Operation Go Green

We have a very exciting summer starting here at Small Hope Bay Lodge. This summer we are hosting 4 students from Duke University. They will be here working as interns for almost three months. Unlike many of our other interns, they will not be filling tanks on the dock or helping to tend bar in the evenings. These guys are here to help Small Hope become more eco-friendly and energy efficient and we are very excited! Here is their own description of their project as well as who exactly comprises the Green Team: 

Project Description: (I call it Operation Go Green!)

This summer, we will be designing and building a solar thermal system (solar hot water) and exploring the feasibility of solar photovoltaic to help offset the 192,000 kwh energy use of the resort. The majority of the resort’s energy use is spent on heating water. Given Small Hope's location in the Bahamas and its environmentally oriented culture, Small Hope has tremendous solar potential. We get around 250 days of sun out of the year and receive about 3.5-5 kw per square meter at a latitude of 24° 42' 0" N. In addition to installing solar hot water, we will also be helping Small Hope create a sustainable environmental management plan, along with energy, waste and water monitoring programs. 

The Team:

Esi Waters- Duke University Masters of Environmental Management 2013 Environmental Economics and Policy Focus
Jake Vestal- Duke University Masters of Engineering Management 2013 Energy Systems & Big Data Analytics Focus
Kevin Kurkul- Duke University Masters of Environmental Management 2014 Energy and the Environment Focus
Michelle Yuan- Duke University Masters of Environmental Management 2014 Energy and the Environment Focus

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Coming home . . .

I have been a Divemaster at Small Hope for nearly two years now. I have enjoyed waking with the sun and the sound of the sea just feet from my door. I have enjoyed Bahamian summer, autumn, winter and spring. I have loved meeting people from all over the world who choose to come to an off-the-beaten-track resort like Small Hope Bay Lodge. 

In the past two years, I have gotten to travel a little, both for work and for play. But I hadn't been back to the states to visit my family in nearly five years. My parents had both come to see me in the Bahamas as well as when I lived in Mexico and Brazil, so I had seen my family a little. But my mom kept asking me to come visit her in Arizona and I decided it was finally time.

Mmmmm, chile relleno!

I took a little time off and flew out to Tucson, Arizona. While there I did the two things I miss the most while living on Andros - movie theaters and Mexican food! And then more movies, and then more Mexican food . . . and so on. It was great. I reconnected with my family, of which there are thousands (OK, I may be exaggerating, but only slightly). I cleaned out a bunch of stuff I had in the Mom-Stores-It storage facility. And got to hang with my mama, which I love!

But there were some things that weren't so great too. Things I never deal with while living on a remote, tropical island. Like Traffic - I saw a hit and run car accident while coming back from dinner with my mom; Consumerism - On Andros, there is minimal shopping, just Androsia, and as I don't have cable tv, I am not constantly bombarded with ads for new cars, fast food, electric diet belts (really?), anti-depressants, diet pills, gym memberships, pharmaceuticals, an so on - it's overwhelming; Dry heat - they always say Arizona is a dry heat, but there is dry and then there is AZ where it feels like every once of moisture is being sucked out of my body, my lips are chapped in 10 minutes, my hair is filled with static when I brush it and my skin feels like the skin on a lizard. 

While it was great to see family (especially my mom), and I definitely won't wait so long before another visit, I can't express how wonderful it was to to come back to Small Hope. I realized that this is truly my home now.   This is where I am happiest and most comfortable. My little cabin right on the turquoise sea; where my shoes consist of two varieties - regular flip flops and fancy flip flops; Sassy, the potcake, gets so excited to see me that she bounces up and down and rolls in circles; my choices for recreation are diving, snorkeling, paddleboarding, kayaking, hot tubbing, or just kickin' back with an ice-cold Kalik; where every day I get to interact with really great people and have really interesting conversations; and no matter what may be on tv that night, there is nothing as good as watching the sun rise over the sea or set behind the pines.

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Diving with a turtle on Andros, Bahamas!

This little guy was so great on our dive last week! Ever been diving with sea turtles? Where was it?

