Today was the last day in Bermuda. Everyone was sad to leave but happy to go home. In the morning, the group got a tour of the Atlantic Explorer, a large research vessel. Life on a ship is so much more confined than at BIOS. After that, students had free time to finish packing or relax. Then the group took a taxi to the airport and then later safely landed back in Boston. Overall, this trip was a huge success and everybody had a great time.
From the author: Thank you to all of those who have read this consistently or at all. I appreciate all the positive feedback. I hope these blog posts helped get a sense of the trip. Thank you for joining me and Bancroft on this journey to Bermuda.
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Today, a taxi was arranged to drive the group to Warwick Long Bay in the morning, or more generally known as the South Shore. From there, everyone walked along the ridge of the beach. Occasionally the group stopped to take pictures and record three types of plants in their lab notebooks. This walk had amazing panoramic views and the rock structures were jagged and sometimes looked to be tilted at an angle. Along the way, there was a beach named Angle Beach. This is where everyone had a chance to snorkel. The water was a little rough, but people were still able to see marine life. After arriving at Horseshoe Bay, a final beach destination and famous tourist spot, students and chaperones had an hour to relax, swim, or explore. Snorkeling around the boilers were spectacular. It seemed as though these 'pillars' rose out of nowhere with life all around and inside of them. Once their hour was up, a taxi was taken to Gibb’s Lighthouse. From the top of the lighthouse was panoramic views of the whole island of Bermuda. Also, from the top one could see the America’s Cup race going on. After dinner, students met to discuss the day’s discoveries of organisms. It is the last full day the group has in Bermuda, and it was a good one!
North Rock and Crystal Caves
Today was another day that the group went out on the BIOS boat. This time they explored North Rock, a reef area about nine miles offshore north of the main island. The marine life was unparalleled to the other locations. The reef was very healthy and the fish were in abundance. Kaitlin warned that the currents would be somewhat strong, so people had to snorkel into the current so that if they did get swept away, they would be swept in the direction of the boat. Once everyone had their fill of marine life, the group headed back for lunch at BIOS. On the way back, two plankton tows were taken. This is when a big net is towed behind the boat with a jar at the end. Plankton flows into net and funnels into the jar at the cod end of the net. These jars would be analyzed later in the evening. Just after lunch, they turned around and headed out to the Crystal Caves. There, students got a very entertaining guided tour of the crystal caves. After descending and ascending a total of 163 steps, the group finished the tour. Ice cream came next. After that was done, they moved on to walk to the Blue Hole Park. Along the shore of Castle Harbor, were red mangrove trees whose prop roots were exposed because it was low tide. Inland, there were black mangroves along the shore of Blue Hole along with some Olive Wood and Bermuda Palmetto. Once everyone arrived at the cave, some people were a bit timid to get in the water, but all students jumped in after a bit. The cave was dark and chilly, but that didn’t stop everyone. The bottom could not be seen which was eerie. Once leaving there, dinner was served at BIOS. Another visiting school, Amity, joined the group for a joint plankton lab. Here students explored the organisms from the plankton tow. What everyone saw was near to incredible. There were organisms that seemed alien-like. Public bus transportation has been fun and has given everyone a taste of local culture. Today, students got up to go on the BIOS boat again. This time they were off to Hall’s Island. The journey was a bit complicated due to the fact the main boat would not fit under the bridge and a smaller boat had to be taken. Hall’s Island was alive with life. Because there was not much on the sea floor, most of the life was on the wall of the island. The boat waited while students explore the rim of the island. After the short ride from Hall’s Island to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo (BAMZ for short), the group hopped in the water again to snorkel on the backside of the aquarium in hopes of seeing turtles. No luck. BAMZ is great to see species from all over the earth. Some animals there are alligators, turtles, flamingos, wallabies, and more! Everyone had 2 hours to look around which was plenty to get a good sense of BAMZ. A crowded bus ride back was the low of the day, but students had a good chunk of free time to study, research, or catch up on some sleep when they got back.
