Joshua's Cayos Cochinos Memento
Day 1 on the Island
Yesterday was supposed to be our first day here at Cayos Grande but because of wave height, power, and wind the conditions weren’t right. So instead, after we landed in Roatan we took a Galaxy ferry to the main land docking at La Caiba. Our first night was really fun, we had a nice hotel called Grand Hotel Paris that was stationed right in the middle of a busy city I guess you could call it. While we were there we stocked up on snacks and walked around a little bit getting immersed in the culture and the experience. We met some of the people aiding us in our adventures like Roger, a previous manager of the resort and Mauricio, who will be spending his time here with us on Cayos Grande acting as our guide for anything we need. Although not planned I’m a little happy we got the chance to stay in La Ceiba. More exploration for me! After spending the day in La Ceiba we got up early to beat the powerful swells and made our way to Cayos Grande. The boat we took was packed with all of our luggage covered in trash bags as a makeshift waterproof. The boat was about 20ft and at times when we were at the bottom of the trough the waves were bigger than us. It was definitely an interesting trip. On the way in we stopped at Cayos Menor to visit their research facility and watch a quick video about what to expect and how to be respectful. The beach was so pretty with a bunch of mini palm trees scattered all about hosting Large Eared Bats in their fronds. Once we made it to Cayos Grande we unpacked got a quick debrief of the island and then made our ways to our rooms. The walk was so beautiful, along the side of a hill you traverse through a lush environment slowly making your way to your room. After we unpacked and got situated, we came back down to the dining hall which is the only place that has WIFI by the way. Once there we ate lunch and went over the schedule to come for the next 3 weeks. After this was the fun part…. DIVING! Noah, an alumnus who has been on the trip before and is also a diving instructor gave us a quick crash course to diving and we were off. The diverse ecosystem once underwater was almost surreal. A whole different universe, with organisms all throughout. We explored the cove we are next to, going from right to left visiting the rocky ridge first then going to the sea fan city, a spot filled with flat rocks that are home to a bunch of sea fans. After we were done, we walked back to rinse our gear off looking for sea glass along the way. Then we chilled and ate lunch and our first day on Cayos Grande was finished.
The Sunsets Right in Front of the Resort.
Day 2 on the Island
It’s Tuesday, Jun 10th. I woke up at 6:30 and got ready to head down to breakfast. We had a traditional meal consisting of refried beans, eggs, and tortillas with some fruit. During breakfast we discussed what our plan for day was and then went back up to our rooms to get our bathing suits on and get ready to dive. Our mission for today is to survey the cove, take pictures of any organisms we think are cool and then come back and identify them. Okay we dove way more of the cove today. I thought I had an idea of the reefs the first snorkel, but I was barely scratching the surface. We hit up way more reefs and saw a lot more species. I found a brittle star inside a vase sponge as well as some rough tube sponges which were my favorite because of their sparseness. After we came back and worked on our identification of what we took pictures of. In the middle of that we took a break and went on a hike to the north side of the island walking on top of the rocks that make up sea fan city. We kept walking down that beach and eventually ended up meeting this lovely couple, Patti and Carlos, who own a private residence right on the beach. They said they snorkel a lot and usually try to stay at their house here 7 months out of the year. We continued our walk until we arrived at the only shop on the island a Pupiri, they called it. Which in English means octopus store resembling the 8 arms as the variety the shop has to offer. We cut through the mountain on our way back arriving at this huge, beautiful house at one of the crests of the mountains. It had cashew trees, heart mango, and tamarin trees used to make the juice. When we got back, I finished my identification, presented it to the group and watched a movie to end the day.
Day 3 on the Island
Today I woke up tired. I had a stomachache in the middle of the night but luckily it subsided by the time I woke up. Today’s plan is to snorkel once again, surveying the area but specifically looking at hard corals. We will take pictures and identify them. I’m also snorkeling the dock, the spot my research project is going to be at. I’m a little scared because the poles of the dock are littered with fire corals and their stinging relatives so I’m wearing my dive skin today. Which is kind of exciting, it feels professional. Right now, I’m just fine-tuning my identification document and waiting till we hit the water! The dive was as beautiful as ever. We focused on hard coral, finding and taking pictures of at least 13 different species. I also dove the dock which was super cool. The sponges that live there are super different compared to the ones on the reefs. I was so enriched I stayed in the water even when everyone got out. I was mesmerized! After we worked on identification and then went on a little paddle board trip to the south end of the island. We beached our boards and went for a dip; we all brought our mask so we could see the reefs over there which hosted a huge Siderastrea siderea which was the biggest coral I’ve seen so far. I’m ending the night now, finishing up dinner and some work. I saw my first Pink Boa, its colors are so pretty! Shimmering in the sun hues of green and purple. Probably going to look at the dock later because all the creatures come out at night. Yesterday I saw a spotted eagle ray which was so cool!
The spotted Eagle Ray I saw from the dock
Me Touching the Pink Boa!!!
One of the Many Sponges on the Dock
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