Chaudiere Pool

Today Keith and I went to Chaudiere Pool with Kristen, and our guide Victor. Chaudiere Pool is in Bense, Dominica and it is also called Bense Pool. It's not an actual pool with chlorine in it but a pool that is a popular swimming location in the middle of a river. The hike getting there wasn't so bad. There is a short cut that we took to get to the pool that was a little steep and slippery and it only took about 20-25 minutes. Here are a couple of videos- one is of me and Victor jumping into the pool and another is of me and Victor going down the natural waterslide. It was a good time!

Milton Falls and Syndicate Nature Trail

Today Keith, Alex, and I went with another family to Milton (Syndicate) Falls and walked through the Syndicate Nature Trail. Below I have pics and a video of the falls and some trees at the nature trail. I have seen a quite a few waterfalls on the island and this one, I'm sorry to say, is my least favorite. What I like about the waterfalls is the ability to jump in and swim in the pool the waterfall lands in. This waterfall had a fence around the pool so nobody could enter. I do understand why the fence is there (because it is the drinking supply for neighboring communities) but it is an ugly fence and you wish it wasn't there when you take pictures. The hike is about 20 minutes and is not that challenging. I mean Alex could do it and she is three! The cool thing about this area is that it is known to to be the home of two parrots, the Jaco, and Sisserou Parrots. These parrots are indigenous to Dominica. I was fortunate enough to see the Jaco Parrots today but didn't get a pic. I wasn't fast enough.

Milton Falls and Syndicate Nature Trail

Red Rock Haven

We went to Red Rock Haven again recently. Keith had never been there and it was my fourth time. It is the best place to relax with the kids, although this time the waves we're pretty big so it was a little scary. Here are a few pics that I took. I have many from Red Rock since I have been there so many times. Keith really liked it as you can tell from the pic. He just enjoyed sitting in the chair in the shade. He was in heaven! Tomorrow we are going to Syndicate Falls/Nature trail and then on Sunday we are going to Bense Pool. They are both close, but I have not been to either of these locations so I'm super excited to see them.

Some different news... we decided to move... again.. just next door... the next apt. over. We we're in the middle apt and it was just too hot. We ended up using the a/c a lot at night and during the day and so we really weren't saving any money. So now we are in an end unit and getting good air flow with the windows open and haven't had to use the a/c.

Cabrits with Mommy Daddy and Alex

Keith has officially been living on this island a year. He went snorkeling for the first time the other day and today he went with us to Fort Shirley/ Cabrits National Park. Cabrits is a short drive away and a neat spot to visit. I am always discovering something new when I go there because there are so many different hiking trails. Today was Alex's third time here and she loves it too because we are always finding wildlife such as hermit crabs, black crabs, and snakes. She is getting much better at walking and really likes "hiking".

It has been my third time at Cabrits and today I saw some more ruins that I have never seen before. It is so neat to see all of the ruins before they are restored. This place is huge and a must see if you visit Dominica. Tomorrow, all of us are going to Red Rock Haven with some friends. It will be my fourth time there and Keith's first. It's about time he saw some more of this island!

It has now been three full days since we hiked to Boiling lake and we are still sore!
Click below to see our pics on picasaweb.

Cabrits with Keith and Alex

Keith is going onto his fourth semester

Keith got his final grades back and he did a great job! So now he will be starting his fourth semester at Ross in September. Four more months before we head back to the states. When we get back to the states we will either be living in Miami or Michigan. We won't know until the end of November.

We are still sore from hiking Boiling Lake. Actually we are more sore today than we were yesterday. So far our plans for the break is to go to Red Rock on Wednesday and to stay at the Fort Young Hotel in Roseau next Mon. and Tue. I'm hoping that Keith and I can take another excursion without Alex before the semester starts.

This pic is of Alex in one of her princess outfits. We bought this treasure chest with four princess outfits in it from her friend, Kara, in daycare. Kara and her family moved to Miami for 5th semester. One of these dresses will be her Halloween outfit this year. Somebody has already requested to buy it from us when we leave the island!

Boiling Lake- We did it!

