Our last full day on the island, we went to Cabrits National Park on the northern part of the island. At the tip of a small peninsula, the British fort was meant to guard Portsmouth, the most accessible port  city and previous capitol. Abandoned in the 19th century, the fort lay to ruins mainly due to rainforest trees and strangler roots taking over. The dryest part of the island, the area around Cabrits definitely reminded me much more of home than the other forests. Luckily, the author of our textbook The Dominica Story, Lennox Honychurch, is heading up a project to restore the fort into a tourist-friendly environment. One of the completed buildings has a bar and serves as a great spot for wedding receptions and conferences. The outdoor terraces are beautifully manicured with more work continually making the estate a wonderful place for outdoor weddings and gatherings. 
    We went on a short hike up to one of the cannons and found a plum tree along the way, most likely due to a tourist dropping a plum and then it sprouted. We also saw lots of land crabs and little hermit crabs, as well as two grove snakes. When we went back down to the fort area, we found out that Dr. Honychurch was on-site. After a few minutes, he came up to meet us for a few minutes before he gave tour to another group. In the meantime, we walked over to some more ruins of fort buildings where trees and vines were taking over in a more rain-forest type habitat. There were golfball-sized bullet things used in cannons (one would stuff about 20 into the barrel like a buck-shot) still in their storage room. We walked over to the other side of the peninsula and saw a more open bay that other cannons guarded.
    When we returned to the main buildings and battery, Dr. Honychurch was ready to tell us about the history of Dominica. In 45 minutes to an hour, he gave us a captivating lecture and synopsis of his book as we looked out over the bay and to the mountains. Dr. Honychurch explained that Dominica receives a good bit of international aid from foreign powers who compete for their support in the UN, because a small country such as Dominica has just as much voting power as the United States. The Chinese, who initially came over by practically purchasing passports/citizenship, came to do certain skilled work. This is particularly evident in their civil engineering capabilities as the Chinese people renovate road systems and make places on the island more accessible. Venezuelans provide financial aid, although I do not recall what work they are most famous for. Just outside of Cabrits, the King of Moracco is building a resort complex, which we sincerely hope withstands hurricanes and other incidents. The European Union is significantly helping to finance the restoration of Cabrits.   Unfortunately, I understand that the US is doing little more than send the Peace Corps down here, which is so small compared to all of these other countries.
        Upon returning to the welcome center, I bought a table-top doily from a lady who was crochetting at a picnic table and Diane became friends with Earl the Pearl, a sweet older man full of smiles. I had Dr. Honychurch sign my copy of his book, which my grandmother wants to read in a few months. Then we went to lunch at the food court by Ross University, which was a narrow street of small shops selling different types of food to cater to the tastes of the medical students there. There was smoothie shop, juice bar, local favorites, Indian food, Hispanic food, pizza, pasta, and a coffee shop. There was no place to sit except some picnic shelters inside the fence of Ross. We were able to mostly finish our meal before someone asked us to leave; apparently it was for Ross students only. 
    Next we went to Sunset Beach hotel to go snorkelling at the reef there. I opened my bag to change clothes and realized I left my swimsuit at the station. Luckily, Diane had brought her swimsuit but only planned to sit on the beach and enjoy the sun and shade. I borrowed her top and wore my quick-dry shorts and I was good to go. This second snorkelling expedition was not as eventful as the one at Champagne Reef, but it was still pretty fun. There were several large schools of fish and I enjoyed swimming through them and chasing them a little. I felt like a little kid in a swarm of butterflies.
    Once we showered off and dried some, we went back towards Canefield in our last attempt to see the Green Flash. We were on the other side of a long shipping dock (it wasn't far above the water so I won't call it a pier), but we still had a decent view of the sunset. I found a sea-urchin shell and some bone-looking things, but they could have been fossilized coral. The sky looked clear and then the sun began to touch the horizon. We would have seen the green flash just after the sun went under the horizon, but there was a haze just above the water in the distance that prevented us from seeing it. It was still a pretty sunset.

        This morning we began our excursion by going to the Forestry department so Roger could buy some books on the local plant life. One of the books had pages that were upside down when the cover was held upright. We thought it would be a great way to mess with people if he were reading the book with the cover upside down. Next we went by the post office, where they supplied Elmer’s glue to make the stamps stick on. 
