This morning was CSU’s last early AM data collection session. Blammy met Buzz and Sandy just before Kathleen entered the water for data collection this AM! Otherwise, it was relatively quiet from the surface but very socially active underwater! Ronnie swam with Gizmo and Tank, Stan, Rocky, and Champ were swirling around each other and chasing each other around the lagoon. After data collection, we had a yummy breakfast and then finished packing and preparing to head home.
We (Manon and Kathleen) had a few hours between groups and welcomed the URI team early afternoon. They arrived, got a brief tour, and an orientation from Jennifer (see photo below) and then unpacked. Dinner was delicious but also saw most of the URI students fading after about 18 hours being awake and having bumpy travel to Roatan.
Here are our first impressions:
Michael – I have learned a lot at URI over the past week and I’m super excited to build upon that knowledge and those skills here in Honduras.
John – Extremely sleep deprived but excited for dolphins tomorrow.
Corey – The views!!!
Emily – I am so excited for Roatan to be my first trip outside the US, especially because it’s dolphins.
Ava – I’m excited to see the dolphins and more sunsets this week.
Gill – I am super excited for Honduras and I’m ready to apply all the knowledge I’ve learned over the past week here.
Kayla – Bats and agouti and lizards oh my.
Sarah – I am excited to learn how to identify dolphins, but I didn’t like the turbulence (on the first flight) today.
Claire – rough start to the plane ride today but the island is gorgeous and I’m really looking forward to this week.
Sam – I’m really tired but thrilled to learn more about dolphins with my new friends.
Laura P. – Never in a million years did I ever think we would go to Honduras but here we are.
Brooklyn – Looking forward to observations tomorrow and one of my first experiences with dolphins.
Laura M. – Today has been an adventure but we are all here and I look forward to seeing all of the students expend on what they have learned and for many of them to interact with dolphins for the first time.
Justin – I apologize deeply to Laura P. for snoring on the plane but look forward to watching the students tackle the challenge of identifying the dolphins tomorrow.
Manon – welcome everybody!
Tomorrow will begin early (6:15!).
Until then,
Kathleen, Manon, Justin, Laura, and the URI team
P.S. We were pleased that Blammy joined the orientation talk by Jennifer in the classroom.
