Yesterday was our second to last full day here in Discovery Bay, and it sure was a busy one. I woke up at 5:45 so that I could have my dive gear ready by 7:00, when we departed the Marine Lab via boat to dive and snorkel at nearby Rio Bueno. While the site has experienced some significant bleaching, and the water was a bit turbid due to recent rainfall, it was still magnificent. We dove along a wall over a deep drop off. The healthy corals were beautiful, and we saw dozens of my new favorite reef fish, the Fairy Basslet (Gramma loreto).

Here’s the best picture I took of the Fairy Basslets. I did my best but they’re REALLY tiny.

After the dive, we had our breakfast, then Dr. Peterson took the other graduate students and I out to the back of the reef crest to carry out video transects and photo quadrats. By the time we were done, it was already lunch time. Afterwards, Dr. Peterson took me out diving behind the reef crest to work on my navigational and search and recovery skills for my Advanced Open Water certificate. I aced the navigation on my first try, but it took me a little longer to complete my search and recovery. Still, since we were in such shallow water, I had plenty of air left. So, Dr. Peterson and I were able to explore the reefs to the east of the Marine Lab. This wound up being my favorite dive so far. We saw dozens of massive, healthy reef fishes, plenty of corals and anemones, and even saw a Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari), which is still my favorite fish to see on a reef (sorry Fairy Basslets). While I neglected to bring my camera, I did capture a Spotted Eagle Ray on camera while on a night snorkel a few days ago.

Here’s the ray I found the other day. We spotted it near the edge of the Blue Hole.

Sounds like enough excitement for one day, right?
No.
Right before Dr. Peterson brought me out for my diving skills, he informed me that I, along with the other students here working on their AOW certificates, would be taking the AOW written test after dinner. SO, I dedicated the rest of my afternoon to studying. After dinner, my hard work was rewarded with a passing grade on the test! I then met up with my group for Dr. Warren’s transect analysis assignment, and spent the rest of my night editing. Even though this was far and away the longest day of the trip for me, I can honestly say it was probably my favorite.

-Serena