Hard Work and Great Rewards

          No one was awake until we found ourselves piled in the back of a small foreign pick-up truck, laughing the whole way. When we arrived at the cocoa plantation, we were confronted with several run down stone and concrete buildings filled with bats. We split into groups and some went to sort cocoa beans, which was a fairly simple task.  Everyone else went for a short 10-15 minute walk to a steep, open field. Some of us were given cutlasses and were told to clear all the weeds and under brush. Everyone else used pitchforks and shovels.  I have personally dug many holes in different types of soils in a wide range of temperatures, but never have I seen soil so dry and hard in my life. Plus, the temperature was rising throughout the day to 95 degrees.  Piece by piece, hole-by-hole, 100 holes were dug.  100 small cocoa plants were placed in the ground. At times, it took two people twenty minutes to dig one hole with a two-foot diameter and a 1.5-foot depth.

            By 11:30, we were all starving but also, we were done. Instead of immediately going to get something to eat, we found a river. As we all waded in, you could see the relief on everyone’s face. From 95 degrees and working harder than ever, to relaxing in nice, cool, fresh water, we felt great. I was the first one to reach the plantation and the last one to leave. I felt great, knowing that we made the owner’s day and he was very appreciative.

            As we left the plantation now by foot, we all felt like we’d accomplished something big. We walked proud, waving, saying hi to the locals, or at least most of us did. When we arrived at the beach, we were greeted with Roti in a calabash bowl. Inside the chicken roti, there was chicken, chickpeas, potato, and curry sauce. When we were full, we split off to play soccer, Frisbee, or walk on the beach. Some people talked with one another or slept (the sleeping was a result of waking up at 0400 AM and working hard all day.)

            Around 2:30 PM, we started pealing, cutting, and squeezing fruit and vegetables for dinner. Dinner was called “oil down”. From the sound of it, we didn’t know what to expect. Everyone who had knives started to cut the fruit and vegetables. We had breadfruit, coconut, yam, plantains, onions, chicken, carrots, squash, tamarind, grapefruit, passion fruit and oranges. All mixed together, it would fill ¾ of a pick up truck. We cooked for 50 people, including all the crew, students and locals who helped us with planting or driving the taxis. Basically, all that was chopped was rinsed and put in a large pot and then covered with large banana leaves and placed over a fire. When it was done (and time was not kept), we piled it in the calabash bowls and ate it. The taste was like nothing I’ve ever had at home, and I honestly don’t know how to describe it. Imagine a lot of fruit and vegetables cooked, mixed and served to you. It was hard work, but it felt great when it was done. Accomplishment!! For the most part, everyone enjoyed it. By this time, it was pitch black and we could hardly make out what we were eating. It was a great day ashore, full of hard work, but still a great day!

Hi to everyone at home. Everything is great down in the Caribbean. I’ll see most of you in June when we arrive back in Maine.

Myron Hahn

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Dolphins off the Starboard Bow

                       

            So here we are in Grenada. We arrived today, March 3^rd, after a short passage from Carriacou. Before that, we had a delightful stay in Bequia. Ever since Dominica, there have only been little hops from island to island, which I’ve enjoyed. After Grenada, we sail to Trinidad, the last little hop before the big trip to the Dominican Republic.

            On one of our hops, I believe it was from Dominica to Bequia, we saw one of the coolest things I have ever seen. We were sailing along, when someone shouted “Dolphins off the starboard bow.” We all saw a pod of 50-100 dolphins coming from a short distance away. It looked like a bunch of tiny minnows jumping. They jump in the same manner as minnows, but they are dolphins!

            The dolphins got closer to the boat, still jumping all around, in and out of the water. When they got to the ship, they reversed direction and started swimming with the ship, jumping in and around the ship’s bow wake. Looking over the rail, I could see them in the water swimming alongside the hull. After a few minutes of this, the dolphins got bored I suppose and started to swimming away in their big pod. We watched them jump and swim away. Even after a few minutes, we could follow their progress by looking at the white water where they jumped. Seeing the dolphins was definitely the coolest thing I have seen while sailing!!

Carter Goodell

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Reflections on Carriacou

            On March 2, our vessel was anchored off the island of Carriacou. It was our second action-packed day on the island. Early in the morning, we prepared for another glorious snorkel in the Caribbean waters. Clad only in bathing suits, fins, masks and snorkels, we loaded into the small boats and motored to the snorkel site, which was fifteen minutes away off a small, sandy key. As we disembarked from the small boats in Navy Seal Special Forces style, the waters took us once again into majestic places. This snorkel site was especially fish-filled, with several varieties of parrotfishes, damselfish, needlefish and even a small lemon shark. All the students are getting much more comfortable identifying the underwater creatures and we can relate to each other with delight when we find some especially interesting looking creature.

