YOGA, YOGA, YOGA - What a way to start our day! This morning, all the argonauts decided to stretch our bodies to prepare our mind for the our scientific explorations ahead. As we looked out into the crystal, clear ocean water, we were reminded just how beautiful nature is. As Regan said, “This feels great to be one with nature. I wish that I could wake up to this everyday.” This was a wonderful BAM (Bahamas Appreciation Moment). We all would have to concur with Regan, as we all felt that the scenery was amazing. At the conclusion of our morning exercise session, we again were shown how beautiful nature is when we had the opportunity to see a juvenile lemon shark swimming around some man-made reefs. Regan called this "spectacular!"
With our bodies stretched, we were now ready to stretch our minds. After breakfast we headed to the coral reefs near the school. Some of the Argos were adventurous and decided to ride bikes to our destination, while Regan and Heather decided to take the van. The bike riding was a unique experience for some, to say the least. Regan and Heather were making fun of how many times we had to get off of our bikes and push our bikes through the sand. We finally made it, and when we got there we were taught by “Stan the Man” about the importance of coral.
JELLYFISH, ANENOME, and HYDRA are examples of coral. We learned that coral is alive and is considered an animal. We also learned that coral was part of the Animilia Kingdom and was part of the CNIDERIA phylum. Regan said her “brain coral” was hurting from all of the lengthy scientific terms and needed to get an aspirin. As we continued with our presentation, we found out that the coral is a colonial species that links all together to share food. Coral has radial symmetry, unlike humans who have bilateral symmetry. For example, if you cut a human in half lengthwise there is perfect symmetry, but if you cut a human in half horizontally, there will be no symmetry and you’ll have an unhappy human. Over hundreds of years coral reefs will begin to expand. Interestingly enough, not only do they reproduce asexually, but they can also reproduce sexually. COOL BEANS!
After learning about the coral, we finally got the opportunity to explore the ocean in search of the examples we were taught. What a sight! Karen and Adam both said that their favorite coral was the Purple Coral Fan. Regan was amazed at the amount of fish life that lives within the reef. This was such an awesome experience to snorkel on such a beautiful reef that was so full of life.
After lunch, our next activity was our “Rocking Down Island Tour." We all loaded into the vans and headed north on our island adventure. We had the opportunity to visit a shuttered resort that was once visited by the Royal family from England, as well as Sean Connery (James Bond). The resort was nearly in ruins, but was in the process of being renovated. On the trip, we also had the opportunity to visit the “Banyan Tree”, an extremely old tree that seemed to have branches that went in every direction and was intertwined with other trees. This was a very unusual tree, but very cool.
The final activity for our Down Island Tour was venturing out to see Rock Sound Ocean Hole. This hole was a naturally made hole that receives water from the ocean through a series of underground tunnels. Many of the locals use this hole for swimming. We even had the opportunity to jump off of a small cliff to swim in the hole. Watching the expression on the faces of all the Argos when they jumped in the hole was priceless.
WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS!