We spent today and yesterday adjusting to our new schedule in Jamaica. Yesterday, we were introduced to the Discovery Bay Marine Lab’s facility and staff, taking a tour of the lab station from our class to the diving deck.

View of the shoreline from the DBML’s helipad.

Today was our first class where we really engaged in class activities – in addition to two lectures, we were also able to snorkel around the area, led by Professors Peterson and Warren. I snorkeled with Professor Warren, and our group was able to find a pair of spotted eagle rays, which I unfortunately couldn’t snap a photo of, but was quite cool to see nonetheless! It was a definite learning curve with some firsts, like trying to snorkel without gagging every two seconds or knowing how to operate my camera, but so far it’s been great being able to dive around the area and learn more about coral reefs – it’s only day one, but I’m excited for what’s to come!

A nighttime view of the shoreline

-Royce