day 7 - 1/15/2024 Coral Restoration and the beach! (Maria S)

We started our morning with a bowl of chia seed pudding, granola, hibiscus, assorted fruits and banana ice cream. After this we made our way to a lab dedicated to coral restoration. Here we received a thorough class about coral on how the lab clones them to speed up the reproduction process. We were also informed about coral bleaching and how they try to prevent it. The lab's purpose is to educate people about the importance of coral and why we need to fund places that dedicate themselves to this cause.

After our lesson we walked a few feet to the beach where students spotted howler monkeys and iguanas. We were also lucky enough to witness a pod of dolphins traveling not too far from where we were swimming in the ocean. Other students held a casual soccer game. 

We enjoyed our rice, lentil, plantain, and egg burrito while looking at the ocean,  and then made our way back to Innoceana.

There we had a break where student taught each other how to make friendship bracelets while waiting to make our way to Playa Tortuga. The walk to this other beach was muddy adventure, but it was all worth it to flow with the waves and watch the beautiful sunset. After this we had a dark trek back to our rooms; we cleaned ourselves up and went to our nightly class on sharks. This was to prepare us for when we snorkel tomorrow.

Hoping we spot a few sharks!