14 Jan PM – Everyday I’m Snorkelin’!

Everyday I’m Shufflin’ Snorkelin’!

By Fardina

In the beginning of this trip I couldn’t snorkel even if my life depended on it. I am pleased to now say that I am a confident snorkeler! I did get hit by a long-spined sea urchin (diadema antillarium) on my hand a few days ago and I must admit I am still very apprehensive going into the water by myself but hopefully that fear will subside soon. Other than that I am very happy with the progress that I have made and have gone snorkeling every day.

Yesterday we had a blast as we finally ventured out of Discovery Bay Marine Lab and visited Dunn’s River Falls and the town of Ochos Rios after that. I am not an outdoors type of person and rarely climb anything so at first the falls was a bit scary with all the water gushing down. But pretty soon again with the help with awesome Amber, I got the hang of it and I absolutely had a blast. There were a lot of tourists holding hands which was a little annoying but it was funny to see so many different types of people scramble up the waterfall. The weather was very warm which went great with getting absolutely drenched on the waterfall.

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Congratulations! We reached the top!

After that, we were let loose in the town of Ochos Rios. It was pretty cool to go shopping for knick knacks and souvenirs and haggle with the shopkeepers for a good price. Unfortunately Margaritaville was packed but we went to another very busy restaurant and had delicious jerk chicken and a few refreshing drinks.

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 Delicious spicy Jerk Chicken at the restaurant.

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The colorful straw market.

After we came back from our awesome trip, Celeste and I set up the first part of our experiment which is trying to answer the question, “Under What Conditions do Upside Down Jellyfish Expel their Zooxanthallae?” It’s been pretty hard to even find upside down jellyfish in the water. So far we have six and we hope to find a lot more in the next few days or well be in real trouble with our experiments. Later that night we all sat by the water and got a great view of Eagle Ray jump about 4 feet out of the water! It was just amazing!

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Setup of the first part of our experiment

Today morning we woke up bright and early to go snorkeling in Rio Bueno. It was about a 20 minute boat ride away from the Marine Lab. The boat ride was like an amusement ride in itself as it rocked and jumped at high speed and we were covered in water at the end. We probably didn’t get to see as much as the divers but the water was warm and the view of the reef flat beneath us was beautiful as there was very lush coral coverage unlike the water here at Discovery Bay. We all got stung by some phantom jelly fish that we never saw, but nevertheless it was a nice start to the day.

 

8 thoughts on “14 Jan PM – Everyday I’m Snorkelin’!

  1. Fardina you are such a fine writer! I also enjoyed your first blog post. Whatever you wind up doing in life – – keep writing.

  2. Jamaican food looks delicious. I’m sure you guys enjoyed shopping at the open market. Well, good luck on your experiments;by the looks of it, you already have gained a nice amount of knowledge so far.

  3. Love the pictures and the jerky chicken looks yummy! Glad that everyone is having a great time.

  4. I’m glad you’re enjoying your snorkeling adventures! Watch out for those dangerous animals! Urchins and jellyfish and Scorpionfish, oh my! But you are truly in the colorful Land of Oz! 🙂

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