Location: St Vincent
Today was started off with some Green Day and Weezer, leading into a breakfast of banana bread. However, during this wake-up time, my oceanography group brought out the plankton net. It dragged it around the boat for the first time, where we accidentally snagged a baby crab and a sargassum nudibranch, a sort of sea slug, which none of us had ever seen in person before (photo below). Following breakfast, we had a quick class of Marine biology, then put on our wet suits and snorkel gear and headed out to a bat-cave around the corner.
The cave was a full continuous path through the rock, sort of L shaped, with the long end being a deep fissure through the rock to the open sea, and the short leg being a wider, more open passage out, with the intersection being a fairly large room where most of the bats were found. Almost immediately after getting into the cave, the bats made themselves clear, both visually and vocally, with some of their noises sounding suspiciously like human screams. The fissure section of the cave was a clear favorite; it started out a dozen or so feet wide and extended probably another 30-40 feet above and below the water but would narrow rapidly to be only a few feet deep and wide. Due to this, and it facing the open ocean, waves would surge through it and create a crazy wave-pool-like effect that could carry you far into the cave.
After over a dozens passes through the cave, the group I was with then tried to make a break for another cave we saw further up the shore but were unfortunately intercepted midway by the boat dingy to bring us back.
After a short ride, we had a filling lunch of burritos and got ready to leave the protected harbor we were in.
The afternoon was made up of traveling to Young island and a seamanship course, where we are currently in the midst of learning to read charts, plot courses, and more.
We then had free time till an early dinner that was used by most to do laundry, sleep or watch a short documentary.
Dinner was then made up of pasta with a cheese sauce, and followed by my squeeze section of what accent would you want to wake up with if you accidentally hit your head (inspired by a real medical occurrence). The most common answers being, Australian and New Zealand accents, with a couple of Irish and Scottish answers as well.
-Max
Photo 1: Calum
Photo 2: The sea slug found this morning (try to spot it)
Photo 3: Colm diving in the rock fissure right outside the cave
Photo 4: Mackenzie at one of the bat cave openings
Photo 5: Andrea chilling in a reef near the cave
Photo 6: Calum and Maddie selfie in the bat cave