Beachy Keen - Day 10

First off HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!! But sadly, today was our last full day on the island. With that being said, it may have been one of the most memorable for all of us. We started off our day with eating breakfast a little bit earlier than usual, insanely amazing omelets, sausages, and orange juice, and excitement to go on our last trip. We thought we had to get up and go to another cliff to jump into, but we were wrong. Tyler, Jack, and Collin tricked us and we actually wound up at one of the most beautiful beaches any of us had ever seen: Lighthouse Point. We did not even know we were going to lighthouse point until we were at the literal lighthouse after a 45 minute hike through what seemed like the Sahara Desert. But it was all worth it. The sand was PINK (due to the parrotfish poop), we saw several reefs filled with exotic fish, including baby sergeant majors and rainbow parrotfish, and the infamous abandoned and broken down lighthouse. The most interesting part about this trip is that we were able to see this area and experience all that it has to offer before it is taken over by Disney for their cruise ships. A part of its charm is that there is so little human interference, but within the next year this is all going to change and the reefs will be drastically different.

However, even though it was sad for us to see such a beautiful place in some of its last days, we still lived it up. A lot of us played football with a coconut Spencer knocked off of a palm tree, some of us tanned, we all snorkeled, and we all had fun in the sun and ocean.

Like all good things, this had to come to an end and we started our long 45 minute hike back to the vans where some of us got severe sunburns and dehydration, but like before, it was all worth it for this amazing experience that we will cherish forever. We then made it back to the vans after what seemed like forever, and started our expedition to High Rock for our final jump. It is a ritual that everyone who steps foot on The Island School’s campus has to jump off of High Rock’s high cliff, and that is exactly what we did. All of us plunged into its crystal clear waters and made our final mark on this beautiful campus. Anticlimactically, we then headed back to our dorms for a DEEEEEEEP clean. After an hour of cleaning, packing, and sweeping, we are happy to inform you that we are still going to be bringing approximately 10 pounds of sand in our luggage. Tyler rewarded our impeccable cleaning jobs with a surprise trip to watch the sunset on a beach nearby.

We headed back to campus for the Last Supper, provided by the amazingly good Island School kitchen staff and we had ROCKSTAR tacos, tortilla chips, and lemonade. We had our final dish crew, and final gathering at the octagon. Tyler, Collin, and Jack surprised Emma and Tyler with a birthday cake before we started our evening activities. Ironically, we ended our last day sharing our best first experiences. We all went around and said a high tide (favorite moment), low tide (challenging moment), and a seashell (things we want to take back to Cleveland with us). We are all super excited to come home and see all of you, but we are also extremely sad to leave our own little paradise here in Eleuthera. 

Bon Voyage and we’ll see you tomorrow,

Becca and Nick