Leaving the Bahamas

Well, you have made it.
This will be my final Bahamas post,
mainly because I didn't take as many pictures the last few days,
so I am going to consolidate the rest of the trip into one entry.
(don't even pretend to be disappointed).After Joulter's we spent a day caving.
This was our "trial cave," I couldn't take my camera into the deep one...
well, I probably could have, but I didn't think it would have done well
during the two body length belly crawl through bat guano.
Actually, the bat guano didn't turn out to be too bad;
it feels a little like dried out potting soil,
and we were given masks so the smell was no issue either.
Being in the cave, deep within an ancient sand dune,
surrounded by nothing but bats and darkness,
was a pretty incredible experience.

After the caving day, we spent one more day snorkeling
and our last day on the tidal flats, collecting creatures living in
the intertidal zone.
Some of them were amazing with long tentacles and bright colors,
others just looked like... well... poop.
Saying goodbye was tough.
Forfar is a beautiful place and I met some really great people
on my trip. It is amazing how quickly you become connected
to people when you share so many amazing experiences together;
explore, laugh, and learn together;
and negotiate two burst shower rights.
But at the end of the day,
there is no place I would rather be than home and I can't
tell you how happy I was to see Casey and Orin waiting
at the Portland airport when my plane landed.
And now for some much needed updates on the O'ster.