Day five: Coral Reef Snorkeling

​The fifth day of our field trip was an eventful one.

First, we woke up in our Mote Marine dorm, made breakfast, and went out to eat it at the picnic tables looking out at the ocean. The view was incredible!

Then, we met up with our guide Jessica, who showed us a “behind the scenes” tour of the Mote Laboratory. We were able to see their coral nursery, different species such as sea urchins and crabs, and an incredible technology that replicated the coral reef on a computer screen.

Then, we entered a classroom where we learned how to identify all the species of marine life and coral that we might possibly see out on the reef. This session was very informative and interesting so we took many notes!

After this session, we went back to our room for lunch and to get ready for snorkeling. We drove to Big Pine Key and arrived at Captain Hooks Dive Center around noon. Then, we all piled on the boat, which sailed out into the Caribbean Sea until we arrived at Looe Key Reef, where we would be snorkeling. We all admired the water as it changed from a clear turquoise to a light electric blue, and every shade in between.

Finally, it was time to snorkel. We assembled all of our equipment and put on the flippers. It was incredible to jump in the water, because the first thing you saw when you went under was a swarm of beautiful, colorful fish surrounding you. We spent about 45 minutes in that first spot, admiring all the marine life and the beautiful animals below. We saw so many different things; parrotfish, yellow tail snappers, barracuda, even a shark! 

We swam up to the boat, and while we waited for the scuba divers to return, a few members of our group experienced some seasickness. Thankfully, we got going to the next stop before anyone got too sick. 

At the next spot we stopped on the reef, we saw just as much. This time, there were more barracuda, a bull shark that swam right beneath us, a stingray that passed it, and even a Goliath grouper that one member of our group saw! It was all such an amazing experience.