Nonsuch Island and the Dockyard
Today was filled by a lot of transportation, but that did not stop the group from enjoying themselves and using their time at locations to the fullest. In the morning, students boarded the BIOS boat to ride to Nonsuch Island. At Nonsuch, everyone had to swim into the island. On the beach, Kyla, the guide, warned everyone to be careful due to the Portugese Man-of-Wars that were washed up on the beach. Some were small and some were larger, but all had potential to give a potent sting. After a brief introduction to the island, Kyla led the group through the forest to a panoramic viewpoint. Along this walk, Kyla stopped to discuss some of the native and non-native species. Everyone seemed to enjoy this near-untouched island. Because the boat could not dock, everyone had to swim back out to the boat to grab snorkel gear for a quick exploration of the area. On the way back, captain Tim dropped everyone off at St. Georges so the group could have a little time in the town. From there, a 45-minute ferry ride took people to the Dockyard. There, students had time to explore the maritime museum and the surrounding area as well as go shopping in the town. Because the America's Cup is going on, the race could be seen from the ferry ride and the Dockyard. Once everybody was satisfied with town time, the group took the ferry back to St. Georges to get back to BIOS. After dinner (baked chicken, rice, and a dessert of vanilla ice cream), students took a quick quiz on Nonsuch Island. Students also had the chance to meet with Bancroft Alum Jim Paugh who lives in Bermuda came to visit us after dinner at BIOS. Hover over photos to see more information on who/what is in them. Also photo credits are listed there as well. Today the students took the public bus over to Tobacco Bay. It was a short ride from the nearest bus station at about only 15 minutes. There, students did their daily observations about the area. Such observations include, but are not limited to, air temperature, pH, water temperature, and ecological features. The students have been working very hard, and it is only the second day! After Tobacco Bay, everyone went back to BIOS to have lunch, then headed out yet again to visit Cooper’s Island. On Cooper’s Island, students worked in sweltering heat to plant three Olive Wood trees and clear out invasive species. Once the trees were planted, there was a short activity on micro and macro plastics. Tired and hot, students jumped in to swim right after. BIOS welcomed everyone back with showers for those who wished to take one after a long day. Dinner included tater tots, baked chicken, apple pie, and much more! After dinner, students were lectured on general underwater life. The talk was very informative and helpful for better understanding underwater life and what has been seen so a big thank you to Kaitlin!
Some photos below taken by Amy Pearson and Max S. so a thank you to them! These photos were taken by Amy Pearson on the walk back from Whale Bone Bay.
After class tonight, Max and Penh went outside around the property of BIOS to take photos at night. They started out of just buildings and the sky, but then eventually morphed into light paintings. Have a look!
Today is the Day!
Departing from school at around 6:15AM, students rode to Logan Airport. From there, they flew directly to Bermuda. The flight went without a hitch. Once arrived, half of the group had a fun chat with the customs agent. He really liked Mrs. Pearson’s book! Once everyone got situated on a taxi, a scenic traffic jam entertained all. After a short orientation and tour of BIOS, everybody headed to Whale Bone Bay (click the link to learn more!) for the first day of snorkeling. The walk to Whale Bone Bay is some 20 minutes, but both students and chaperones were ready to hop in the water! The water was murky towards the open ocean, but otherwise the snorkeling was not all that bad! Returning to BIOS came with reluctance, but luckily there is still more time to explore Bermuda. Dinner was a hearty spaghetti and meatballs with a choice of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Around 7:15PM, students headed to the Riker Room to begin discussing what species they saw in the water. Even though waters were murky, there was still a lot to be seen. Discussions included identifying species, what other students saw, how organisms behave, and more! Students head over to Indian Lake to test out their homemade sechi disks. These disks are meant to test water clarity off of the side of a boat. They were made by systematically coloring the underside of a yogurt container lid and attaching a weight. The string they are attached to is marked off by the meter so students can tell how deep they were able to see the disk.
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Click below to learn about the authors!
If you hover over photos, there is a brief explanation on who/what is in it!
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