What a nice way to start off my last summer of undergrad! At first there were some things that I did not expect like the massive amounts of bug bites or how tired I would be after every day. After I got use to though two things my time on San Salvador was great. Everyday doing something new made me learn so much, more than I thought I would since I had taken the class in the spring. I think seeing almost everything we talked about in class, in person, put everything into perspective. My favorite parts of the trip were Dump Reef and when we went on the boat trip. These two locations had the most variety of fish and coral that I saw while swimming. Dump Reef would have been replaced by a swim out to the wall, I wanted to go see where the shelf dropped off so bad but even though we did not get to go I still learned something. Weather patterns on an island are totally opposite form those in the land locked location in the us. It would be pouring down rain then be sunny and clear skies 20 minutes after. East Beach was another place that we did not think we learned anything exciting because it was just trash washed up on a beach but knowing the currents that are responsible for circulating the water in the entire north Atlantic Ocean is very important. To go along with that is important to know how much the ocean is polluted by trash. Just one beach on a small island had enough trash to fill a whole garbage truck if not more. As I experienced the coral reefs and the beaches, I became more knowledgeable but also it also made me sad to see how we are decimating such a beautiful world. I think you said it in one of our last classes but how much of this will be available for my kids to see. Over half of the coral reefs, I saw were dying or dead already and the majority of the species that maintain coral reefs were few and far between. Overall this trip has taught me more about the need for conservation of habitats than the need to memorize species names or worrying about taking tests. I would love to have the ability to study an island like San Salvador one day and try and do my part in saving the worlds special habitats.
Noah Rylee
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