           We went for a very long drive to a rutty dirt driveway that was supposed to lead to one of the most spectacular waterfalls on the island. For $5 US parking, one could cross the river about four times along a winding trail up to Victoria Falls. I apologize for not getting any pictures of that excursion, but it was just too wet. After crossing the river the first time, we found a few goats tied up to graze; later one of those goats had grazed on his rope and set himself free. We scrambled over rocks and waded waist-deep in the water at times. Sometimes we tried to scoot along rocks to avoid getting in the water, sometimes we just didn’t care. A couple of times we had to do a bit of actual rock climbing, bracing our hands, feet, and shins into contortionist angles to shimmy up some of the stacks of boulders. It was reassuring, however, to stand on a large boulder and see the waterfall up ahead. Just before we reached the rocky shoreline of the pool, we had to slither along a two-foot wide edge, holding onto the two jutting rocks that gave no grip with the feeling of leaning slightly backwards. 
        With careful footing, we made it to the pool. Diane and Kala refused to go in the water and thus began to eat lunch on the closest large rock.  The spray from the water rained on them so much that they had to relocate about 40 yards back. I decided to go into the water and get as close as I could to the waterfall. Dropping some great distance, the waterfall’s spray made it nearly impossible to face the falls as we made our way towards it. I managed to get about 20-30 feet away from the bottom of the fall before just staying place became a workout.
        On the return hike, it was interesting to maneuver our footwork into precisely the same path we came on some of the steep declines where we rock-climbed before. Occasionally we had to sit down and slide to a spot to stand up. A couple of times we got out of the riverway and onto a path in the forest, finding crab dens and skirting around squishy mud as much as possible. When we were just about to exit the driveway, a French-speaking couple from Guadeloupe asked us for directions, apparently on a backpacking vacation. Thankfully the woman could speak. They wanted to hike up to Victoria Falls by themselves, which would be practically impossible without knowing the right way.
    Skipping over Sari Sari Falls in leu of the possibility of going to Champagne Reef again (we wanted to go back because Roger accidentally deleted all the photos from his underwater camera), we took a very long drive around the island. We drove over to the Rosalie River, one of the sites where we collected snails, and took a water sample. Did I mention before that there are some ruins by the river that were used in a scene in Pirates of the Caribbean 2? There's several other places on the island in that movie as well.
        We didn't make it back in time for Champagne Reef, unfortunately. By the time we would have arrived there, the scuba shop would have been closed. We did stop by to get some pictures of signs, though.  We also went by a hotel so Roger could get a t-shirt from Dive Dominica to show his diving buddies back home. 
        Just before sunset, we set out for a short hike to Stinking Hole with Clynton, the station's bartender and chef's son. Stinking Hole is where the bats live. They emerged in waves from a cave in the side of the hole. We estimate that it holds tens if not hundreds of thousands of bats of several different species. We stood at the edge of the hole, Kala and I hiding partially behind Dr. Hains to keep the bats from flying into us. The bats would sweep past us, brushing against our arms or touching the side of our heads. Diane was able to get some really good pictures of the bats in flight, including some great close-ups. A day or so later she found a dead bat wedged under her suitcase. Apparently it got trapped in our room and tried to burrow between the suitcase and the bed she had it on, then couldn't get itself out. I'm so happy we had misquito nets on the beds we slept in so it couldn't have burrowed under our pillows!

    This morning we went to church and a monk-like priest ran the service, although we could only catch a few words out of everything he said. We found entertainment in a little girl a couple of rows in front of us who kept squirming around and pushing into her brother. It reminded me a lot of myself. Since it was Father's Day, Roger and Dr. Hains got tags to wear. 
    We returned to the station to change clothes and then hiked around the crater of Freshwater Lake. There were some super steep stairs that went up to the peak of a pretty sizeable hill. Anywhere else I would call it a mountain but not next to these peaks. Dr. Hains was waiting for us at the end of the trail and showed us a mechanism used to monitor the rainfall in the area. Meteorologists claim that Freshwater Lake recieves over 400 inches in rainfall each year based on altitute and environment. Researchers are keeping track of rainfall to test the validity of those claims. 
    I find it amazing that there was Elfin Woodland on and near the dam at Freshwater Lake (the dam was added to optimize hydropower) because higher points on a nearby trail have regular rain forest. We have concluded that "David's Orchid", so named because it only appeared on the island after Hurricane David in 1979, came here by the hurricane winds from Martinique, which is about 30 miles south of Dominica.  At first they thought it came all they way from where the hurricane originated in Africa, but there were populations of the small purple orchid on Martinique pre-1979. We noticed a high concentration of a cohabitation of an algae-fungus group which indicates low nitrogen levels in the atmosphere. The algae-fungus, which looks like frosted moss-grass, releases excess nitrogen for other plants. There was also another type of algae on the gravel which appeared to be spilled gas but was thin and crispy.
