Today we got a wake-up call for a morning reef dive since the wind is not as strong in the morning (meaning the waves aren’t as strong and the visibility is better). We went to Site M off the coral reef crest at around 40-60 ft. depending on where you went on the crest. I saw 2 lionfish, a spotted moray eel, spiny lobster (in a trap the locals had put out), and plenty of reef fish and corals. The sponges and their morphology is amazing, they’re all so different and beautiful in their own way. To say the least, it was awesome. When we got back we had breakfast waiting for us, French toast, which I put guava jam and mango jam on, both absolutely delicious. Then we had lecture, lunch, lecture, dinner, and our final lecture with some down time in between. My group and I used the time to ID the wet lab species we had collected and also comb through the pictures that had been taken so far. We’ve collected so many species, it’s amazing how many different types of organisms live here. Hopefully I’ll get to see a lot more as well as ace this test, fingers crossed!

Branching Vase Sponge during the morning dive off the reef crest at Site M.

This guy is a Furry Sea Cucumber and he’s fuzzy underwater too, and a bit squishy, he’s pretty awesome.

This fish is a Princess Parrotfish and he seems to be excited to see us, almost as excited as we were to see him.

– Kaitlyn