Location: Tobago Cays
A familiar smell tickled my nose and pulled me out of my bunk. My stomach grew more excited with each step as I moved closer to the galley, and I was met with the rich, tasty truth of breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes. I had that growing feeling when I knew it was going to be a good day. Being skipper for the day has its perks, and aside from documenting our days, it was my turn to choose what song to wake the crew up to. As I bumped my tunes, the crew slowly rose out of their bunks, and everyone moved up deck to enjoy our chocolate short stacks. Maybe it was because they were cooked by our captain or that my favorite music was the first sounds I heard of the day, or possibly it was the beautiful scenery of the Tobago Cays or even the culmination of all of these things that made breakfast so delicious and fueled us up for another great day on Ocean Star. We dawned our snorkel gear and hit up a nearby marine park and turtle sanctuary for a marine bio lab. As photos were snapped of the diverse marine life, everyone was looking for the real prize of the snorkel: sea turtles! Now, I don’t know how close my friends here have been to a sting ray before, but a sufficient amount of cat and mouse was played with a certain sting ray that will leave each person with a special memory of our experience snorkeling at the Cays today. I’m happy to say that I handled my first experience with a sting ray with a bit more poise than my mom did in the past. After a swim back to our boat, we enjoyed something everyone was waiting for freshly made guacamole! With our bellies filled we had our first siesta time, some people caught up on homework while others read and a few others napped. Siesta is something I thoroughly enjoy in my bunk with my personal fan on my face. We finished our day with our first night snorkeling during the trip, an experience I’ll never forget. Our flashlights and cameras captured many sights of octopus, lobsters, and other marine life. We concluded our day with night showers, and as the first anchor watchman of the night headed up the deck, the rest of us went down to our bunksa more relaxed but no less adventurous day for the crew of Ocean Star.