Yesterday we spent the whole day hiking Boiling Lake. It was awesome! We are so glad we did it! The hike took about three hours each way. We started from the steps next to Titou Gorge, The steps led us into the rainforest. Then headed to Breakfast River, then up to Morne Nicholls. It was about two miles to get to Morne Nicholls. It was a beautiful sight at the top of that mountain! Then we headed down, down, to the Valley of Desolation! The Valley of Desolation was very beautiful and unique. There was bubbling hot water and steam coming from the ground. It also smelled of sulphur. After the Valley of Desolation we hiked to Boiling Lake. Boiling Lake was a neat sight. The water in the middle of the lake was boiling and there was a lot of steam coming from the lake. As I sat and ate my snack, I thought to myself, "this hike wasn't that bad", but then we headed back! Let me say it was tough... very tough!!! The mountain we had to climb down, Morne Nicholls, we had to climb back up. That was the toughest part. Then when we got to the top of the mountain we rested and had a snack. I thought the "going up" part was over with, but I was wrong. I thought Keith was going to kill me by the end of the hike. He said he wished I would of told him what this was like so he could of trained at the gym by doing the stairmaster for three hours. We did stop a few times at some small rivers and bathed in the hot sulphur water which was so relaxing. Too relaxing! When we got back to Titou Gorge, where we started, we swam through the gorge to the waterfall at the end of the gorge. It was awesome! One of the best things to do on the island! That night, we we're in bed by 8:30! We we're so tired by the time we got home. Here are some pics and a video of our hike. Enjoy!

Hike to Boiling Lake

Keith is done with 3rd Semester

Keith had his last exam yesterday and will be starting his fourth semester in two weeks. So this morning after dropping Alex off at school we went Snorkeling at PBH Beach by the school. Keith only lasted about 15 minutes because his snorkel mask didn't fit very well. So Kristen and I snorkeled while Keith sat on the dock and relaxed.

Here is a pic of a Sea Cucumber we saw today. I have only seen a sea cucumber in a book that Alex has so it was neat to see one today. Here is a link for you to learn more about the Sea Cucumber.

Alex's last day of school is tomorrow, then we will spend the next two weeks together on the island. Saturday Keith and I are hiking to Boiling Lake. I can't wait!

Hurricane Bill is a Category 4 Hurricane

Here is Hurricane Bill and we are on the island of Dominica. The capital of Dominica is Roseau. So you can see how close it is to us. Although it looks like it will miss us. We might get some rain from it but I think that is about it since it is headed in a West-northwest motion.

In other news, Keith has his final exam today. He is doing so well this semester, so I am sure he will do fine on the exam! Then we will spend the next two weeks on the island relaxing and exploring the island. On Saturday Keith and I plan to hike Boiling Lake with friends, then on Sunday, we may take a boat trip on the Indian River, On Wednesday, we are going back to Red Rock for a day at the beach. Next week we are going to spend a few nights at Fort Young Hotel, in Roseau!

Ana missed us and it looks like Bill will too

The campus closed the school on Monday because we we're expecting Tropical Storm Ana to hit us, but it didn't. Monday was a beautiful day and there really was no need to shut down the campus. So Alex and I went to Cabrits National Park with some friends for a picnic and hiking. They had so much fun. Here are a few of the video's we took from Cabrits. I also have pictures posted on Facebook.

Tropical Storms

Tropical Storm Ana has now been downgraded to a tropical depression. But it seems that Tropical Storm Bill will be a hurricane by tonight or tomorrow morning. The path of Bill is headed northwest so it could go north of us. Either way we will still see the effects of it, as you can see this storm is huge! Last year we we're here when Hurricane Omar went north of us and we still got heavy winds and rainfall. Ross canceled classes and there was damage done on the island.

Dominica is currently in a Tropical Storm "Watch" and Ross has closed the school until Tuesday at 6pm. So it looks like we will all by staying inside tomorrow.

Tropical Storms and Tropical Depressions

We have a couple big storms headed our way. The first one is Tropical Storm Ana and the one behind it (closer to Africa) is a tropical depression. If you don't know the difference between them and a hurricane follow this link. Tropical Storm Ana seems to be heading north of us thankfully. But the bad part is it is the end/beginning of a new semester and a lot of students are going to be flying in and out of Dominica from Puerto Rico. The second storm, which is a Tropical Depression is headed right for us. Not only is it headed towards us, but the National Hurricane website forecasts that it will turn into a Tropical Storm within the next 12 hours and then it will turn into a Hurricane within the next 72 hours to 96 hours. Ouch!

Update-- the Tropical Depression has just been upgraded to a tropical storm, they are calling it Tropical Storm Bill.

Starfruit

We've just found a starfruit tree on campus. So we have been picking them when they are ripe. Alex loves them. I love all the fruits and vegetables here. Just outside our front door we can see trees with Mangos, Avocado's, and Guava's. It's so nice of the little boys that live below us to climb up in the trees and get them for us.

More Toucari Bay

This picture is of a Juvenile Yellowtail Damselfish, also called a Jewelfish which we also saw at Toucari Bay. When it matures it turns from brown to yellow.

