cool mini pool where they have coral, sea stars, and sea cucumbers all hanging out. There’s even a giant clam and a few crabs in there with a few other fish. I had some help from Nora, and eventually I was able to muster up the courage to touch some of the things in there. It was so cool!!! When we finally met, we were given the structure for tomorrow, and boy, do I think I’m going to be wiped out by dinner. After that, Edd and Trisha stopped for a moment and said there was enough time for a small excursion before would meet for watching the sunset at the jetty and asked us if we wanted to go. We all, of course, said yes. So, after hurriedly putting on all of our gear, we eventually got to the beach where we were going to be snorkeling. I was paired with Edd as a buddy (we follow the buddy system here) since I was very nervous about getting in the water. It was kind of hard to get in initially, since you have to walk backwards because of the flippers, but I eventually got to where I could “gently belly flop” (Edd's words not mine) onto my stomach and just float above the coral there. I'm super clumsy so it was really hard at first, but I got the hang of it. Now let me just tell you all that snorkeling is so cool. I mean was I absolutely terrified of getting in the water? Yes. Was there a possibility (however low) of there being sharks or sting rays in the bay? Yes. But as we got farther and farther from shore, the sights we were able to see got cooler. Sure there were some mishaps, like that small moment were I panicked because my snorkel’s filter is a bit shoddy, but Edd showed me how to fix the problem in the water. But what we saw was amazing!!! There were giant flocks of parrot fish, big schools of different damsel fish, and so, so much coral!!! There were giant clams (though the first one I found of those was dead which was kind of sad) and carpet anenomes. I was even able to find a cinnamon clownfish. Edd was pretty impressed when I pointed it out and even told Trisha that I had found “Nemo, his wife and their little anemone home”. I found another cinnamon clownfish later, but Edd was gone. I actually found a lot of cool things while Edd was busy rounding up the others, including the other giant clam and what I think was a sharp-nose puffer. It was amazing. I didn’t take my camera (since I don’t think it’s necessarily water proof) and I didn’t take a go pro either. I’ll make sure to grab one next time if I can remember. It was so cool, but eventually I started to get a headache, so Edd and I went back to shore (and on the way we ran into this massive parrot fish which could almost pass for a sea bass it was so huge!). When we met up with the others I found out that Kat and her partner (Zach I think his name was? Still learning names) actually saw a turtle while they were out!! Another boy saw two eels while he was out. We were all trading stories when we saw a black-tipped shark go right around where we were just moments before. It was beyond awesome! We had to rush back in time to shower off and head to the jetty to watch the sunset. The sunset here goes down really quickly, but it’s pretty when it does happen. I'll be sure to add some pictures of it later when I have the chance to get them off of my phone. While we were out at the jetty two spotted eagle rays did jumps in the air. Sadly, I didn’t get to see it though since I was always looking the wrong direction! I’m hoping I actually get to see it happen some time. However, it wasn't just the rays that were out. While we were heading back down the dock one of the others spotted this green sea turtle hanging out near the stairs of the jetty, just chilling there. He looked like he was stuck for a while, but eventually he swam off and joined a whole group of them closer to shore. I think there was around five turtles all hanging out there. I got some really cool pictures of them too. There was also this one really fat shark and a manta ray that swam close enough that we were able to watch them below the surface. After that, we headed back for dinner, once again made by Pat. I’m fairly certain there is a wizard in the kitchen, because he made us each personal lasagnas that looked like pies. And they were good too! Don’t get me started on the desert he made!!!! He made these cute little coconut muffins with crème and oranges. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven it was so good. We're heading out to watch the stars tonight since it's a clear sky and no moon, so it's going to be awesome. Write to you all later! |