Yeah for the nice lady on the island with wi-fi!

Here I am, on Long Island, in the Bahamas, sitting on the porch of the only woman within miles who has wi-fi. I'm shocked we actually have this opportunity. This island has only had electricity for 12 years. And the water turns off every night from 9pm to 5am. (and whenever else it feels like it)

But, alas, I am here and I am excited. Here's the little journal entry I typed up on word last night, before I knew I could get to the internet...

7/7/08

Luckily they serve Bahama Mama samples in the baggage claim of the Nassau Airport, otherwise those three hours spent waiting for my bag that never came would have been totally for nothing.

Yup, that’s true. My bag never showed up. I missed my flight from Nassau to Deadman’s Cay and I had to board another flight to the right island, but the wrong airport. Luckily there was another misplaced volunteer that I was connected with when I contacted Earthwatch to let them know about my little problem. So, we commiserated together and caught our 2:00 flight to Stella Maris. It’s the only airport that uses its landing strip for cars, as well as airplanes. It was awesome. I saw the landing strip from high in the sky and thought, “Wouldn’t it be funny if we landed there?” Yes, we did. And when Eric and I arrived, there were two Earthwatch staff members there to pick us up. So, the four of us traveled the hour to the apartments where we are staying. I must say, the accommodations are nicer than I had expected. We have four apartments – there are four of us staying in ours – two girls in each room. We have a full kitchen, bathroom with a decent shower (we do take navy showers, however), a TV with cable, and AC in our bedrooms. I feel a bit spoiled. I don’t even have cable at home. I’m supposed to be “roughin it”. ☺ There is our Research Leader, five research assistants and there were nine volunteers, including myself. However, my roommate, Tara, from Chicago didn’t quite understand what she was getting into. After a day and a half of crying, she left today on the only flight out of here to Nassau. She was a little concerned during the orientation when our leader told us that if anything happened to us we would have to be flown to Nassau. And that we need to make sure if anything happens, that it happens during the day, because there are no flights at night. She also made a comment about having a new dog, a new car, and a new house at home and that she would much rather be there, instead of risking her life here. This is not for everyone, I suppose.

So, today we got to get out into the field and do our first bit of research. We started out at Dean’s Blue Hole for a swim and snorkel test. I passed! Okay, so everyone “passed” – it wasn’t too hard, but I was happy that I was able to not look like too much of a fool on Day 1. I still hadn’t gotten my bag by this morning, so I was wearing another girl’s swimsuit, using someone else’s mask and snorkel and someone else’s hat and shorts. Everyone has been really great in letting me borrow anything I needed. My first swim out in the water was beautiful – the water is so clear and just the perfect temperature. But it was my second swim on the Atlantic side of the island that was really exciting. I saw a barracuda and two huge stingrays, among many other fish. I was also getting much more comfortable with the snorkel – I’m already thinking ahead to my future snorkeling trips in LA…let’s go, guys!!

After the snorkeling, we did some plant and algae surveying (actually more interesting than it sounds!) and had some lunch. We eventually made it back to our apartments and a few of us ran out for errands – one of which was to pick up my bag that finally decided to join me! Yeah!!! I was so excited – I really thought I would never see my things again…

So, I am really enjoying myself so far. I continue to be amazed by the fact that I am here for free. I am also getting some great tips for more free adventures from my fellow teachers here (we’re all teachers). Very cool! More to come soon...

Okay - that's it for yesterday. Today was another fun-filled day. Snorkeled for about 3 hours, swam around a blue hole in a cave with bats flying above us and shrimp swimming below us, went to a museum to learn about this little tiny island, strained some sediment (woohoo!!), almost got eaten by a blue crab, and discovered that a half gallon of ice cream costs $11.50 in the Bahamas.

Tomorrow begins the celebration of 35 years of Bahamian Independence, so hopefully I'll take part in some festivities that I can share with you all.

I believe I am getting eaten alive by mosquitoes right now...so until next time...

Thanks for reading, guys! : )