Day Ten: Large fish, staghorn jungle, and shopping in town
Today we started off with an exciting dive where the group was able to see a few gray reef sharks in a controlled environment. The encounter dispelled many of the student’s beliefs about the animal. In addition, there were a few large grouper and a school of jacks in the area. After our required surface interval, we were able to dive a very unique spot called Smith Bank. It is a 49 acre area about a mile off shore that is made up of only staghorn, finger, and lettuce coral. The site is shallow, only about 25 feet deep, but many people agree it is a one of a kind spot in the Caribbean. The coral was spectacular and for the most part very healthy. We then headed back over to Maya Key for lunch and then in to town for a little shopping. It was 100+ degrees today (no wind or clouds) with an official heat index of 109. So town was hot and everyone looked forward to getting back to the lab and getting in the pool. Tomorrow we do the wreck dive and start the coral assessment projects.