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Teacher dab
I'm going to post this is my classroom in the hopes that students think that it's no longer cool, if teachers are doing it. July 5, 2017 - I feel like these posts are becoming repetitive - new day, new island. But it was another good day. Last night we decided to go on another daytrip together, this time to Cat Island (Ile aux Chat) and La Hermitage. Aulette, the host, arranged it after dinner. The meeting point for the boat was at Graviers, where I had walked the other day. Margo, Julia and Walter left at 7:15 to take the two buses, just as I started breakfast. Julien and I had decided to walk, as it could only take an hour an a half, and the bus wouldn't be any faster. It's the same walk I did the other day, but in reverse. We made it in an hour this time, and arrived at the same time as the others, despite leaving 45 minutes later.
Our boat today was a little smaller, and it was a sailboat. We motored our way until a certain point, and then we sailed. There was a 15 minute stop for snorkeling/swimming, but the water was a bit rough and I didn't go in. There was a large school of fish that the two who did go in
My ghetto backpack.
I bought the safety pins at the supermarket in Basel when I left to close the gaping hole into this nightmare bag. I so need a new daypack, but looking for the right one. saw. Then we motored on. We got to Cat Island and did a full circle around before landing at the beach. This one is not a preserve, and had no birds. But it did have 4 cats that I saw. Coincidence?
When we arrived, we had some time as our captain cooked our lunch, so I walked around a bit and took some pictures as the others laid on the beach. I just can't sit still. I found a path that went through to the other side and watched some butterflies dancing around. I took some pictures of the water on that side - beautiful. All of my pictures are starting to look the same, but every place is so pretty that I can't stop taking them.
Lunch was octopus salad, fish, chicken and a manioc salad followed by manioc cake slices. It was good, as everything here has been. I fed all the leftovers to the three cats who came for food. None of them look great, though one was friendly for petting, and I don't see any other sources of food for them on the island. I think they were dumped there and rely on scraps
from the tourists. Sucks.
After lunch we had some time, and everyone laid down on the beach to take a nap. I tried, but I just couldn't relax. Eventually I just watched this young guy taking pictures of his girlfriend by/in the water. Then the other two boats of people packed up and then we did. Next stop was La Hermitage Island, an even smaller rocky island that we could climb to the top of. It had a nice view from the top.
The ride home was a bit wet, like all the other ride have been, and I've been remembering how much I don't like salt water. It's just so unpleasant. It feels slimy and never dries on my skin. And when it finally did, it did not get better. I was left with salt everywhere - on my face, on my sunglasses. It was just gross. I prefer fresh water, like lakes or rivers, by far. Though I still love the way the beaches look.
Back at Graviers, the others opted for the bus home, and I chose to walk. I wanted to move, and I liked the idea of doing the hike again as
my last thing on the island, as it was also the first thing I did here. It took an hour, and I got back at the same time as the others. They were lucky, just catching the bus and having a good connection.
Before dinner I took advantage of a reasonably good internet connection here tonight, by checking in for my flight, catching up on the blog, looking at facebook, emails, all the usual. I showered and started to pack.
Four new people arrived in the guesthouse today. Two of them are from France, and lives not far from Basel. The other two are from the Czech Republic on their honeymoon. We all had dinner together - beans, lentils, chicken salad, octopus, salad and eggplant. Homemade coconut ice cream was the dessert.
Tonight I'll pack some more. I'm sad to leave this place tomorrow. It's been a very nice experience, living with a local family. I don't think I will eat this well or meet so many people again on my trip. It's been a great experience.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
The great explorer
So many islands so little time