Island Tour

Alright, my last blog post ended last Wednesday, I need to do a bit of catching up. The next day- Last Thursday some of the members of the Branch decided they wanted to go to Batibou Beach and invited all of us Newbies to come.  It was about a 20min transit ride and from there it was about a 15min walk down to the beach. As you can see from the sign, it looks like this beach has it ALL! Food, Drinks, Babes, Diving, Snorkeling...we were pretty excited! We were completely unprepared for what we found there. It was the most BEAUTIFUL beach I have ever seen! It was like walking into a painting. Absolutely no one around, we had the beach 100% to ourselves. There was a little bamboo bar that was half built, I suppose when the Bar is done being built there will be food and drinks and women down there, perhaps the sign was a “coming soon” kind of deal. We had an incredible time.

 

Friday was also an exciting day for us, we were able to buy a washing machine! It’s nothing like a washing machine at home, its more like a spinning tube with a lid. We are very excited to have it because most people here just get there laundry sent out and a local washes it, and that can get pretty pricey. When I want to do Laundry I put the washer in the bathroom with the drain tube in the shower, I fill it with my cloths, then I get a big bucket fill it in my kitchen and dump the water into the machine. It takes about 3 buckets to fill it. I add my soap and put the timer on. When its done I move the dial from “wash” to “drain” and the water drains from the machine into my shower. Then I hang my cloths outside on the cloths line to dry. Its super easy!.....Now that I understand how to work it. But unfortunately on Friday when we first got it, I didn’t quite understand how it was suppose to work. And I sprayed water all over my house...4 times. The first time we tried, we had the washer in the kitchen and the drain hose reaching up into the kitchen sink, with something heavyish on top of it to keep it in place. When we tried to drain the water, nothing happened. We decided the hose was broken and went in for a closer look. When we removed the heavy object off the hose, water started gushing out with amazing force soaking our kitchen. Fair enough. For our second attempt, we tried it the exact same way without the heavy object. We tried to drain the water...nothing happened. We decided the machine was broken and decided to move it into the bedroom. I forgot to mention that in the kitchen we had the washer resting on 2 chairs so the cord and hose would reach. We lifted it off the chairs, and as soon as we did water went spraying everywhere. Round 3, we try it in the bathroom the hose in the shower (now the hose is lower than the machine-gravity) with a heavy object on top to hold it in place. I will also note at this point Joel left to the store to try and get a tube extension or something, so attempts 3 and 4 were all me. This 3^rd way worked fairly well, except that now with gravity to help the water when I asked it to drain, it drained too well, shooting the heavy object off of the hose and spraying wildly around the room. This time I didn’t even flinch as the water soaked me...just stood there with my hand to my chin trying to figure out how to work this thing. Round 4...I, using everything I had available, I built an intricate tunnel for the drain hose to fit into, with shampoo bottles, towels, and my heavy object on top. Like in attempt one...it was now too heavy and did not let the water escape, and like the silly girl I am. I started removing objects 1 at a time...until the water started gushing and sprayed the bathroom again. This is when Joel re-appeared with an extension cord, he also figured a way to use an elastic band to hold the hose in place. BRILLIANT! So Me, our cloths, and the house got a good wash down on Friday. 4 times.

Saturday was pretty darn Fantastic! A member of our branch was planning a trip to Emerald Pool, and  she invited a bunch of us Newbies. At the last minute she wasn’t able to go, but being the adventurous group we are, the rest of us decided we were going to go through with it. We hired a Driver for the Whole day. His name was Peter and he was WONDERFUL! If any of you ever come visit I will hire Peter for the day to show us around. He came to pick us Up early in the morning, and we told him that we were all brand new and to show us EVERYTHING. And show us everything he did! He drove super slow and pulled over tons and gave us a detailed history on everything we saw. Peter pulled over on this hill and let us take picture of this cute little town boarding the sea.

 Guess what this is...Thats right! A coco bean! This is what delicious chocolate is made out of! As big as Joels hand!

 We finally arrived at Emerald! When we got there, there is a path that you start walking down a path that follows this beautiful fresh water stream. (Interesting Side note: There are 365 rivers in Dominica, 1 for every day of the year as the locals like to say)

 You follow the path for about 15 min or so and it is one of the most beautiful walks a person could ever take. Also, we are at the heart of the island and middle of the rainforest right now, so with all the shade and moisture it was the perfect temperature. The first time since we have been here that we didn't feel like we were melting.

 You keep following the River until it hits this drop off and becomes a beautiful waterfall. Right below is what is known as Emerald Pool.

 Once again, we had the place pretty much to ourselves and we had a blast playing in this little pool! If I was able to figure this out right, the picture above should be a video of us at Emerald. If it didn't work the same video is on my Facebook page.

After Emerald Pool, Peter took us to Champagne Beach. Its called Champagne because there is volcanic rock under the water here that shoots up air causing streams of bubbles in the water so its like your swimming in a Champagne glass. We didn't come prepared with our snorkeling stuff this time, so we will go back a different day and show you pictures. The Beach is 100% rocks, there is no sand until you are a good distance out in the water. I know it doesnt look great but to be honest, I loved the rock beach! I laid down on it and it was like getting a hot stone massage! So relaxing, and there was no sand to make you all dirty and sticky and cling to your everywhere and you dry off super fast on the rocks. The waves sound amazing crashing on the rocks and best of all...without the sand to make a mess...the water to crystal clear.

 There were lots of Iguanas hanging out in the trees at Champagne beach. After that Peter took us to the capital city of Roseau and then Home again! It was a fun filled fantastic day. Later that night we had dinner at a friends house. She made the most Delicious pizza ever! It was the perfect end to the perfect day.