Location: Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island
This morning was an early wakeup after a fun evening at a concert on the island and a full night of anchor watch, but we managed it because we had a full day ahead of us. Readjusting to life at anchor has been easy, and we’re all enjoying the relaxed dive boat vibe Agro has after a couple of days at sea: the tarps are up to keep the deck shady, there’s dive gear on the lifelines, and you can wake up in the morning with a quick swim. Since everyone is now working on advanced open water or rescue diver certifications, we split in half today, sending some ashore for a Christmas Island adventure (including hiking, waterfalls, noodles, crabs, and wifi) and the rest to explore the beautiful reefs where we are anchored.
Our diving adventure started this morning with a deep dive, where we saw some lionfish and a shy, enormous purple octopus. Those of us who started diving on this trip is spoiled forever: we are so lucky to see something new and amazing on every dive. After heading back to the boat for some sandwiches, Tina arrived back at the boat with another load of provisions to feed us until Day 53, when we get to resupply on Mauritius. I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this on the blog yet, but the people of Christmas Island receive their groceries via air freight from Australia. Because Argo’s arrival increases the island’s population by a noticeable percent, Tina had to arrange a special extra order for us, and there have been people packing groceries away for most of the afternoon. I can’t decide which is more impressive: how much fruit we can fit in the fruit hammocks or how quickly we can eat it all.
After lunch, advanced open water students headed out for a navigation dive, where we practiced useful things like kick cycles and compass use. Then we came back to Argo again, showered, continued unpacking provisions, and chatted with everyone returning from their shore day, and in Aidan’s case, cooked some delicious pan-fried fish for an afternoon snack. We even studied for our first marine bio exam tonight since this is, after all, still college. Eventually, Tucker pulled through with a dinner that was worth the wait, and after the squeeze and chores and our exam, we’re now settling in for another night on anchor at Christmas.
Best wishes to all from Argo, and you’ll hear from us tomorrow!
Hi, family and friends! Love and miss you 🙂
Izzy