Location: Petit Piton Point, St. Lucia
Everyone was basically awake as I went to go wake up my fellow crew members. It was already a beautiful and sunny morning awaiting us. Head chef Hunter and sous chef Matty made us a french toast, eggs, and sausage breakfast. It was a real treat! We devoured it entirely.
We got ready to head to land. We were dropped off at the beach, and Olivia fell off the dinghy into the water. Luckily the dinghy was stopped and pulled onto the beach, but it gave Steve and me a good laugh. We then started to walk towards where the taxi would pick us up. Along the way, we spotted just a nice ol’ lone cow. It was just on the beach trying to enjoy some sun. Kelsay pet the cow, maybe even tried milking it. It didn’t work. We moved on.
We got in the van, and our first stop was the caldera Qualibou in La Souferrie, aka the Drive-In Volcano. The smell of sulfur immediately hit us all when we got out, and it only got stronger from there. I honestly started to get used to it too. Several of the crew bought some coconuts to drink the water out of. They were massive (and heavy), so we were all sharing the coconut water and passing it around as Suzette gave us our tour. Suzette was our lovely tour guide who shared a wealth of information. She was super kind, and it was cool to hear about the history and process of the surrounding volcano. At the end of Suzette’s tour, some of us climbed some stairs to a little museum about the volcano. Some of the little exhibits in the museum were similar to what we’ve been learning in Oceanography!
Our next stop was the Diamond Botanical Garden and Waterfall. We had a tour throughout the whole garden, and our tour guide, Peter Simon, stopped at each and every plant and flower to describe what was before us. It was a lot of information, but we all learned a lot! The slow pace of the tour, mixed with the surrounding lushness, made for a relaxing tour.
Last but not least (at all) were the hot springs! We took a short little hike down to three lovely spring-filled pools. We all had a great great time. We immersed ourselves in the sprinkling waterfalls, played some games, took pictures, and just hung out. We stayed until everything was pruny. Pruniness=happiness.
We came back and had a Seamanship class. Our mission for this class was to give presentations in groups on different topics we’ve been covering in class. Olivia and I explained Tacking, Gybing, and Man-Overboard. The presentations that were given by the groups were quite a hoot namely, Devi and Peyton, who became a sailboat, teaching us the Points-of-Sail.
We had some free time–swimming, snorkeling, and studying for the upcoming oceanography quiz. A little later, some of us spotted a huge turtle!!! It was coming up for air, and it was so cute. We all gazed upon it in awe of its immense size.
We had another wonderful meal from Hunter (chicken cordon bleu w parm risotto). And during squeeze, I asked what everyone was thankful for.
We then had our second Oceanography quiz, followed by class. Now it’s time to get working on our Lit Reviews! There is much to be done! We are having a blast, though. Again, new adventures every day, to take on together, loquaciously.
And to all, a good night.
Elle