Today’s blog is brought to you by Jon and Alex! To start off the morning, all of the research groups set out to start their projects in various locations around San Sal. Everyone was ecstatic to finally put their plans into action. Well that is until Gracie, Matt, and Andrea came face to face with a barracuda at Bonefish Bay. No worries, projects were carried on!
After our morning full of research and a yummy lunch, we all set out for Dixon Hill Lighthouse and its cave. After a good five minute walk up hill, we all got to relax in the refreshing breeze and the shade of the lighthouse. Believe it or not, the walk was quite tiring, and the break was much appreciated. Then students lined up as JW started taking us up the light house. We were pleasantly surprised when we looked through the log-in book and found the names of the Wittenberg group that visited here two years ago. A lot of students, and Dr. Phillips, conquered their fear of heights as they climbed clear to the top of the lighthouse! I think everyone was pleased with the gorgeous view the top of the lighthouse gave us. Which included the sight of the path that led to the cave we were about to explore.
We ventured through a slightly overgrown path that led us about ten minutes downhill and to the mouth of the cave. Along the way we encountered some thorny bushes, and some BIG, yellow webs. Unfortunately for quite a few of the students, those webs were accompanied by Banana Spiders. For most of us, it was probably the biggest spider we have ever seen at a good five inches long. Another fear was conquered as Adrianna trudged through the path passing three of these fearsome spiders that were “horrifyingly as big as her head.” Just a few more “dude points,” to add to the list!
Then we began our descent down the ladder into the abyss of the dark cave. Yet again, more fears presented themselves as the students became submerged under the earth. It didn’t take very long for Sara to feel like she was in the “underworld.” Once again, dude points were earned as she made her way to the back of the cave with the rest of the students. We reached a point where we were all able to turn off our flashlights and experience complete darkness. After that, JW set us loose to explore and meet back at the entrance of the cave for a group picture. That’s when I, Alex, conquered my own fear of crawling through the tight spaces the cave offered. The professors were immensely impressed with all the dude points that were earned today, and I’m sure the students were too!