Today was a water-filled day that we very much enjoyed! We collected data in the morning and then hightailed to breakfast so we would be on time for the double morning snorkel trip, which we enjoyed. We went near to Man-o-war key for a shallow snorkel and the deeper one was at Four Sponges where we drifted and enjoyed some free-diving. Our plans shifted several times today due to schedule conflicts or other overlaps. So, we had an hour of unexpected free time after lunch that was followed by a trip to Bailey’s Key so we could enjoy the trainer’s company and learn from them about their daily routine with their dolphin(s). We split into two groups with half of us enjoying our time with Poli and Kami and the other half enjoying time with Gracie and Trixie (and of course, with Ashley and Kenli, respectively!).
After the platform session, we practiced more dolphin IDs by watching the morning data video with Kathleen and Manon. We also watched a bit of the drone footage from the morning and learned from John and Bill that the three cats from Bailey’s are now officially the flight attendants of Dolphin Air (see below). After enjoying these videos, we boarded the Dona Yita for our night snorkel to the west of Bailey’s Key, which we thoroughly enjoyed!
Here are our thoughts for the day!
Maeley – Had a fun time on the night snorkel and seeing the octopus.
Daniel – I enjoyed the night snorkel and seeing all the nightlife.
Eli – The night snorkel has bene my favorite snorkel this week.
Nick – The night snorkel was a ton of fun and it was rad to see a puffer fish.
Lauren – I saw a sea cucumber and now I’m ready for bed.
Paige – My official favorite fish thus far is the squirrelfish.
Gabby – I was proud of myself for finding an octopus during the night snorkel.
Bella – It was really cool to see the trainer (Ashley) work with Kami.
Sara – Now that I’ve seen a lionfish in real life, I can finally book that tattoo appointment. Sorry Mom. 😁
Madi – I was glad I got to spend some more personal time with the dolphins today. I spent time with Gracie with a platform session.
Olivia – Three snorkels in a day has me dead tired, but it was worth it!
Holly – I loved seeing starfish in the ocean on our first snorkel.
Traci – My favorite part of the day was finally meeting Holly the octopus x2 and Pauley the pufferfish.
Manon – 3 snorkels today. Pretty impressed with how the students are holding up tonight. I’m glad everybody had a good time.
Bill – Dolphin Air’s flight this morning included three feline flight attendants.
John – Great sunset drone flight.
Shane – Really appreciate the students flexibility today with the every-changing schedule.
Tomorrow is our last full day of the week!
Cheers
CSU Rams Mother Flippers (MF-ers)
P.S. Daniel was limbo king, Gabby was limbo queen, and Daniel, Sara, and Madi were dancing fiends and winners – keeping the CSU streak alive!