Last night, the Sea TURTLE II team landed in Miami and boarded the R/V Coral Reef II. We are all safe and sound, not to mention EXCITED!!!

My first plane ride EVER was SPECTACULAR! Thanks very much to my super buddy Chris who let me have his window seat and told me all the wonders there are to being 4000 ft above sea level! I felt like I could touch the clouds!




We arrived pretty late with a wake up time of 6:45 am so we cozied into our beds (after hitting our heads a multitude of times on the low ceiling for those of us with top bunks, like me.)


After breakfast, we left port traveling down the Miami River and made the crossing over to the BAHAMAS!!! At first everything was smooth sailing, the weather was beautiful and we congregated on the ship's bow to enjoy the ride.

We have so many photos to share but not enough internet connection to do it! [Note: these photos are put in from previous expeditions.] Before we left Miami, Dina and Lulu had said they saw a manatee and ever since, we've been on the look out for more. I have still yet to see one of these mysterious elusive sea cows but I am much excited to!

But by lunch time, most EVERYONE was queasy. I for one, spent a good chunk of quality time with my earphones in, eyes closed, and knocked out in the salon to avoid the spinning headache that the waves were giving me. Later, I migrated to my cabin where everyone else had gone to lie down to do the same.

I woke up to Jenna telling me, "We're here." ...And when I looked outside, I couldn't believe it. The scenery in the Bahamas is GORGEOUS!!! The islands would be ever the more breath taking without some of the construction going on along the coastlines. Condos are cool and all but clearing all the room to build them does a lot of damage to the natural ecosystems (mangroves and such) which in turn disrupts the habitats of many fish.

There's so much to talk about that I haven't even gotten to diving yet! OUR FIRST OPEN WATER DIVE WAS TODAY!!! No time left, more to come tomorrow!

-Lee