New Snorkel Sights From Shore

In an effort to strengthen his leg after a car accident in Hawaii,. Jeff and his son Brian have been snorkeling from the beach every day before sunset. In doing so, they have found areas of developing coral, and previously developed nurseries that have not been discovered until recently. Next time you come down, ask us where a good spot to snorkel from the shore is, and we'll be happy to show you an area you probably haven't seen yet! Check out this video that Pique made just yesterday!

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Closing Time

It's closing time once again here at Small Hope Bay, which means we have temporarily closed the hotel to take care of any maintenance needs that require attention. While the bay is quite without any visitors, we have been keeping ourselves busy to pass the time. Fedor and the maintenance crew have been working hard to refurbish the cabins and repaint the bathrooms so you will have a comfortable and cozy room next time you come to visit. Fede and Dennis have been servicing and recalibrating every tank, BCD, and regulator on the dock. It's amazing how well a regulator breaths after it has been given the time and attention that Fede and Dennis have been giving them. Our friend Patrick is visiting from Canada to renew our electrical systems. Even though we have been able to power the entire resort off a generator when the power on the island goes out, the new system will be more energy efficient and will allow us to install more solar panels in the future. While all of this is very tiering, Dania has been keeping our spirits high by making delicious meals every day, keeping our stomachs full and our smiles constant.
As always, the Weather is wonderful and Andros is beautiful, but the guests are what make Small Hope Bay Lodge special, so we can't wait to say hello to all of the returning guests and meet anybody who has not had the chance to visit us yet.

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Mixer Vow Renewal

Susan & Robert Mixer 

Susan and Bob Mixer have been visiting Small Hope Bay Lodge for over 20 years. This year they returned to celebrate their wedding anniversary and vow renewal. The ceremony was beautiful, Small Hope's north beach made a beautiful setting for such a spectacular evening occasion. Guest, family, and friends all looked on to witness the re commitment of love. It was a magical moment as Reverend Hamilton officiated over the ceremony. The Mixer's friends MaryKay and Tom stood as witnesses during the ceremony. We would like to thank the Mixers for celebrating their anniversary with us here at Small Hope Bay, and we wish them 36 more. Check out our 'Romance' packages at www.smallhope.com. 

  

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Small Hope Bay Waste to Cash Program

Small Hope Bay Waste-to -Cash Program!!

Recently we started a recycling program with students from the local communities, transforming wine bottles into drinking glasses. 

In the past Abba did the processing of the wine bottles, however the program discontinued for a while. We decided to develop a program that would help promote recycling among st the younger generation in the local community. The students visit Small Hope Bay Lodge  twice a week two hours per day, one hour is spent studying, and the other is spent processing wine bottles. 

In the upcoming months we plan to stock our boutique with recycled glasses, the students will receive the majority of the earnings from these sales. On your next visit to Small Hope Bay, ask about our Waste-to-Cash student program.  

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An epic adventure, a fantastic quest!

Check out the amazing quest of Divemaster Fede and Brett, on a search for a long-lost dive site - Hole In The Wall!

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Small Hope Has Gone SOLAR!

Solar panels for our hot tub

As you may know, Small Hope Bay Lodge has always been firmly committed to our natural environment. For many years we have employed several measures to reduce our environmental impact such as LED bulbs in all of our light fixtures and water saving devices in all our toilets.

Now we have taken it a step further. All the hot water for our entire resort - that means all 21 of our beachfront cabins, as well as our kitchen, lounge, and hot tub - is completely solar heated now.

Layout of our solar design

This is a big step for Small Hope, and Andros Island in general. This island's energy is currently supplied by diesel generators, a very costly and inefficient fuel source. By switching all our water heating to solar, we are taking a huge step forward in reducing our dependency on non-renewable energy sources. 

We are very proud of this. And it's just the beginning. . . .

Solar panels for our cabins and lounge

This process began last summer when we had a team of interns from Duke University down for several weeks to help design and implement a solar hot water heating system for the resort. They definitely got the ball rolling and helped construct the unit we currently are using to heat all the water for our cabins, lounge and kitchen.

We then expanded the project further and, with a little help for some good friends, constructed an additional unit for heating our hot tub.

A big thanks to everyone who helped us achieve this goal!

