Sarah ’26 and Gigi ’27, recount a day exploring a sandbar, learning about mangroves, and some group bonding by a bonfire.
We woke up at 6:30 am to head on our first run swim. A run swim is where we run on the land and swim across the water. At the end we jumped off a small cliff (12 feet) into the water below. After a delicious croissant breakfast, we took a boat to a sandbar roughly a mile out into the sea. The sandbar is 40 miles of white sand and shallow, clear, blue water. We learned about the sand there (called ooids) which is formed from fish excrement, calcium, and carbonate ions. Apparently, many luxury spas import the sand due to its atypical shape. We also explored the water where we found conch shells, sand dollars, and starfish.
After lunch we headed to the mangroves, which are shrubs that grow in saltwater. There are three types of mangroves: red, black, and white. The mangroves each have their own mechanism of filtering the salt from the saltwater to absorb the freshwater. Mangroves are important to the ecosystem because they provide shelter for animals and help prevent erosion. Then we waded through the water where we observed many fish such as pufferfish, needlefish, and moharas.
After a hot afternoon, we took a trip to Sabrina’s ice cream shop which was very refreshing. Later that night, we headed out to the beach where we had a bonfire and marshmallows. We reflected on the time that we have spent with each other at the Island School and what we hoped to bring with us. We ended with a round of Empire to seal the deal on a great day.
