April 12, 2012
I’ve traded my Bean Boots and winter jacket in for rainbows and sunscreen this semester. I am studying abroad in South Caicos of the Turks and Caicos Islands, at the School for Field Studies. My program focuses on marine resource management and tropical marine ecology. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not on vacation. I have school-related commitments six days a week, can use a freshwater shower once a week (saltwater showers are okay) and wash my clothing by hand. I won’t deny that I’m having the time of my life, though.
Life on South is like nothing I have ever experienced before. South Caicos is a relatively undeveloped and remote Caribbean island. Mass tourism has yet to hit South Caicos, as many of the luxuries associated with vacation destinations do not exist here. Fishing is the island’s main industry.
One of the awesome features of this program is that I get to learn both in the classroom and in the field. On a typical day here, I have class in the classroom all morning. Most afternoons are spent in the field applying the concepts we learn in class. Field exercises here include examining the relationship between habitat composition of reefs and reef fish biodiversity, assessing queen conch stocks and mapping seagrass beds.
Unlike many study abroad programs, traveling to nearby countries is not a focus on this program. Instead, I spend my free time exploring the island and its water by foot and boat. On a daily basis, I am in awe that I actually live here. I don’t think I’ve ever been more relaxed. The center of the island is located on a cliff that overlooks Cockburn Harbour. From my room, I look onto the varying shades of the turquoise ocean. After dinner each night, we all watch the sunset. The sunsets here are the most beautiful ones I have ever seen. One of my favorite activities at the center—besides playing my favorite game ever, Blokus—is going to the edge of the cliff at night and watching the lights on the sailboats in the harbor gently sway with the waves. Every night I fall asleep to the sound of waves gently crashing on cliffs.
The beaches and marine life here are amazing. Because there is almost no tourism here on South, every beach is like my own private beach. It is an incredible and rare feeling to be on a beach and see no people, buildings or signs of human activity. I’ve seen so many amazing animals while being here; I’ll highlight a couple of my favorite experiences thus far.
Two weeks ago, I went to the northernmost part of the island, Coast Guard. In order to get there, you must travel by car through dusty, overgrown dirt roads. The site is a former US Coast Guard station with abandoned buildings overlooking turquoise waters. In order to get to the water, you must hike through barely existent, prickly paths. After walking up a slight incline, you have a 270o view of beautiful turquoise water. To the left are mangroves and the islands of East Caicos and to the right is a view of the open ocean. Coast Guard is a peninsula, and if you time the tides right, you’re able to start on the ocean side and get pulled into the channel. Luckily, we timed the tide right. I started off on the beach and let the current pull me towards the tip of the peninsula. At the tip, I saw a few spotted eagle rays gliding through the ocean. Intrigued by the majestic creatures, I swam out further to get a better view of them. As I continued to swim away from shore, I saw more and more spotted eagle rays. Groups of them did circuits around us snorkelers. At one time, I was able to count 18 of them! Though I had seen spotted eagle rays before, I had never seen them in such great numbers, so close-up or in such clear water. The spotted eagle ray is one of my favorite animals found in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I think this has to do with their unfamiliarity to me, their large size and their unique beauty. Their large bodies effortlessly glide through the water column. After completing the first loop from the ocean to the mangroves, excitement was in the air. We quickly exited the mangroves and went back to the ocean to enjoy this experience again.
Another one of my favorite experiences here has been with sea turtles. Before heading to South, I loved sea turtles. I am now obsessed with sea turtles. My first encounter with sea turtles occurred during my first night snorkel. A group of about 12 of us travelled by boat to a nearby reef—Admiral’s Reef. First off, being in the water at night is amazing. I was able to see so many nocturnal organisms that aren’t out during the day. Also, underwater torches look so cool at night. Everything is pitch black but the dozen or so torches darting through the water. At Admiral’s I saw about eight sea turtles slowly swimming around in circles near the surface. The sea turtles did not at all seem to mind our presence and proceeded to swim about a foot below us. After this interaction, I was obsessed. A couple of weeks later, I was able to go out with a professor to capture, tag, measure and release sea turtles. We caught four sea turtles, both hawksbill and green turtles. From this experience, I learned that sea turtles are very fast swimmers when they feel threatened. I was able to hold my first turtle that night. My life changed!
Life on South Caicos has been amazing. I am about 2/3 of the way through my semester and am dreading my departure. I seriously recommend that everyone extend their summer and head to South Caicos for a semester!