Hike to Hog Island!

Yesterday, we went on a hike with some friends to hog island, and had an absolute blast! The morning started out with breakfast at our friend's/neighbors Dan and Dana’s, which was awesome and so nice of them! They served us eggs, a yummy cranberry thing, pancakes, and more! Who needs Martha Stewart when we have Dan and Dana right next door?! It was delish and such a fun way to start out the morning. Unfortunately, the weather was not quite cooperating with us, so all throughout breakfast we were debating whether or not to actually proceed with our plan to go hiking or not.  Despite the rain and even with no end in sight (which is weird in Grenada) the overall consensus was to go ahead with the hike, and I am so glad we did! The rain made for a much different, and much more dramatic hike, and I loved it! Poor Lani, was in flip-flops though, so her poor feet got beat up the entire time, but that didn't stop her and she continued through the hike like a trooper, soggy feet and flip-flops and all.  By the end we were all completely water-logged, cold (weird for Grenada) and wanting nothing more than to change into dry clothes and put our feet up! However, just as the end was in sight we lost 3 group members! Somehow, they ended up behind the group so when we all went left- they continued going straight. After running into some not-so-friendly Grenadian men with machetes (scary TIG), they did manage to follow our voices to safety! Whew, talk about excitement! After the hike, poor Nick had to quickly hurry home to shower and head to campus to work the campus bazar, so no break for him :/ I however, made dinner, put my feet up and relaxed! hehe. I did make him a smoothie though for when he got home! :) 

Here are lots of pictures from the day. I just couldn't pick a few because I liked them all so much :) 

Our shoes before the hike. Thanks to the rain, they all looked pretty similar after haha! 

Boats in one of the bays that we could see over the trees during the hike... very pretty!

Group shot on the bridge, about half way to hog island & before we really got pummeled by rain. 

Love this guy a bit <3

It was a pretty intense hike!  

Thought this was a pretty cool picture. Again, a tug boat in one of the bays.

We made it to da beach!

Group shot on hog island, picture thanks to Ashley :) 

A few of the many conch shells we found.  I love them all!

This one still had the little guy inside it! Cool but kinda gross at the same time...

Trying to decide which two I wanted to take home, it was such a hard choice!!

Found my two :) Yep, love love!!

And let the downpour begin...

We had muddy fun :) 

The front runners of the group waiting on the bridge on our way back! Fun picture!

In other news, today, was one of those days where everything just goes right in terms of SGU busing transportation!! Crazy right?! These days are welcomed with open arms because in my experience so far, days like today are not necessarily all that common around here.  For those of us on the island without a car, we rely fully on the SGU buses for transportation (or reggae buses, or wonderful friends with cars) and SGU busses are not always the easiest mode of transportation and it require a great deal of patience.  Today however, all the busses I needed to get to and from IGA were on time!! I made it to the Texico station, ran into CKs bulk food store and bought a few things, caught the Grand Anse bus to IGA, then back to the texico where I walked to the fruit stand and finally caught the Lanse Aux Epines bus home, all  in an hour and 15-20 minutes!! For those on the island, you will appreciate what a feat that is! I was so happy I practically skipped home, grocery bags and all! And, although there was not a ton of stuff at IGA- I was still able to get every single thing on my list! It’s the small things/victories—today was a good day!

Tomorrow, is my first day volunteering with the Limes after school program and I cannot wait!! I feel kid deprived lately as my last day at CHM was a month ago!! Gosh, do I miss those kids and still think about them every day, but I am so excited about this new opportunity I’ve been given. There are so many kids on this island who need lots of love and support, so I am very thankful to be able to be a part of the SO (significant other) organization and able to volunteer. Bring on da kiddies!