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. 

Survival

 Joel and I are having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that we live here. It seems like it should just be a vacation or something which gives the impression that time is running out, but since we have been here, we have been so busy and done so much it feels like we have been here forever, it seems impossible that it’s been less than a week! Very strange. Here is an update on the last few days. The school held a Welcome out BBQ that was FANTASTIC! Okay okay- so it was no Alberta Beef, but the food was still great, and the entertainment was wonderful! Anyone who knows me and Joel well knows that we have a weird obsession with steel drums. There was a steel drum band in Lethbridge and we did everything we could to NEVER miss a show. I guess that means we moved to the right place hey? The group that played at the BBQ was a kids band and they were fantastic! Loved them. Very impressed. 

 















Wednesday was a busy day.  I was hanging out in the apartment in the morning when there was a knock at the door.  It was the cleaner! (As part of our rent we have a woman that comes to clean our house once a week) So this is my first experience with this kind of thing. I will also note, that we just got our last bag off the plane the night before. Okay, so the cleaner is at the door, and I am mortified that the house is so messy because I am still unpacking.  She said she didn’t care, but I insisted she come back later. She went and cleaned some other apartments and I went on a mad dash cleaning spree.  She came back and my house was beautiful. She gave me a funny look and told me I didn’t have to clean for her, that was her job.  She said next week to just leave the house alone and let her take care of it. I guess we will have to see how next week goes haha. In the afternoon we went on a River Boat trip. This is the same river they filmed Pirated of the Caribbean 2 –when they are on their way to Calypsos house. It was incredible.  I honestly cant even describe how beautiful the river was and how much I loved it. If I could afford it, I would boat up/down that river every single day I am here. (Also,  its about a 15 min walk from my apartment).  There were so many different types of crab, lizards and you can see the fish swimming all around. Its opens right into the ocean so its half fresh half salt water river. Barracudas swim up the river to eat the smaller fish. Its lined with trees, and the tree roots keep the banks of the river from eroding into it.  So you will have tall thin trees with HUGE flat roots. Very fantastic. 

 

In the evening we watched our first sunset on the beach. It was beautiful, there were so many crabs running around on the beach. We were walking home, it was dark out but we had a flashlight so it was okay...mostly. A local dog started following us home, Joel turned around to look at it, and in that split moment when he took his eyes and flashlight off the path...and stepped on a crab...which snapped onto his ankle.  It mostly got his shoe so he was fine, and the crab when running off to the side, so they were both fine. However...I didn’t know what was happening, All I had to go on was Joel jumped and screamed. Not much makes that boy scream, so I went into full survival mode. Again, I had no idea what was happening, I just went with my jut instincts...which I am embarrassed to admit...As soon as Joel screamed,  I pushed him into the bushes and ran as fast as I could away from him. Once I was at a safe distance I yelled back and asked if he was okay. He said it was just a crab and came and caught up with me. His first words when we got back together were “I can’t believe  I included you in my Zombie apocalypse plan”. 

Anyways, the Moral of the story is everyone is safe and happy and we love the Caribbean