Today we had our first day of studying fishes after finishing up with coral biology. We just finished up with all our exams and to keep up with the excitement of Panama we did some of it underwater! We had our coral ID exam in which we identified corals underwater and recorded them on slates. I think I need to work on my underwater handwriting. It couldn't have been a better day for a dive. The water was super clear and calm which meant a nice smooth boat ride out and back (no sore bottoms that day!) and the last group out actually saw some dolphins. I think that is some sort of good luck. I never thought I would be able to remember all those corals, but after seeing them everyday for two weeks it wasn't that difficult. Stephanie and I lucked out after the dive, and while filling tanks up we saw a monkey!
We wrapped up our first class, coral biology, by doing a lab report and are now ready for our next class, fishes! One of the teachers Claire and TA Heidi got to STRI early so and we were able to meet them ahead of time. The next couple of days we will all be in the lab and field learning all of our Caribbean fish for the next round of exams. Now that I can finally identify most of the corals in the water I will have to learn the fish instead :) Oh well, that is the price you pay for living and learning in Panama.
After living here for 11 days I think we have finally won the war against the bugs! We all have our bug bites, some more than others (poor Piper), but the bites are slowing. We have even come up with new ways to stop the itch such as clear nail polish, white toothpaste (not the blue kind), and deodorant. The recommended treatment is Skin So Soft lotion, unfortunately Bocas stores do not seem to carry it, so we got creative! We are sad to see Steve leave, but he will be back soon for Coiba! In the meantime, we will be chasing after fish with our underwater cameras. Corals were easier; they didn't move!
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