The fourth day ...

Day four began with an awesome boat ride out to beautiful Nonsuch Island, a former yellow fever quarantine hospital. The island also was home base to William Beebe and Otis Barton's Bathysphere dives. Nonsuch Island is currently a wildlife sanctuary that Bermuda biologist and ornithologist David Wingate set out to restore the island into a living museum of pre-colonial Bermuda. No development and limited access to the public has made this possible. Upon arrival to the small cove, we began to swim from the boat to shore and were caught in squall as soon as we stepped out of the water. We hid under sea grape trees to shield us from the stinging rain drops and gusty winds. About 15 minutes later, the seas calmed and we were able to begin our responsibilities on the shore. Prior to our tour and snorkel, we were responsible for helping to pick up trash off of the beach, which was a parting gift from Joaquin. On the Island, we learned about all kinds of cool nature stuff including the incredible story of the Cahow (Bermuda Petrel). The Cahow was thought to have been extinct for almost 330 years and in 1960, Wingate began the Cahow recovery program with 17-18 pairs and it has blossomed to 55 in 2001 and now stands at 115 under the direction of Dr. Jeremy Maderios. The entire island was amazing and is a personal highlight of mine as there is always so much more to learn no matter how many times I been invited to Nonsuch.

Following a wet morning, we next journeyed out to the other end of the island to hike from Warwick Long Bay out to Horseshoe Bay. We stopped several times along the way to learn some interesting information from our patient guide Kaitlin. Even though the longtails (white-tailed tropic bird) are gone for the winter; we were able to see their nests, learn about the breeding habits and how the young chicks learn to fly by setting off of the cliffs. Our hike culminated with an awesome snorkel and some sunning on the beautiful pink sand.