Carlson's Caribbean Adventure

Going to Bequia (pronounced "Beck way") is always a fun time! When Luke's sister Bekah came to visit, we took a trip to Bequia with her and our friend, Luke's fellow classmate, Rob. Since we had the rental car, we were able to drive it right onto the ferry for the ride over. When we arrived our first stop was Ft. Hamilton, an unimpressive fort with beautiful views! Our next stop was the turtle sanctuary. This place had been on my bucket list for awhile, but in all of our Bequia trips, we hadn't had a chance to visit it yet. It costs about $5 USD per person to get in, and it is a great experience. At first, we weren't sure how it was going to be. The young employee who greeted us, upon finding out that Luke and Rob were medical students, promptly informed them that they were wasting their time going into the medical profession because he had no health issues after smoking weed for most of his life. Thankfully, he was more friendly and helpful lat...

At the end of the term, Luke's sister Bekah flew down to St. Vincent to visit for a little over a week! We rented a car and did a lot of exploring. One day we hiked the volcano, La Soufriere. It was my third time hiking the 4,048 foot active volcano, but it was my first time hiking into the crater! We woke up early and drove up the windward side of the island to get to the trailhead. We brought some friends along, so we had a good group. The weather was cooler, which was wonderful for hiking. The first part of the hike is through a rainforest, so usually it is really hot and humid. The foliage is so dense that there isn't even a breeze. We were so grateful for the cooler weather, but when we hiked above the foliage, it was very foggy. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to see the crater, but the wind was blowing so strong that it it blew the fog out of the way long enough to see into the crater at times. Just the hike to the top is difficult enough, but this time, we...

On Friday, March 30th, Luke and I had the opportunity to visit the Tobago Cays. We caught an H van in the morning to be at the marina by 8:30am. When the boat arrived, we thought they were joking. It was a speedboat big enough to fit 18 of us, but compared to the catamarans and yachts around it, it looked tiny!  Our boat. Luke and I found a nice bench seat in front of the captain and under the shade. Since Luke spends the majority of his time here studying in the library, I knew his poor skin wouldn't be able to handle the sun all day. Thankfully, the waves were not too rough, and the trip only took about two hours. It was fun to see some of the other grenadine islands as we passed. The captain even took a little detour so we could see the marina at Canouan. Since it was so close to Easter, the Tobago Cays area was very busy.   Our first stop was Petit Tabac, known locally as "Rum Island." It was on this little island that part of Pir...