The rain held off until just the end of the observation session, which Manon conducted with the MVA like a pro!
Mr. French was on his best behavior and checked her out repeatedly while Gizmo continued her love affair with the left hydrophone. Gizmo also was very curious about the MVA faceplate (see feature photo). Both Kami and Rocky seemed to want to press the flesh into the MVA!
The rest of the day was spent prepping materials for the CSU student group and waiting on their slightly delayed arrival. Everyone arrived in good spirits. After checking in, they checked out their rooms and then headed to the classroom for our Orientation from Jen.
Everyone had a bit of a break to unpack and then we met at the dining room for our first supper. Then, we shared our first impressions of today with the DCP blog:
Zack – I learned that Honduras has Agoutis. They are very cute and I saw two of them.
Camille – I found the (Airport) runway strip very fascinating, especially the landing but I’ve never seen or experienced a runway strip with water next to it.
Isabelle – I really enjoyed driving through the island (on the way from airport to resort) and seeing the residences and the difference in how people live on this island versus in Colorado.
Harry – I really enjoyed meeting everybody (this group and the people at AKR) and getting to see all their cool and interesting perspectives.
Delaeni – I loved everybody in the group’s story, especially the one about the (giant ass) parrotfish.
Aradely – The Spanish accents of the staff were a bit overwhelming to my Spanish, at first.
Jaelynn – It was really cool to learn about the history of the resort and how everything fits together.
Jackson – It’s really cool that AKR created a classroom where they can teach all about the importance of the ecosystem of the island.
Nicole – I didn’t know that Anthony’s Key was one of the oldest diving resorts ever. That’s cool.
Tori – I loved our off-roading drive from the airport and seeing the minimum rules of the road. (FYI – the roads are under construction.)
Don – It’s good to be back and see many of my friends!
John – 10 hours of automobiles, trains and planes, but I’m here!
Manon – Welcome CSU and fingers crossed for good weather, at least for 2 hours in the morning (to fly the drone!)
Shane – Excited for a new week!
We begin our first data collection session tomorrow; meeting at the water taxi at 6:15 AM for our ride to Bailey’s Key.
Cheers
The CSU 2025 January RAMS Abroad Group