BIOL232 Field Marine Ecology Student Blog Posts
Student blog posts from our winter break 2024 trip to Jamaica!
Day 9 (Dec 21)
Ella
Today was our last full day in Jamaica. Over the 10 days we have experienced so much and today we got to as well! Our day started by going to breakfast. After breakfast, as a group, we went out for one last snorkel. We decided to go to the place where all of us first learned to snorkel, the blue maze. It was so fun returning since we did not snorkel here as much as the boardwalk. Afterward, we spent the rest of our time before lunch out at the docks tanning together! After lunch, we then got to go to Green Grotto Caves where we got a tour of them. A James Bond movie was shot here which is pretty cool! It was a really neat experience and so fun! We had some down
time once we got back from the caves before our final dinner together. Dinner tonight was jerk chicken which we all had been anticipating the whole trip. Once dinner was over it was time to head over to the conference room so we could watch our group projects together. On the way over we got to see probably the best sunset of this whole trip! All the groups did such an amazing job on their group project and it was so cool to see what everyone was up to throughout this trip! I’m going to miss Jamaica and everyone who went on this trip. It was such an amazing experience that I’ll never forget!
Alexa
Today was our last day at the Discovery Bay Marine Lab. We had an eventful day with waking up bright and early to heavy rainfall hitting the roofs of our dorm. After running around to make sure we got our stuff off of the balcony to ensure it stayed dry, we went down to eat breakfast. For breakfast this morning, we had pancakes, scrambled eggs, plantains, bacon, and pineapple with pineapple orange juice. They also served some sort of porridge. After breakfast we had our final snorkel where we all wanted to snorkel in the blue maze. While snorkeling we saw so many different fish and we even saw two barracudas! After our snorkel we all laid out to tan for our final tanning experience as a group. After tanning we got up, took a quick shower, got ready for the day, and then went down for lunch. For lunch today we had fried pieces of cassava and some sort of fish with some cucumbers and tomatoes on the side. Once we all finished lunch, we were off to the Green Grotto Caves! Going to the Green Grotto Caves was such a cool experience where we got to see bats, explore the ins and outs of the cave, and even made a quick little stop at the gift shop at the end where almost everyone bought something. After the caves, we headed back to DBML, got ready for dinner, and for dinner we had jerk chicken, potato salad, and veggies. After dinner we watched some of the sunset, headed to the conference room, and watched our final video presentations and did the photo contest. Overall we had such an amazing trip while here in Jamaica and I am so grateful that we all got the chance to have the experience of a lifetime and make lifelong friends and memories along the way.
Day 8 (Dec 20)
Lanie and Bellisima
Today Friday, December 20th we began our day with breakfast which was French toast, eggs, bacon and fruit. We then finished working on our projects that we will present on Saturday. My groups project is about brittle stars and why there is more of them located in shallow waters rather than deeper waters. After working on our projects, we had beef patties for lunch that were delicious. Following lunch, we went to a private beach and spent some time enjoying the water and the warm sun.
After the beach, our day continued by rinsing off and getting onto the bus to get some ice cream from a local convenience store. The store was in a small strip of stores with locals selling merchandise and a auto body parts store. The people were helpful and kind. After the store, we headed to the lab and got ready for dinner. Ms. Larnette and Brian made a delicious dinner that consisted of fried chicken, rice, vegetables, and chocolate cake. After dinner we headed to the conference room to work a bit more on our projects and got some candy and goods from Dr. Lord and Dr. Woods.
Day 7 (Dec 19)
Mattie and Maddy
We began our day with a great breakfast that consisted of eggs, toast, small sausages, and fresh fruit. Following breakfast, we continued to work on our projects. Some of us snorkeled, while others reviewed footage from our GoPros from the previous day. After lunch, which included chicken and dumpling soup, garlic bread and chocolate cookies, we relaxed on the docks
while continuing to work on our research projects. Before dinner we all chose a plant to introduce to the class and explain how it has adapted to live in this environment. Dinner was amazing as always. We had chicken and shrimp.
We are so thankful for the opportunity for us to be a part of this trip and to conduct our own research. Everyone at the lab has been so great to us, the weather has been beautiful, and we have thoroughly enjoyed this trip and can not believe it is almost time to go home.
Day 6 (Dec 18)
Imari
After we went out snorkeling, we had a very nice lady come and sell us stuff today. I got two bracelets, a necklace, an elephant statue, ceramic turtle, a shell keychain, and another necklace that's white and beaded. The coffee lady also came today and dropped off our coffee. I got one half pound bag for my grandma. For dinner tonight we had chicken, sweet and sour fish, broccoli, chocolate cake, with tangerine juice and a juice I wasn't sure what it was. On the way to the conference room, I discovered a new cat. It was fully gray with leopard print on its back. After this, me and my group worked on our project about sergeant major fish as we were able to get a lot of footage of it today. As the whole class worked in the conference room here at the marine lab we watched the grinch and after we all finished our work for today ended off the night watching white chicks.
Margie
Today some of us got up to watch the sun rise and others slept in until breakfast at 7am. We all ate then went to the conference room to talk about our projects with Dr. Lord and Dr. Woods. After we split up into two groups it was group B’s turn to go snorkeling first and group A’s to hang back and wait (I’m a part of A). We hung back and corrected/tweaked and worked on projects while others snorkeled. Then it was our turn to go out, my group collected urchins for our experiment!! Then we went back to the laboratory and put them in and ate lunch and waited till it would be time for the souvenir lady to come so we could buy interesting items (I got 2 bracelets and 2 necklaces). After we worked on our projects again or napped for a little until it was dinner time, and some people went on their night snorkels. Finishing up the night some of us went to the conference room to watch movies or turned in for the night.
