Jose started off the morning two-tank in spectacular fashion with a dive on the famous El Aguila wreck. This huge vessel rests in three sections alongside the reef wall. We investigated the wreck, floated over fields of garden eels peeping from beds of spun-silk algae a few inches above the sandy floor, and returned to the Aguila to glide up to the higher levels of the ship. Gigantic groupers followed us as we spiraled up around the looming mast and finned over to the wall, where huge parrotfish of every kind darted in and out of crevices and canyons.

At Overheat we were lucky enough to see two turtles! One was feeding, and the other one arced gracefully up to the surface, then back down to the reef where we were. We also encountered two big king crabs holding court from their recessed perches in the reef, one with a front claw missing, presumably from a mighty battle of the past. We also spotted our first trunkfish of this expedition. Whole schools of black durgeons swooped above the reef, and butterflyfish stopped in for expert detailing at the many cleaning stations.

Rags took us to the Lighthouse site in the afternoon, where we found a whole crew of banded coral shrimp hanging out in a soft gorgonian on the sand patch where we made our initial descent. We observed another trunkfish bobbling along, and a juvenile trumpetfish pretending to be a frond under a ledge.

A full set of diving photos from the day is posted here.

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