FORFAR Field Station, Andros Island, Bahamas

Once we arrived at the FORFAR Field Station in Andros we had some lunch then went to the campsite to set up our tents for the week. We stayed at the campsite where there was an old schoolhouse that we used to keep our bags in and used as a shelter. The campsite had a tiki hut which had a loft that some people slept in. There was also an outdoor shower, bathroom, fresh rainwater to drink, and an in-ground hot tub. The campsite was about a mile away from the field station lodge where we ate breakfast and dinner. We had to walk through an area that became highly flooded at high tide, and we walked along the beach whenever we could. There was a restaurant approximately another mile away where we were able to meet some of the locals and hang out with other students that were at the field station.

The first full day on the island, we took a land based trip to the south of the island. We checked out a local lighthouse and walked along the beach. It was low tide so we were able to look at the intertidal zone and find shells. We learned some history about the lighthouse and lighthouse club. We also found a fresh coconut that we had broked open for us. The next stop was at Churches Blue Hole. A blue hole is a sinkhole that has filled with salt water and has accumulated a freshwater lens on top. The freshwater lens on this blue hole was approximately 60 feet deep. These blue holes are sources of fresh water for many people. On the way back to the campsite, we stopped at a local outcrop to look at the crossbeds present in the limestone. We walked to dinner after returning to the campsite, and then listened to a lecture from one of the interns about the geology of the island. We learned about the Tongue of the Ocean, which is a 4000 foot drop off, off the east coast of Andros Island.

The second day on the island, we took a land based trip to the north end of the island. We stopped at the town of Red Bay, which is a sponging community. We were able to watch some of the process of harvesting sponges. We then stopped by some of the locals' homes to look at their palm leaf baskets. We also visited Henry Wallace's house. Henry is a well-known wood carver and spent the week at the campsite with us, working on several wood carvings. We then took a nature walk through part of the forest on the island, in search of mud flats, which we never found. We then visited a restaurant for Conch salad. The Conch salad consisted of raw Conch, red and green peppers, mango, some other fruits and vegetables, lemon juice, and some spices. After getting our salads we went back to the campsite and then walked to dinner.

The third day that we were on the island, we took a boat trip to local reefs.  The first stop of the day was at Ray Cay (pronounced Key). This was a small coral reef with an oceanic blue hole. We saw all kinds of fish and ocean life. We saw a very large eagle ray, a nurse shark, a lemon shark, a barracuda, and lots of corals.  Our next stop on our boating trip was to Three Sisters Patch Reef. A patch reef is just a small reef that occurs in the middle of slightly deeper water.  Our stop for lunch was at Saddleback Cay.  This was a small island where there were lots of hermit crabs and lizards.  We saw a starfish along the shore and in the water.  The sand on the beach had lots of Halemeda (a type of seaweed) pieces in it.  We walked around the corner of the island where there was a tombolo.  A tombolo occurs between either a larger island or continent and a smaller island.  The tombolo is the actual piece of land that connects the smaller island to the shore of the larger land mass. The tombolo here disappeared once high tide moved in. Walking along this tombolo we found many sand dollars, both alive and dead.  Most of the sand dollars broke before they got back to the campsite. We then boated back to shore. Pete (the man who ran the campsite and stayed there with us) had heated up the hot tub, so we relaxed in the hot tub and then showered up and walked to dinner. After dinner we returned to the campsite and watched Henry Wallace do some of his wood carving.

The following day we took another boat trip. Our first stop was Dave's Reef which was another patch reef. We saw many different types of fishes, corals, sea fans, and some students saw a lion fish. Lion fish have become a serious problem in the Bahamas because they have no natural predators, and are very destructive to the natural ecosystem. Any time a lion fish is found, the interns at the field station make the attempt to kill it. The next stop was Pigeon Cay. We had lunch on the island and a short lesson on the type of sand present on the island and the phi scale (which is used to determine the size of sediment). We then snorkeled around the island. The reef around the island was very shallow and on one side of the island thre was lots of fire coral which stings. We saw lots of fish and coral, but the waves were large and the current was very strong, and it was hard to control where you went. We left the water fairly quickly and spent some time relaxing on the beach and looking for shells.  We returned to the campsite, got ready for dinner, and then walked to dinner.

