Location: Port St. Charles
Today is finally the long-awaited day! Nearly two months after arriving in South Africa and beginning our journey, Argo’s newest members of the diving community blew their first bubbles underwater. The new Open Water Divers were split into several groups, and with the aid of the divemasters (Josh, Kyle, and Dylan), the first half of their course was conducted on a nearby beach. The new divers naturally mastered the new skills and embraced the awkwardness of floating underwater with a large and heavy tank. During our dive, we even had a few visitors in the form of a large school of fish and even a tiny green sea turtle stopping by to check us out. The divers finished their dives a little chilly, excited, and ready to get back in the water tomorrow. (Sorry, parents, but your students now officially have the “dive bug”). During the first round of Open Water dives this morning, Josh and Bryant set out on their own expedition: exploring the surrounding reef for suitable dive sites for upcoming dives. They found two wrecks and a beautiful reef loaded with fish, so our future diving prospects look good! Those who weren’t diving today took more time to explore the beautiful island of Barbados. With many ice cream cravings satisfied and local delights sampled, students returned to Argo with satisfied stomachs.
The highlight of shore time was, hands-down, experiencing the local bus system. Cheap, fairly reliable, and packed with entertainment (literally), these yellow buses will take you south to Bridgetown or north to Moontown. Today, we also celebrated an unofficial holiday, Pi Day. Today’s date is 3.14.15, which also happens to be the first six digits in the number Pi! In honor of this important number, Claire and Katie set to work early this morning, preparing two very different types of “Pi”: apple pie and blueberry pie. We were all treated to this delicious double dessert after dinner to help us load back up the energy we burned diving and exploring today. The sun has officially set on our second full day in Barbados, and it truly has been a fantastic day. After two months of hard work sailing and maneuvering on deck, Argo’s crew is more than ready for Caribbean life, and we are excited to wake up again tomorrow in paradise.