            After the snorkel, we did a quick change and gear grab and headed out once more to the island of Carriacou. On shore, all twenty-four of us hailed a few taxis to take us to Tyrell Bay. There, we spent four hours on a beach, taking turns paddling kayaks over to a mangrove forest. In small groups we crossed part of the bay and entered the mangrove forest, which was also full of exciting plants and animals. Peering over the side of my banana-colored kayak, the clear water ended in a muddy brown bottom dotted with upside-down jellies. Fish and birds flew over the water (yes, flying fish are always popping up) and small crabs and clams filled the prop roots of the mangrove trees. A peaceful place for inner reflections and worldly observations, the quiet river let us drift along absorbing the sunshine and appreciate what a beautiful world we live in. This was a perfect way to experience the island on our last day in Carriacou.

Chelsea Kimball

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Beautiful Bequia

Bequia was my favorite island for multiple reasons, including the beautiful landscape, beaches, interesting houses and the ocean. But one reason made it the very best for me…the sea turtles! We walked on a beautiful long and twisty road for around an hour to a sea turtle sanctuary run by a man named Brother King. Brother King opened the sanctuary purely for his love of sea turtles when he started to notice that while free diving, he was seeing less and less of them. Our first interaction with Brother King was when we walked into his turtle sanctuary and he was standing against a tank, giving a tour to around fifteen people. While he was completing his tour and we were waiting, we got to pet the huge turtles, stare at the small ones, and explore his huge red-footed tortoise population. It was amazing to stroke the patterned shell of the sea turtle as it swam past you, almost oblivious to your existence. After about ten minutes of waiting, Brother King stared a tour with us. He showed us the healthy big sea turtle tank, the baby sea turtle tank, the teenage sea turtle tank, and the tank where he held a deformed adult sea turtle. Brother King talked to us for about an hour, sharing how he started the sanctuary and he also told stories. One was about him discovering that the turtles eat tuna fish because he accidentally dropped a tuna sandwich in a tank a long time ago. The second was about how he had survived a shipwreck that proved deadly to seven others. After he was done telling us about his incredible adventures, we were again able to pet and take pictures of the sea turtles and tortoises. I was even able to get a video of a sea turtle trying to bite my camera! Overall, it was an amazing day of walking, sight seeing, and observing turtles. The day ended with a beautiful walk back and a stop on the beach for swimming and history class. It was one of the most beautiful white sand beaches I have ever seen.

P.S. Mom and Dad, I Love you!

Clayton Hennin

  

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A trip to the Boiling Lake

            We arrived in Dominica and the feeling of excitement was overwhelming us. As we came closer to shore we could make out small houses on the tops of the mountains. A massive white wall belonging to a cruise ship blocked the small city of Roseau. We made our way to where we would be anchoring and finally Roseau was completely visible. Although the city is a great place, it would have to wait for us to explore it. Our first journey on land would be going on a long hike to the boiling hike. This is one of Dominica’s toughest hikes. With spirits high we first embarked on a long, very exciting taxi ride. Finally we arrived at the beginning of the hike and our guides gave us natural war paint for our faces. As we started our hike, there were huge trees everywhere and the amount of green was amazing. There were trees that no one had ever seen before, with roots in all shapes and sizes. The ground was slippery and muddy. Our shoes were immediately covered in the thick mud. The trail wasn’t east and required some athletic jumping, which was difficult. The view of never ending stairs didn’t help morale, but the view at the top did. We hiked down into the valley of desolation. There was an overwhelming smell of sulfur and rotten eggs. Strangely enough, eggs were on the menu for a snack. Our guide, Sea Cat, had boiled some eggs in the naturally boiling water. They were really delicious and didn’t taste like sulfur. We continued onward to the boiling lake with the smell of sulfur passing every once and a while. We passed a few unusual rivers with shiny grey water. The color of the rocks highlighted the color of the rivers even more. We finally approached the boiling lake. We headed up the side of a small hill, turned a corner and ended up on a platform, a dead end. We had arrived at the boiling lake, although at the moment it was not visible because of a large cloud of smoke. Soon the wind would blow, revealing a large bowl of water boiling at the center. We had lunch, took some group photos, and reluctantly began the hike back. The return home seemed much easier and shorter, although it was still a challenge for us. Finishing was a relief but the whole experience was very rewarding.

Diego Purcell

                                    

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Carib Culture

       

           Today we had a 0600 wake-up for a trip to see and experience Carib culture in Dominica. So far, it’s been my favorite port. Dominica has a nice city, a cool fruit market and the infamous boiling lake hike. We went ashore and climbed into our vans, which took us to numerous places. The first stop was a grapefruit farm. We loaded up on some fruit for the ship, and then continued on to a local beach to stretch our legs after a long drive. Then we went up a mountain to experience some Carib culture.

            As our van blasted Bob Marley music with very high base but great sound quality, we stopped at a small basket weaving shop and I got a few gifts for my family. We continued to drive through the area and sampled homemade cassava bread. Next we went to a local home to taste homemade chocolate. Finally, we went to a local pool for swim call.

Thomas Cornell

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