Day 9 - Down Island Trip Begins

On the Road Again!  

            At 6:15 am, on Saturday morning, Jenny’s alarm clock sounded, motivating everyone in the girls’ dorm spring out of their bunk-beds and finish packing for the much anticipated down island trip (DIT)! After packing and completing a deep clean of the dorms and the octagon, we headed off to breakfast where we enjoyed sweet muffins, sugar coated oatmeal (mixed with gorp), tangy grapefruit, orange juice and spoonfuls of sticky, thick, peanut butter.

            Quickly after devouring our breakfast, we boarded two vans which were loaded with camping supplies, fleece blankets, athletic clothes and snorkeling equipment; we were on the road once again. While Wes and Serena’s van suffered an unusual bird attack, Scotty’s van (me, Vanessa, Jenny, Rachel, Zack, Liz and Max) jammed to tropical music (Iron and Wine, OAR and Bob Marley).  Regardless of the vicious bird episode, we continued to happily venture to North Eleuthera. When we got to our camp sight, we set up our tents, put on our bathing suits and hit the road (again) to catch a ferry to Harbor Island.  Upon arriving in Harbor Island, Scotty granted us over four hours of exploration time!  The narrow streets of Harbor Island were filled with colorfully painted houses, friendly Bahamians and greasy, salty, sweet, fishy (yet delicious) smells.  Although the weather was boiling hot, a few of us managed to cool off after finding a small, local ice cream shop.  While Alix, Rachel, Bella, Vanessa, Liz, Courtney, Kate and I savored the last few bites of our creamy pistachio and coconut ice cream, the boys continued to wander through the town and shop for souvenirs.

            Eventually, we all ran into each other on the streets and decided to grab a cheeseburger/ conch fritter/ french fry dinner.  After eating our dinner on the dock, Alix and I got caught up in a Junkanoo (a traditional parade with loud drums and whistles), Max, Ben, Zack and Brian branched off from the group to share a (second) lobster dinner. The rest of the night was spent exploring Harbor Island and bonding with each other. When we returned to our camp sight, after a fun night out in the town, Jenny, Ben, Max and I taught the rest of the group about Chanukah and the holiday’s significance. Together, we chanted the blessings and the shehechianu (the blessing for the very first night of Chanukah) and lit Max’s handmade menorah, which was made from recycled beach plastic.  The Chanukah celebration was a great way to wrap up a fun filled day spent in the car and exploring Harbor Island.

We can’t wait to see you soon!

Anna Lowenstein