Learning to Fly (Underwater)
Location: Golden Passage, Komodo, Indonesia
Despite the fact that today, like every other day, was packed full of activity, we floated through it with ease. The big event today was our first drift dive of the program: The Golden Passage. While we didn't find any gold, the value of the experience was greater than any material item. The reefs we dove (but it really felt like flying) above were incredibly dense and teeming with marine life of all kinds. The icing on the cake was the breezy current, which allowed us to lazily sail along underwater gardens as if we were hot air balloons.
Since we were divided into two dive groups, those not diving at the time took the opportunity to catch up on rest, homework, or just relax for a while. Ava and Hannah swam to a nearby beach and explored before sunset. Bodhi, Charlie, and Allie spent a good portion of the day in the galley cooking up some delicious meals (and accidentally setting off the fire alarm). Phillip and I took a nap above the chart house under the shade of the sun cover. Ainsley worked all day on the last of her open water diver requirements and is now certified (congratulations!!). Ali and Juliet practiced their jumps/dives from the ship before dinner, as well as swimming over to a nearby boat (with Kiley, Ava, Hannah, and Bodhi) to make friends with our mooring neighbors.
In addition to diving, Ben introduced all of us to the equipment available for our research projects. The live demonstrations of the equipment ranged from informative to hilarious. To finish off the night, I asked the squeeze question, "Have you ever had any paranormal experiences?" That certainly got some interesting answers. Overall, this has been a fantastic day and a perfect capstone to this part of the journey. Tomorrow, we leave for Bali, which marks our jumping-off point for the Indian Ocean crossing.
Best,
Travis P, Skipper
P.S. Sorry, family and friends, I haven't had good enough WiFi to send more photos
P.S.S. Tomorrow will be better :)