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Feild trip to Abaco

Last week our fearless leader, Jeff Birch, and Divemaster Fede went to see an old Small Hope friend Brian Kakuk. Brian lives on Abaco and is a world-renowned cave diver and explorer. Brian was coming to Small Hope for a week to do some diving in some of Andros' blue holes and also to have a romantic getaway with his lovely wife Michelle. 

So Fede and Jeff decided to fly Jeff's plane to Abaco and pick Brian up. But while they were there . . . the Abacos of the Bahamas are known for having some of the most beautiful and extensive blue hole cave dives in the world. And neither Jeff or Fede would ever pass up the opportunity for a REALLY cool dive! So the three guys got their equipment and headed to Dan's Cave.

Here is Fede's video of the day . . .

Also check out Brian Kakuk's website for more information about cave diving in the Bahamas! Pin It Now!

Memories at Small Hope and Cereal in Trees

Something that I've really enjoyed about interning here is how often people ask me how it is that I ended up in the Bahamas, particularly Small Hope. When I answer 'Actually, I've been here before. I was about four years old the first time I visited,' the expressions on everyone's faces goes into an exciting state of shock and joy. It's pleasant to see so many families come here with their children and when I watch the kids jump around the beach and games room I so often think 'Wow, that was me some time ago...that's pretty wild.' A number of guests have asked me to tell stories about my former experiences and they also ask how much things have changed here. And what's nice to say is that things don't really change all that much around Small Hope, and most of the grounds look just the way they did a year ago, 13 years ago and 17 years ago.

My sister and I c. 1995

Coming back always yields a great amount of nostalgia and when I walk down the line of cabins a lot of memories crop up. This morning when I was walking to breakfast, I glanced over at some of the cabins (cabin 1 and 2) and remembered some moments as I noticed a particular tree whose trunk bears an unusual shape. This tree has a large limb that was cut off  a long time ago, which makes for a pretty comfortable seat and is probably something that goes unnoticed. What's funny is that it was there 13 years ago (a lot longer than 13 years probably) and my older sister and I had quite a bit of fun with it back then. 

Back in the day, Small Hope used to have those small cereal boxes at the breakfast buffet--you know, those ones that are great for roadtrips and have a mixture of children's favorites like Fruit Loops and the not so favorites like Raisin Bran. Well, we had the brilliant idea of taking them from the buffet, along with soda cans from the coolers, and actually sell them to guests. We went to the tree whose funny trunk makes a great stand, and set up shop with a sign, Mardi Gras beads and all sorts of decorative shells. We sat around and waited, waited while shouting at passersby and actually made a profit from selling Small Hope's breakfast supply! Granted, it was marginal and probably 77 cents or something like that, but it was an exciting entrepreneurial endeavor to take on as a 9 year old. It's fun to walk by that tree and think about how cool I felt when I was little to revamp the notion of a lemonade stand and sell packaged goods in a tree. Maybe I'll take Kaliks out there some day and try to sell them to guests when the boss ain't lookin!

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Return Guest T-shirt Contest!

We're looking to have a new design for the shirts we give to our return guests and want everybody's input! So to combat this quest, we're holding a design contest and would love to have as many participants as possible. Fun, quirky, fishy designs are always great and anything that you feel suits the experiences you've had at Small Hope Bay Lodge. Think water, fish, diving, relaxing, hammocking, family, food, or whatever else comes to mind when you think of Small Hope. Our current shirt has a Small Hope logo on the front side with a large design on the back sharing a quote from Dick Birch.

Some examples of former T-shirt designs include lists of quotes, birds, funny underwater pictures and others.

We're accepting submissions and the only thing you need to make sure is that your images are saved at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (pixels per inch). Please email your submissions to shbmktandros@gmail.com  and let's get this contest rolling! Get creative! We love quirky and fun!

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Bahamian Night Conch Salad

Conch Salad

yield 1-5 servings

5 Fresh conch, skinned & cleaned, cut up small

2 Onions, diced (small)

4 Tomatoes diced (small) 

5 Cucumbers diced (small)
3 Sweet pepper diced (small)
3 pcs Celery diced (small)
3 Fresh lime juice
3. Orange Juice
3 T. Salt, as needed
1/8 t. Pepper sauce


1.      Cut up everything as directed, and mix together.
2.      Add limejuice, orange juice, salt and pepper.
3.      Mix well, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

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