Day 4.5 on San Salvador, Bahamas started off with FREE TIME!! We went to church, did laundry, watched the sunrise, and slept off the crispy sun burns that we have gotten. L After lunch, we traveled by truck on the bumpy roads to Snapshot Reef. The reef is located on the North side of Fernandez Bay and off the West coast of San Salvador. The purpose of today was to explore an offshore patch reef. During the ¼ mile swim offshore (“Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!”), we noticed the sea floor change from grass and sand to a deep, relatively barren area, which transitioned to the reef. Two Great Barracudas were spotted, one in the barren area and one at the edge of the reef. The one above the reef was being cleaned by smaller fish. Some other organisms that were seen include sand dollars, sea biscuits, flounder, sting rays, Fire Coral, Squirrelfish, and both male and female Stoplight Parrotfish. We also saw the Lionfish, which is an invasive species to the Bahamas. We may see many colorful organisms underwater, but the most colorful happen to be our professors and their neon wetsuits! As we were swimming back to shore, the reef was invaded by vacationers from the local, high-end resort called Club Med, whose ship was lurking in the background the entire time we were in the water. The day concluded with a lecture about the geology of the Bahamas, a unique limestone system found nowhere else in the world.
Sending warmth and sand your way,
Amanda, Hannah, and Stephanie