Thursday, January 17, 2013: Day Nine

Chris: Chris here again getting back to you after a long day of sun, snorkeling, and sand. We spent the day at an educational diving center called Forfar where we learned about the background, history, and goals of one of Andros’ biggest employers—at only 12 people. The site opened in the middle of the twentieth century and offers diving opportunities for different groups from colleges and schools around the world. After learning about the history of the group, I got to enjoy a snorkeling experience where I saw three rays with the largest measuring at least 6' across. We then played volleyball at the site and relaxed after working hard on the gazebo for the last three days. Just one day left!

Yolande: Hello, hello, hello... Yolande here… again. So today was the first day after completing our three days of intense service with the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) at Cousteau’s blue hole. It was the first time we were able to sleep in late and have a chill day. We visited Forfar as Chris told you earlier and it was really fun. While I did not play volleyball with the group I thoroughly enjoyed watching the game. After we left Forfar we went to Church's blue hole where almost everyone excluding me (of course) jumped from a ramp that was fifteen feet above the water. All in all it was a great day and it was made better by the fact that Chris, Sarah, Anna, Joyce and I made the most amazing dinner - plantains, rice, macaroni salad, black beans and corn. There is NO CONTEST. This was the best dinner prepared on the trip no matter what my fellow bloggers may try to tell you. Well I’m really excited that we only have one day left… I was starting to get a little home sick (honestly I miss my mommy). Yolande out.

Sara: It's Sara!! Today was one of the most amazing days here on Andros.  We went to Forfar, an environmental conservation non-profit that specializes in scuba diving and education.  We met Johnny who was a really cool guy with a beard.  He took us snorkeling along the reef and mangroves, and then we jumped off a bridge into the river.  I saw a lionfish—which was awesome.  Jumping off the bridge was one of the coolest feelings, I felt so free!  After a few rounds of volleyball we all started to really groove and finally got some rallies going, but only with a few instances of bending of the rules!  Some sun, sand, and sunscreen later we all hopped into the van to go to Church's' blue hole, which was spectacular.  The view was incredible, and we jumped off of the dock right into the 400' deep freshwater.  Floating in the blue hole was so peaceful. Johnny brought some fresh coconuts so he chopped them with a machete and we drank the water and ate the meat.  It was so fresh!  Then we went home and Chris, Yolande, Anna, and I cooked the most delicious dinner in the history of ever.  Joyce helped out too, and it was a grand old time.  Today was a fantastic day!  I love the Bahamas!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013: Day Eight

Joyce: Happy Birthday, Chris! Today was our last day of service with BNT at Cousteau’s blue hole. For the past three days of service, I rarely got to see the progress that was made with the gazebo. On our last day, I was able to walk down and see the cemented stone walls, and the almost finished foundation. Even though there was still much to be done, it felt rewarding to finally get to see the fruits of our labor. All of us were sore and mosquito-bitten from the past two days, but we still managed to pull through with good efforts. When 3:00PM rolled around, Tavares decided that he and the team still needed 15 more wheelbarrows of rocks. Tired and hungry, we used every last bit of strength to wheelbarrow 6 more barrels of rocks. What a compromise! We may have been furious and frustrated at the time, but thinking about what a good job we had done, I don’t regret those last few moments at the blue hole. When we returned to the villas, it was my team’s turn to cook. We made a Mexican-inspired dinner that consisted of Spanish rice, black beans, and chicken hot dogs from Mr. Johnson’s shop. It was delicious! MaryAnn baked a funfetti cake for Chris’s birthday and decorated it with icing and sprinkles. It was the end of a hard three days.

MaryAnn: For the past few days we have been working together with BNT to help build a pavilion at Cousteau’s blue hole located within the National Park on Andros. After three long, hot days we have completed our service here on the island and are finally beginning to see what the final project will look like in a few weeks. While we unfortunately won’t be able to see the gazebo first-hand once it’s complete I know that we can all proudly say we put a lot of time, energy, and heart into building its foundation. Even though carrying giant rocks in the blazing sun and getting a million and one mosquito bites in the process wasn’t my cup of tea, when they send us pictures and an update on the finished product I will know that it was all worth it and that Maryland and our amazing group helped leave an incredible mark on this community. After a long days work, I along with the rest of my team including Joyce, Kyle, and Jorge went straight to work in the kitchen to create a delicious Mexican feast in honor of Chris’s 21^st birthday. We as a team even decided to splurge and include some meat (the chicken hot dogs) for this special occasion. Because I am not the best cook in the kitchen I let chef Jorge take over while I worked on baking a funfetti cake for Chris and our other two birthday participants: Sasha and Yolande. The night ended with a couple of intense rounds of capture the flag on the school’s basketball court and an adventurous walk along the ocean shore. Our last day of service on Andros may have been tiring, but it couldn’t have ended on a better note!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013: Day Seven

