Research Begins- June 4, 2011

This morning we had a meeting at 7 in the wet lab to gather gear and get ready for the field because we are starting our first day of research. Our meeting went real quick, so I decided to skip out on breakfast and go for a run. I ran down a road that leads to this beautiful beach called 4^th hole which apparently has good snorkeling. There is also a cliff that you can jump off right down another road. I didn’t run all the way down to the beach because it is quite a ways, definitely need a bike for that. After my run I did sit-ups and push-ups on the beach right in front of my dorm and then dipped in the ocean to get the sweat off of me. Then I showered and got dressed for a poster presentation. The Island school students were presenting their semester long research. We walked around that for a bit, asking them questions and looking at what they have completed. It truly was amazing. Their posters were what I have to do for my senior thesis.

After the posters, we geared up to go to Paige Creek (which is the closest sampling site to the school). We gathered the gear and rode our bikes to the destination. Once we got there we walked the shoreline, constantly looking for nurse sharks off the beach. We spotted one within 5 minutes. When we see a shark, we observe it for ten minutes and write down all the different behaviors it completes along with the times. Then once we are done observing we go to where the shark is and measure water depth, estimate the shark’s length, take pictures of a quadrat to see the different things that live in the area, then we take a substrate sample. That completes the process of what we do every day. So we continued that process for 2 more sharks then made our way back to lunch.

We were a little late, but thankfully they still had the food out. We had tacos today! We have had some delicious food. I was supposed to go out on the boat with the Maxey’s however Niels said we had a few things to do right after lunch, so I couldn’t go. But, Jana, Zack and me went on a little adventure. We rode our bikes to 4^th hole and snorkeled for a while. It was lovely. Another intern showed up on his own, he works with the bonefish. I am making friends with them so they will take me out on their project one day! The guys who works with bonefish are cool and they seem to like me and think it is cool I have an interest in the fish. So we all just hung out for a bit on the beach after snorkeling and talked… in paradise. Then on our way home we rode our bikes by the marina. They have a cut that runs to the marina and it is always flowing water through. So we jumped off a bridge into the cut and floated down the cut. Then after a few times of that we headed home to nap and relax before the big night ahead of us. I am going to lie down on a lawn chair outside my dorm on the beach. There is a beautiful breeze, so hopefully I will fall asleep for a little bit.

Dinner time… 6:15. I ate a salad made from fresh lettuce grown by the aquaculture crew, delicious. After dinner we made our way to Chris Maxey’s house for a cocktail party. He lives right on a marina, which is at the very end of the island (it is called Powell Point). There were a bunch of alumni there because they were having a meeting this weekend. It was cool to talk to them and hear their stories. I also met a very interesting man named Philip Miller. He had done a lot for the Island school. Apparently at one point he was an ambassador for China. He is from Crooked Island, which has a population of 300 people. Everyone has left the island. Mr. Miller said that they Island is so beautiful, he wanted us to come visit.

After a few hours at Maxey’s house, we all piled in the van and headed to the conch fest! Everybody was drinking and having a blast. I met a man named Alfred, who was 76. He is a bonefish guide. We danced together for a while! Around 1 or 2 in the morning, we all headed to Ian’s house to continue the party. It was fun to hang out with all the interns and staff, everybody was getting wild. I don’t know how I was still awake but some of us ended up going to a local bar, I think the 6 of us that went were the only white people, it was awesome. We danced there for a bit then headed back to Ian’s to crash.