Student Takeover: Chloe's Adventure on the Island of Cabrera

One of our bright Mediterranean Marine Ecosystems & Sustainability session 2 students, Chloe Wu, shares her experience exploring the incredible island of Cabrera!

On Tuesday, July 25, we headed off to El Parque Nacional de Cabrera, one of the most highly preserved parks of the Balearic Islands. We gathered all groggy eyed and with coffee in hand on a private bus to Colonia de Sant Jordi and upon arriving at the port, we quickly boarded on a boat that would take us an hour away to Cabrera Island. 

We arrived at Cabrera Island, greeted by scenic, tranquil, and crystal clear, blue water surrounded by green and brown mountains, and started our attack on our tightly packed schedule to see as much of the island as we could. We hustled up the rocky and dusty path, even climbing a thin set of spiral staircases to El Castillo de Cabrera, where the Spanish flag flew brightly. On both sides of the castle, we saw tall, sloped mountains and the glittering ocean as well as a little cove. After many pictures and video recordings for our Spanish projects, we headed down and straight to the next destination: the wonderful cove that we had seen from above. 

The entire way to the cove, we were enamored by the stunning views. We followed our biology teachers to the waters and started on our fieldwork by examining as well as identifying the species we saw. It was amazing that after two weeks we were able to recognize organisms, from mollusks such as snails and limpets, to crustaceans such as hermit crabs and shrimps, and fish such as the Diplodus annularis! With our orange life vests on and snorkels in hand, we ran back to the waters, diving in to continue our journey exploring the other creatures. It was insane. We even saw an octopus! 

We collected our backpacks and clothes, making sure to take everything we brought, as we had thought our adventure was coming to an end. Thus, we boarded the boat as it whirled to a start and took off back to Mallorca. But, surprise! We were driven to a massive dark cave with deep blue waters and black fish with silver tails. Excitedly, everybody jumped in, splashing water in all directions. 

Finally, we boarded the boat for the last time, with exhaustion painted on our faces, and headed back to the port and then to Plaza España. 

It was an incredible day from the hike to the snorkeling and I am so grateful to have been able to explore Cabrera.