Location: Falmouth, Antuiga
Hi! It’s Chloe! It’s crazy to think that the last time I was writing this blog, we were leaving to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Now, 28 days later, we are at our final destination, Antigua. I have to admit, it feels great. The island has presented us with a lot to do so far- and our crew has definitely been soaking in every minute we can get of the greenery, the bright blue waters, and the strong, warm sun of the Caribbean.
Now, for the activities of today. Teo woke me up at the ripe time of 6:30 a.m.- where frankly, I thought I arose quite rested, until I blinked. After this “blink”, I checked my phone for the time, and it was 6:55. Great! I now had 5 minutes to get up, change, brush my teeth, make coffee, choose how to wake everyone up, and carefully select my song of choice. Now, there was a very important ingredient to the recipe that was my wake-up: it’s Samantha’s birthday today!!! I walked into the salon, asked Charlie, Aidan, and Cam for their opinions on a birthday song, and was delighted when Aidan enthusiastically offered “Birthday Song” by 2 Chainz and Kanye Westapparently, a classic in his household. In my personal opinion, it was a great start to everyone’s day.
Breakfast consisted of eggs, bacon, fruit, and bread with a spread of peanut butter, honey, and jelly. We were truly spoiled. I was excited to take my nap after breakfast (gluttonous, I know), and then I was blessed and graced with the announcement that anyone who didn’t have dives to do (around 10ish people, me included) had a boat job to do: to clean the grey water tank. For reference, the grey water tank holds everything we say “out of sight, out of mind” to everything that goes down the drain. Whether that’s in the heads or in the galley. I took a minute to hang my head and embrace my loss before I stood up and began to get ready. I put on some clothes I was willing to get dirty, and got up on deck. Shane led the assignment, and my group consisted of Luca, Hailey, Gem, Matt, Bryson, and Emily. Our first task was the forward grey water tank, which- verbatim- Shane said actually smelled “quite nice”. I care to disagree. While Shane asked for volunteers to hose, I didn’t realize what I was signing up for when I raised my hand. I’m sure Hailey didn’t either. I’m only glad I wasn’t Matt or Bryson, because they had the short end of the stick, which was to shop-vac all of the water out in the first place. I don’t think words can describe the smell that came out of this tank. The tank was screwed shut with a long line-up of bolts, and one by one, as they were unscrewed, the smell got more and more pungent. Lovely. Bryson and I plugged our noses with toilet paper, but at one point, we accepted defeat and tried to get used to it. I could write a whole book on cleaning out the grey water tanks, but I think it would make all our readers lose their appetite, and honestly, I wouldn’t enjoy it. Honorable mention: Teagan and Amelia also greased the engine, my women in STEM.
After we did the dreaded task, Luca, Hailey, and I decided to reward ourselves and take a dip in the bright blue waters. With our masks and flippers on, we dove in and flopped around for a good hour. In the water with us were Sabrina, Matt, Gem, Bryson, Alexa, Teagan, and the birthday girl herself. Some of us tried to reach the bottom- Gem, Matt, and Bryson were successful (Bryson even brought up a handful of sand as proof); however, I was not. We finished up in the water and decided to lie on the net, sharing stories and soaking in the sun. I think it was my favorite part of today.
I’ve already written a lot, so I’ll keep lunch short: a great Mediterranean bowl consisting of a fresh veggie medley, quinoa (is that how you spell it?), tofu (no chickpeas today), hummus, and feta. Thank you, Cam and Sous!
Waiting for us after lunch was shore time going to a secluded location called the Mermaid Pools- a collection of tide pools on the beach. We were told it was an hour and a half walk, and I severely underestimated my ability to walk that long in flip-flops, even though Shane recommended real shoes. The hike began on the roads of the town, then led deeper into the forest, until we broke out of the trees and were suddenly surrounded by cacti, lots of green, and a great, tall view of the open ocean. It was incredible. There will be pictures attached, but just know that they do not capture how great it really was.
We enjoyed the Mermaid Pools to our hearts’ content- Cam, Charlie, Matt bouldering, while Amelia, Alexa, Emily, and I sat and talked. Sabrina, Sam, and Maria were soaking in the water, and Luca was studying the organisms in the pools. However, we had one last activity to get to a sign-out night in honor of Sam!!!
We made our way back, the walk back being a lot shorter than the one there, and we settled in nicely at a Mexican restaurant/bar. We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and made friends with the bartender, and found out that his son was the artist Loud Luxury, who made the song “Body”. Give it a listen.
To wrap it all up, we came back for a hearty meal consisting of teriyaki chicken, veggie medley, and rice. My squeeze question was “If you had a boat, what would you name it?” I got mixed answers- DeMarco, Boaty McBoat Face, Little Miss, and mine was DePetris- named after my best friend back at home, Mia DePetris (I love you). The way I ended the squeeze was also on theme- with everyone shouting “Mia!” I tried to record it but failed.
Anyway, sorry for the long blog. I wanted to keep you all thoroughly in the loop. Happy birthday to Samantha!!! Big 21!!!!
To my family and friends, I love you, and I can’t wait to see you in 6 days. I think about & talk about you guys 24/7. Love you!!!!