Day 11 of living the barefoot life

Yes, it is true, since being on the island, I have only worn shoes twice for the hikes. I am very much enjoying being able to free the dogs every day. Last night it rained for the first time, and we learned that when it rains, it pours. Before going to bed, Katie and I were on the dock watching lightning over one of the neighboring islands. During the brief periods of darkness between strikes, we could see many bioluminescent worms in the water. The electricity turned off fairly early last night, around 9pm, but we were still able to go to sleep. We awoke to torrential downpour bouncing off the metal roofs. It was a beautiful sound and the best part was the cool breeze that picked up and traveled through the cabin. Luckily no one's roof leaked so we all woke up dry. 

Yesterday Katie and I dove again, this time at Pelican Point, a part of the reef wall. As soon as we descended we were just surrounded by blue water. We followed the reef wall for awhile and saw a very large barracuda. The enormity of the wall and the expanse of sea below and to the sides of us made us feel like aliens. Instead of staying in one place for our safety stop on the way up, we swam around some of the shallower corals on top of the wall. It is my goal to bring one of the class gopros next time we dive, so I can have some more underwater photos. 

Today there are many tourists at the resort - weird to say because we are tourists ourselves but there are groups who come for the day to swim and eat lunch. That didn't stop us from continuing lectures - today's topic was the mollusks. Not only did we learn about the biology of the phylum, but we also discussed their important roles in architecture and history. Many Native American tribes in Florida specifically ate mollusks and used the shells for decoration or tools and weapons. Being able to learn about these ocean organisms and processes and then go and study them a few feet away in their natural habitat is an incredible experience that I will carry with me for my whole life. 

High tide or low tide? It luckily doesn't matter here because the difference is less than a foot!!