Submitted by Marissa Gropman on the 2018 winter session program in the Cayman Islands sponsored by the School of Marine Science and Policy…
I am blown away at how beautiful this remote island is. The dives here are unlike any other. Aside from having knowledgeable and experienced people leading the way, we have a lot of room to explore and see things we’ve never seen before. I’ve seen large pufferfish, a shark, some turtles and beautiful fish. Seeing species new to me has been exciting and the group talks about all of our findings afterwards. I have met kind locals who ask about the way I live and want to hear the differences, which I enjoy sharing. They tell me what I need to do and see and even offer to show us these places. There is one store on the island and we tend to turn our car rides there into a fun little trip. As much as I may miss my friends and family, I am constantly distracted by the natural beauty and learning new techniques. We have 11 logged dives since arriving about one week ago and I look forward to receiving my AAUS certification for scientific diving at the end of this program.
