So many exciting things! So much to say! Today was by far the most action-packed, fun-filled, adventurous adventuring weve experienced thus far. I cant believe our time here is almost over, even though it feels like Ive been on this boat for months.
We started with Ben waking us up so graciously and gently at 6:30 by yelling wake up with the speaker on full blast- hes so kind! This bunch does not most with alacrity most of the time, but today we were all ready by 7 (surprising, I know). Yogurt, granola, and frozen fruit was waiting for us on deck, and yet again we ate the fastest we ever have just to get to all the fun things on our itinerary. I run a tight ship as skipper, though, so of course we were (mostly) on time.
With myself and Ned in our crocs, we lead a rockin and crocin crew to land around 8:15. We met our drivers for the day just off the dock, and David immediately started blaring the Wailers. It was so awesome. I cant speak for the other van, but it seemed like I was in the cool kids group with just the spirit David brought. We drove up and around the mountains for Dominica for about 45 minutes, waving at all the families and children making their way to school. One of my favorite parts of the day was a little boy, maybe 4 or 5, who was wearing a shirt with stars and rockets that said I am the future waving at us. With all that we learned from Dominica today, it seems like he has a bright future ahead, and hopefully will make that future better for all involved.
David, with very little alacrity, stopped multiple times along the way to show us some cool stuff off the route. One of those cool things was a bathroom break in some trees, but Im not counting that one. He grabbed some bananas for us, the leaves of a cinnamon plant (which smelled so good crushed up, but didnt taste so good), some lemongrass, a casava delicacy bakery with the most delicious ginger and coconut bread, and we even stopped at a friends house to see them making some chocolate from raw cacao. As much as I loved chocolate, I can now say that cacao is simply too bitter for me, but I am so glad I got to try it. They even had some chicken and breadfruit with butter for us, which honestly didnt really taste like much, but did have the texture of bread.
Our first big stop was Emerald Falls in a national park that I forget the name of, but it was Monte something. We got to peruse the souvenir stands while Emma secured our passes (queen), and I got a bracelet that broke an hour later. It was cute while it lasted, though. After a 10-ish minute walk, we made it to the waterfall! Though it was infested with a large group that just got off a cruise ship, we had so much fun! The water was so refreshing, and the waterfall was so powerful it kind of hurt, but in a good way. We saw some anoles scattered on the rocks, and two crabs that were not very fond of us. Unfortunately, some tourists had left trash there, including, but not limited to, a dental pick, water bottles, candy wrappers, and vapes. Hopefully they feel embarrassed, cause littering is so 2000.
Post emerald falls, we made the half hour-ish drive to meet Tubalu, an elder of the Kalinago tribe. He was such a hoot! One of the first things he said to us was how he accidentally flashed Queen Elizabeth while singing when she came to visit Dominica years ago. With how long the drive took, we only had about 45 minutes with him, but he taught us so much. We learned about the governance system of the Kalinago, some words and phrases he teaches to the public every day on the radio, songs he wrote, celebrations, and how the Kalinago came to be in Dominica all the way from Mongolia. Im hoping to keep in contact with Tubalu as much as I can in the future, he was such a sweetheart!
Post- Tubalu, we made a two-hour drive to our snorkeling site! It was only supposed to take an hour, so Im not totally sure what happened there, but the boat crew was so nice and still took us to all of the places we intended to see with an hour less of time. The catamaran, or really the party boat, was so much fun! The crew was blasting Caribbean remixes of songs we all know, like Sweet Caroline. At the first snorkel site we got to meet SpongeBob, who was so squishy and so cool! We saw some parrotfish, huge sea urchins, and even hawksbill sea turtles! They were my favorites since my first word was turtle, so it felt like a full circle moment getting to swim with them for a little bit. Sam got a video of me and the smaller turtle on her GoPro, which I cannot wait to see! Our guides took us down to see some spaghetti worms and basket coral, too!
The second site we visited was more of a free-for-all, so we all just saw around until we got tired. Here, was saw a school of cuttlefish, some people saw a little squid (I did not ), a lionfish that Ben would have speared if he was there, and so much coral and aquatic plants! As Emerson put it during the squeeze tonight, tonight was one of the best days of our lives thus far.
The party boat brough us back to Vela mid dance party. Mac, Claire, and Ben had dinner ready for us, a 10/10 meal if I do say so myself. Fajita taco bowl vibes never fail. We got to eat with a beautiful sunset, and with Tyler being in a silly goofy mood he has never shown before.
I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for everything we experienced today, and so far in our trip. Tubalu, Emerald Falls, snorkeling, dance parties, and all the giggles in between made today one I will never forget.
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-Mallory