Exploring New Grounds

Hello everybody! It's Maddy! I'm so sorry I haven't been writing. Time and internet connection have taken that from me but I'm glad I finally do get to give you a full week's recap. So, starting from the very beginning, I boarded my plane at the Fort Lauderdale Airport last Wednesday. I have to admit flying by myself wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The very nice flight attendants helped me go through customs and everything else until I was greeted by my grandparents. I was so happy to see them and was relieved that I had finally arrived. Anyways, the next day we went to the grocery store. It wasn't my usual Costco or Publix. This store was much smaller with not as many food options. After a couple days of chilling at the beach close by,

 we left Palm Cay Marina (the one we were staying at) and crossed over the water. We did some fishing...

Trivia Question Time!

How many islands are there in the Bahamas?

A.34

B.58

C.315

D.700

Just like last year, leave your answer in the comments. See if you can do it without looking it up!

 Anyways, we made it to Cape Eleuthera. We took a nice trip to the pool when we got there and the pool was right next to a beach. I met a girl named Kayleana and her siblings Ivy and Kaden. We found a lot of hermit crabs. I mean a lot!

The next day, we took the dinghy (small fishing boat) out to explore. We found a very nice beach with some of the softest sand I had ever felt. The water was crystal clear. We also went to another beach where we found a bunch of baby conch. We even found a white one!

The next couple of days, I played with a girl named Joellen and her brother Cameron. We took her to our new favorite beach which was the first one we went to.

At night, I sit off the back the boat with a net and a bucket catching little bait fish. It's pretty fun!

One of the days, we went through a salt water creek. I met a few other "friends". They were turtles!

So far, my trip has been great. I've been keeping up with my schoolwork and hopefully now my blog. My mom, step-dad, and my sister are coming tomorrow. There are still many things that are left to be discovered! Remember to answer the trivia question and stayed tune for more fishy fun! 

Sunset by the pool 

Here we go Again!

Hello everybody! It's me,Maddy! Long time no see! Well, spring break is just a week away, but I decided to start early. I think it's time for my annual Bahamas trip! Some things have changed since last time. I'm now 11 years old, and tomorrow I'm again flying there, but this time ALL BY MYSELF. Yup, my mom is dropping me at my gate and I'll board the plane alone. Then, my awesome grandparents will be there to pick me up and that's when my adventure officially begins. I'm also only going for 2 weeks this time, but I'll hang on to every second. Stay tuned to my blog once again for snorkeling, fishing, trivia questions, and tons of fun Bahamian style! See you in my first stop: Palm Cay Marina in Nassau.

Goodbye Highbourne!

Hey guys, its Maddy here sitting at Bimini Sands Marina. Yup, it's true. I'm no longer in Highbourne but I had a great last few days there. It all starts Easter Sunday. I woke up and barely noticed the tiny basket on my other pillow. It had a Kit Kat, an M&M packet, and the eggs I had painted earlier that week. The Easter Bunny found me! Even though I didn't get much, I was so surprised that he came. I was so excited because today was also the day of the Easter egg hunt! Yay! We woke up and Mamere made french toast. Then, I grabbed a bag and went out to the dock near the beach. All of the kids ran out on the beach and in the bushes looking for eggs and Skittle packs. Everybody was so focused on the eggs, that I just filled up on the Skittles. I did find eggs too, though. 

After the hunt, I made a shirt. It was full of paint and stickers. Grandpa got his shirt painted, too. A lady squeezed the paint too hard and it splattered all over Grandpa's shirt and pants! 

We spent the last few days getting ready for the long boat ride over to Great Harbour. It was an all day ride. We went fishing on the way there and we caught 2 big mahi. We were just sitting with our poles out when we saw a school of mahi swim by. Three of them bit three of the lines! There was one small one, one medium, and one huge. MaMere first reeled in the medium and got that one into the boat. Then, Grandpa reeled in the huge one which was way bigger than I was and weighed about 60 pounds. After the long struggle, we got him into the boat. We lost the small one, but that's ok!

This was the huge mahi! 

 It was late when we got home, so we cleaned the fish and had fresh fish for dinner. The next day, Grandpa rented a golf cart so we could explore the island. I noticed three boys playing basketball on a court, but there were no hoops. There were laundry baskets. This was a very poor island. If you needed groceries, than you would go to somebody's house. They put things on their living room shelves and call it a store. Just remember how lucky you are to have everything you need. We found a large cave on the beach. It was huge and went way back. We didn't get to go in it, but we did get a picture.

This was the golf cart we rented!

We stopped at a restaurant. This is my drink!

 The next day we went to a sandbar near an awesome snorkeling spot. When I was snorkeling, I kept hearing this crunching sound. I look everywhere but besides Grandpa, I don't see anyone who could be making that sound. Then, I saw several parrot fish munching at the coral.

- That explains it! Parrot fish create limestone by eating the coral. When they digest it, [that's how I'm going to put it], it's no longer coral. It's limestone. Then, I saw the biggest barracuda I've ever seen! It was huge and it was just watching us with it's teeth sticking out. I found a certain spot near the sandbar that the water was bathtub warm. I stayed there all day. 

The day after that, we had another long boat ride over to Bimini. We didn't catch any fish, but we did get to go swimming that night in the pool they have. It felt good to go swimming in a pool.

 We even tried out a hammock. 

Well, I'm sorry for the big delay on blogs. My trip is almost over. See you soon! Here are a few pictures from Highbourne as a goodbye part.

We left a ball in memory of our trip.

This was a double sunset.

The Easter Squid!

TriviaAnswerTime!


If you saw in my last blog, I posted a video of a creature that I found on the beach. My trivia question was What is this creature? The answer is B. Baby Octopus. Did you get it right this time? You must know your sea creatures! If you didn't get it right, don't worry. I thought it was a squid when I found it. Speaking of squids, I found two squids the other day and then I realized that the creature didn't look like the squids at all. These squids were big! I have a video and pictures below. 

 My friend Elena went to another island recently so now I play with myself, but it's very hard to get lonely here. There are so many things to do! Instead of being lonely, focus on the things that you could be doing. I could go snorkeling, shell-hunting, build a sandcastle, swim, splash, find creatures under rocks, make a fort, and many more million things.

 I also can't wait for Easter! If we decided to stay in Highbourne for another week, they have a big Easter egg hunt. They stick candies and prizes in eggs and throw them out around the island. I hope we get to stay! Yesterday, I saw a Greater Antillean Bullfinch. I can read minds. Your thinking "What in the world is a Great What-What Bullfinch?!" This is a elusive and mysterious bird. We see them occasionally but they love to play hide-and-seek. I did not end up getting a picture, but I will work on that in the future! Today, we woke up early and went out on the dingy. First, we went to a tiny beach on a tiny island called Lobster Cay. I found weeds that were bigger than I was, [ again, I'm not very big ], and bigger than Grandpa!

Next, we went to what we call Sea Star beach because that's where we mostly find sea stars. I snorkeled along a reef with Grandpa and we saw tons of fish. This includes Snapper, Barracuda, Nassau Grouper, Blue Tang, Sharks, Blue Runners, Squirrelfish, Sergeant Majors, Cocoa Damselfish, Dusky Damselfish, Spotted Goatfish, and many more!

 I also found a baby sea star.

We have been having a lot of fun and we will be back in about 2 to 3 weeks. Gotta go! Miss everyone!

The skeleton is ready to party!

Stings and Things

TriviaQuestionTime!

Look at the video below. What do you think this creature is?

A. Baby Squid

B. Baby Octopus

C. Baby Cuddlefish

D. Baby Sea Spider

Think you have the answer? Write your thoughts in a comment to see if you got it correct next blog!

Anyways, it's Maddy. This is going to be another picture/video blog. We have been seeing a ton of new things. Enjoy!

This is a spotted eagle ray. Spotted eagle rays are part of the eagle ray family. They have a lot of spots and rings on their body and a long tail with stingers. Spotted eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans. We were walking one day on the dock and looked below us to be greeted by a huge spotted eagle ray. He gracefully swam around and then dug in the sand, probably to find food. He stayed long enough for us to get great pictures!

We also saw lots of bananaquits. Bananaquits are little black and white birds that have a yellow crest. I think they look like tiny Emperor Penguins! Their long, curved beak is used to sip nectar from flowers similar to a hummingbird. A little bananaquit ate lunch with us this fine day!

I saw many baby conch, too. Conch shells get their name from the small sea snails that live inside them. Conch look like slugs with a long arm that helps them flip themselves over. They are edible, but not when they are babies. When they are grown, you can eat them.

Guess what?! I saw a lionfish!!!!! We were snorkeling through spiny sea urchins in Shroud Cay. These urchins spines were the size of a baseball bat and the body itself was bigger than my fist![ My fist is not very big! :] ] I looked down at an urchin when I saw a small fish with big red and white fins. It's eyes were dark and spines covered the fish like a strong suit of armor. I realized it was a lionfish! Lionfish are invasive organisms that are not native to reefs in North America. They can wreck the reefs. Lionfish have venomous spines that are very painful. I was so glad I finally got to see one!!

We met a diver who caught a lionfish.

One day, we went fishing and we caught one tuna and one mahi. The mahi was bigger than I was [ again, I m not very big, ], and we ate some of it that night.

I also went knee boarding with my new friends, Elena and John. Elena is my age and John is 7. They' re being homeschooled on their boat, too. I had never been knee boarding before and they taught me how. It was so much fun! Unfortunatly, we forgot the camera so I did not get any pictures, but I will go again sometime!

Well, gotta go but don't forget to answer the trivia! Bye!

P.S. To all of the girls in my class, I like you better than the skeleton!!! Miss you guys!!

Sea stars, sea stars, and more sea stars

Attention Citizens! Maddy here, and the world is being overrun by SEA STARS! Yeah, I said it, SEA STARS!! 

There are sea stars everywhere you go. 

Sea stars, Sea stars, more Sea stars.... Interesting fact #3: You should call starfish "sea stars," because they are not fish. Sea stars are going to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!! Be prepared, America. Don't say I didn't warn you...

Trivia Answer Time:

How Many Times does Pharell say "Get Lucky," in the Song "Get Lucky"?

The answer was C. 70. 

Did you get it right? According to my comments, only one person got it right. Congrats! If you didn’t get it right, don't you worry! I will be posting more trivia questions soon.

Anyways, this blog will be a video/picture blog. We took so many good pictures and videos!

First, I surely "got lucky" a few days ago. I caught us dinner! It was a big red snapper.

 I caught it all by myself. When we ate it for dinner that night, it was hard to think that it was swimming only a couple hours ago.

I also tried a regulator for the first time. I didn't swim with it, but I did breathe through it out of water. I'm looking forward to trying it in the water.

Now, let's go back to this sea star situation.

Sea stars are not fish, but echinoderms. They are closely related to sand dollars and sea urchins. Sea stars are found in tropical waters and on the cold ocean floor. 

The one's that we found have 5 legs, but they can have up to 40 legs! Most sea stars can also consume their prey in a very peculiar way. Using tiny suction-cupped feet, they can pry open oysters and clams. Then, their stomach emerges from their mouth and oozes into the shell. 

They envelope the oyster with their stomach to finish digesting it, and then moves their stomach back inside their body. If you want more on where I got this information, go to the National Geographic website and read the article. It amazed me!

Well, gotta go but here is another sunset. Bye!

Grandpa's Haircut