[slideshow]The following is a Cacique update written by Maggie and Bazl from Wednesday, July 6th. 

7:30 in the morning, the girls woke up and looked out the window to an unusual sight, especially for a Wednesday sleep in day. All the girls swarmed to the deck to cheer on (and laugh at) the boys as they pushed a 12-passenger van through the parking lot. This van wasn’t broken; this was just a small part of the intense disciplinary workout that had been taking place for the last half hour. This workout included running in the woods, climbing a sandy mountain, giving 100-200 pound guys piggy back rides, doing overhead lifts with 40 pound rock, and lots of other ‘fun’ stuff. As tough as this workout was, it left the guys full of energy and ready to face another day at the Island School.

After breakfast, we went on an exciting dive to Cathedral for Human Ecology class. Cathedral is a beautiful maze of reefs 55 feet below the water, with an incredible variety of gorgeous sea life. Swimming through and around these incredible sights was humbling. As we floated weightlessly through the water, we saw stingrays, heard Stoplight Parrotfish munching on coral, and watched Queen Angelfish swam majestically around us. As we ascended, flying fish greeted us at the surface, and everyone agreed that the dive ended all too soon.

After an awesome lunch, we headed out to our research groups for an equally enjoyable time. Though classes taking place in the water were ended early, due to a lightning storm, it was still an exciting time. Everyone cheered as the refreshing rain hit their faces; the perfect way to end a day.