Location: Les Saintes
One thing we get pretty spoiled with here on Ocean Star is the sunrises and sunsets. Okay, maybe we aren’t always all awake for the sunrises, but those that we do see are usually pretty good, and our dinner scenery pretty much always includes a nice watercolor of a sky as the sun sets in the background. Today, four brave (or crazy) crew of Ocean Star (myself, Alaina, Sean, and Jessica) decided to wake up early and do a sunrise hike. We piled into the dinghy at 5 am and headed into shore, walking through the quiet streets of Les Saints, as the only people awake were those heading in to make fresh bread in the bakeries. We managed to reach our destination, a fort at the top of the highest point on the island, just before sunrise. Despite a bit of cloud at the horizon, we watched the sun peak out just before we had to start the walk back down to make it back in time for a breakfast of crepes on Ocean Star. Now that everyone was awake, we headed back to shore and had a special treat – an OCB class at a cafe! Shipmates enjoyed pastries or coffee while they practiced their fish identification using our ID books and a slideshow that Jessica had put together. Next, it was a walk to a secluded beach on the other side of the island, where our Advanced Open Water diver students practiced for their navigation dive (in case you were wondering why there are photos of your children walking around a beach with buckets on their heads, it was so they could practice using their compass and not rely on their surroundings). After lunch on board, it was time to put those navigation skills to use in the water, and after a successful dive, everyone is one step closer to becoming Advanced divers! We are finishing the day after a delicious dinner of BBQ chicken and pepper, onion, and pineapple skewers – and of course, a beautiful sunset in the background.