Day two

A good night’s rest is all we needed to recharge our batteries! This morning began with a beautiful sunrise and a hearty breakfast. Following breakfast, the group was shuttled to Cooper’s Island, which was formerly a NASA stronghold. Arriving there prior to many others from the island gave us a bird’s eye view of how Nicole ravaged the flora and fauna. We saw many “burnt” trees and plants that were severely damaged by the salt and wind. This meant it was time to lend our Bermudian friends a hand by digging up the invasives and spreading the endemic seeds to help them get their environment back to how it was years ago. Many of our students worked like bulls digging, dragging, and removing the plants that suffocate the native and endemic species. After working at that, we headed to the beach to help with some cleanup. Many plastics and other pieces of trash wash up on the beaches of Bermuda due to the geographical location and even more due to the nasty storm. The fruits of our labor earned us a swim in the pristine waters along with a few juvenile green sea turtles (20 yards away). Back to Bios for a great lunch and to get ready for our afternoon journey to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo. Starting off with giant sea turtles, harbor seals, and zillions of fishes led us to the zoo portion with free roaming lemurs and tamarind monkeys. A quick beverage in the shade and it was back to BIOS for dinner and some light socializing. As we broke from dinner to our nightly meeting, there were many sleepy faces leading us to an early bed time in preparation for another exciting day. Till  tomorrow... we leave you with these great photos.