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Diving with sharks, on Andros, Bahamas

One of our favorite and most popular divers here at Small Hope is our shark dive. At a depth of 50 feet divers can watch Caribbean reef sharks swimming around, feeding on a slow-release "chumsicle". It is a great way for new and experienced divers to overcome any irrational fears they may have about these beautiful and graceful animals.

Check out this video of one of our shark dives!

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Great Place for an Island Wedding

Small Hope Bay Lodge is a beautiful destination for a beachside wedding. We have two secluded beaches, beautiful island flowers, a great kitchen staff to prepare delicious food, and a staff willing to accommodate anything you can imagine for your wedding. This month we have lucky enough to host two weddings.

Brent and Carolyn came to Small Hope with their three kids to celebrate their wedding. They stayed for a week - some tried diving, some snorkeling, bike rides and more. They had their ceremony on the north beach and it could not have been sweeter. Congratulations to them and their family!

Sam and Diana came to escape some of the craziness that go along with wedding planning. They left all the plans up to us and had an intimate ceremony on the south beach. As they came alone, they were able to combine their wedding with their honeymoon. They tried diving, snorkeling, biking and more. Congratulations Sam and Diana!

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Sailing the seas of the Bahamas . . .

At Small Hope there are so many things to do - scuba diving, fishing (deep-sea, reef and bonefishing), kayaking, nature tours, bike riding, snorkeling, hammocking (we take that very seriously). 

The other day, Divemaster Fede decided to take the sailboat out for a spin. Since it was such a beautiful autumn day he took the GoPro camera out with him. Then he had a little fun on iMovie . . . 

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Happy Thanksgiving

Here is a look at our menu for Thanksgiving this year . . .

From all of us at Small Hope, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Pin It Now!

DEMA, Harry Potter and coming home . . .

A couple weeks ago I attended DEMA in Orlando, Florida. I went as a representative from Small Hope Bay Lodge to meet some dive groups and take two courses. Overall it was a good show. The courses I took, while long, were very informative and now I am ready to be a ScubaPro service tech for our regulators at the dock, and to do visual inspections on our scuba tanks! Mission accomplished!

I also ran into some old friends, like Jonathan Bird and Camerman Todd, from JonathanBird's Blue World. The show turned out being very fun. At the Bahamas booth we had a tiki bar and happy hour complete with games, prizes, and of course . . . Rum Punch!

Hogwarts!

 

Since I don't get to Orlando very often and happen to be a huge Harry Potter fan, I decided to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter inside Universal Studios. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!! I had the best time (geeked out completely!). I went on the rides (one of them 3 times since it was so fun), had a beer at the Hog's Head Pub, lunch at the Three Broomsticks, and even bought a wand at Olivander's. 

For those non-Potter fans or readers, these things probably mean very little. But for me, it was a hoot. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the books or movies, fun for all ages!

But by this time I had been in the big city (compared to Andros, Bahamas) for almost a whole week. That means traffic, cars everywhere, cable TV, air conditioned rooms, etc. I was really getting anxious to come home - Small Hope, Andros Island, Bahamas. 

I was ready for the only sounds outside my window to be swaying palms and lapping waves of the ocean; a place where I can see tons and tons of stars; and where everyone I talk to is a friend, even if I just met them. 

Landing in Andros

 Flying into Andros Town airport I thought how happy I am to be home! Pin It Now!

Some of our favorite photos from this summer . . .

We have a had a beautiful and hurricane-free summer at Small Hope. We are getting ready for our annual re-opening next week and the staff can't wait for the guests to come back. Here are just a few of our favorite photos from this summer . . . 

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Glamping and Blue Hole Dives, Andros, Bahamas

Just back from one of the most fun weekends I can remember! This past weekend Small Hope Bay Lodge owner, Jeff Birch, took some staff to South Andros for the weekend to do some blue hole dives. It was a great opportunity for some of us to get a chance to see some of the amazing natural beauty of the area as well as dive some of the most amazing caves and caverns in the world.

We called our friends down at Tiamo, a resort on South Andros, who are closed for the season. They happily invited us to use their resort as our camp site while we were down there. Not your typical campsite - we had use of the pool, showers and more, not to mention our amazing welcome night with great wine and champagne.

