Today started just as usual with a delicious breakfast made by Desuze, but the rest of the day was different for everyone as it was our day off! Soon after breakfast, a group of students rushed off for the morning to go scuba diving. From what I heard about it, it was amazing and they got to see a ton of different species including a pregnant nurse shark (photos to be added later)!
Meanwhile, back at STRI a few of us decided to use some of our day off to get a head start on our projects. Nadia, my project partner Tessa, and I all took the kayaks out to get some data from various locations. Tessa and I have been studying how anthropogenic runoff effects seagrass health, and after a few run-ins with a couple barracuda and some very territorial damselfish, we managed to sample 3 of our 4 locations! We almost made it to our last location but a thunderstorm rolled in, cutting our trip a little short, so we finished off our work time by measuring and doing some calculations of the seagrass shoots we sampled.
 |
| A beautiful day to do some research Photo by: Tessa |
 |
| "I feel like I'm dragging a dead body" - Tessa referring to the bag of seagrass samples. Photo by: Nadia |
 |
| Tessa and I collecting seagrass Photo by: Nadia |
When the scuba group returned from their adventures, another group of people got together to go into town early and grab a drink (or two) at one of Bocas del Toro's bars. Jenna, Sof, Tessa and I got a taxi into town a little later and did some shopping before meeting up with the rest of the group for dinner at the gorgeous restaurant, Coco Fastronomy. Thanks to Maya's smart thinking of making a reservation ahead of time, we were immediately sat at a huge table right by the water. The food and drinks were delicious, and the live music from right next door made the evening even more enjoyable!
 |
| Nina, Alyssa, Alex, Nadia, and Adriana at a Bocas del Toro bar Photo by: The bartender |
 |
| Tessa's first legal drink! Photo by: me |
 |
| Jenna, Sof, Adriana, Nina, Alyssa, Nadia, Richard, Me, Tessa, and Alex at Coco Fastronomy Photo by: Maya |
After dinner, most of us decided to do some more exploring of the night life in Bocas del Toro, but by the end of the night we ended up at the restaurant/bar right next to Coco Fastronomy that was playing the live music! The band was incredible and so much fun to dance to. Although a few of us had to leave early, the students that remained ended up joining the band at one point! Apparently following Alex's lead, they managed to get the band members to teach them how to play different instruments so they could all jam out together.
 |
| The view of the restaurant/bar next to Coco Fastronomy Photo by: Nadia |
Although it was our day off, we all managed to have a busy day of exploring Panama and the many activities it has to offer. I can't wait to experience more of this gorgeous country.
No comments:
Post a Comment