July 9, 2023 - Achilles Bay, Bermuda Aquarium and Whalebone Bay Night Snorkel

Today was Sunday and in regular fashion after we woke up and got breakfast we started towards the new day. At 9:00 AM, we left BIOS to head to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo. Once there, we saw exhibits displaying the local ecosystems of coral reefs and mangroves as well as exhibits for seals, flamingos, alligators, lemurs, galapagos tortoises and more! Some groups took walks through exhibits depicting the wildlife from other tropical areas such as Madagascar, Australia, and the Caribbean.

After our lunch of sandwiches, we were fired up for an afternoon of snorkeling at Achilles Bay on the very north end of St George’s Island. There we embarked on an hour and a half session of snorkeling and reef fish data collection from a beautiful little beach surrounded by cliffs. Some highlights included midnight parrotfish, juvenile queen angelfish, multiple trunkfish, and some mini peacock flounder.

In the evening after dinner we had planned a night snorkel, but due to thundering conditions it got canceled. Instead the group had a good time playing cards on the porch, watching the storm instead of pushing through it. Then after another amazing day we said good night and headed to our rooms for the evening, preparing for another day in beautiful Bermuda.

- Ethan and Ben