Harvey Gamage

Trellis Bay, BVI, Home of the Gli-Gli

Most outsiders might not believe that the 32 of us just started our voyage a week ago. We are already familiar with each other’s sleeping and eating habits, to say the least. Students are literally “learning the ropes”. Classes have begun and people are acclimating to shipboard life. Our days are occupied with the study of our ship, the ocean, the surrounding maritime history and literature. We left the US Virgin Islands on January 29^th and made our way to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) perfecting our tacks, familiarizing ourselves with the safety protocols and priming our ship for harbor visits.

Our BVI explorations began at Peter Island where we did an early morning snorkel to get an underwater view of the nearby reef. The same day we found ourselves on the streets of Road Town, Tortola and gorged ourselves on delicious West Indian food at the infamous Roti Palace. The ladies even let us prepare some of our own roti. We concluded our day by walking the back roads of the bustling capital to their tropical botanical garden. In this botanical paradise we found orchids, calabash trees, banyan trees among others and participated in the first port report of our voyage.

We have been safely anchored at Trellis Bay for the past two nights. The folks in Trellis Bay welcomed us ashore and have been sharing their knowledge, expertise and experiences of living and ancient Carib (Amerindian) cultures. Students repainted the bottom of the traditionally built dug-out canoe, “Gli Gli”, an instrumental vessel for reestablishing connections between Carib island people. The “Gli Gli” Project is a symbol of Carib unity, and we were lucky enough to spend all day with a co-founder of the project and one of the Carib sailors.

After painting “Gli Gli” we visited the Good Moon organic farm outside of town. Here the students helped harvest cassava and prepare the soil for future crops while overlooking breathtaking views of turquoise Caribbean waters.

We are holding classes ashore today while we have an even keel. Tomorrow we hope to be underway once again.

For more information about the “Gli Gli” Project check this link: http://www.aragornsstudio.com/CaribCanoeProj.htm

-CHRISTINE HONAN SIMPSON, ABBEY LITMAN & MAHIMA JAINI

Educators, Harvey Gamage.

February 2, 2012, Trellis Bay, Tortola, BVI.