Last full day in San Salvador

Evening to all!

Today was our last full day, and I think it's bittersweet for all of us.  We explored the East side of the island which we hadn't visited a lot.  We started out at East Beach, the "trash beach".  It's an area where trash washes up on the shore from people littering.  It was an eye opener and crazy to see how much trash there was.  I would say the items we saw most abundantly were liquor bottles and shoes.  There were hundreds of them.  We actually found a message in a bottle that we are going to open up and read tonight in class, exciting!  

After that we went on to Storr's Lake to see the ever so rare stromatolites.  They are only found living in two parts of the world so it's super cool that we were able to visit one of those places.  The water was hypersaline and super muddy.  We trecked through it linking arms, it was a little difficult with our feet sinking in the mud and stepping on the sharp remnants of stromatolites, but we eventually made it and it was well worth it. 

Next we went to Pigeons Creek.  We stopped at the top of it to check out the mangroves before heading down to eat lunch in a house that was destroyed by Hurricane Joaquin.  We swam up the Creek against the tide which was definitely a little challenging for some of us, but were able to float back with the tide.  That was super nice because the tide was so strong that we didn't have to do much work at all at that point.  

Lastly we went and did some much needed relaxing at French Bay before heading back for some yummy dinner!  We had a little change in our flights, so we are actually flying to Nassau tomorrow instead of Sunday and staying one night there.  We are then going to catch our same flight from Nassau to Little Rock (layover in Houston) Sunday.  It's been an amazing trip full of adventures, but I know I'm ready to get home to see my baby (with four legs)! 

Best regards to all!

Amber

Days 3-5:

Day 3:
     It was very windy, and made for some very heavy surf. We checked out the Grotto Beach formation, and got sprayed by the crashing waves on the cliffs. Grotto beach is quite lovely, and the karst features on the formation really show the power of these waves. We then moseyed over to Waitling's Quarry, where we saw some of the fossilized dunes that were cut to mine the limestone. Part of Waitling's mansion is still standing atop the hill, however, we weren't able to find a feasible path to explore it. We then made our way to Sandy Point Pits, where we saw some of our first Bahamian caves. We found the infamous Owl's Hole Cave which was a large pit in the limestone with a gargantuan tree growing out of it. We finished the day by snorkeling at French bay, where the corals were often and large.

Day 4:
      The wind has died down, but the weather is still cool. We started our expedition by checking out the fossilized Cockburn Town Reef, which was covered with sediment in a somewhat catastrophic storm even. We stopped off to see the Inkwell Blue Hole, which is one of the brackish karst ponds you can find here. This one was quite brown with tannic acid, nonetheless the well had an abundance of plant growth around the edges. Next we stopped at several more of the caves where we got to see some Funnel Eared Bats. We ended the day with a refreshing dip in the water where we relaxed and body surfed on the Sandy Point Beach.

Day 5: 
       Today was very hot, but not too windy. We began with the death march hike which followed some of the ponds and lakes near the Gerace Center. The Karren features (basically really sharp limestone rocks) were brutal, but it was really interesting to see some of the other bodies of water on the island. Then to my favorite part... we went to the island lighthouse, and I saw my first lighthouse. This particular one is one of the last existing kerosene fired lighthouses. After climbing up it, we hiked to the cave that formed near it. The cave was filled with water and it even changed with the tide. We made sure to go at low tide so the water wasn't too high, but it was a wonderful experience to trek through the cave (rather swim) and explore the dark unknown.

      The last few days have been exhausting but so rewarding. We have spent many hours exploring the reefs, caves, and lakes on the island. I have to say Lighthouse Cave has to be my favorite stop on this trip thus far. Although, I know there's many more still to come. I have absolutely fell in love with this island, and kitsch as it might be, I cannot think of a better way to spend my spring break.

Technical difficulties have prevented me from being able to upload pictures, but I will be sure to update when I get back stateside.

Cheers,
Heath B.

Day 5 on the Island

There are moments this feels more like purgatory. We are all officially sunburnt, wind burnt, covered in bug bites and scratches but we are all still looking forward to all the adventures of the next few days. Today went from being terrible to awesome. The limestone determines all of our day. Ooids can be fun as long the wave energy is low. Karren is awful. She made our day miserable especially at moon rock lake. The bays around the island have been very different. The wave energy, size of the ooids, and reefs have been amazing even with the hurricane damage. 

May Dr. Rene's hand and nose rest in peace. 

-Jurnee

Thursday in the Bahamas

It's been a long week, but such a great experience. So many memories and experiences each day; we found a stray dog that hadn't been fed in days that we took along with us for a few hours on Tuesday, although it was extremely windy so we didn't get to do as much in the water as we would have liked. 

