Adventures: Boiling Lake

Last Wednesday, we finally did it: we hiked Boiling Lake.  It's a five hour long hike through the mountains, up and down, through the Valley of Desolation, to the world's second largest boiling lake, formed in a volcanic crater.  It was intense and amazing, and we've spend the remainder of the week let our ridiculously sore legs recover.

We survived Boiling Lake!

Images by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W.

Adventures: Snake Steps

Font used: Penn Avenue from dafont.com
Photos by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W

Vlog 2: Bucket List

I was planning on recording this vlog for Wednesday like I was supposed to, but the past two weeks have been insanely busy, filled with trips, adventures, and final outings as friends slowly (and sadly) start leaving the island as their time here comes to a close.  I woke up today feeling ready to vlog, so I got dressed from the waist up (I may or may not still be wearing my pajamas from the waist down...) and sat on my porch to record this two minute video.  Better late than never, right?

Thanks for listening to what's in my bucket. List. I am aware that it's what's on your bucket list and not what's in your bucket list, but I was flustered. Forgive me.  Also, please excuse the weird lighting.  I was outside and my face was shadowy, so I changed the exposure which looked fine in iMovie but now it's pink and grainy.  Whatever. 

A huge thank you to all of these fun ladies for organizing this! 

Hope Squared // Becoming What I Always Was // Punky and the City // Life as a Young Mom // The Way I Am // Thoughts By a Petite Brunette

 

Adventures: Canyoning

Another amazing adventure that Charlie and I were fortunate enough to experience recently was a trip canyoning down waterfalls in the rainforest here in Dominica.  We suited up in wetsuits, helmets, and lifejackets (we felt like ninja turtles), took a short training session to master our rappelling skills, and then headed off into the jungle.  After a short hike, our descent began...

It was one of the coolest things we've ever done!  So cool, in fact, that canyoning in Dominica was featured in National Geographic's 20 best trips of 2011.  How neat is that? 

Venture into the rugged landscape Spiderman-style on an Extreme Dominica canyoneering tour, which takes visitors rappelling down pristine waterfalls, deep gorges, and volcanic bedrock canyons.          -National Geographic

Canyoning was every bit as incredible as it looks and sounds!  Thanks, Extreme Dominica, for a fantastic adventure! 

Font used: Penn Avenue from dafont.com
Photos by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W

Living with Less

This is one of the greatest lessons I have learned from living in Dominica.  Although I have experiences daily that remind me of this, there is one image that really stands out in my mind and illustrates this point:

One afternoon Charlie and I were going on a hike to one of many amazing spots on the island.  On the trail, we passed a small shack, not much larger than a simple garden shed.  The door to the shack was open and you could see inside: just a heap of clothes, a pile of plantains, and some pieces of old cardboard covered the dirt floor.  The shack itself was constructed of pieces of scrap  metal.  

Outside of the shack were three little girls, skipping, singing, and playing happily. Their tiny shack boasted an amazing view of the mountains and sea below and beyond.  Next to the house were two handmade tire swings hanging from a tree.  One of the little girls was busy playing on the ground with a dirty, headless Barbie doll.  As we walked by, they excitedly showed us their swings and the doll.  Their father was outside working beside a large fire in the heat of the day where he was drying out enormous pieces of bark from a nearby cinnamon tree on a piece of scrap metal.  The girls and their father happily wished us well with their toothy grins and pointed us towards the direction of our destination.  

They did not have much, but I have never seen happier children. 

Font used: Outasight
Quotation from Mark and Angel Hack Life.
Images by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W.

Adventures: Victoria Falls

Our weekends lately have been filled with adventures.  Since our time here in Dominica is coming to a close, we've been trying to squeeze in everything we've been wanting to experience before we leave in September.  Last Sunday we spent the day driving into the mountains and hiking to Victoria Falls, one of the largest waterfalls on the island.

My favorite guide, Victor, showed us the way, and our driver was an older man named Rudy, who happened to be a famous radio announcer on the island back in the 70's (his voice was awesome).  We hiked through  the forest, waded through rivers, enjoyed fresh coconut (thanks to Victor), ate our picnic lunches, and swam.  We also jumped off of rocks into the large pool below the falls.  

Per usual, we also made a few friends along the way....

 It was a perfect Sunday afternoon adventure! 

Font used: Penn Avenue from dafont.com
Photos by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W

Dirty Thirty

I had no idea people called thirtieth birthdays that until my big day.  I received lots of happy dirty thirty wishes on Friday and they made me laugh. 

My thirtieth birthday, celebrated here on the island, was the best! We're talking two days jam packed with adventures, swimming, delicious food, an amazing cake, henna... I can't wait to tell you all about it, but for now, some photos:

Thank you to all of my wonderful friends and family, on and off the island, for making my thirtieth birthday such a special day.  I have never felt so loved! 

Resources
Font: Cedarville Cursive
Photo Layout from Pugly Pixel 

Photos courtesy of Kristen Morgans.
Other photos by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W.

A Perfect Saturday

This Saturday was a perfect Saturday spent with friends, celebrating birthdays, and of course enjoying the island and embarking on an adventure (or five!)...

It was one of my favorite days yet here in Dominica! 

Did I mention that on Saturday we visited sites where parts of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed? Check out Katie's post on Priceless Adventure to get all the fun details! 

Settling in

Today we have been busy exploring the island, getting student IDs, dropping off computers to get configured to the campus network, etc.  We woke up this morning to find that when we turned on our faucets, the water barely dripped out and then stopped running altogether.  We checked with some friends and learned that when it rains a lot here (it has been raining for the past 2 days), the water automatically cuts off, because when the water table gets too high, the water gets all kinds of funky stuff in it.  Or something like that.  So, no water today.  No washing hands, dishes, or ourselves.  Ick.  We walked around all day like grease-balls.  When we finally came home later, the water was back on, so Charlie and I were both excited to take much-needed showers.  Charlie showered successfully, but when I hopped in the water cut off again, mid-soap.  I rinsed off the soap with a water bottle.  Very fun.  This reminds me of Ann's recent bathing adventures in France, which she and Monsieur J call "playing Little House on the Prairie." This is exactly how we felt today.  At least I am now quasi-clean.  The water was the not-cool thing of the day.

But there were some cool things:  Hiking up a "road" called Moo Cow Trail (we saw at least 3 wandering cows, 6 egrets, 12 sheep, a few lizards, and one teeny, tiny, inch-long lizard who I dubbed Kareem Abdul Jabbar because of his insane jumping skills) to a beautiful vista until we were scared off by a pack of angry dogs;  Checking out the black sand beach with its super smooth, round pebbles; Scoping out the Seaside Deck where they hold yoga classes (it's as cool as it sounds!); Filling up at least 8 water bottles from the purified water on campus since we aren't supposed to drink our tap water; eating delicious curried potatoes/lentils and chicken kabobs from a local cook at one of "the shacks" (the shacks are right next to campus and are a bunch of little shacks/stands that serve all different kinds of food); playing with a really cute kitten who I may have to steal.

Right now Charlie is at his first session of orientation, and I am off to meet him shortly to hear a local historian tell us all about the island.  Coming soon:  our barrels (filled with kitchen supplies, books, clothes, food; arriving Wednesday Thursday);  photos of our apartment (inside).  For now you can check out a few more photo of our first few days in Dominica.