(The view from our balcony)
Mini-digression#1: For those who don't know, I love rum. Particularly the "real" stuff made in the Caribbean which is stronger and better flavored than what you can find in the States. On our honeymoon, I thoroughly enjoyed sampling the rum punch on each island we visited. :)
Tuesday: We awoke to the sound of the ocean and sunlight streaming in our open windows. Without lifting my head from my pillow, I could see the ocean! :) What a fabulous way to wake up! We drug ourselves out of bed and stumbled down to breakfast where we enjoyed fresh tropical fruit and a full breakfast with the birds. Some of the local birds (bananquit & bull finch) apparently like sugar so they come into the porch where breakfast was served to snack on pastries and each sugar out of the sugar jars on the table. We found it immensely entertaining. We also discovered that Tuesday was cruise ship day and the ship was pulling into port as we were eating. It was amazing how everyone in town seemed to spring to life in response to the cruise ship... it's a shame thought that most people don't realize the impacts that large scale cruise tourism can have on small islands, people, and coral reefs.
(The view from my pillow - we could hear and see the ocean!)
After breakfast, we headed to the meeting to watch talks and we were able to sit with two other friends from grad school, Alison and Jill. (Although I missed Wade, I was relishing the week of girly fun with friends!) After lunch we snuck out early to work on our talks for a bit. Yes, we're bad, I know, we should have already made our talks. but, since mine was supposed to be based on the findings from my workshop and things were a little more difficult than expected, it took me a while to process things. Once the talks were done for the day, there was more rum punch, then we tagged along with Jill who was helping staff the meeting (during grad school, she did work at ITME, the host lab). We piled into the back of truck and headed 20 minutes to hang out at the lab. On the way up we stopped for sandwiches and were treated to bats flitting through the air just overhead! (we also found out that Dominica is home to a fish eating bat!) We talked the night away at the lab before finally heading back to melt into bed. Although we were getting seabreezes on the island, it was still hot and muggy, so we quickly discovered the cold showers were a best way to stay cool.
(Whitney, me, Jill, and Alison hanging out at ITME)
(The bottom of Middleham Falls, which is a few hundred feet high!)
Thursday: After watching Jill, Alison, and Erinn give their talks, I was starting to feel nervous about my talk (sucking). After breakfast, I went back to the room to practice then rejoined the group after lunch for my talk. Whitney and I both spoke in the early afternoon and we were both happy once it was done. To celebrate, we went for a swim in the hotel pool that looked out over the ocean. That night was a banquet and I was happy to see more vegetarian options than meat options on the buffet line! When I asked the chef what was for dinner his response was "Ah, vegetarian - that's how we do things here!". It was a good dinner, and after it and some more rum punch, Whitney and I were ready to fall into bed. We turned out the lights, but ended up talking and laughing in bed for another hour before finally drifting off to the sounds of the ocean.
(The view from the pool, complete with my and Whitney's feet basking in the sun)
Mini-digression #2: Fresh local juice is served at every meal because there is such an abundance of produce... guava, papaya, grapefruit, passion fruit, "cherry" (some small fruit that is not what you would know as a cherry), etc. Because of this "natural resource", making rum punch (esp. with local rum) is really fantastic and cheaper than drinking soda or tequila or whatever has to be flown in.
Friday: We missed some of the early talks due to our inability to get ourselves to move faster than island time. By now, we had gotten in the habit of sleeping about 9-10 hours every night and it was glorious. After the talks, we wrestled up some brave troops for an adventure. I was really ready to see more of the island, and the allure of an island beach bar on a black sand beach was more than I could take. We ate an early dinner then Whitney, Alison, and I along with four others trekked across town to find a public bus (the same Nissan vans) which was super cheap. We found the right one and once we were all in, there were 18 people total in the van, our group of 7 squished in with 11 locals like sardines. But, it was well worth it. Once we arrived at Mero Beach, everyone's cares were forgotten. We ordered a round of rum punches (homemade with only fresh passion fruit juice and local cane rum) and the local Kabuli beer. We sat under the swaying palms and talked about the fate of the world and it's coral reefs. After two rounds of progressively stronger punch we were ready for the water. After soaking up the water and sun, we headed back to the bar for more drinks. On the way out I found seaglass in the sand (beach+bar=seaglass in greens, browns, and whites!) so we proceeded to pick through the surf for treasures before heading home (after one last rum punch of course!). That night, we stayed up talking about how to save coral reefs some more, before finally succumbing to bed.
(The black sand at Mero Beach - see how it sparkles?!)
(Sunset approaches on Mero Beach)
Mini-digression #3: One of the things I loved about traveling with Whitney is that she can sleep as longer or longer than I can. If you don't know, I can sleep about 12 hours if I'm really beat, and on average, I need about 9 or 10 hours a night to really function properly (yeah, I'm screwed if we have kids)
Saturday: All week, I had been perplexed about how early the sun must rise for it to be so bright by 7:30am. This morning I finally figured it out - I awoke once by accident at 5:15am to see dawn just beginning to break. And I knew that by 6:15 am it was fully up. This morning we stuffed ourselves at breakfast in preparation for our next field trip to the Indian River and snorkeling off the town of Portsmouth on the NE coast. We piled into a taxi with 3 other people, so it was practically like having a private tour. We enjoyed the scenic ride up the coast to the mouth of the Indian River. There we got into a row boat with a guide who paddled us up river. (This was another filming location for Pirates) We saw beautiful countryside, tropical trees, fish, and the air was filled with birds and their calls. After a half hour we docked at a little old wooden dock and found a little makeshift bar where they bring folks on tour. We ate local bananas and fresh coconut and watched hummingbirds, banaquits, and butterflies buzz about. It was incredibly relaxing and just what we needed. After that we were paddled back and taken to another beach bar for a late lunch (and more rum punch). Then we snorkeled before the rain moved in and we headed back. We got back just in time for me to meet up with Wade online again, then Whitney and I headed to dinner at what was rumored to be the best place in town. When we arrived, we were surprised - it was a very sophisticated looking place on the inside (but the entrance was in an alley!) that was open to the outdoors. The chef was jamming out to Prince and we had the place to ourselves. The food was wonderful (even for Sarasota or DC standards) and we toasted to having a fun and successful week. We packed that night and tried not to think about having to return to reality the next day.
(Our chariots await us - ours was the teal and yellow one)
(The view heading up the Indian River)
Sunday, May 31: We ate a leisurely breakfast before checking our work e-mail (I finally got mine to work). Ugh. Harsh reality sets in. Then we checked out and boarded the taxi for the airport. The drive to the airport was quiet despite the full van. I think everyone was saying goodbye to paradise and thinking about the work that lay ahead of them at home. Fortunately, we were flying out with a big group of folks that Alison works with, so it was nice to have company. Once we landed in San Juan, Whitney literally ran to make her connection, which she successfully did. I had dinner with Alison & co. which was fun - such a nice change not having to travel and eat alone! We eventually parted ways as they were destined for Miami, and me for Tampa. I got home a little late and was in bed by 1:30am. It was wonderful to see my hubby and furry kids again, but we were both exhausted and headed straight to bed.
(A banaquit sneaking some sugar at breakfast)
(The bar, and only place we could get internet, go figure)
For more pictures from my Caribbean adventure, check out our Picasa site here .