On the way back to the research center, out truck ran out of gas and luckily we had some kind locals help us out and call for help to get us up and running and back in time for dinner. On Wednesday, we had to drop Dr. Lewis and Amber off at the medical clinic to get illnesses checked, as the rest of us went to see a fossilized reef in Cockburn town. This was, up to this point, my favorite part of the trip. There were so many fossils that one could spend an entire day there looking, and still not see all of them. That afternoon, we went to a blue hole and a cave, saw bats in the cave, and finished the day off with some body surfing in French Bay at the southern portion of the island. Today, we went on "the march of death" behind the research center and saw a few saline lakes and some fossilized rocks and ended up at the rain catchment facility that captures our drinking water. This afternoon we went to lighthouse cave and then finished the day at the bay directly across from the research center in which we saw lots of fish and crabs and a few coral formations.

It's been a great trip so far, and with a few days left I am starting to miss home, but so thankful that I got the chance to step away from the normal day to day routine in Little Rock and see this beautiful place. I hope to cherish the memories made and experiences had for a long time.

See you soon LR,

JT Poole

Wednesday March 23, 2016

My Favorite part of today was exploring the Cockburn Town Member of the Grotto Beach Fomation. This area is a preserved fossilized reef. Walking around we were able to spot all sorts of coral to include Staghorn Coral and Brain Coral. While walking along the formation there was a Terrarosa Paleosol. We learned that the Terrarosa Paleosol formed by sediment filling in the cracks then experiencing a rebound. The Terrarosa Paleosol can be found today in the center of the formation with a near vertical dip. It was very interesting to find shells preserved in the rock. Some of the coral was even in a growth position, while others had already fallen when they were cemented. The dark gray areas in the photos are being affected by the waves creating karen. The water is dissolving the limestone away, also uncovering organisms. 

The water has uncovered a conch shell.

Terrarosa Paleosol

-Alicia Stephan

Hey everyone! this is a joint blog from Elizabeth and Abigail. We did a lot of exploring today! Everyone is exhausted and sunburnt* but we are still eager for more tomorrow. We began our day looking at the Hannah Bay member of the Rice Bay formation, the youngest rock on the island being only 420-3500 years old! We saw Karren features and we took samples of sediment that we later observed in the lab under microscopes. Next we headed over to the North Point member of the Rice Bay formation and saw older rocks that were about 5300 years old. There were cerion (snails) everywhere, it was hard not to step on them. There were hermit crabs, regular crabs, a white tailed tropic bird, and several polyplacophoram. We then took a drive to Columbus' landing site when he discovered North America (supposedly). After that we went snorkeling at Lightpole reef (Fernandez bay), a patch reef. A lot of the coral was washed up onto the shore by the hurricane last fall. Overall we had a great day and we are ready to get back out tomorrow!

-Abigail and Elizabeth

*Elizabeth was the only one who did not get sunburned but a nice tan is starting to develop :) 

P.S. From Elizabeth: The conch shell I found was really heavy but super awesome so I'm going to have to figure out a way to fit it in my suitcase and not go over the weight limit on the way back home. 

 Candice holding a tiny gecko

 Where Columbus supposedly first landed

 Checking out North Point

 Abigail and Samantha

 Candice with the snails..watch your step!

 More snails

 Laminated cross bedding. Field book for scale.

 Karren, a karst feature. Field book for scale.

 The huge conch Elizabeth found. Found while snorkeling.

 Hannah Bay member of the Rice Bay formation. These are the youngest rocks on the island.

The world's worst classroom.

North Point exploration!

Dr. Ruhl loves rocks!

Elizabeth, Ryan, and Jurnee at the North Point member of the Rice Bay Formation

Polyplacophoram!

Monday at San Salvador

Hello all,

Monday is here, it is our "official" first full day on San Salvador. Things are going well so far, and we couldn't ask for better weather. There are two other schools with students here at the moment, University of Akron, and University of Chicago, so there are lots of comings and goings of groups of students. Today we went to a few stops to observe the formations of different rock layers at places around the north and west parts of the island, and capped the afternoon off with a nice dive on the west side of the island. However, the reef we intended to look at was apparently destroyed from hurricane Juaquin (sp.) back in the fall, and most of the coral and rock formations had been washed upon the beach.

Other than that, things are pretty standard here. As mentioned, the weather is awesome; most of us are sunburned already, and going on little sleep due to hot dorms and sharing rooms with sand fleas (their bites don't itch, they just let you know when they bite, about every minute or two throughout the night) BUT HEY, WE'RE IN THE BAHAMAS.  

