Hi!

Unfortunately, today was not my favorite day…which was probably definitely not that bad, but disappointing because I was so excited for the reef. We spent pretty much all morning on a small boat getting here, which I got a little nauseous and a little sunburned on. Then in the afternoon we tried to snorkel, but we had a whole bunch of problems. My mask kept fogging up (probably because I’m still not very good at not breathing through my nose), I kept losing my buddies, and writing notes/taking pictures/general functioning were near-impossible tasks in the current. Also, we got ravaged by mosquitos while crossing the Mangroves of Death. I am sore and sad, but still optimistic about the next few days we have here on Glover’s Reef. A good night’s sleep and some nice weather tomorrow will hopefully make things better. Making quadrats after lectures tonight was fun, and I’m excited to use them on the reefs.

Also, we saw some molluscs! There were a whole bunch of little snails on sea fan. Based on their shell shape/pattern I think they might be a type of Cerith snail, but they were really small and my picture isn’t great. I’ll see if I can consult some field guides in the coming days to get a better ID.

I miss my reptiles, but luckily they’re not totally in the past. There’s a ton of Spiny-Tailed Iguanas, Common House Geckos, and Anoles roaming around Middle Caye.

-Kelsey