Today was a day of adventure, discovery, and a consistent struggle to not touch anything. Today we went snorkeling, which for me, was my first experience snorkeling a reef that was teeming with life. We started by searching around some of the patch reefs, which are just off the dock of the island. The variety and density of life on small rock structures was stunning to see. The reefs are teeming with a variety of Porites and various brain corals. I must say, despite reviewing a multitude of textbook photos, the confidence I had regarding identification may have been a bit too high haha, but I hope to improve that in the next few days. It was also interesting to see real examples of the diseases I studied that impact corals. Thankfully I didn’t see many active lesions, yet there was significant evidence of coral deterioration from past insults of infection. We did encounter a very large Orbicella, which has a massive new lesion, maybe due to white plague.
After an hour in the ocean, we returned to land for a tasty lunch, and a group session of scientific arts and crafts, which was weaving string to form a device to help us measure “things” in the water. I’m still not quite sure what its application will be, the water is an unfamiliar environment for my desert residing self. I must say I don’t miss much about home as of yet, the island is simply too exciting for homesickness, yet I do miss the lack of humidity. But I must say, a damp towel and a wet swimsuit are well worth the experience. Especially the honor to hold a donkey dung sea cucumber.
We later explored a second patch of reefs, closer to the barrier of the atoll. Between the current and my clumsiness, trying to avoid bumping into the reef structures was surprisingly difficult. Many of the same corals were present from what I saw this morning, but exploring the new area was fun. We swam a longish distance back to shore, in order to avoid the ravenous swarm of mosquitoes that lurk in the mangroves. A scenic swim back through the seagrass beds was a nice way to conclude snorkeling for the day. Comfortable may not be the way I describe myself snorkeling as of yet, but excited definitely is. I look forward to seeing what else the Glover’s Reefs hold and am very glad to have this opportunity.