Day 5 (Dec 17)
Mark: After breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon, pineapple, and orange juice we prepped for our day of tourism. The day included a trip to the Jamaican Heritage Site and Museum, which was a former plantation during the time period of English colonization. After learning about the history of the Jamaican people, known as the Taino, and the eventual Jamaican freedom becoming its own country in 1962. The picture is one of the stone cravings that was made by the Taino. We made our way for lunch. KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, very American.
Hashim: When we got to the lunch spots, we split into two groups—some went to Pizza Hut, and others to KFC. I was in the KFC group. While I’m not usually a fan of fast food, this meal brought a familiar comfort, a taste of home, since it’s food we see every day as Americans. After lunch, we headed to Dunn’s River Falls, a highlight of the trip that I’d been looking forward to for a long time. It did not disappoint—the views were absolutely breathtaking. It’s easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. We spent a couple of hours climbing the waterfalls, enjoying the cool water, and then relaxed at the beach located right at the base of the falls. Afterward, we treated ourselves to some ice cream before heading back to campus. Once there, we got ready for dinner. The chefs, as always, prepared an incredible meal for us. Later that evening, we played a fun group game, which was the perfect way to wind down before bed.
Day 4 (Dec 16)
Ande: To start the day we started by having an amazing breakfast of eggs, french toast and bacon, which fueled us up for a snorkeling adventure! We went down the boardwalk and were soon in the ocean snorkeling. My favorite thing to see today was either seeing the squirrelfish or seeing an eel. After we fueled up again on some french fries and chicken to then spend some free time tanning. When tanning I watched the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is an amazing, but sad movie I highly recommend!! Then my group and I would spend some time finalizing our project proposal. We then would eat another yummy dinner of fish and rice, with some delicious ice cream as dessert. We would end the day by coloring marine animal ornaments and chatting!
Morgen: My day started by waking up and immediately going to breakfast, where we had french toast, eggs, bacon, and fruit! We got to relax for an hour until I went with the second group to go snorkeling. Today, we snorkeled off of the boardwalk, which has a lot of coral reef area with tons of fish! We saw some cool things like eels, porcupine fish, and a queen conch! After snorkeling for an hour, we all laid out on the docks to tan. We went to lunch, where we had fried chicken and french fries! After lunch, we went back out to tan. Before dinner, we worked on our research project proposals with our groups. We then went to dinner, where we had pork, fish, rice, and veggies. For dessert, we had cookies and cream ice cream! After dinner, we got to see the amazing sunset over the bay. Dr. Lord and Dr. Woods surprised us with marine animal ornaments to draw together, so we all went to the conference room and watched some videos together while we colored them! We ended the night by watching some of the students go night snorkeling around the docks. This day was so much fun and I cannot wait for the days ahead!!!
Day 3 (Dec 15)
Mia: Today we woke up and had breakfast bright and early and had pancakes which was a good way to start our day since we finally went snorkeling! I was in the first group to go out so I got really lucky. I was putting on my wetsuit, which took forever, It really made me work up a sweat, and I headed down to the docks to get the rest of my gear. As Dr. Lord began to explain the procedures I suited up and finally got in the water. Seeing all the animals under the water was really amazing. Dr. Woods described it as a huge aquarium, like you never know what you’re going to end up seeing, and I wouldn’t be able to describe it any better. This was a very first experience for me and I had never experienced anything like it before. It was so amazing and I can’t wait to do it again for the rest of my time here.
Day 1-2 (Dec 13-14)
Hanna: Our Jamaica adventure kicked off bright and early with a flight out of Newark at 8 am. By noon, we had landed on this tropical paradise and hopped on a quick bus ride to our marine lab! Dinner that night was amazing— fried chicken, veggies, rice, and of course, chocolate chip cookies for dessert. We were off to a great start! The next morning, after a delicious breakfast with fresh fruit, we drove into town to stock up on Jamaican snacks and drinks. After tasting a little bit of everything, we took a nap in our dorms. Although it was too windy to be able to snorkel that day, we ended up putting on our booties and wading through the shallow water near the boardwalk. We found a bunch of different species, including starfish, brittle stars, sea anemones, and lots and lots of sea urchins. Definitely better than I ever could have imagined.
Giselle: The first two days of Jamaica have been quite eventful from an early morning flight to exploring the vibrant culture and stunning landscapes of the island. Upon our arrival, we were excited to check into the Discovery Bay Marine Lab and settle into our rooms. We then took a guided tour of the facility, allowing us to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings and the area's breathtaking beauty. With so much excitement in the air, we ended our first day with a delicious dinner, where I got to try pork, rice, and fried chicken. On the second day, although we weren't able to snorkel as planned, we made the most of our time with group bonding activities. We strolled along the boardwalk, and then we were able to walk along the ocean and spotted a variety of marine life, including a brittle star and a flounder that camouflaged very well making it fun to try and spot it! As the evening unfolded, a group of us played volleyball and relaxed for the night! The first two days in Jamaica have already created lasting memories, and we are excited for the next adventures ahead of us!