Roll Tide
Day 9, no food, no water, send help….just kidding. Hey everybody Ed and Tim coming at you live from the GRC! After waking up to some slight sun burning from the previous day at Grotto Beach, we went off the beaten path and did not go snorkeling for the morning. Instead we took a step forward towards our individual research projects. This was just the beginning step and the project groups are still forming. Students formed groups of two or three based on their interests and from what we observed in the past week. Experiment ideas include Christmas tree worms, corals, brittle stars, and hermit crabs. So far JW, KR, and Phillips are pleased with the projects, so things are looking good!
After we had our lunch, the groups headed out to a familiar site, Monument Reef. On the way there we stopped in town to see what “The Straw Lady” had for sale. Some students bought t shirts or other trinkets for themselves or as gifts for you; but don’t worry; no spoilers here! After our little pit-stop the students snorkeled and explored the reefs on a blistering 95O and very sunny day! Many of the students did not risk sun exposure after the sun burnt excursion to Grotto Beach yesterday. The big finds at Monument reef were a massive three foot dog snapper, a good number of Christmas tree worms, flamingo tongue snails, and a possible mating dance of two sharpnose puffer fish! After the snorkeling was finished the students saddled up and got back on the truck and headed back to town for round two of shopping. Students, for the most part, picked up food and refreshments after the exhausting day in the sun. When the students finished in town, we drove back to the GRC to clean up before dinner.
If there is a good shot of the two sharpnose pufferfish, put that one in there. Caption: “Love is in the water”
Dinner was salad, mashed potatoes, and meatloaf; unfortunately it wasn’t up to Grandma’s standards, though. After dinner some students went to the library to email their loved ones while others went to the classroom to work on their presentations. The day finished up with a screening of Finding Nemo accompanied with some popcorn! Just another fun day in San Salvador! We’ll be back tomorrow with reef sharks and hawksbill turtles (hopeful, but unlikely). This has been Tim and Ed, signing off.
Tim Weissman 14’ and Ed Young 15’