Our first morning we took the boat to the small dock and headed south by car to Stargate, an incredibly beautiful and ornately decorated cave dive. This is, hands down, one of the coolest dive any of us have ever done - amazing stalactites and wall formations. We even saw a blind cave fish!

Next up was El Dorado, an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, cave dive. El Dorado starts as you head into the mouth of the cave, visible from above water as well, through a tunnel filled with great wall formations and stalactites (quite a few blind cave fish too!). But then, you start to see light at the far end of this tunnel and you end up beneath a different lake, looking up through the green light.

We turned around and returned to our entry point. As this dive was only at a depth of 90' we had plenty of time to play around outside the mouth of the cave, checking out the debris, wall formations, and sediment. There was a vere eerie mist too!

After a very full (and cool) day of diving we all headed back to our campsite (and the infinity pool) at Tiamo. We rounded out a great day with some tasty tacos and, all exhausted and looking forward to our final dive the next day, went to bed very early.

On Sunday, after camp fire coffee and breakfast, we hopped in the boat once more and headed to the road and the last dive of the trip, Mohrdohr. This place is a bit further into the bush and we had to trek all the gear in. It is a beautiful walk though - views of 3 blue holes, tons of different butterflies, and at least 2 Great Lizard Cuckoos that stopped to check us out. The surface of this blue hole is almost as impressive as beneath the water . There is a land bridge that connects this blue hole with another so you can swim between the two. This dive, Mohrdohr, is technically a cavern dive as outside light is visible at all times. We had a depth of 110' here, but the most impressive part of this dive is coming out. It is a giant room, like a big cathedral, and when you turn around there is a huge column of light coming from the entrance, illuminating the sides and floor of the entire entrance. Breathtaking! 

Check out the video for Part 2 here!

After this, we hiked back out to the cars, then took the boat back to the camp site to pack all our stuff. We said goodbye to our friends at Tiamo and some of the boys headed back to Small Hope with most of the dive and camping gear on the boat, and the rest of us flew with Jeff, doing a couple fly-bys of the boat on the way.

All in all, an amazing weekend! Can't wait till the next time. Thanks boss! Pin It Now!

It's a Small (Hope) World After All . . .

Last month we took our vacation. Living in a tropical paradise like Andros, Bahamas many people wondered where we could go that would be more beautiful. But vacation is always good and meeting new people and visiting new places are some of my very favorite things to do in the world. 

Vacation!

Boquete, Panama

We decided to visit a little of Central America. Flights directly to Panama from Nassau made it even easier. So we visited Panama and Costa Rica, each for one week. In Panama, since we are not really city people, we went to a beautiful little town called Boquete, near the volcano Baru, and in the lush green mountains. It was incredilble! Living on the beach, it was a refreshing change to get up in to the mountains.

Then we went to Costa Rica. Having used the site before, I looked for property rentals on vrbo.com. Picking a region completely at random then scanning photos and rates we found a lovely little Indonesian-style casita in the Puntarenas area on the Pacific side. Looking

My reading spot

more closely at the property information I was very surprised when I read the owner information. It said the owners, Mac and Sharon, "met on the island of Andros, in the Bahamas and feel in love "underwater" in the blue seas". Living on Andros for two years now, I know there are very few dive centers on the island and the most probable place they could have met was right here at Small Hope Bay Lodge!!! I emailed them about renting their property and tolde them we were both divemasters at Small Hope. It turns out Mac was actually a former divemaster too! He worked here in 1979 for one season. Sharon came to Small Hope as a guest and that's how they met. 

What a small world!Well, as it seemed too big a coincidence to ignore and we booked our week in Costa Rica at their place. And I am so glad we did. 

 

My porch

 The grounds at Bali Rica, are the definition of tropical, lush beauty. We spent a most relaxing week simply enjoying our spot, Casa Rica, the grounds and the surprisingly stellar restaurants in the little town. And it was great talking to mac and Sharon about Small Hope, what's changed, what will never change, Margo and Alex, Moose, Brendal, Irene and all our mutual acquaintances.

All In all, an absolutely wonderful vacation! 

Mac and Sharon, Bali Rica, Costa Rica

 I highly recommend contacting them if you are interested in visiting Costa Rica! That is, when you are not visiting us at Small Hope Bay Lodge!!!


