With our exam finally over, we can now get back to some cool things… like sleeping in this morning! Since we didn’t have anything planned for the morning, our professors graciously allowed us to sleep in, which was much appreciated. Breakfast was nothing stellar - just eggs and grits - but we enjoyed the extra free time in the morning. Before leaving, we were treated with a San Sal classic: thick hot dogs with red Kool-Aid. After our nourishment, we returned to our “Snapshot” site. However, we concentrated on the shallow parts rather than the deeper reef like yesterday. The shallows were fun to crawl around, with some of us living out our best alligator life by grabbing the sea floor and pulling ourselves around rather than kicking. Trying not to get pushed into fire coral by the waves, every divot we came across was filled with life, with our head flipped upside down checking out every shelf made of beach rock and limestone. For the third time, some students got to experience a great barracuda circling them. We also saw some of the largest brittle stars today which could stretch across a dinner plate! Speaking of dinner, the main dish was nothing spectacular but some good chicken, and a great mac and cheese casserole dish. Tonight’s food award goes to the plain vanilla cake that was still warm from the oven, cut in a very obscure way. The flavor was nothing more than just a vanilla cake, but was delicious, nonetheless. The warm cake complimented the perfect amount of vanilla glaze on top of the cake, which melted in our mouth with every bite. For those with a sweet tooth, it could bring a tear to their eye.
Although we did not do as much activity as the past few days, we enjoyed having the time to work on our projects for site presentations and finalizing details for our research project to soon start. We finish the night waiting anxiously for the fun trips to come for the rest of the week, especially after learning about reef ecology from Dr. Welch. Stay tuned to find out tomorrow’s winning meal dish – I mean tomorrow’s update. Tomorrow, we return to snapshot for the third time, but now, we pass the reef and head straight to the drop off.
-Kait Colahan '27 and Parker Roach '25