Location: St. Helena
Hopefully, everyone’s families got to hear from their kids today because we had the opportunity to go on shore and rot with some WiFi this morning 🙂 Aside from that, we were all thrilled to order some cold beverages, which we had been dreaming of for the last two weeks. We had the morning to explore Jamestown (the one town of St. Helena) on our own before we dinghied back to the boat to gather some clothes and swimwear for our hike. We were picked up in 2 vans from the dock and driven up and then down some sketchy hills with hairpin switchbacks, 3-point turns, and only stalling once or twice. The smell of burning rubber was in the air, but we all got to the trailhead just fine! We set off for our mission to the Lot’s Wife’s Pond, not really knowing what to expect. The trail led us up a steep rocky hill where we encountered some beautiful bright red rocks, cool plants, some boobies, which made me think of my dad, and finally, stunning views of rocky cliffs and the ocean. We scrambled down a steep hill, holding ourselves up with a rope and making our way down to the water, where we found the Lost Wife’s Ponds – tidepools protected from the ocean sprayed by rocks. Sweaty and hot, we jumped into the surprisingly deep ponds, a refreshing reward for the hike. We spent quite some time playing with crabs and fish, swimming around, and trying to avoid sea urchins and sharp rocks. We left with only a few injuries.
By the time we made it back to the vans, we were all parched and ready to head back to the boat. The ride back up the switchbacks was almost more entertaining, and a student described it by saying, “I love when you know that you are unsafe, but you trust that you are in good hands.” It was an adventure for all of us, and we had a great time. When we got back on the boat, we all took deck showers and had home-cooked chicken nuggets by Emma while we watched the sunset. This life is beautiful, and we are all so appreciative of the dream we feel we are in.