Mayhah: After the second day of service, we heard from two speakers. The first was an ex-Parliament member who represented northern Andros. Her thoughts on what made her country valuable were enlightening and answered some of my questions about how ordinary Bahamians view their resources and responsibility for taking care of them. The next speaker was the founder of the first non-governmental organization to work toward conservation in the Bahamas. He was an older gentleman with a quick sense of humor. He truly is a pioneer in the field of conservation. It is inspiring to see where the movement that I am a part of started off. It was also inspiring to see that someone who has been part of the community for so long still has the motivation to keep fighting the fight for the environment. I often wonder if I can have a career or spend my life in the field in which I am always fighting for recognition and seeing the speaker’s determination made me hopeful that I can. Despite the stuffy room and strong Bahamian accents, I left the lecture excited and proud to be working toward protecting the environment. 

Kevin: Tuesday was the second day of service on the gazebo near the blue hole. Everybody continued to work their hardest as we kept up our team strength and morale, which showed our dedication to enduring hard work and accomplishing tasks. We picked up on the work by mixing more cement, moving rocks, and moving wood planks for the BNT workers at the site. The contractors highly respected our work ethic as much as we appreciated working with them to build the gazebo. Even though day one of service was hard for many of us, we picked up and persevered through the next day which showed how dedicated and strong we are. In the evening, we had met with two very insightful speakers who gave us their information and their own perspectives on certain conditions within the Bahamas. The first speaker talked to us about how the Bahamas is managing and protecting its resources. She mentioned how ecotourism is linked to resource management through responsible cooperation in the government in order to provide eco-friendly opportunities for tourists to visit and enjoy the valuable resources within the Bahamas—such as blue holes, pine forests, beaches, and more. The last speaker was a man who was very knowledgeable about environmental conservation, especially within the Bahamas. He mentioned several important features to protect within the Bahamas, including species of birds and beaches. He also delved into ways in which the people can look out for the environment and make as minimal of an impact as possible. Both speakers really helped the group to understand how important it is for the people of the Bahamas to manage and protect its resources as well as ways in which they can do so. 

Shaina: Today was day two of our service work on the gazebo and pathway at Cousteau’s blue hole. Even though we were all sore from the first day of work uprooting plants, chopping down bushes, and moving rocks we continued to give it our all and see the fruits of our labor further develop. Most of the group has never really done that much physical labor before, myself included, which is why I was pleasantly surprised and proud of the amount of progress we made after only two days. I personally realized that I am capable of more things than I thought if I am determined to push myself. The best part of the work day was definitely jumping into the blue hole or going down the street to the beautiful clear blue water on the beach after a long day in the hot sun. After leaving the work site we went to listen to two lectures at the Bahamas Environment Research Center to learn more about the governmental role in resource conservation and protecting the Bahamas' delicate environmental balance. I learned a lot from Mrs. Owens and Mr. Douglas about how they themselves are involved in their community to help protect the environment while still putting the Bahamian people’s best interest forward, job and economy wise. Mr. Owens' lecture about the importance of preserving the national parks opened my eyes to the actual importance of the work we are doing here in the Bahamas building the gazebo at the blue hole. By making the blue hole a more enjoyable and welcoming place to tourists and locals we are drawing in more income to the island while legally protecting the natural beauty of these historical sites.

Monday, January 14, 2013: Day Six

Sasha: I am essentially entirely covered in bug bites and possibly infested with poisonwood, also newly and appropriately labeled the demon tree. The sounds of the crickets and the sight of the stars on Andros are unreal. This island is naturally beautiful, the population minor when compared to the people who attend our university itself. It’s strange to imagine living a life here, but the atmosphere is instantly calming—I have found my zen even though the manual labor I did today is literally the most work I have ever done. We managed to clear a whole area even when we were first assigned the task I wanted to convince myself it was a joke. It seemed as though clearing the land would take the whole time on the island, but as a group we can accomplish so much.
What I know I will always remember though is the blue hole. I could see the bottom of my feet when I looked down, but down below was the darkness of a great mysterious abyss. It was refreshing and isolated; is it something I would never have seen before if I had not had this opportunity. While I currently feel as though my arms will fall out of their sockets from being overworked, I am proud of myself which really makes it all worth it. 

