Active Week

So alot has happened since my last post. I have been really active now that the weather has cleared up and it feels like paradise again.

Last Friday, I got up and got in on a last minute dive before work. We went to Caveel Rock, which is supposed to be one of the best dives on the island, and it lived up to its name. We dove all around this rock and swam through canyons and over gullies. Visibility wasn't great, but there was still a lot to see. Because the rock is a ways off shore there is a lot of larger see life, like schools of squid, Tarpin and turtles. The coral is very beautiful, lots of really large, purple fan coral and bright red fire coral. I got back just in time to get to work, but it was worth it.

Saturday I went to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) with some other 4 hour volunteers. We were on a tourist bout that made several stops on the different islands. First we went to Virgin Gorda to see the Baths. The Baths are granite rocks that were forced from the earth by tectonic shift and these particular batholiths are the only ones in the world with water flowing throughout them. They were really cool, but hard to describe without pictures, which are coming soon. After the baths, we sailed to the east end of the island of Tortola, to a little island called Marina Cay. There we had lunch and went snorkeling. The we sailing to the island of Jost Van Dyke. This island has no dock at our landing, very few roads and lots of bars. One of the most famous, the Soggy Dollar Bar (because you have to swim from the boats to the shore and buy drinks with your soggy dollars) was having a raging party for its 40th anniversary. The party was really fun and we all seriously considered staying and ditching our tour. We came home though and threw our own beach party for one of the volunteers birthdays.

Monday, I went for an epic 3 hr snorkel and saw a bunch of turtles, tried to catch a lobster and got stung by fire coral. The water here is amazing and the sea life is so beautiful. They have done such a great job preserving the reefs within the park and maintaining a healthy ecosystem. However there is an experience to be had on island that is not easily forgotten, happy hour at Woody's. Dollar drinks and loud music, people everywhere spilling into the street and obstructing traffic, it is pretty amazing.

Tuesday I went on a 10 mile hike on the reef bay trail. The trail is famous for taking you to a series of waterfalls where petroglyphs were carved by the Taino Indians, the first inhabitants of the island. The trail also takes you to the ruins of a large sugar mill and to a very beautiful, quite beach where pelicans fish all day. We felt like we managed to see every kind of animal on the island, from pelicans, to donkeys, bats, mongoose, deer, and iguanas. We were exhausted when we got done and came home to crash.

I have been working the last few days and am waiting for my day off, which will be Monday. Work is great and I made a fish taco dish and and spicy shrimp pizza the last two nights that got great reviews. Mark, the head chef, seems to like my work and my food, which is very exciting for me. I am sorry there are no pictures, the computers are slow and it takes a really long time. I miss everyone but am really happy here. Thanks for the comments guys.