Down Island Trip, Day 2!

The morning was an unpleasant one for the Marine Science class, as many of us woke up in damp tents, with sand in our blankets. But the discomfort was quickly overshadowed by the pure beauty of nature, as we all looked at the cotton candy sky while eating our breakfast on the beach. We then moved on, and took two vans to “Seahorse Pond”. At Seahorse Pond, we saw two octopi in addition to a variety of seahorses. The water was cold and sediment-filled, but it was worth it! 

Still on a high from the octopi and seahorses, we headed back into the van and drove to a local bakery. We were all starving, and the fifty-cent price tags on all of the baked goods allowed us to stock up on sweet treats. Some of the group favorites were the Cheese Danish and the Glazed Donut Twist. With full stomachs, we headed to a local beach to look for sea glass. Even with only fifteen minutes at the beach, we all found some really beautiful pieces and compared and traded glass before heading back to the vans. There is a lot of sea glass on that beach because we learned that ships are allowed to dump glass waste 2 miles out with no punishments, and the currents and big rocks at this particular beach make it the perfect place for beach glass to wash up. What a perfect way to end the morning!

Following our quick trip to the sea glass beach, it was time to eat lunch. We packed up the vans and headed over to the abandoned Club Med resort. Club Med was abandoned in the 80’s as a result of the Bahamian independence. While the resort was abandoned, the land it was on was still spectacular. Club Med overlooks one of the most gorgeous beaches we have seen yet on Eleuthera—pink sand and big Atlantic Ocean waves. There we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and had a quick swim in the water. 

Then we headed off to the Leon Levy Nature Preserve to learn about the native plants of the Bahamas. A very excited botanist named Ethan gave us a tour and told us about the preserves benefactor, Shelby White. Shelby donated a lot of money to the preservation of the native plants and animal species of The Bahamas as well as education. We really enjoyed the little break from marine life to enter the world of botany! We then headed home and started the unpacking process of our trip. Thus ended an exciting and action-packed Down Island Trip! 

-Henry & Carly