Best wishes to all,

JT Poole

Day 2: From Nassau to San Sal

Today started with a rough groggy morning, and an early arrival at the Nassau airport. We were, again, delayed. We eventually boarded the flight at 11:50. The plane was small, and utilized props for locomotion. The ride was loud, albeit quite beautiful. Many forms of life could be seen in the water, and the landing was smooth. Stepping out of the plane and getting the first glimpse of the airport was shocking, it was then when you really realize we are somewhere more primitive, and much smaller than the last island. It felt good to be here, San Sal.

Shortly, the trucks arrived and we had a scenic open-air ride to the GRC. The center was located right across from the beach, and the view was amazing. We got oriented and headed to the cafeteria to get some much needed food (which I might add was quite tasty). The rest of the day was spent snorkeling and getting oriented with the grounds. I am exhausted but blissfully satisfied. I'll update with a few pictures soon.

Don't be too jealous... ;)
Heath B.

Afternoon March 20 -  snorkelling at North Point Bay.

While snorkelling we were able to see Halimeda, Pennicilus, Anemones, and Star Fish.
Later in the classroom we were able to observe the Halimeda and Pennicilus under the microscope.

Halimeda

Pennicilus in the lower right hand corner

Sea Anemone growing on the side of a barrel

 Heath

 Jurnee

 Dr. Rene Shroat-Lewis

 Abigail

Dr. Laura Ruhl

- Alicia Stephan

3/20/16

First Day on San Salvador

We spent most of our morning at the airport. The locals drive crazy but take their time with planes. The plane from Houston had to sit at the airport before we were able to leave for an hour then our flight was delayed an hour today. Our time was well spent sitting in a circle playing games. Snorkeling was amazing! It was mostly grasses and ooids but we managed to find a few starfish. I would say our first day was full of fun and seeing many creatures!

Photos and videos from the past few days should be up soon. Most of the group is in the computer lab blogging so many posts will be on here soon! I'm looking forward to all the adventures in store for this week.

Jurnee

Day 1: Nassau

With little sleep, and an anxious mind, I stepped foot into the airport yesterday morning. It was the first time in over ten years since I've flown, and I wasn't too sure if I was ready, but it was time. A few delays, and several hours later, we were there, Nassau. The anticipation to get to the hotel and check out the island was unreal. Even more unreal was the fact that I was here, and just how beautiful it all was. The hotel was surrounded by lovely tropical plants, and it was right across from the beach. It was small, quaint, and a real relief from the other towering and intimidating resorts that line the beaches.

After arriving we took the bus across the island to the straw market and took some time to browse the souvenirs. It was great to talk to the locals and learn more about Bahamian life. Then we made a stop at "The Fish Fry" to grab some delicious food before heading back and watching the sunset on the beach.

It's been quite a while since I've travelled, and I can already tell that it was much needed. I could get used to this place.

~Heath B.

First day!

Yesterday was a day of firsts for me. It was my first (and second) time on an airplane, my first time ever in Texas, and my first time out of the country! Flying was terrifying at first, the plane was small and taking off was really nerve wracking. Once we were in the air I was able to relax and appreciate what was maybe the most beautiful thing I've ever seen; the view from above the clouds is unreal! It was so breathtaking that I didn't have time to think about being scared until we started descending to land. The landing was rough, everyone agreed. The next flight was much smoother and I slept most of the time.
 Once we got to Nassau, we rode a shuttle to the hotel. The traffic here is awesome. It's like there are no rules and everyone just drives and honks. After checking in, we went into town and shopped at the straw market. It was so cool to see everything! There were cruise ships in the harbor when we got to the straw marite, and so the area was really busy. We had dinner at a place called Frankie's Gone Bananas Fish Fry and everything was amazing!! The conch (pronounced conc) fritters were my favorite. And the fried plantains ❤️.
Our hotel for the night was right next to the beach, and the view was spectacular! We went to the beach last night and some of us swam and collected rocks while some of us just chilled on the beach. There were ooid sands everywhere when I got back to my room, there's still some in my shoes right now.
There's just so much to see here and it's all so beautiful. We are currently in the airport waiting for our flight to San Salvador, and we all can't wait to get there and experience the island!
That's all for this blog, there will be much more + a million pictures!
-Abigail Rogne

Hello Everyone,

The trip has been exciting so far, and it is only our first day here. Yesterday was a long day with lots of unexpected waiting as our plane was held up on the runway at departure from Houston and Nassau upon arrival. However, once we arrived to our hotel the waiting was definitely worth it! Only a few hours in, it was so amazing to see the differences in culture and how a normal day in the life of the Bahamas plays out. We are currently at the airport waiting for our final flight to San Salvador to get to our permanent stop for the week. I am extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to be here and am looking forward to the sights and experiences that we will be encountering in the next week.

Bet you wish you were here,
JT Poole