days twenty-nine, thirty, and thirty-one

Instead of beginning the day with classes, we dressed up in our nicest outfits for something out of the ordinary – a TV interview! Mr. Martin has a television show each Wednesday, and he had scheduled to interview our group about our opinions of Dominica. Unfortunately, there was a timing miscommunication, so the shoot was delayed until the afternoon. With time to kill, I headed to Cartwheel Café for the last time to get my favorite cheese salad, and Kristen and I got our last Juice Man smoothies (mango+pineapple+papaya=yum!). At 2:30, the cameraman came, and asked us a few questions about the trip. I got a little tongue tied and stuck with “this place is beautiful,” which I repeated a few times for emphasis. Good thing Mr. Martin’s show doesn’t air in Delaware! I spent the rest of the afternoon studying for finals, but soon enough came what we’d all been looking forward to: Screw’s Spa. Formed by natural sulfur springs and shaped into pools of different temperatures, Screw’s is a tourist attraction we’d been hearing about all month. After a day of hiking, my sore muscles and joints were ready for a relaxing dip into a natural hot tub! Even though it was raining, we all readily jumped into the pools for the next 2 hours. After a soothing couple of hours at the Spa, we headed back to the hotel for more studying. I ate some snacks to hold me over for an hour of FREC before Felicity and I ordered Pizza Hut (the final order) for a late dinner. How I will miss barbeque chicken pizza at 9:30 while studying for finals. After a couple more hours of review, Backstreet Boys (Mike was quite the backup singer), and praying (as Dr. Seraphin advised), I headed up to bed. Hard to believe the trip is coming to an end!

Exams. Packing. Napping. Snacking. Watching the rain. Basically all I did until the farewell dinner Wednesday night. We had over some guests who we’d met during the course of our stay, such as Mr. Martin, Dr. Shillingford, and the director of the tourism program at the Dominica State College. Our seats mingled with those of the guests, I sat next to Faye, Mr. Martin’s wife. She was such a mom – having Kaspar get her more food and being so excited about her new puppy dog. It was a great evening to wrap up our time in Dominica! Plus there was more cake (courtesy of Faye), so it was a really great evening. I took time for myself to relax, so I played some solitaire and watched more HGTV. Before I knew it, it was time to get some sleep before leaving in the morning.

Goodbye Dominica! I spent the morning near the cruise ship dock, watching a local fisherman take in his catch. A truly relaxing way to appreciate Dominica’s culture and simplicity. After a late breakfast and some final packing, we jammed our belongings into Skell’s van for the last time. I accidently picked the “man van” for the ride, but it was a fun trip. Seth and Dan were great DJs and singers, keeping the whole group entertained. Pretty soon we were at the airport, going through security and boarding our puddle jumper. We took off over the Atlantic, and were soon flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I passed through customs (a first), my bags got smelled by a guard dog, and I didn’t have a nervous breakdown! After a hurried quesadilla lunch in the airport’s Margaritaville, we boarded for our last flight to JFK. Once again, I sat next to Mike (like the first flight), but this time Sarah sat with us, too. A long four hours later (I’ve decided I don’t like flying, especially not with turbulence), we landed in AMERICA! Never have I been so excited to see city lights – thank the Lord for a safe trip home. Chocolate milk was my go-to purchase to prepare me for the 3-hour bus ride to Newark; I chugged it in under a minute, not the best decision, but no regrets. Once I closed my eyes, it seemed like we were crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge into New Castle. Granted, it was 40 degrees outside, but I love Delaware no matter what and I was overjoyed to be in the homeland. Once we got to Towson Hall and unloaded, my mom pulled in – good timing! Papa H helped me pack my car before I said my ‘see you later’ s to everyone (it’s never goodbye in someplace as small as Delaware). After a day of travelling, it took no time to fall asleep as my head hit the pillow. Thank you, Dominica, for the best month of my life!