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Summertime . . . and the living is easy at Small Hope, Andros, Bahamas

This is my FAVORITE time of year here at Small Hope Bay Lodge, Andros Island, Bahamas. The sun shines in the morning. The seas are like glass for the morning dives - so clear that from the boat, I can look down in to 30 feet of water and tell which corals and types of fish are down below. The afternoon brings incredible tropical showers then the day is beautiful and bright once more. And the glorious starry nights are made even more amazing by the lightning shows off on the horizon. The water is between 82 and 84 degrees, perfect for a swim, snorkel or dive, day or night. All in all - Perfect!

Photo by Petter Kaalstad

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My favorite dive ( . . . so far) at Small Hope, Bahamas

With the third largest barrier reef in the world just minutes away from the Small Hope Bay Lodge dock, and being virtually the only dive operation on that reef, there are literally dozens of really, really great dives at my fingertips. I have been enjoying my time underwater at Small Hope for a little over two years now and have gotten to experience some truly amazing dives. I've done mind-blowing wall dives - the drop from the reef into the "Tongue of the Ocean", basically a 6,000 foot drop straight down, with little to no current, making some really awesome wall cruises. I've done coral garden and shark dives - one of my favorite sites, Brad's Mountain combines the two, beautiful coral growth with cracks and crevices, all flourishing with tons of different fish, and pretty much guaranteed sharks every time. I've been diving in the Blue Hole of Andros - both ocean and inland blue holes, I have gotten to experience the full cave dive of the Guardian, as well as the Ocean Blue Hole, an incredibly beautiful cavern dive.

Well, the coolest, most jaw-dropping, kick butt dive so far? 2nd Level of the Blue Hole (into Backside of the Blue Hole). This is one of the custom specialty dives Small Hope offers. We went to the Ocean Blue Hole and timed the dive perfectly with the tides (very important). This is a "live" blue hole, meaning fresh water is sucked through underground caves as the tide goes out. 

2nd Level - This is a deeper circuit around the blue hole dive than the typical blue hole dive we take most of our guests on (usually done at 100'). 2nd Level goes down to about 140' and also passes through a smaller "room", creating a cave-like atmosphere for the first part of the dive. At the beginning of the dive you pass over the rim of the hole and start descending in to the surrounding crevice. Down below, you see a triangular entry. This is the first "restriction" and even though it looks really little divers have no problem getting through. This takes you to the "room" which is quite dark and about 5' high, 8' wide and maybe 6' deep in size. At the back of the room there is a passage down and to the left which takes you through a tunnel that continues to widen until you can see the upper levels of the blue hole. Now it starts to become so incredibly gorgeous. Big skylights letting the turquoise blue stream down through massive boulders strategically placed. Great rock formations, including one we call E.T.'s head (because from the right angle, its shape is just like E.T.'s). And great dark chasms below, where the light will never reach. It is the most awe inspiring dive I've been on.

Backside of the Blue Hole - The Backside dive usually goes to about 70 feet deep and goes over the top of the sinkhole and out the back where all the ancient streams and riverbeds lie. We time the dive so the tides have pushed tons of fresh water through and formed a halocline where the fresh water below is green and significantly cooler, and the salt water above is blue and warm. If you catch the tides just right, the line between fresh and salt water will be so distinct, you could cut it with a knife. In addition to all this, sediment that gets pushed with the fresh water forms what we call "whale snot" and drapes over the coral and looks like Halloween cobweb decor. It also floats around making this dive completely other-worldly as well as a one-of-a-kind experience.

On this particular dive, we timed it just right and at the end of our circuit around the 2nd Level of the Blue Hole we came up in to the Backside of the Blue Hole and finished the dive cruising in and out of green and turquoise waters, playing with the "snot", spotted a reef shark, a giant Nassau grouper, an Atlantic spadefish. All in all, the best of both worlds - unbelievable deep cavern dive, followed by eeire and awesome backside dive. SO GREAT! I love my life! Pin It Now!

Legends of the seas, Mote and Small Hope Bay Lodge

                                                       We recently were honored here at Small Hope Bay Lodge with the arrival of Dr. Eugenie

Genie and Small Hope Asst. Mgr Mike Hornby

Clark, of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. Genie Clark is an amazing person with a history of marine research that rivals just about anyone you can think of. She is often referred to as the "Shark Lady" because of her extensive research on many shark species. 