Nelson: This morning I woke up early to catch a gorgeous Bahamian sunrise over the eastern shore of Andros. It was absolutely worth sacrificing an hour of sleep. After waiting an hour for the truck to come pick up the second group of people, I finally met with Tavares, the Andros park manager with the Bahamas National Trust. He was a sincere pleasure to work with. He taught me a lot about the economy of the Bahamas and Andros specifically. After 6 hours of manual labor, I threw off my shoes and shirt and jumped in my first blue hole. The water was so light and clean that I felt like a tiny fly in a bowl of filtered water. On our way back home we drove through a bumpy dirt road for 15 minutes and stopped to pick up the antidote to poisonwood. I applied it everywhere as a precautionary measure because you don’t start itching until days after you get it. After a much needed shower I met Lyric, an adorable and extroverted local Bahamian 3 year old. I had an amazing day! One I will never forget. 

Morgan: I and three others got up before the sun this morning to walk down to the beach and watch it rise a couple minutes before 7:00AM. Something about a sunrise sparks the desire to ponder life, so we quickly turned into “philosophizers” on the walk home – discussing our existence, death, and faith. Then it was off to Cousteau’s blue hole to finally begin service and start working on the pavilion! There is a lot of manual labor involved with this task, from clearing a portion of the brush to hauling out calcium carbonate stones in a wheelbarrow to mixing cement on the ground with big shovels. We made a lot of progress for the first day and I’m extremely impressed with the work ethic of the group. It was great to see Tavares again after working with him on last year’s rock wall project, and even though his crew is different this time they are still very cool guys. I am excited for what our service means for the Andros community. News of a nicely built gazebo at each of the blue holes can attract many more visitors to the area and aid the Bahamas tourism industry. Dinner this evening was provided by BNT and was an absolutely delicious feast at Cinderella’s Café. I am looking forward to our next couple days of service and continuing our hard work!

 

Sunday, January 13, 2013: Day Five

Anna: After 4 days on New Providence we began the second leg of our adventure today. Our transition started before the sun rose at 6:15AM when we hauled our luggage out the door, said goodbye to Towne Hotel and caught the ferry to Andros. Much of the 3 hour boat ride was uneventful. Many people used it as an opportunity to catch up on missed sleep from the last several days. Others situated themselves above the cabin to take advantage of the beautiful ocean views on the open roof of the ferry.
As I leaned on the rail I witnessed a simple white plastic bag floating on the ocean air before coming to rest on the waves. After so much talk about the dangers and damage debris and pollution poses to the marine environment it was hard not to feel a little heartbroken to imagine such a seemingly innocuous object will probably kill a sea turtle in the future. It was a sobering moment, but I couldn’t linger too long on such sad thoughts. Once settled in our villas on Andros we ventured to the beach and explored the amazing things the ocean had to offer. The array of wildlife and artifacts that you could find on the shore alone was astonishing—hermit crabs, sea urchins, sea weed, conch shells, and other strange creatures we couldn’t even identify. It was fascinating to discover all of this and know that there is still more to be found.
Following our first meal on Andros (spaghetti and salad that a brave few from our band prepared themselves) we made a brief appearance at GreenForce, where a group of UK researchers explore and conserve the reefs surrounding the Bahamas. But now it is the end of another long day and it is time to rest up in preparation for tomorrow… when the real work begins. 

Candace: G’day everyone! As mentioned earlier, today started at the tail end of yesterday. It was still dark and everyone was semi awake when we left. Saying goodbye to gorgeous Nassau and the incomparable Jude, we set out on the ferry to our new homes on Andros. The island greeted us with sunny skies, the same lovely crystal clear water and friendly faces. Once we pulled up to the villas we were all awestruck to see that the color of our new residences were a nearly perfect match to the blue water surrounding us. I instantly fell in love and that love only deepened as we explored the inside accommodations. Everything is so lovely and cozy you want to stay forever.
One of the coolest parts about today was meeting the GreenForce team from the UK. It was so great to see firsthand the environmental efforts that we’ve been learning about. Not only were they friendly but they were clearly passionate about the work they were doing. It would be amazing to get paid to help protect the health of this incredible place.
I love the Bahamas so much that everyday seems too good to be true. There have been so many wonderful experiences that I’m sure will turn into unforgettable memories and so many great people who are turning into wonderful friends.  Shout out to our gourmet chefs: you guys hooked it up! :D 

Jorge: Hello, ladies and gentleman, I’m coming live from the lovely Towne Hotel. Our voyage began at the early peak of the morning, 5:50AM to be exact, too early for me but these are the things we have to do if we want to save the world. We hopped on the boat at around 8:00AM this morning and took a 3 hour boat ride to the beautiful island of Andros. The ride was a little bumpy but most certainly a sight to remember. Upon arrival we were greeted by the island representative who took us to our villas. While driving one thing that really caught my attention was the lack of enforcement for the speed limit so arriving to our villa quickly was certainly not a problem. Once situated, we were granted the opportunity to spend some time on the beach. As we spent time on the beach I was astonished by the large quantity of marine wild life. We saw everything, from the native marine plants to various sea creatures. One thing that really caught my attention was the amount of debris that had washed up on shore. When you take into consideration all the harm it can cause to the environment, I can honestly say it breaks your heart. I feel that once people become a little more educated on the issues affecting the island, positive change will gradually be achieved.
I would also like to bring up a discovery I made as we walked along the beach.  As we explored the waters I ran into a beautiful conch shell. However, this conch shell was special because not only were its physical characteristics amazing, but there was significance behind it. It stood for all the natural beauty that these islands hold and its vulnerability if it is not taken care of properly.  Now towards the end of the day I can only look forward to the rest of our journey on this island and everything that we will be able help with in preserving this magnificent environment.

