Here, There, & Everywhere: Summer Break 2017

 Summers are not meant for school, but as firmly as I believe that, medical school does not. Luke was in school for most of the summer, but thankfully he had about three weeks off starting August 10th. We were very grateful for the time off, especially since he was only supposed to have about two weeks of break, but his classes ended early, giving us extra time! This break, instead of traveling back to the states, we decided to save some money and stay on the island, and Luke's parents and his younger brother, Josh were able to come visit us! We were very excited to finally have some visitors and be able to show our family what life is like here. Although they did not get a complete experience, they did get a pretty good idea of what it's like to live in a foreign developing world country, and we had a blast visiting with them and exploring our beautiful island.

We rented a car and vacation house for the two weeks they were here, and Luke loved driving everywhere. It was very entertaining to watch his family's reactions to driving here on the narrow, winding, steep roads with crazy driving everywhere you go. They are from Minnesota where just about every road is wide, straight, and flat. They have driven on some steep, narrow roads, but nothing quite like it is here. Despite the hot, humid weather, the lack of air conditioning in parts of the house and at church, and tropical storm Harvey hitting two days after their arrival, I think they had a wonderful time. We felt so spoiled while they were here. Those who are in medical school know that money is tight, but it is even tighter when you are married and live in a place where you don't really have an income. Luke's parents brought us some supplies from the states, paid for groceries while they were here, and treated us to a few restaurants. I'm pretty sure we ate out more in those two weeks they were here than we have in the whole three terms we've been here.

Luke and I wanted to show them as much of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as we could, so we took them to some places we had already been, like Bequia, Ft. Charlotte, Ft. Duvernette, and the Botanical Gardens, but we were also able to take them to places we had not yet visited such as Owia Salt Ponds, Black Point Tunnel, Vermont Nature Trail, and Wallilabou Bay (the Pirates of the Caribbean movie set). We went cliff jumping, kayaking, exploring, volcano-hiking, snorkeling, and more. One day we went to the beach at Buccament Bay Resort. Sadly, the all-inclusive resort shut down about a year ago, so Luke and I were never able to stay there. It was sad seeing such a beautiful vacation spot abandoned. We were able to snorkel there and Luke and Josh did some cliff jumping. At one point, Luke climbed a tree on the cliff to make approximately a 30-foot jump. A few Vincentian boys showed him how to do it.  As we were snorkeling back to the beach, Josh noticed that Luke didn't have his wedding band on. We all snorkeled back searching for the ring, and thankfully Josh and Luke spotted it simultaneously! What a relief!

One night, we decided the family should have to ride one of the dollar vans. These are the vans that Luke and I have to take if we don't want to pay for a taxi and want to go somewhere that the school isn't taking us. These vans are about 15-18 passenger vans that they stuff full of people, but it only costs $1 EC ($0.37 USD) to get most places. We needed to go to our apartment from the vacation house, so we thought it was a perfect time for them to ride. We were hoping they would get the full experience, but the first van we caught was the nicest one I'd ever been in! The driver was finished for the night but was heading the same direction we were, so he dropped us off. The ride back to the rental house, however, was the full experience. I had to squeeze in the back of the van in about a six-inch space. Luke, Josh, and their dad were in the row in front of me, a little less squished than I was, and Luke's mom was in the row in front of them. She was a little squished at first, but people got off so she had more room. Her extra space was short-lived as we soon picked up more people, and a lady was practically sitting on her lap. Usually, the music in the vans is very loud, but thankfully for them, this particular van wasn't very loud that night. Overall they were pretty entertained by the experience, and even more grateful for the rental car.

We loved spending time with family, creating wonderful memories and exploring our beautiful island. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll add a few of them to this post. Enjoy!

Near the fishing villages in Bequia, the beaches are covered in conch shells.

We purchased some of this delicious island fruit from a man selling it on the island of Bequia.

Bequia (One of the Grenadine Islands)

Black Point Tunnel

We made the mistake of shining a light on the walls of Black Point Tunnel. It was covered with cockroaches, and bats were almost constantly flying overhead.

The tunnel exited to the ocean. It was built by slaves in the 1800s to make it easier to transport the sugar to the ships.

A beautiful black sand beach at the Black Point Tunnel Recreation Area.

We found the cutest puppy at the Owia Salt Ponds. He ran with Josh down the steps to the ponds.

The Owia Salt Ponds were really fun to snorkel in and explore.

We took a fascinating guided tour of the Botanical Gardens

This vine has three hooks that latch onto whatever it can.

This strange fruit is used to make bowls to eat out of or used for other crafts.

This is what nutmeg looks like fresh off of the tree.

The mimosa plant was one of my favorites. When you touch the leaves or hold a flame near them, the leaves close.

When a flame is held near the plant the tiny leaves close one by one.

Our guide said that some children use the flower part of the cannonball tree as creepy eyes.

Luke had never hiked the volcano before, so we were able to take his dad and brother and go with a group of friends from church. (This sign was covered with lizards!)

Especially with the heat, hiking La Soufriere is not for the faint of heart.

It's still smoking, but it last erupted in 1979 and is closely monitored.

It is so peaceful there, just sitting on the edge of the crater.

Josh jokingly told Luke to dip me over the edge, so being the crazy adventurers that we are, Luke did.

Family

The trail goes through the rainforest, so there is a lot of interesting vegetation, including bamboo.

After our hike, our friends took us to the river to cool off. We even found a rock to jump off of.

Josh had to leave early to go to college, so we took Luke's parents to Ft. Charlotte.

Ft. Charlotte has beautiful views of Kingstown.

Our tour guide had us take a picture looking like we are holding up the land.

Parts of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed in St. Vincent. This is the set they built at Wallilabou Bay.

The bottom half looks like stone, but it's all fake.

The shooting schedule for the first film.

Does this look familiar to anyone?

Some of those cannons are fake too.

Inside one of the buildings, we found bats. It was so gross!

We met a man named Davis who makes and sells jewelry there, using many things he can find on the island, such as coconut shells and some beads made from seeds.

One afternoon, we kayaked to Ft. Duvernette (Rock Fort) which is located behind Young Island, just off the coast of St. Vincent.

I always love seeing the various shades of blue.

Here we are almost to the top of the fort. You can see the island of Bequia in the background.

We went to dinner one night at a restaurant called "The Loft." It was a little pricey, but it had good food and amazing views.

Yummy!

Here is an example of how narrow many of the roads are. This is a two-way road.

We were able to take our family to see the children at the St. Benedict's Children's Home. It was so great to see these sweet kids again!

If that doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what will. :)

This sweet little boy named Edmond stole Luke's dad's hat and called him "Papa."

Buccament Bay Resort is such a beautiful place!

It was sad to see it so neglected. I would have LOVED staying here.

I finally found a horse! I was so happy!

The Vermont Nature Trail was more challenging than we had anticipated, so we did not do the whole trail, but it was fun to see the rainforest.

Air plants

We found the vines that you can swing on!

Even Luke's dad gave it a try.

Indian Bay Beach is one of my favorite beaches on St. Vincent. You can see Bequia in the distance, and the rock formations to the left of the photo are where we cliff jump.

We took so many pictures, that if I shared them all, you would be looking at this post all day, but I hope you've enjoyed this little picture tour of our island vacation. After the break, Luke began his fourth term here, and Lord willing, this is his last term of normal classes. Only two terms left until we move back to America! Time is flying!