I guess I don't have to put the date because this site auto puts it there. Kind of messes up my blog mojo because that isn't how I imagine it in my mind. "The day is the 31st of May, 2019. I fought the waves of Poseidon as the winds blew hard from the North. Many were lost." Whatever. Today, I woke up at 5 am naturally (for those of you who know me, this isn't right. I sleep until the sun has been up for a while). I feel like I have lost my childhood since I can't sleep in now. I got up and walked in the pitch black to the kitchen and made some tea and grabbed a muffin. I sat and drank tea until 6 am when Edd, the professor, came walking down the dirt path. From now on, morning snorkels will be taking place at 6:15 am and are optional. The snorkel is what I was waiting for but I didn't know if it would happen since there was a raging wind coming in and visibility in the ocean would be nothing. Edd decided we should try anyways and we went for a snorkel. The visibility was absolute trash, so we got out of the ocean after 15 minutes because the waves were white topping. Grand start to the day. Breakfast was good of course and then we had lecture. Today we had a lab where we took sediment cores from the ocean floor. The wind was still going strong so coring was easy as pie. I lied, the wind made everything nice and cold but since the depth we were at wasn't too deep, it wasn't too bad. We analyzed the samples at the lab which brought back memories because we were sorting bugs in the sediment cores. My job in college for nearly two years was sorting bugs and it got pretty boring looking through a microscope. Lunch happened and then it was back to microscope work. Did some statistics, wrote a report, and then went for a near-night snorkel. Again, it was freezing but this time the visibility was good. I saw some baby black tipped reef sharks and a large black tipped reef shark. One of my favorites was also up and about, the moon wrasses. I saw a sailfin tang which is pretty cool to see in the water, they are so thin and tall. A green turtle decided to come near us and come up to the surface to see what was going on. Great snorkel session tonight. I was snorkeling while the sunset happened so I missed it but I caught all the nice colors and dying light as I walked back into camp. Late last night I went star gazing because there is no light pollution and I am in the southern hemisphere so it is a whole different sky. I could see the end of the Milky Way spiral and tons of stars, it was amazing. Some of the pictures for today were from last night since I went to bed right after. The red light pic is from us being on the pier and seeing a loggerhead turtle. These things are gigantic and we didn't want to blind him so we only used red light. It gets so dark at night since there is no lights that you can only see your outline when your eyes fully adjust. The good side of that is that the stars are delightful. I might go on more walks and less snorkels to really get that island life feel, especially since I am so skinny and freeze in the water. Pat's cooking is helping me gain the girth I need to survive but it won't be quick enough so save my butt from the cold waters. Heron really is something you can only experience by doing and it is amazing. I love it here and I am thankful for my parents and their support and helping me go on this trip. Love you mom and dad.
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About MeI am the guy whose name is on the top there. I am a student who graduated with a BA from USU this year and finally gave in to Dr. Atwood's pestering to go on her Heron Island Class for coral reefs. People often call me really sassy and unhappy. What they don't know is that my resting face is angry, but I am usually pretty happy. ArchivesCategories |