Dunnn Nunnn…. Dunnn Nunnn….*cue “Jaws” theme*

Alarm. Cold. Alarm. Really, really cold.

Half asleep, I reached out and snatched my swimsuit for the morning adventure. Stepped outside. Cold. Worth it.

Hitting the water is probably the worst and best part of the experience… once you get past the initial hyperventilation; it actually warms up quite a bit. The waves were particularly choppy this morning and it was a struggle to get my bearings straight. Nonetheless, eventually the rest of the crew arrived in the water and we began our exploration. We saw an abundance of fish despite the hard currents, parrotfish, rabbitfish, butterflyfish, wrasse, filefish, triggerfish, damselfish, angelfish, Moorish idol and cardinalfish to name a few. By this time I was feeling pretty comfortable with my snorkeling skills so I was constantly diving down to get a closer look. On the way out to the buoys to find larger spotting “prey”, we saw some more cuttlefish cruising along with the current. Out in the open we saw a nurse shark hiding along with bottom as well as a very large bull ray. As per “usual” we also saw a small black tipped reef shark.

Moving deeper into the surf, I found a green sea turtle, dove down and gave the big guy a lovely shell scratch. Luckily he was there to eat the jellyfish because they were EVERYWHERE. Swimming through the patches was terrible.. but swimming underneath them certainly helped my plight. Unlike bug stings these little patches of happiness they leave on your skin don’t show up until a few hours later. I look like a leper.

Triggerfish

Green sea turtle cruising along

Ray

Another green- they were everywhere!

Just gorgeous..

Breakfast came and was fantastic as usual especially since I was joined by a little wide-eyed cheeky bird.

Food?!

After a little bit of time entering in data from the ghost crab hunt, I was ready to snorkel again. Along with 17 other avid snorkelers, we all loaded up into the back of a trailer, shivering and avid to get into the water… one for the view and two for the warmth!

The view from my room

We all waded onto the shallows in order to get onto our glass bottom boat. The boat can’t come too close because they might hit the reefs which would be bad for many reasons…

The boat ride out to our snorkel spot was incredible: the waves tossed the boat around like it was a cork in the water; many times it became airborne. From a third party perspective I’m sure it was a bit of a comedy to watch: shivering students excited about snorkeling but looking positively miserable about the whole idea. Once we reached our jump off spot, we spotted a manta swimming around in the current, fins flapping in the air. Without a moment to spare, we all climbed out onto the metal “seat” on the side of the boat to put on our fins. Unwilling to tolerate the cold air anymore, a series of splashes occurred as we all leapt into the water. Once hitting the water, the current was still very strong but far more peaceful than our nautical transportation. Within moments we found another manta on the ocean floor, feeding on the plankton. Each of us dove down in an attempt to get a closer look which was an incredible experience. Throughout the next 30-45 minutes we swam about the reef, finding a hawksbill sea turtle eating sponges along the ocean floor as well as another bull manta. We saw all sorts of fish: angelfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, and unicornfish. I swam straight through a giant school of little bright blue fish and tried to capture the color on my camera: not successful.

Manta!

Struggling in the surf- he was visible from the boat

Swimming through schools of fish became the norm

Unicorn fish- rightfully named

Some butterfly fish among others

Me diving down to get a closer look at the manta

Getting back on the boat was a feat in itself, clinging for dear life on the sides of the ladder I clambered aboard, disheveled and cold. I’m really quite surprised it’s legal to take students on a boat like that.

Finally the sun made its way through as I enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the porch of our “reef” cabin. I decided to go on a reef walk after lecture which was full of clam-spotting and tramping through sea cucumber minefields. I also spotted a sea urchin and a four armed starfish.

The patterns in the clams were just incredible!

This is NOT an edited photo.. trippy!

Sea urchin awaiting its prey...

Some skiddish damselfish hiding out in the coral

Heeding to Jayna’s recommendation, Stephanie and I went for a walk around the island on the “climate-change” path. We trekked around the island which is far easier said than done, spotting tons of noddy terns which constantly threatened to leave little presents on top of our heads. Curving around the north side of the island we walked by the shark pool which was true to its name. Within moments we spotted at least 7 black tipped reef sharks, each about 5 feet in length, feeding. If I only had my reff-walking shoes I might have attempted a closer look…

Shark!

We continued onward towards the island bar where we walked on a desolate coral plain which boasted several rusting parts of ships. It seemed completely barren of life, with the exception of one very defiant crab. It looked more like photos of mars rather than an actual beachfront.

Is this earth?

"MY tide pool! ALL MINE!"

 In a matter of minutes I was turning back around to see the sunset. I walked along the south portion which was rumored to have humpback whales enjoying the waves. I think I may have spotted them in the distance, but it was too hard to tell with the naked eye.

The sunset was lovely, and would have been a bit nicer if it was quiet, but it was beautiful all the same.

Shells of every size and color were everywhere along the beach

Another spectacular day on LEI

Dinner again was phenomenal; I love this squash/pumpkin stuff that they serve. They also had calamari with prawns... deeelish. An attempt at apple “cobbler” was made which was edible but nothing like the south. Southern food... mmm grits.