The next day we departed for a land based trip, due to rough water conditions. We visited Red Bays sponging community again, and Henry Wallace's house. Our first actual stop for the day was the Marl Mud Flats. We took a walk through these mud flats. There were many algal mats that created colorful "lakes" that we were able to see from the airplane when we flew in. There were several kinds of mangrove trees. The type of mangrove tree present changed depending on the elevation of the mud flat, this helped us determine how close to the shore we were. The mangroves and sawgrass present require saltwater to live.  The sawgrass was very painful to walk through and cut up most of our legs. We came across a plane crash that is believed to have been a drug plane. Andros Island used to be a middle stop for drug trafficking in the past. The mud on the mud flats is very fine mud, it is made up of silt sized particles. This is created by The breaking up of sediments by the plants on the flats. We had to cross a tidal channel that had mud along its bottom. The water looked very shallow, but when you stepped down into the mud, so sunk down so deep that is came up to your waist. There was sulfur reduction occurring in the bottom of the tidal channel, so it smelled wonderful when it became mixed up. The change in elevation can also be seen by the change in the intensity of the mudcracks. When we came to the shore, it was still mud flats, but it was under water. We all got in the mud and had a mud-fight. We walked back through the mud flats to get back to the van. We then drove to Uncle Charlie's Blue Hole, which is slightly smaller than Churches Blue Hole. We spent time cleaning up from the mud fight and then sat down to have lunch. The next stop we made was Morgan's Bluff. This is a tall bluff where Captain Morgan, who was a pirate and used the bluff for his own advancement. The legends says that he placed a goat on top of the ridge with a light around its neck and let it wander around. This told other ships that the water was safe and they could sail around the bluff. When they wrecked on the ridge, he would go and steal the goods from the ship. There was a cave further down the road that was also claimed to be used to for piracy. This cave had stalactites and stalagmites and columns, but was a rather plain cave because it was open to the elements. The next stop was Coconut Grove. We wanted to snorkel, but the water was very rough and the reef was very shallow. There was a very nice intertidal zone with lots of invertebrates and algaes. There was also a strange brown sediment present on the beach, which might be sargassum seaweed. Thursday night is cook's night off at the field station, so we had dinner at the local restaurant, Sheils's. We had a traditional Bahamian dinner. We then went to Mr. White's or the Goodwill Bar, where we had a lecture from Pete about Bahamian culture. We learned about the change in economy and change in the ecosystem.

The following day we departed for a land based trip. Our first stop was at Cactus Coppice. A coppice is an area of land at a higher elevation but is continuously moist. We hiked through a part of the coppice and found hollow rocks which are hollow due to dissolution. There was also oolitic limestone to be found in the coppice. The next stop was Somerset Beach for lunch and shell hunting. We found many conch shells and corals. Churches Blue Hole was our next stop. We spent some time swimming and relaxing on our last day on the island. While we were at the blue hole, some Royal Navy Submariners showed up. They were in port for a few days and decided to go swimming to relax a little. We went back to the field station and had dinner and then went to the local restaurant and spent some time with the other students at the field station.

We packed up early the next morning and took all of our luggage to the field station. Two of the members of our group left on an early shuttle to the airport. They managed to get off of the island before the tropical storm planted itself over Ft. Lauderdale. A second group, including five of our group members also managed to leave the island on that day. Myself and another member of our group got stuck behind, because our airline was not flying that day. We spent the night at the field station again, and then got up early on Sunday and managed to get out on a flight at about 12:30 pm. We got back to Ft. Lauderdale, picked up the rest of our group members and headed back to IUP. We spent the next two days driving back to IUP and safely arrived back, just one day late. We had our final exam a few days later, when everyone was able to make it back to school.