Finally on the Boat Friday, March 25

The girls relaxing on Saddleback Key after lunch

Ethan and Kim back at it again. It was a very bittersweet day here at Forfar Station, Bahamas. We were finally able to make our way out into the ocean along with our snorkel gear and our very helpful guides, Tyler and Ricardo. After leaving at 9 a.m., our first stop was at Rat Cay and it was a great one for sure. Not only were there French Angelfish, juvenile Butterflyfish, Rainbow Parrotfish and Squirrelfish, but there was an oceanic blue hole as well! That makes 5 blue hole visits since arriving on Andros Island! Our next stop was at Three Sisters and we saw several stingrays, Sea Walnuts, Comb and Upsidedown Jellies and Lionfish. We learned that Lionfish are the Bahamas only invasive (nonnative and harmful) fish species, so whenever we spotted a lionfish while snorkeling, Tyler would actually spear the fish and bring them back onto the boat with us. Finally lunch time came around and we stoped at a local island, known as Saddleback Island, to enjoy sandwhiches and some shell searching. When our lunch had settled we set out for our last stop, Turtle Reef, which was part of the main barrier reef. There we saw a Nurseshark, another Stingray, a Moray Eel, and massive coral! Our boat trip was cut slightly short around 3 p.m. because of some dark clouds and steady winds, but we saw so many great things and we wouldn't have wanted to spend that last day doing anything other than snorkeling! When we returned, we took some time to shower and then walked to Ms. Annie's a little bit down the road to pick up our baskets if we didn't finish them before, and also do some last minute shopping. She was so sweet, we really will miss her and her singing while teaching us to weave baskets. We came back to the lodge and enjoyed a delicious dinner of chili, veggie burgers and cornbread,  and followed that up with a closing presentation and a haunted tale about the station and its founder, Archie Forfar. You'll have to ask us about the story when we return home because for right now we're still a little spooked. Finally some packing before bed on this rainy night and resting up before our big (and early) travelling day tomorrow! More pictures to come!

Ethan and Kim ready to start snorkeling!

Stingray at Three Sisters

Staghorn coral at Turtle Reef - great to see it so healthy!

Nurse shark hanging out under a coral head

Gabel Familia, I miss you so so so much and I can't wait to see everyone. I have some pretty gnarly sun poisoning on my hands I'm sure you'll get a kick out of. I've looked everywhere to find a sand dollar too but I guess they were just all hiding on me. Goodnight I love y'all! :)