Here is the video I said I would post of Nick, one of the people I went diving with, freediving 90ft to the ocean floor. As I watched him disappear below I started to get worried. I think this is dangerous of course, but he has had a lot of training in the Navy and was also a swim athlete in school. When I looked up freediving after getting home I saw that you have a risk of getting decompression sickness which can be very serious... so don't try this at home!!

Snorkeling at Toucari Bay

This morning I went snorkeling at Toucari Bay with Kristen and Nick. I saw so many fish and this is probably one of the best spots I've snorkeled on the island. Of course I have yet to go to Champagne Bay which is supposed to be the best.The picture below is of a Spotted Eagle Ray. It was so cool to see something like that. He was pretty far down- about 80 ft. But another snorkeler, Nick, swam down and got a picture.. and yes he did swim down that far! We have video of it and I will post it as soon as it's up! Here is a website link that talks about the Spotted Eagle Ray: http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=58
This guy is a Moray Eel. They are a little scary to me because they are poisonous. Of course I did not take this picture, Nick did. Here's a little more information about the Moray Eel: http://www.mysterra.org/webmag/moray-eels.html

Bugs in Rice

Yuck!! We are so bummed. We bought 2 huge bag of Basmati Rice to bring with us when we came here. Well the first one we used up and this weekend I went to start using the second bag and found it was full of bugs! I guess I should of refrigerated it like I have to do with everything else I buy here.

I know this sounds gross, but I bought two boxes of Kraft mac and cheese from Tina's (a small grocery store here in Glanvillia) and when I went to make the first box I saw there was bugs in it. I figured I would just fish them out of the water and still eat it... but there was more, and we decided to throw it out. Then I opened the second box to check it and it had bugs, and worms... So I guess that will be the last time I buy boxed mac and cheese. I made stove top mac and cheese with some pasta, butter, and cheddar cheese instead and it tastes better anyway.

Alex had a couple of friends come over to watch the movie, Ice Age. She had so much fun and we grilled hot dogs. The two boys live beneath us and their names are Jose and Jovanni.

Woodford Hills Beach and Pagua Bay

Yesterday I spent the day with the Ross Faculty Spouse Group. They are so much fun and they do so many different excursions! I am always happy to go along with them. Yesterday we went to the Woodford Hills Beach in the morning. Which is on the atlantic side. It was very beautiful. I spent some time in the ocean and sat under a palm tree and read a book. There's no use for me to sunbathe.. I spend all day in the sun so I really don't want to lay in it!

Then for lunch we drove to a restaurant called, Pagua Bay. The restaurant is located up high with a gorgeous view of Pagua Bay. I so loved the restaurant, I can't wait to go back!! I had fish tacos with local grapefruit juick and then shared a cheesecake for dessert. Yummy!

Woodford Hills Beach and Pagua Bay

Friends of Espwa

Last Friday the Ross Spouses Organization (RSO) group held a chili fundraiser for a palliative and hospice care group called Friends of Espwa. I made rice while others made chili, cornbread, and dessert. We had a great turnout! Here are a couple of pics from the event and a few of the other girls in the RSO group.

Yesterday I went to Roseau to go shopping with some other spouses and today I'm headed to Woodford Hills Beach. I will post more pics soon.

Keith is pretty much done with classes for the semester and now has exams. His last exam is on August 19th and we are going to stay on the island instead of heading home or "island hopping". There is still so much more I want to do on the island and Keith hasn't seen anything yet. I am really hoping to hike to Boiling Lake which is a very difficult hike. The boiling lake here is the second largest boiling lake in the world. The biggest being in New Zealand. I'm hoping Keith will do this with me... but I think he is started to think twice about it..

Glanvillia and Videos

Here are a couple of video's. One is of the rooster sounds in Glanvillia, where we live. I have a hard time sleeping listening to the roosters all night long. I don't think I've slept through the night once since moving here, even after taking sleeping pills. I am in need of some ear plugs. The second video is of the Pointe Baptiste Beach, near Red Rock Haven. The waters we're a little rough but Alex had such a good time.

The picture above is of where we put our garbage in Glanvillia. It's a mess. There are four containers for about 10 households. The garbage is only picked up once a week and they don't bother to pick up what is on the ground. So when they leave the locals put the leftover trash in the bins and the garbage is full again! It's a never ending cycle. That is also someone's home behind the trash bins. The man that lives there is always picking the fruit off of trees and selling them. He lives without electricity and running water. It is so sad to see people living like this.

The other picture is of Alex coloring with the boys that live downstairs. She loves playing with them!