Thank you for a wonderful trip!

At this point in time, everyone is home now enjoying junk food and reflecting on our wonderful trip. I would like to thank everyone for making this opportunity be a one of a kind journey. From the island staff who made sure everyone was protected and well-fed, to Kona who entertained us by asking for us to play with her, to the driver who drove us to the boat where we were taken to the remote island, to all of the other students on the program who actively participated and made the program so special, to Dr. Gilchrist and Dr. Gilman who taught us so much and participated with us in the program, -- thank you.

Memories

Here are a few pictures of the last few days that I feel really encapsulates my experience of 3 weeks on Cayos Cochinos with the Coral Reef Issues class. 

The memory lives on!

Although I am back at home in Miami, the Coral Reef Issues course work carries on as do the memories. I am exceptionally grateful that I had the opportunity to be involved in such an outstanding program with two wonderful professors. It was very advantageous having such a beautiful coral reef so close to us as we studied them. Putting our knowledge to the test while in the field definitely helped reinforce everything we were reading about and learning in lectures. It was also nice that we were provided a chance to create our own structure (aside from evening lectures) while working on our individual projects.We have another week to put the finishing touches on our projects and edit any assignments we feel need a bit more work. Even though I miss the island, it feels good to be home!

Goodbye to Cayos Cochinos!

This morning we boarded the boat at 7:20, waving goodbye to the small island we spent the last 3 weeks in. Two of the staff members came on board with us, and the rest said their goodbyes from shore. I tried my best to look in front of me as we started the ship. I actually passed out right away, because the dramamine for motion sickness made me very tired. Once I woke up, I went to the front of the boat, which had a beautiful view. Then, there were only about 10 minutes left until the end of the ride. I didn't even feel sick once, and the water was luckily so calm. At shore, we got our bags in the car and then stopped at the first Dunkin Donuts that we found! Some people got over a dozen donuts, because we were so grateful for junk food (and mostly, donuts). After getting these donuts, we got in the car for a 3 hour car ride. We are now in the hotel, and it is so nice. The rooms are very big and there is air conditioning! I'm sad that we are leaving this fine country of Honduras tomorrow, but I'm very happy for the time I had here. Our flight is bright and early at 7:00 tomorrow.

Here's a few pictures from the last 24 hours or so:
~ the first one is from earlier today before we pulled the boat in.
~ the second picture is the sunset from last night - the last day!
~ the third picture is Ashley, the girl that usually sold us goods at the island, as her mother works there. We tried to speak to her in Spanish, but she was very shy (but happy to be on my phone!) She took this picture yesterday on my phone, I forgot to post it then.

          We were all heavy hearted to leave Cayos Cochinos and at 7:15 we left our home from the last three weeks. Many heart felt hugs took place between the staff at Turtle Bay Eco Resort staff, and everyone on our trip. The boat ride was a lot smoother than it was on the was to Cayos Cochinos, and guess what? Not one person upchucked overboard! During the ride six of us got to take turns sitting in the bow of the boat and we saw some pretty amazing sights of ginormous mountains who's peaks reached above the clouds and came all the way back down to shore. These pictures do not do the views justice but I hope you enjoy.

If you look closely you can see a young boy running across these rocks.

Final Full Day

7/17/15

Today, was the last full day we spent on the island of Cayos Cochinos. I am a little bittersweet about going back tomorrow - I have had a wonderful experience here, but I understand that it has come to an end. I am most looking forward to having junk food once again! We have been working on our projects all day. Tonight, we gave 5-10 minute presentation on what we have been doing with pictures and some of our results. I was really impressed with seeing what everyone else was working on. While I knew the general idea of what people were doing, I was shocked to see how much work everyone put in and how gracefully each person wrapped his/her project up. I am planning on finishing the work for my project next week, but I was able to make two correlations with Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient that I presented tonight. I compared depth of algae to the number of parasitic associates on the algae. I didn't find a statistical correlation, but I know that there is probably one there. I might use another test to show my results differently. Anyway, tomorrow we are leaving early in the morning and I hope I don't get too seasick. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful 3 weeks. I'm going to post more over the next few days with pictures and more information about my project. 

July 17

This morning we went to pick up trash again in East Village. This time we took more bags to get more things. Except today, we could not get the school boat back so we had to walk. Dante came and took a group of us the long way around the mountain, since the way we came over is really steep downhill and would not be fun to get back over. Except he has not gone the long way in 5 years and did not really know the way. That made it a fun adventure. We literally walked on rocks and different things right on the side of the island. We saw some of the private homes and remnants of old private homes. We saw great views.

Next, worked on my project presentation. We are presenting at night in a broad sense of what our final research report will include. I started wading though all of my data but I am going to do the bulk of it at home because who wants to stare at computer screen while on an island for the last day amirght.

Afternoon was filled with frolicking in the water. I tore my wet skin the other day playing on the rope swing that was up so I was sans protection from the jellies but there were not many so it was all good.