    After the hike we rode to Soufriere where there are hot sulfur springs. These are built up so the water flows from cement tub to tub through PVC pipes and each large tub has a canopy.  At one of the lower pools some Rastafarians were smoking marijuana. Unfortunately, all of the pools looked grimy like our mud water in South Carolina due to iron deposits and dirt.  
    I finally got to drink from a fresh coconut today, for just $1 US. As soon as the guy chopped off the top it squirted out coconut water, showing it was the perfect ripeness. It was a lot sweeter than what I had expected; I later found out that coconut milk is less tasty because it comes from an over-ripe coconut or from the juice blended with the meat. We could only drink a small portion of its contents and then I gave the rest to our chefs at the station.
    Then we went down to the ocean where there were a couple more hot springs in the ocean water. There was a very interesting character in one of the pools and we could not figure out if it was a he or a she. "It" was rather plump and just wearing shorts; when we came up he/she/it was belly-down in the water making funny noises and blowing bubbles. "It" stood up a little while later and exposed a rather woman-like front side. Later tonight our chef Sandra told us that HE is a local celebrity; they call him He-he or She-she and he's a great performer. He wears all red to special events, even red heels.
    We tried for the last time to see the Green Flash, but it was too hazy. Dinner was amazing! Sandra made the best lasagna I have ever tasted. None of that cottage cheese filling junk, this was lasagna as it should be. I normally don't like peanut butter on its own anymore, but Sandra made some wonderful light peanut butter ice cream paired with a shortcake that was almost like angel food cake. We are being pampered here for sure.

    We had a very relaxed morning. For some reason Prof. Hains thought we would be too tired and would need an extra nap after breakfast, but that was just him. Since we already went to market day last Saturday, we just wanted to go to the Kalinago Territory today. That is their name for themselves; Europeans called them the Caribs. Either way, they were the first people to inhabit the island, coming from Mongolia/Russia over the Bering Strait, down through Mexico, and off the coast of Venezuela island-hopping up through the Eastern Caribbean. They used large gommier trees to create canoes that could haul as many as 120 people from island to island, creating villages as they went. The Kalinagos on Dominica often used canoes to migrate around the island to optimize the best seasons for fishing and gathering. They also have a trail which is over 100 miles long and can be completed in sections.
    They gave us a tour of a model village with amazing coastal views and we collected some bright red seeds that can be used to make necklaces. Then we went to where some older Carib women were weaving baskets and I got several items for much cheaper than you could ever find at Charleston Market. Then we went to lunch at a place that was supposed to have some really good Caribbean food, but it turned out the owner was out of town until September so all they served us was fried chicken (on the bone), plaintain fries, and cucumbers. Let's just say I was very disappointed because I don't like dealing with bones nor do I like cucumbers. 
    Then we dropped off our souveniers and went down to Roseau for Diane to get some Dramamine for the flight back. When Dr. Hains threatened that if we didn't go shopping we would start working on snails again, we went on the hunt for a chance to drink directly from a coconut. We took a while doing that, but without success. Then we went to the mouth of the Checkhall River and surveyed the placement of our painted snails. Most of the snails either progressed or at least stayed near where we placed them. There was one pink painted snail that managed to go 30 meters backwards, but I suppose that was not attached to rock well and got swept away by waves and current. 
    On the walk to the rocky beach we were flanked on one side by the Checkhall River and the other by grasses taller than me. Today we heard goats in the grass. Kala and I found the goats tethered up to graze, so we found some discarded soda bottles and filled them in the river and tried to give the goats some water. The first one we came to and the one in the middle readily accepted water, but others were too skiddish. There was a mother goat with two tiny kids following her around, but she would not accept water from us.

