Location: In the shadow of the Pitons
Life on Vela kickstarted a little earlier for the staff this morning, as we took Vela off the dock in Rodney Bay at 6 am to make our way down the coastline of St. Lucia. We were not the only early risers as several sleepy heads rolled out of bed to squeeze as many fish facts as possible before their final fish ID quiz. As the academics begin to wind down, the atmosphere is also changing to a state of nostalgia.
Currently, we are nestled under the Petit Piton, a magnificent rock formation that towers over the area and is an iconic image to represent St. Lucia. Peter, a local park ranger-guided us on a drift dive along the base of the Pitons called superman’s point as it often can have a ripping current, but today was slow to medium. On the dive, we saw several invasive lionfish along with many local fish that the students had just identified in class. Hannah keenly spotted a seahorse that had his tail hooking him onto the coral.
Tonight the crew will be enjoying a beach BBQ.
Photos;
1. Maddie and Katlyn
2. Tom, Katie, and Andrea
3. Hannah and Jordan
4. Seahorse
5. Hannah and Tony
6. Val and Mack
7. Charlie, Jordan, Katlyn, and Andrea