sunny days!

Last week it was constantly raining, and now these past couple of days have been super sunny! Our mood definitely changes depending on the weather, so I'm glad the sun is finally coming up. Today I went out on the water with Morgan for our thesis and our final project. The water was so clear you could see the corals and sea fans from above, especially when I paddleboard. 

Sometimes, the pictures don't do justice. Underwater looks amazing and super clear!! Definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip is to be able to see all the fish and corals. Every dive/snorkel feels like a new adventure because there's always something different I see every day. It's made me appreciate how beautiful these reefs are and how lucky I am to be able to experience them firsthand.  

Today is the final World Cup game, so we're putting up a projector to watch the game :) Argentina for the win! 

tarantulas! bugs! sea urchins!

I can't believe we only have a week left of this trip. Time truly flies when you've got a final project to do, and you're constantly being bitten by mosquitoes. Also, this woke us up in front of our door. It took about 30 min to even get out because we were so scared. I'm pretty sure it was living inside my sneakers that I left outside. 

The good part of the trip was all the sea urchins Morgan found! Since we've been out in the water almost every day, working on our thesis and final project, we get to see the coolest finds. All the paddleboarding I've been doing lately, I hope to see crazy back muscles by the time we go back to the States. 

It's about to be lunchtime soon, and I'm finishing up on the final poster. Besides the bug bites all over my body and my shoulders being red from the sun, the cool finds underwater is keeping me going! 

Field Work and Found Items

Gathered the first days worth of data for my project today. I have to agree with the others, those barracuda are not afraid to get up in your space. While collecting data at the dock, I look down and what do I see? The room 8 key that has been missing for about a week at this point. After a quick dive, the key was safely clipped to my gear, only a little rusted from its time in the ocean. All in all, it has been a productive day for me so far. 

Barracudas are my biggest opp

 I very much DO NOT like barracudas. Their aura is to much for me to handle they are so scary and they just be lurking. I’ve had a couple run ins with them over the course of the trip but today I was doing my thesis work with my little barracuda model, and this BIG MAMA barracuda was like fighting and circling the model and I was not a fan. It like wouldn’t let me grab it and started death staring at me so I literally jumped on a paddle board because I was scared. Anyways big takeaway from this trip: I DO NOT like barracudas. They are too powerful for my feeble mind to process. 

Work continues

 The weather has not been kind to us lately, it has been raining on and off just about every day we've been here. Regardless of weather though, we still have projects to complete. Spent some time in the water again today taking necessary pictures and scouting out good sites for my project. Lots of work still to be done! 

Cold and busy

 Staying booked and busy for the next few days of the trip for sure! Between everything needed just for the classes main project and doing all 24 sites for my thesis research I’m EXHAUSTED. But hoping it’ll all be worth it in the end and that the last week will be more relaxed. I’m hoping the sun comes out the next few days though, for some reason it’s been super overcast and rainy here and getting in and out of the water has not been fun. 🥶 But I we still trek on! 

Adjusting to island life

 I’ve really been enjoying my time on the island. Being here has been such a different experience, and I’ve loved getting to slow down and appreciate the little things. It’s been refreshing to step away from the constant hustle and bustle of everyday life and spend time somewhere that feels so peaceful.

That being said, I have to admit that the homesickness is starting to kick in. I miss my own bed more than I ever thought I would, and I definitely miss my cat and the luxury of air conditioning. Those little comforts at home are easy to take for granted until they’re gone.

Even with those moments of missing home, I’m grateful for this experience. There’s something calming about knowing that out here, we can only do what we can. Things move at their own pace, and there’s no point in stressing over what you can’t control. (Especially since my computer won’t turn on and I can’t do anything about it) It’s been a nice reminder to slow down, relax, and enjoy where I am right now before it’s time to head home.

Psa: I don’t know why it isn’t letting me add pictures, but since I’m doing everything on my phone and nothing ever wants to work accordingly here I’m not suprised🥲