July 7, 2023 - Blue Hole and Madiana

It was a dewy morning from night showers and we started the day making sandwiches for our boat trip. There were sandwiches of all varieties, but perhaps the oddest combination was peanut butter, cucumbers, and swiss cheese (Brian). We then ate breakfast as a group which mostly consisted of waffles, sausages, and hash brown patties. Afterwards, we all packed up our gear and got ready to get on the boat at 9 AM.

We rode the boat for over an hour to our first snorkel spot, blue hole. Blue hole perfectly fits the name. As we splashed off the boat into the aqua blue water the sun illuminated a circular shaped reef filled with colorful coral. The center of the reef (the blue hole) was filled with smooth sand. While the cavern like reef structures surrounding the sand were filled with schools of fish that we explored and identified using our reef identification charts. The most interesting creature we saw was a small jellyfish. We stayed at the site for around 55 minutes and then hoisted ourselves back up onto the boat. Each of us enjoyed a snack and drink plenty of water for our next snorkel site.

After a 35 minute boat ride, we arrived at our next snorkel site. The snorkel site was a nice shallow reef with interesting parrotfish, angelfish, damselfish, and more. Many people used this site to practice, diving underwater, observing, and surfacing for air. as usual, we identified all the creatures we saw, using our reef identification charts. We snorkeled at that site for around 60 minutes. Then it was time to eat lunch! We ate the sandwiches we had prepped earlier and drank plenty of water for our final snorkel site. We rode the boat 45 minutes to our final site, a shipwreck.

The seas were very choppy, and the wind had picked up. We weren’t sure if we could stay in the water, because there was a storm in the distance. Luckily, the sun shone quickly after we had entered the water. The wreck, as Brian says, was not like one you’d see in a Disney film. It was more so piles of wood and old unidentifiable metal parts surrounded by brain and fan coral as well as a handful of fish. We completed our last identification of the day. It was by far the hardest site we had to get back on the boat at because of the choppy seas, but everyone made it. On the way back to BIOS research center we enjoyed the hour long boat ride by sleeping, chatting and looking at the view. After we made it back to the research center it was time for a game of volleyball, a quick nap, a shower, our notebook assignments, and more.

We then joined each other for dinner. We had pork (or tofu), potatoes, quinoa, and salad. Some of us also had chocolate cake for dessert. We then had a lecture about ecology and history in Bermuda. After working on our assignments for the day, we went to bed.

- Josie and Madison