Location: Sandy Island, Carriacou
What better way to start the day than a party? Drew had music going and crew singing from wake-ups until breaky this morning, which was an appropriate vibe because it was an awesome day. After breakfast, the crew swam right into marine bio with Ben to learn all about multicellular primary producers (try saying that three times fast), AKA we love seaweed around here! Next up, the focus shifted to the terrestrial world for our first student-led leadership class! Jack did an amazing job teaching the crew all about understanding themselves as leaders and the importance of self-confidence. Next up, lunch was a bit of a special one today as we briefed for a low tide lab and headed to the nearby beautifully uninhabited island for a beach picnic. The chefs, Jack with sous chef Ben and Hannah, packed us a pasta salad with some delicious falafel.
Once we stepped foot on the pink tinted sand of Sandy Island, we feasted together before breaking into smaller teams for the snorkel. To give a better visual, Sandy Island is what you would imagine a postcard of the Caribbean to be– a small little spot, uninhabited and almost seemingly untouched by human impacts. It takes roughly 10-20 minutes to walk its length, depending on the leisure of your pace. The long side closest to Ostar is beautiful sandy beaches dotted with towering palm trees. It is a long, narrow island with rocks on one narrow end and massive coral colonies just off the shore of the far, narrow side. The other long edge of the island is covered in large coral skeletons, with beautiful winding rows visible where their polyps once grew. The center of this little gem holds a tide pool.
With so much to see, no surprise it was a couple of hours until everyone slowly returned to the beach towels for a rest, beaming with stories of eels, squid, Christmas tree worms, and much more! After the science scavenger hunt, beach time relaxing in hammocks and beach towels full of chatting, reading, and some napping. Back on board, the team did a quick dishy pit to get lunch materials all cleaned up for the chefs to start cooking up a feast! Dinner was a fan favorite across the board, with deconstructed BBQ chicken and tofu skewers. Drew, our skipper of the day (and our skipper every day :), asked the squeeze question: if you had to show a little alien friend around Earth, what is the weirdest thing you could show it? This sparked quite a few hilarious and creative responses ranging from an octopus to black Friday shopping.
Thanks for following our adventures!
Happy Birthday, Emma, and I love you, Grandma Duckie <3