Genie Clark and the Mote group came to Small Hope to study the local species of garden eels here in the Bahamas. Surprisingly, not much information has been gathered on these garden eels and the MOTE group came over a period of 21 days to discover what they could about behavior, territories and mating. 

While the first group was here, Small Hope Divemasters and MOTE researchers developed a "blind", a circular structure made from canvas and PVC with window holes cut at various heights. Research divers would go into the blind to make observations so the eels would not be distracted or disturbed by the presence of the divers. They also set grids made of

Photo by Jann Rosen-Queralt

chopsticks and cotton string at three different dive sites with big sandy areas, known to be garden eel hot spots. Each member of the research team was assigned their own sector within the grid and would observe the eel activity in that area for the duration of the dive, noting any and all activity.

 Check out the video here!

The second group arrived the day after the first group departed and the research and observations continued. Both groups also enjoyed their share of survey dives too, sans research. There were a couple shark dives, cavern dives, wrecks and walls. I got to accompany four divers from the first group on possibly the best dive I have been on since I arrived at Small Hope 2 years ago - 2nd Level of the Blue Hole!

Photo by Jann Rosen-Queralt

 As a member of the Small Hope staff, one of my favorite parts of the experience was listening to the various guests tell me how they first met and got involved with Genie's research. There was Tom and Patrice, two divers who Genie thought would suit each other very well and consequently set them up on a blind date. They stayed at Small Hope three extra days because they were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary! Anne Doubilet, who has traveled with Genie to so many countries over so many years that she has lost count. Jann Rosen-Queralt, who, several years ago, was just learning to dive and wanted to see whale sharks, when she heard from a friend that Genie just so happened to be doing a trip to Mexico to check out the whale sharks. Mallori, a 15 year-old girl who, having done a couple of book reports on Genie's books, had developed a friendship with her and was subsequently invited on this trip. Everyone that I talked to was so enthralled with Eugenie Clark, enjoyed her presence and her research trips so much, and had learned so much from her, as much in diving as in life experiences. It was truly an honor to host this amazing woman. And to be a part of this important research trip.

Thank you Mote, and thanks Genie!!!!

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The Solar Project at Small Hope

Four months ago, I expected my summer to be spent somewhere in the hustle and bustle of downtown Washington, DC, researching and writing memos on various environmental issues. It didn’t even occur to me that building a solar domestic hot water system in the Bahamas at a dive resort surrounded by mangroves and clear turquoise water was an option! I am glad I made the choice to trade in my metro card and suit for a bicycle and flip flops.

As August, and the end of my time with Small Hope Bay Lodge, approaches, I start to reflect on my experience here and all that has been accomplished. Working with Small Hope has been an incredible experience and a rare opportunity to be able to see a vision turn into a physical reality. I came down here with nothing but a notepad and with the help of some great teammates, Kevin Kurkul, Jake Vestal, and Esi Waters, and the support of the Small Hope family we can leave with a resort-wide solar hot water system, an energy monitoring program, community outreach material on solar hot water systems, and an environmental management plan for the resort.

Time has really flown by and these next few weeks will continue to fly by as we try to finish construction on the solar hot water system. I am ecstatic to get my hands dirty after weeks of dealing with the logistics of obtaining specialized parts and shipping to a remote Out Island like Andros.  (You will not believe how inaccurate those shipping estimate dates are!)

Finally after a few weeks of calling freight companies, distributors, and coordinating with manufacturers, the majority of the parts have arrived! We have been focusing our efforts on building the water manifolds for the hot water storage tanks and starting to solder the copper components. If you are interested in reading more about the specifics of the system, check out my blog entry on the system design. http://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/internshipblogs/pulling-together-a-solar-hot-water-system-for-small-hope/ Once we are done with that, the team will start to run the pex tubing (a flexible tube that will deliver the end use water) around the resort and to each of our cabins. I am excited to see what our final system looks like and to get it online! I think it will be a great help to Small Hope in terms of reducing its energy costs, but also as an example for the community and to inspire others to follow suit! With plentiful sun exposure, Bahamians really could benefit by tapping into this underutilized resource!

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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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