A Day for Rays

It's funny because I mean "A Day for Rays" in two different contexts. One, yes, the sun finally came out all day and it was beautiful. Two, I saw four different stingrays (only snorkeling!) :)

I woke up to the smell of french toast, yummy! Then had one class on environmental policies. After that I was in the water all day. The first snorkel session was before lunch where I got to familiarize myself with some more plant species and their scientific names. It is actually extremely difficult because a lot of them look very similar. So as we were looking at some coral (Montastrea annularis), I caught site of a small stingray swimming away (#1). Then, only ten minutes later we ran right into a huge (4ft wingspan) Spotted Eagle Ray!! It was so cool because it swam right in front of my eyes and then back again right underneath me (#2). It is amazing how beautiful and graceful this species is in the water. Then I came back in for lunch but had some time to kill so a group of us students here played a game of sand volleyball. :) It was a lot of fun, but I definitely feel bad for anyone who has me on their team haha!

After lunch (really good turkey burger, mashed sweet potatoes, salad and fruit), I got back in the ocean for my second snorkel dive. This time we went to a different site which had a lot more different plants than the other location because it was right on a reef. So, again, while we were identifying what we saw, I looked down and spotted a Southern Stingray on the floor of the ocean partially covered in sand (#3). It was just as big as the other Spotted Eagle Ray we saw earlier that day. And, if you didn't already know, it was the Southern Stingray that had stung "croc hunter" Steve Irwin and killed him. About 30 minutes later we got to see another Eagle Ray (not spotted) swim off into the deeper waters (#4). It was definitely a great day to be able to see all of them, and my group was actually lucky because the other groups only had the chance to see the one that was laying on the ocean floor. I'm hoping on my Scuba dive tomorrow I'll be able to see a shark! :)

Tonight after dinner is movie night! We all gather on the basketball court and they play a projection on the wall with whatever movie we choose. Saturday's are the busiest days because I'll be Scuba diving and participating in community engagement so I have to get good rest tonight! See ya later!


*For some reason my photos won't upload tonight, so tomorrow I'll have a selection to put up!!

<3Bryn