Today began in much the same way that any other day at the GRC begins. We awoke from our restless sleep after having woken up multiple times in the night due to the thick, moist (ewwwwwwwww) heat and our lovely neighbors reminding us to “don’t stop believing” in A minor at two in the morning. The Wittenberg Crew stumbled in to the 5-star cafeteria where we were greeted to a lovely layout of the “extra deliciousness” we have become accustomed to. For those who believe that the Bahamas trip was nothing but fun and games… YOU WERE WRONG!!! We started today by collecting data for our research projects which we will complete upon returning to Witt in the fall. The majority of the groups conducted their research at sand dollar reef while a smaller group continued on to collect data at bonefish bay. During our data collection we were able to yet again experience the beautiful tropical reefs of San Salvador which keep us so enthusiastic about learning day after day. As our data collecting came to an end we returned to the GRC briefly for lunch before heading back out to the south east tip of San Salvador where we were to swim miles and miles across the thunderous waves of the sea (ok maybe a couple meters or two through calm and shallow waters) from Snow Bay to High Cay. High Cay is the largest of a small chain of cays which consist of High Cay, Middle Cay, and yup you guessed it… Low Cay. High Cay is supposedly where Christopher Columbus first caught a glimpse of the “new world” before making landfall on the main island of San Salvador the next day. The water along the beaches of Snow Bay reminded us of a warm and welcoming Jacuzzi, which was not as appreciated as you may think, especially on this cool 910 day. As we began the long swim across the bay Coco Thunder and Poseidon became proud fathers of the ocean along the way their sons names were Jeffery and Bumper who were two pompano fish which decided they would accompany the group for the entire swim across the bay. Arriving at High Cay did not come without its casualties; several individuals of the Witt Crew suffered from minor stings from the hydroids hiding in the turtle grass along the way and unhappily found that we had forgotten to bring the vinegar with us on the trip. We then proceeded to hike around the base of the cay to the backside where we hiked up a steep brush covered slope. Upon reaching the summit we observed an osprey nest and the Atlantic Ocean for as far as the eye can see; we could even observe the curvature of the earth from this viewpoint. Looking out across this vast expanse of water knowing the next body of land you would be able to see is Africa made us all feel a little small. After a group photo at the summit we began our decent to the beach where we had left all of our gear after the swim. However we didn’t leave until resting for a little while in the small tiki hut that had previously been built on the beach. After the long hot swim back to the truck we were running a little late so as soon as we were packed JW showed us his true skills as a NASCAR driver working the truck through its gears as if he were racing in the Daytona 500. We made it back to the GRC only slightly late for dinner but in plenty of time for the first of the group phylum presentations. Bahamas <3.
Written by Coco Thunder (Will McKelvey ’10) and Jonny Bravo (Lewis Hebert ’12)