Best Day Ever- Spotted Eagle Ray

Today was without a doubt my favorite day so far! I went down to the kitchen to learn from the cook, Joanna how to make homemade fresh tortillas from scratch. She showed us how to make the dough and then how to flip the dough in your hands to make a perfect tortilla shape. She was an absolute pro and could do it in like 5 flips, but it took me somewhere around 100 to get it right. But they tasted SO good, like way better than the tortillas in America. Here is a picture of us struggling lol

Way harder than it looks

Then we got started on testing out our methods for our research projects. For my research project I am continuing a study from 2022 about Aspergillosis presence in sea fans. I am curious to see if it is more common in sea fans 3 years later. I collected data from about 12 sea fans today and it took me over an 2 hours because it was difficult trying to figure out the methods that work the best. The most difficult part was trying to hold a bunch of materials while trying to fight the waves. But now that I have some practice, I am ready to get started for real! Afterwards, I did some some work on my computer in the hammock swing while I waited for dinner to be ready. Tonight we had cheese stuffed empanadas and they were literally amazing! We decided to go for our first night dive and I have never done anything like this before. The scariest part for me was the fact that I couldn't see anything around me besides where my flashlight was pointing. But I got used to it quickly when I started seeing amazing animals that you never see during the day. I got to see a baby squid ink right in front of me, I saw a 2 HUGE octopus that liked to pose for pictures, Lobsters, and Pufferfish. But all of a sudden, the coolest moment of my life happened!  As I was swimming in the seagrass area a huge figure started swimming towards me. My heart was racing so much and it literally looked like an alien at first. When I got closed it turned to side and glided through the water, revealing its dots. It was as Spotted Eagle Ray!! It was the most magical, graceful, and anxious moment I've ever felt. Then another one darted by me. I never thought I would do something like this but I am so glad I conquered my fear and did it! I will never forget this night! 

Posing Octopus 

My next tattoo for sure 

Woke up to this beautiful view