Gerace Research Centre

We met the rest of our group at the Nassau Airport- six other students, a professor from Akron, and a petroleum geologist.

After a very bumpy prop-plane flight from Nassau to San Salvador, we waited for our luggage at the outdoor baggage claim... which I'm not even convinced is necessary.

The GRC truck that took us to the research centre is a flatbed truck with benches welded in the back... this will be our means of transportation on the island. Apparently the rain can be quite painful, but we learned quickly that the slap of a palm tree leaf can sting a lot more.

We arrived around noon and unpacked- the rooms are actually pretty nice and spacious, but all the buildings are cinder block and linoleum, as you'd expect a 1950s naval station to look. Katia and I are lucky because we don't have to share a bathroom like the rest of the students. After we got settled and ate lunch (they bake their own delicious bread!), we got in the water for the first time to make sure that we'll be able to pull our weight in the aqueous part of the trip.

We snorkled right off North Point beach into the ruins of an old pier, and saw lots of colorful fish, crabs, coral and starfish, and some people saw stingrays and sea turtles! The water was very clear and warm- and I often forget how nice and buoyant I am in sea water... since I sink like a rock in the lakes and rivers that I spend much of my summers in.

During our orientation presentation, we learned a bit about San Salvador Island. It's very sparsely populated (less than 1000 people), and the biggest concern at the GRC seems to be the potential for a medical emergency. Apparently the fastest emergency evacuation (in this case appendicitis) took 12 hours! There is a medical facility on the island, but it's only open during normal office hours. There is one flight per day- to Nassau. We're definitely isolated :)

It hasn't been too hot yet, but tomorrow is supposed to be brutal. The internet is via satellite, so it's EXTREMELY slow, and we everyone on the base has to share 5 computers during a one hour window in the evening. Better than nothing :)