Submitted by Meghan Bennett on the 2019 winter session program in Bermuda sponsored by the School of Marine Science & Policy…
Before coming to Bermuda, I was prepared for warm weather and trips to beaches with pink sand. My first full week here was absolutely amazing, but I can now safely say that 65 degrees is not always warm and that the beaches are not nearly as pink as the highly edited photos that you’ll find online. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll take 65 degree weather any day over the snow that’s happening at home, but I was in no way prepared for the high winds that come along as a result of the gulf stream. The famed “pink sand” beach, otherwise known as Horseshoe Bay is so stunning that I’ve made the hour long trip there twice already. While the beach might not appear noticeably pink, when you take a close look at the sand, you can see thousands of little pink particles in the sand. These particles are caused by red foraminifera, which are calcareous single celled organisms that live on the underside of the coral reefs that surround Bermuda. As the foraminifera die they sink to the bottom of the ocean and eventually are broken down by the waves and the tides and make it on shore, giving the sand a slight pink tone.
