The last few weeks

 Hello everyone! 

I have now been on the island for 20 days. The first week here was super fun and I did many touristy things which were good experiences but it made me realize how expensive everything is on the island because it is all imported. I knew things here were going to be expensive but for some reason, I had a little hope that it would be like San Cristobal (Galapagos) where the waterfront is expensive but the rest of the town isn't. We did an island tour with the university which was super cool. We went to Mountain Top, Country, Tutu, Red Hook, and Charlotte Amalie. On my first weekend here I went to Water Island for the day. The name Water Island was very fitting because it rained most of the time we were there but I still had a good time. 

     

I have spent many hours at Brewer's Beach. I really like this beach because it's a short walk from my dorm and not many people go there. I have seen so many sea turtles, stingrays, hermit crabs, and fish. The other day when I was snorkeling I saw a baby octopus, a huge hermit crab, many young conches, 1/2 a sand dollar, and an eel. The mosquitoes and sand fleas get bad when it becomes dusk especially if you don't have bug spray. 

On my second weekend here, I went to St, John (Maho Bay) for a cookout my roommate and I were invited to. Our plans got a little messed up but overall I had a good time and I have learned how to be better prepared for next time. 

I am about to start my third week of classes. So far I really enjoy all of my classes. On Tuesdays, my Marine Invertebrate Zoology Lab goes snorkeling by the UVI dock to search for the invertebrates we are studying. I have seen many sponges, corals, and other marine life around the dock. Last Tuesday I slipped on the boat ramp and cut my bottom and my foot but they are healing pretty well. 

Today I went to Sapphire Beach. I had a lot of fun. I saw baby squid and a lot of cool inverts. 

Here are a ton of pictures I got snorkeling these last 20 days. I'll try to caption everything (BB = Brewer's Bay, SB = Sapphire Beach, STJ = St. John). Enjoy!!!



Location: BB 
Sea turtle with cleaning fish

Location: BB 

Location: BB 
Stingray

Location: BB 
Stingray

Location: BB 
Spotted Trunkfish

Location: BB 
Hermit Crab

Location: BB 
Conch

Location: SB 
Squid

Location: SB 
Squid

Location: SB 
Squid

Location: SB 
Nudibranch on brain coral? (I'm not sure honestly)

Location: SB 
A marine invertebrate

Location: SB 
Christmas tree worms on coral

Location: SB 
Christmas tree worms on coral

Location: BB 
Upside-down Jellyfish

Location: BB 
Sea turtle

Location: BB 
Sand Dollar

Location: BB 
Octopus

Location: BB 
Octopus

Location: BB 
Octopus

Location: BB 
Octopus

Location: BB 
Lobster


Location: BB 
Some type of marine invert

Location: BB 
Sea Star


Location: BB 
Sea Urchin

Location: BB 
Dock lots of biodiversity

Location: BB 
Sea anemone

Location: BB
Sea Sponge

Location: BB
Fire Coral
Location: Water Island

Location: BB

Location: SB
Iguana

Location: SB
Iguana

Location: SB
Crab

Location: STJ
Maho Bay



Comments

  1. Office of Student EngagementSeptember 7, 2022 at 7:54 AM

    Hi Jules! Im Liz and I work as an academic engagement peer consultant at the UofSC Student Success Center for Kimberly. I will be reading over your weekly blog posts! Really cool pictures, Im so excited to see more and read your posts all semester!

    ReplyDelete

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