This morning we woke up and had pancakes, easily one of the
best breakfasts that we’ve had so far. After eating the group of us began to
clean up the area around our villas. We all grabbed some gloves and started
picking up any trash we could find. We did one round of cleaning and felt
pretty content with it, but we ended up going on a second round to get to all
the spots we missed. Although we didn't find as much as we did on our first
round of cleaning, it was surprising how much we were able to find after
already deeming most of the area clean. Part of this problem was that a bunch
of us were cleaning in the same areas and missed a few spots. In the end we
filled up a large trashcan plus a couple small ones and left the whole place a
lot cleaner. Having walked around the rest of the day, it seems like we did a
pretty good job. Our most interesting finds were a bag of poop behind one of
the villas and a few shotgun bullet casings. The cleanup we did not only served
as a good bit of service but it provided us with a cleaner living area for the
next few days – something I know we will appreciate.
After
cleaning we decided to run/walk to the Church’s blue hole that is about two
miles away from our villas. It was absolutely beautiful. Blue holes are formed
when rain (which is slightly acidic) breaks down the limestone on the ground
and forms a small pond. It continues to break down the limestone until it
reaches the salt water and the blue hole is formed, which is now full of
brackish water (a mix of freshwater and salt water). Blue holes can have depths
of about 50 feet to 600 feet. Church’s blue hole is about 50 feet and had a
platform to jump off of (about 20 feet above the water). Almost everyone jumped
off the platform and it was really fun!! We took lots of pictures and videos
and there was even a floaty dock to lie down on after jumping. We will
definitely have to return to this blue hole after work next week to cool off!
After an
adventurous day, we were treated to a delicious Bahamian dinner with our community
partners. Joining us at dinner were Tavares, our slave driver for the next four
days, Cleola, a government official who has a hand in everything that happens
on Andros, Indera, a third grade teacher at the local primary school, and Liz,
our BNT tour guide. I had the honor of sitting next to Tavares during dinner.
He is hilarious and I spent the entire evening laughing. Fun fact: in the
Bahamas, a mutt is called a “pot cake” like when you cook rice and there is a
cake of crusty rice on the bottom of the pan. Over the past four days we have
grown to love the Bahamas and we are excited for Monday to get started on our
service project!!
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