Oh yea, when we were at the village, Carlos talked to the fisherman and bought lobster! Sonja, Dante and I all got in on it and thus had a great last meal. Fresh lobster for $7, beautiful.

Last Minute Excursions

I spent a great deal of today looking over all the videos that I have taken of the anemones. I have developed a pretty close relationship with Excel and am finding it has become more useful as time goes on. I still have one more day of videos to analyze, which shouldn't take much more than two hours. It's a very tedious process as I have been recording my observations by the minute. Tomorrow I will take my final set of measurements and record the distance from the shore to each anemone. The flags will come in and I will be done collecting data from the field. This class has flown by, I can't believe its almost over. Thankfully, we have a week after we leave Honduras to finish our projects and portfolios. It will be a busy week! I'm not looking forward to the two hour boat ride back to La Ceiba nor the three hour bus ride to San Pedro Sula. Hopefully the seas will be much more calm this time since we are departing in the morning rather than early afternoon.

Around 2 pm I took a much needed break from work and journeyed to one of the neighboring islands, Chachahuate. The island was lovely, and the breeze on the north side even more so. Natives immediately welcomed us and broke out all of the hand made items they had for sale. The children were very eager to sell their jewelry as well. Overall, it was a nice voyage and well worth the ten minute boat ride over.

Kona: The Island Dog

Cherishing these last few days with the beloved Kona.

July 16

We are leaving soon. Today I worked on putting together a presentation for tomorrow night; we will show the class essentially what we are going to write about in our final paper, the data we found and what not. Tonight we are making a presentation of some of our best pictures to make sure everyone sees all of the coolest things!

When  I went into the field all of my remaining flags were in a pile not where they were placed. Someone must have picked them up and moved them but I am not sure who. Guess that means I am done with my field work!

Second to last full day

As we near the end of our stay on Cayos Cochinos I would just like to emphasize the wonderful time that I have had here, the gratitude I have for this amazing learning experience, and how I feel so fortunate to meet so many different types of people from different walks of life.
Some of my favorite moments here have been:
1. The first snorkel we went on: I was amazed by all the different types of fish, coral and there was so much beauty and so much exposure to organisms I had never seen before, it was almost too much to process.
2. Those nights sitting out on the dock with everyone in the group, sharing stories, music, and laughter, with the sea breeze blowing through our hair and the stars above our heads.
3. Seeing an eagle ray for the first time.
4. When a local Honduran man came to Cayos Cohinos, climbed a coconut tree, cut open the coconuts, and gave us the milk to drink and the coconut meat to eat.
5. Seeing not one but two octopuses for the first time, (out of captivity), and learning that the correct plural for octopus is in fact octopuses but not octopi, because it came from Greek not Latin.
6. Venturing to Chachahuate and getting to interact with the locals there. Sophia, Nat, Professor Gillman, and I met an adorable girl named Judy who was full of love and giggles.
7. Developing a fascination with sea stars.
8. Eating fish and actually enjoying it on several occasions. (Usually I am not a fan).
9. Learning everything I possibly could and the revelations that came with my new knowledge.
10. Making memories that will last me a life time. Thank you everyone who made this trip possible and everyone who I have had the opportunity to meet along the way.

Hunger Strikes

Being on an island makes everyone very hungry so some people have resorted to drastic measures including combining ramen noodles, canned mixed veggies, eggs, and an excess of soy sauce (which doesn't even taste like soy sauce) to make this creation. 

I have been writing on my own blog every day for the duration of the time that we are here. It's been quite the adventure that I can't even sum into words no matter how often or how much I write. My blog is: http://reefmadness2015.blogspot.com. I update it on a day by day basis as well and it's chock full of pictures. 

July 15

Last night we went snorkeling right around sunset.
I had a first row seat for the event.

A Trip to Chachahuate

Chachahuate is one of the keys that make up Cayos Cochinos. It's all town and beach. There is barely room to walk between houses, except for a small wide spot the size of a patio that you could call its town square. There is an under-construction church that operates when the pastor is in town, a dive shop, a grocery store, a restaurant, and people hawking jewelry.

There are some palm trees, and one lonely pine at the south tip of the island.

You can wade to the next key north, seen here in back of Sophia and Sonja, with Cayo Grande and another key in the distance.

Cayo Menor is just to the west. They have been filming Survivor there. We could see a tiny helicopter buzzing around.

A thatched hut the size of a prison cell floats off the Chachahuate beach. It was the Survivor jail, donated by the crew in case some tourist might want a drink in jail.

An island girl played with our cell phones while we drank soda at a table by the beach.

More Octopus Sex

The lady octopus by the dock had another gentleman caller yesterday. She got rid of him pretty soon after I took this picture.

The shells and bottles are part of an experiment to interest her in things I place near her den.

A Spotted Fish and a Spotted Eel

A Scrawled Filefish

Grace claimed to have spotted this eel, but they come that way.

Sunset with yacht

More Flying Gurnard Pictures