Monday, November 2, 2009 - We flew from Pittsburgh to Miami, boarding the Norwegian Sky around 2 p.m. and sailed at 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - Arriving early morning, we ported at the industrial end of Freeport Harbour on the Grand Bahama island. There was a small tourist area in our immediate vicinity with locals selling Bahamian products. This island was hit badly by a hurricane a few years ago and island hotels have yet to make a comeback. Coral based, there is only three inches of topsoil limiting plant growth. We set out for a morning shore excursion to Peterson Cay National Park. Peterson Cay is the smallest of 26 National Parks of the Bahamas. Kayaking a mile to the island, we were greeted with a perfect sunny day and gorgeous shades of aquamarine sea water. With very little instruction, we set out for 1.5 hours of swimming, snorkeling and exploration in 79 (approx) degree F water. Even though we never touched bottom in waters that reached up to 15 feet, the buoyant salt water, fins and (inflatable if desired) life preservers made the swim tireless. The coral reefs are comprised of plant-like animals (some with a hard limestone shell) including corals, anemones, sea fans and sponges. These species and tropical fish of various colors, sizes, patterns and textures decorated the sea bottom with a diverse and dynamic seascape. To the advantage of the snorkeler, coral reefs require warm (78F min), shallow and clear water. We saw perhaps ten species of fish (including striped sergeant majors, blue-green parrotfish (spotlight?) and triggerfish, silvery-red grunts, vivid blue tangs and a lobster) ranging one to twelve inches in length in groups of up to twenty. It was a great underwater experience with an intriguing glimpse into marine life. According to our tour guide, there are only nine species of birds on the island. This is debatable since we saw five species without effort (mockingbird, boat-tailed grackle, sandpiper, turkey vulture and gull). He mentioned that they also had osprey and red-tailed hawk. Tour group was fourteen in number. Our group was privileged to be the only park visitors on the island witnessing nature in an unaltered setting.

Eco-tour Guide: Chad (very good) Read more