Saturday, January 12, 2013: Day Four

Yolande: Hello world. This is Yolande sending you a message from across the Atlantic from the Bahamas. So today we had a really busy day. We had to be ready before 7:30AM so that our bus could get us to the ferry that would take us to Blue Lagoon Island where we would be swimming with the dolphins at Dolphin Encounters. I was really excited and a little bit scared because I wasn’t sure what to expect.  When we got there, everyone on the island was so welcoming as we went through orientation and got ready to swim with dolphins. Our group's dolphin was Salvador, a sassy 8-year-old dolphin. His trainer directed us as we hugged, kissed, danced with and fed Salvador. It was funny when some people got kissed longer than others. After we had finished our encounter we spent the rest of the day on the other side of the island at the water park.

After we left the island we went on a Nassau island tour and we went around to places like Atlantis, Graycliff cigar and chocolate factory and the Queens’s Staircase just to name a few. After the tour we headed to the Fish Fry where the order of the day was conch everything (conch fritters, conch salad, conch burgers) and a few cheeseburgers. Overall it was a really good day and I had a lot of fun. Okay well that’s it. Yolande signing off.

Chris: 10-4 Yolande, I’ll see you at reflection! This is Chris coming in live from the Bahamas where it is hot hot hot hot hot hot hot hot! We just had an uber fun-filled, early-morning day at the tropical paradise that is Dolphin Encounters after a late night at the local watering hole where we danced the night away. Dolphin Encounters is an educational program that combines a fun-filled experience with some of the ocean’s most majestic creatures and the entertainment opportunities of a tropical resort. After everyone got an opportunity to dance with, hug, and kiss the dolphins, we spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach, roughhousing on inflatable rafts, and playing beach volleyball. What an amazing day!

After we got back to the mainland we went on a sweet tour of some of the big sites in Nassau—with Atlantis, of course, being one of them. As we made our way through the casino, Yolande happened to notice a man that looked strikingly like Michael Phelps. Being the adventurous lad that I am, I decided to leave the safety of the group and find out for myself. I swiftly cantered up to him and noticed his Ravens hat, but after scoping him out for a minute decided I was ultimately unsure. Much to my disappointment, Anna later told me that Phelps is indeed in the Bahamas and we missed out on our chance to badger him for a photo.

Later that night everyone got sick at the fish fry and our night came to an abrupt end as we stumbled off the bus and made it to our hotel rooms. It was an awesome day despite the ending and likely one that will end up being my favorite of the trip.

Sara: Roger that Chris!  Boy oh boy was today a surefire zinger!  This is Sara coming to you from the wonderful island nation of the Bahamas!  Today was our last full day on New Providence island so I’m so glad we got to go to Dolphin Encounters.  We all put on wetsuits which was surely unusual.  Our dolphin friend Salvador was surely a sassafras.  We each got to pet, hug, and kiss him; he came back to me for a second round!  I had never felt a dolphin before, so I’m really glad we did this trip.  Then we got to see the sea lions and learn all about how they each have different personalities and are not born with the ability to swim.  I really liked the Dolphin Encounters program because at the end they talked to us about career and internship opportunities which, as a college student, is like music to my ears!  At the island there was a bouncy water park which was so much fun to climb and slide into the refreshing water.  We played volleyball in the water together which brought out the competition in us, and was a great old time.

After we took the ferry home, our super chill bus driver Jude gave us a fantastic bus tour of New Providence and Paradise Island.  We saw the grand hotel retreat famously known as Atlantis, where we saw the rad activities guests get to experience.  We even went to a native Indian cave near the edge of the ocean where we met an interesting character tell his story, drunk.  For dinner we went to the fish fry to taste the famous local cuisine. The conch burger and conch salad were positively delicious!  The day was long but nevertheless a fun filled extravaganza of the Bahamas lifestyle and experience.  One of my favorite things about the Bahamas is how clear the night skies are, so we can see all the stars all the way to outer space!  This was our last night on New Providence, so we all packed to leave for Andros the next day!  Over and out.