Hello, from the newest certified scuba diver on South Caicos!
Last Sunday, we finished our last two open water dives and was probably one of the coolest days of my life! On our first dive we went to a dive site called "the arch," which is one of the biggest reefs I've seen so far. After finishing our last set of skills, we got to go on a swim around the reef. Within the reef there is a huge arch of coral that is about 30 feet wide, and when our instructor signaled us to swim under it behind him, I think we all squealed into our regulators (the part that goes in your mouth)! Even though to some people being under water for so long seems uncomfortable or claustrophobic, its actually really peaceful. Going through the arch and seeing all the fish and coral was the most serene moment I've had since being here! After surfacing we went back to the center, grabbed a new tank of air, got back in the boat, and went to a dive site where there is a formerly crashed plane sunken to the bottom. It sounds creepy, but again... it was awesome. There was barely any of the plane left (or so it seemed) but the coral reef seemed to have engulfed the plane and animals adopted it as their own home! After swimming a little further we got to a part called "the wall," which is essentially just a giant cliff, where the relatively shallow (18 meters) bottom cuts off into deep, deep ocean. It almost looked like you were on the edge of the world, because outside of the wall there is nothing but darker blue. Also we were able to hover over the edge of it, which is a very strange feeling. Its like you are falling over a cliff, but instead of falling like your mind would expect... you are just floating right above it and not going down. Not only was this a new and strange sensation, but all of the sudden a 6 foot black tipped reef shark swam right up to our group to check us out... obviously people get excited around here about sharks, but its curiosity was startling to us all, but it was an incredible experience and sharks are awesome animals.
Monday & Tuesday were basically the same as every week has been... we have class until lunch and then after lunch we go out in the field-where this week we learned about all the corals on the TCI reefs. And by learned, I mean we memorized about sixty species of coral... let me tell you, brain corals are awesome, but there are 4 species and it was hard to tell them apart!
On Wednesday was our first real dive as official divers, which was incredible. Probably the only thing I can think of that isn't incredible about diving is trying to focus on tightening straps while the boat is rocking against waves with 5 feet swells... lets just say I'm glad I brought motion sickness medicine! The rest of the day was reserved for outreach, where I went to a local beach to pick up trash.
On Thursday we had our second test of the semester, which was over coral reef identification. It was another field exam, so we snorkeled around with our underwater slates and wrote down answers to the questions. It has quickly become a tradition to go out on the town after exams, especially since we all aced this one! So we grabbed a few bottles of rum, hiked to our favorite beach, and told stories under the stars (and since there is no light around, the stars are BRIGHT!) The friends I've made are incredible, and I never thought that I would meet such great people!
Today is Friday, which means we have class all day... but after classes get over, we are planning to play beach volleyball and board games tonight!
Also, I wanted to start sharing with everyone my favorite thing I learned for the week... but this week I have two! The first one is that SFS: Marine Resource Management in South Caicos was recently ranked in the top seven unique study abroad programs in the country... SO COOL!!! The second is that the conus sea snail (not around here) is one of the most deadly organisms in the sea. They have over 100 different toxins in a probe that is located near their eye and they can kill and digest animals that are up to 3 times its size. The coolest part is that since they have so many toxins, they can use different mixtures when animals are resistant to certain ones... how smart is that?! Animals are so cool!
. . .
The breeze is light and cool, the water is as blue as ever... and I am one happy Sammy!
Last Sunday, we finished our last two open water dives and was probably one of the coolest days of my life! On our first dive we went to a dive site called "the arch," which is one of the biggest reefs I've seen so far. After finishing our last set of skills, we got to go on a swim around the reef. Within the reef there is a huge arch of coral that is about 30 feet wide, and when our instructor signaled us to swim under it behind him, I think we all squealed into our regulators (the part that goes in your mouth)! Even though to some people being under water for so long seems uncomfortable or claustrophobic, its actually really peaceful. Going through the arch and seeing all the fish and coral was the most serene moment I've had since being here! After surfacing we went back to the center, grabbed a new tank of air, got back in the boat, and went to a dive site where there is a formerly crashed plane sunken to the bottom. It sounds creepy, but again... it was awesome. There was barely any of the plane left (or so it seemed) but the coral reef seemed to have engulfed the plane and animals adopted it as their own home! After swimming a little further we got to a part called "the wall," which is essentially just a giant cliff, where the relatively shallow (18 meters) bottom cuts off into deep, deep ocean. It almost looked like you were on the edge of the world, because outside of the wall there is nothing but darker blue. Also we were able to hover over the edge of it, which is a very strange feeling. Its like you are falling over a cliff, but instead of falling like your mind would expect... you are just floating right above it and not going down. Not only was this a new and strange sensation, but all of the sudden a 6 foot black tipped reef shark swam right up to our group to check us out... obviously people get excited around here about sharks, but its curiosity was startling to us all, but it was an incredible experience and sharks are awesome animals.
Monday & Tuesday were basically the same as every week has been... we have class until lunch and then after lunch we go out in the field-where this week we learned about all the corals on the TCI reefs. And by learned, I mean we memorized about sixty species of coral... let me tell you, brain corals are awesome, but there are 4 species and it was hard to tell them apart!
On Wednesday was our first real dive as official divers, which was incredible. Probably the only thing I can think of that isn't incredible about diving is trying to focus on tightening straps while the boat is rocking against waves with 5 feet swells... lets just say I'm glad I brought motion sickness medicine! The rest of the day was reserved for outreach, where I went to a local beach to pick up trash.
On Thursday we had our second test of the semester, which was over coral reef identification. It was another field exam, so we snorkeled around with our underwater slates and wrote down answers to the questions. It has quickly become a tradition to go out on the town after exams, especially since we all aced this one! So we grabbed a few bottles of rum, hiked to our favorite beach, and told stories under the stars (and since there is no light around, the stars are BRIGHT!) The friends I've made are incredible, and I never thought that I would meet such great people!
Today is Friday, which means we have class all day... but after classes get over, we are planning to play beach volleyball and board games tonight!
Also, I wanted to start sharing with everyone my favorite thing I learned for the week... but this week I have two! The first one is that SFS: Marine Resource Management in South Caicos was recently ranked in the top seven unique study abroad programs in the country... SO COOL!!! The second is that the conus sea snail (not around here) is one of the most deadly organisms in the sea. They have over 100 different toxins in a probe that is located near their eye and they can kill and digest animals that are up to 3 times its size. The coolest part is that since they have so many toxins, they can use different mixtures when animals are resistant to certain ones... how smart is that?! Animals are so cool!
. . .
The breeze is light and cool, the water is as blue as ever... and I am one happy Sammy!
A picture of the field center at break time!
One of my favorite houses on the island... the colors of houses are so bright!