day twenty-eight

My alarm went off at 6 am – a terrible time anywhere, but especially terrible when it’s because of a 6 hour hike in the very near future. Today was the hike of hikes, the one that had been in the back of my mind since the trip had started – the hike to the Valley of Desolation and the Boiling Lake. A half an hour bus ride us a steep mountain led us to the beginning point of the hike, Titou Gorge. This was a filming location for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, when the crew is being chased by the cannibalistic island people. Thankfully, we weren’t here because of a chase, but just for the sake of hiking. We walked up a gently sloping hill for 45 minutes, before a 15 descent straight down to the Breakfast River. It’s so named because of it’s location: travellers coming from the eastern side of the island would stop here for breakfast on their journey to Roseau. After a brief break, we began a (seemingly) 90 degree ascent to the top of another mountain, named Nicholas something after the guy who first climbed it and named it. After going up a never-ending staircase for almost an hour, we reached the summit – a plateau with a view of the Atlantic. After another brief break, we descended into the Valley of Desolation. A 30 minute hike down included a wall of rock and streams going into the Valley, leading to a slippery but exciting challenge. The entire hike had thus far smelled of sulfur, but here it was overpowering. The natural sulfur springs from the island’s volcanic origin make the streams boil and bubble, giving off stream and an eerie look to the place. Some of the group put the natural sulfur mud on their faces as war paint, but discovered it was a facial, too. It was really neat to see water boiling just feet from where I was standing, but heading back to the trail away from the heat was a relief. We walked a thin trail, down a hill and then up another huge hill, to another Valley of Desolation-looking area. After being passed by another group of hikers, we pressed on. Only 15 minutes away from the Lake, I felt like I was going to collapse from the intense 3 hours I had just hiked, but I pushed through. We climbed another rock wall and walked through a field to a sunning view – steam. Because of the high water temperatures, the Lake is completely covered in steam, preventing anything from being seen until the occasional gust of wind comes by and clears it for a photo. We are lunch, took some pictures, and rested a bit before embarking on a 3 hour journey back to Titou Gorge. I have no idea how I did it. By the time we reached Breakfast River, it had been raining intensively, making the trail muddy and slippery. My glasses were so coated in rain droplets that they were rendered useless, so I began carrying them. I was out of water, and the river is completely pure drinking water, so I leaned over to fill up my bottle. My glasses, which had been transferred to my head, fell off right into the river. After a few expletitives and frantic searching, Papa Hastings came to the rescue! He found them while I had been just grabbing twigs resembling glasses. Thank You, Lord! Another hour on the trail and we were at the Gorge. We all jumped in, clothes and all, for a relaxing swim in the cold water. The Gorge is a small river that has cut through rock (somewhat like the Grand Canyon, but on a much smaller scale). We swam through the crystal clear water and took in the breathtaking view – after 7 hours on the trail, this was a wonderful and rewarding experience. This trip was not nearly as muddy as Morne Diablotin, but a fun and memorable experience nonetheless. Dinner at the hotel, with a surprise: it was Dr. Seraphin’s 62^nd birthday! He had neglected to tell anyone, but his wife had called the hotel and they made him carrot cake. Such a fun surprise to end the day. After finishing up the group paper for GEOG, watching some trashy TV, and Skyping home, sleep was the welcomed with open arms.

days twenty-six and twenty-seven

Saturday began the Carnival celebrations! Carnival is the period before Ash Wednesday, similar to how Mardi Gras is in New Orleans. Except from what I can tell it is WAY more exciting and fun! We spent the beginning of the day doing small errands – going to the bank, getting some more souvenirs, doing the FREC study guide for the impending final – in preparation for the fun afternoon ahead! The opening parade goes right down King George V Street, where our hotel balcony looks out. The parade was supposed to start at 3, but being in Dominica, it didn’t begin until 3:45. And begin it did! The music from the steel drums, the loudspeakers, and the roar of the crowd let everyone know that this was the event of the month. It lasted for over 2 hours – so different than Macy’s Thanksgiving, that’s for sure! Instead of floats, people decorated trucks with ribbon and blared music from their cars. A main aspect of Carnival is the pageant scene for teenage girls, so a large portion of the parade was watching the girls go by on decorated truck beds, holding umbrellas above their heads to escape the blinding sun. They handed out candy and family members walked alongside with t-shirts of the girls’ faces on them. We saw stilt walkers, local dance groups, and lots of costumes. At the end of the parade, one of the final “floats” is a truck full of freebees: mini toothpaste, gum packs, chocolate bars, stuff like that. Definitely our group’s favorite one to watch. We all yelled “up here!” to get their attention, and made it a challenge for them to toss stuff up to our balcony. I got some interesting stuff: guava kool aid, Stride gum, and Halls throat drops. The end of the parade was a mass mob of people in front of a DJ float, jumping with the beat and shaking the entire city. I’m not sure how they got 30 people to fit on one truck, but they made it work! I’m pretty sure everything in the parade would have been illegal in the US – the insanely loud music, the amount of people on floats, and the height of some structures not fitting under electrical wires, but it was such a fun cultural experience. Since Laughing Lobster was closed, we ate lunch at Dynasty Chinese next to the hotel, where I order kung pao chicken. I don’t think it’s supposed to be spicy, but I downed about 4 glasses of water to eat it – delicious, but my white girl background couldn’t handle the seasoning. Kristen and I spent the remainder of the evening attempting to study for finals, but would up watching more TV and crashing early.

A goal that I had before the trip started was to go to church in Dominica at least once, and this Sunday was my last opportunity. I woke up bright and early, put on my Sunday best, and walked the two blocks to Our Lady of Fairhaven, the Catholic Church in Roseau. It’s so interesting (but awesome) how church here is almost the same as St. Elizabeth’s at home, except for me being the only white person there. Mass was very similar, but they sing more things that we say, like the Our Father, and their accents make the Alleluia sound cooler. Irony moment: the topic of the homily was listening, and I was listening my heart out because the priest’s accent was so strong that I only caught half of every other sentence. My favorite part of Mass was the ending announcements, when they asked those whose birthdays were this week to stand. The congregation sang Happy Birthday and May the Good Lord Bless You, reminding me of family birthday parties – love it! I channeled my inner tourist and took pictures after Mass was over (not sure if that’s allowed…oh well) and walked back to the hotel for breakfast. After some more studying, Felicity and I went to the IGA to buy lunch foods. I love how cheap fruit is here – 10 cents US for a huge grapefruit! After a lunch of grapefruit and cookie crisps, I went back to work on the FREC study guide. Dinner at the hotel was my favorite so far – birthday celebration night! It was Dr. Hastings’s 62^nd birthday, so Alex, Felicity, Kristen, and I made him cards for the group to sign for him. We also celebrated Kaspar and Sarah’s birthdays, as they had them over the trip. The hotel made chocolate cake and toasted coconut cake (SO GOOD) and gave us strawberry ice cream, too. Such a fun dessert! After Once Upon a Time, we hit the sack early. I was nervous and excited for the 6 hour hike on Monday!