January 5, 2007

This morning was not the greatest of dive days. The group assembled at the bright and early hour of 7AM to go to the off-shore reef called Runaway Bay. After a few cases of seasickness (myself included) en route, we dropped anchor and began our snorkeling and diving. After about being pelted by the waves and strong current, we decided to call off the dive.  You can’t win them all.
After returning to the dock, we gathered for breakfast and decided that our 11AM lecture would be cancelled, so we could try diving another site, Columbus Park. All 10 scuba divers went.  We enjoyed an approximate 35 minute dive, seeing damselfish, squirrelfish, a moon jellyfish, and a sting ray! We saw a lot of interesting interactions on the reef between the fish and coral. Ricky even got a video of a damselfish attacking his camera, and I got a nosebleed (yes, I was excited because it was green and so cool looking!).

Afternoon and evening lectures went alright, but we had no late evening one, so we could work on our collection tanks and powerpoint presentations tonight. We’re all doing fine, healthy and safe, besides a few scratches and a few cases of seasickness. Jamaica’s a blast and I think we’ll all be talking about this trip for a long time!

Heather