Two Boats, Plankton, and Pizza

After another yummy breakfast at the hotel, we headed back to John Pennekamp State Park and went kayaking! Our guides gave us a short lesson on how to kayak, then we paired up for our tandem boats. We kayaked through the boat channel, and then turned into a maze of smaller passages through the mangroves. All we could see was mangroves on both sides, the water below, and the blue sky above. Sarah was our group's guide and she explained many things about the red and black mangroves. She also showed and told us about the 3 kinds of sea grasses that were found in the water there (manatee grass, shoal grass, turtle grass), and she pointed out various birds (loggerhead shrike, white heron, white crown pigeon) and other plants. Caitlin and Kimita's kayak capsized in one of the very narrow canals, but with a little help they got back in the boat and continued on - what good sports!

Great lunch at DJ's Diner - a small local hangout where we had burgers, etc. Back at the hotel we had "Plankton Races" in the hotel pool. Teams of three people each designed and constructed a "plankton" out of various odd materials that were provided - things like pipe cleaners, playdoh, rubber bands, sponges, empty yogurt cups, etc. The goal was for the "plankton" not to float on the surface of the water, not to immediately sink down to the bottom, but to slowly go through the water column - the slowest plankton won. Team "Palm Girls" (Kimita, Erin, and Faith) did very well in the competition, coming in second. Team "I Don't Know" also did very well with a colorful entry.

Then it was out into the deep blue sea. We took a dive boat out to a reef named "Grecian Rocks" - it was about a 30 minute ride from shore. Once outfitted with masks, snorkels, fins, and buoyancy vest, everyone plunged in. Our students were great at this! The water was quite rough due to high tides and wind, so the swimming was not easy. But we all swam around the reef and saw: barracuda, parrot fish, snapper, grunt, angel fish, sea anemones, coral, fan coral, brain coral, conchs, etc. Then we headed back to land. Luckily, no one in our TSD group got seasick, but several other people on the boat did.

Pizza for dinner, then a debriefing on the days activities with Group Leader Kim. Some down time by the pool and beach outside - a few students saw 2 manatees off the beach at our hotel. Another great day in paradise :)