Horseback riding, botanical gardens, and Coxen Hole The day began with some of us hopping on horseback for a bouncy tour of Sandy Bay. We realized, after an enjoyable ride, that snorkeling and horseback riding require different muscle groups. (Thanks goodness!)
One adventurous soul climbed Carambola Mountain (~20 min hike) and visited the botanical gardens while others taxi'd to Coxen Hole, Roatan's capitol. The latter group soaked up culture and souvenirs prior to out afternoon sun-fry, better known as research and data collection.
Two half hour observation periods Today was your average tedious research day - lots of data collection of barely sociable dolphins and a few hours of analysis. We are getting more familiar with the dolphin ID marks and scars especially during our second beach encounter and swim (all before today's research sessions).
Since we were the only 6 guests, we were paired up per dolphin.
In the water & on the dock by 6:55 am We were all at Bailey's Key by 6:45 am and feeling more comfortable with our research assistant jobs. From the tower, we note at 5 min intervals where the MVA3 (KD & her array) are in the pen. We've sectioned the pen into 5 areas with imaginary lines. Then we note how many dolphins are within 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 meters of Kathleen.