    We started the day out early for breakfast before the 8:00 Catholic church service. On the way to church, we saw one of the workers at Springfield station who is pregnant (due in September with a boy; he has 3 brothers and 3 sisters) and we turned around and gave her a ride to work. Then we hurried back down the mountain to church and got inside just as they were singing the last few introduction songs. I actually understood a good bit more of the priest's speech than I expected, since most of the people speak Creole.  They were celebrating the first communion for just over a dozen young ones. They all dressed in their best suits and the little girls wore fancy white dresses; some had veils, tiaras, and gloves. Then the rest of the congregation had communion, but seeing as how most of our group isn't Catholic, we didn't participate in their communion. Prof. Hains told one of the ladies behind us that we were Presbyterian, which is close enough I guess. Their musical rendition of The Lord's Prayer was so beautiful; much more upbeat than any version I've heard before and they used various instruments for an awesome harmony. I wish I could've recorded it on camera. 
    The service got out at about 10 and then we went to Fort Young, which is now a high-end resort spot. We had smoothies at the outdoor bar (actually virgin daquaries; I had banana). They host tour groups, so we will be travelling with one of their tour guides to Boiling Lake later this week. The veranda reminded me of Charleston, but it had much better views because you could see mountains on the side and the sea wasn't crowded with ships.
    We returned to the station for our bag lunch (a sandwich, banana, a pack of crackers, cookies, and a Capri-Sun). Then we headed up to Freshwater Lake where some other tourists were kayaking. I couldn't figure out what language they were speaking; definitely not English or Spanish, perhaps it was French or Portuguese. The lake was formed by a volcano's crater where a smaller volcano peak rose inside it. One side of the open part of the crater is Freshwater Lake, the other side is Boeri Lake, where we hiked to next. On the way, a small drainage stream of cold water flowed between the mountain and the road, and one pipe emerging from the mountain let out warm water from a hot spring. Then we began our trecherous hike beginning with stairs made from dirt and logs (some of the fibrous logs were made out of tree ferns), which later commenced to slippery rocky sections. One had to be careful about footing and placement, being sure to have a hand on some other surface on occasion. Prof. Hains was glad he brought his machette (which the Dominican's call a cutlass) when he had to chop up debris from a fallen tree. We tiptoed across streams, while Kala decided to just wade across and forget about keeping her feet dry. Finally, redfaced and a bit out of breath at that altitude, we made it to Boeri Lake. It was nice and chilly, but quite refreshing after the hike. The shore was completly made of rock, so I'm glad I brought my water shoes so I could get a grip and have flexible footing. They also helped to avoid that slippery algea feeling on the wet rocks. A couple of Europeans came up and took pictures of the mountain tops covered in clouds, as we observed the clouds lowering towards us into the valley of the lake. 
    On the hike back down to our parking spot, Prof. Hains took some algae samples from the streams we crossed over and we ran across a fairly large crab. Be sure to check out the pictures in a few days (they upload really slowly so I need to wait until I have ample time for my computer to wait). 
    We took a break at the concession stand at Freshwater Lake and I had the most delicious cheese sandwhich I have ever tasted, that's not hunger talking! The guy added some kind of special sauce that included mayonaise and ketchup, and some other seasoning. He had a pit bull puppy just 3 months old named Singe. I tried to get some pictures of an orchid plant but they don't do it justice. We planned on walking a trail that goes around Freshwater Lake, but the clouds began to sink into the small valley. 
    On the ride home, we saw large pipes made of Douglass Fir tree (which is imported from another island). The boards were held together by straps no more than 5 inches apart. As long as the wood stays wet, it will not dissentigrate. On the steeper slopes they used steel or cement. These pipes carried water from the mountain to hydropower plants below; the steepest slopes make for the best return on electricity. Using 3 hydropower stations, Dominicans get 25% energy outflow. A diesel station in the city, however, only gets about 10% energy outflow. We rode about the towns and saw the Princess Margaret Hospital.

    Continental breakfast started at 7 this morning; there was fresh guava juice. We drove to Roseau to visit the market. There were just a few panhandlers by the coast, but they weren't bad. One tried to step into my picture of the mountains in the distance and said it cost $2 for a picture of him. Once out of the market, which was mainly just food and only a couple of woven hat stations, we found some souvenier spots all clumped together. I checked the prices on some woven baskets, but Prof. Hains advised us to buy them at the Cabrits, where the indigenous indians make them.
    The roads are so long and windy that most people either walk to their destination or catch one of the many fast-driving mini buses going in their direction. We took a short drive on the way back to the station to the mouth of "Check-hall" river. I'm sure that's not how it's spelled but that's what I hear. We found some specimens of the type of snail we are going to be studying, along with some marine species as well. Our snails are black with small but close-together white spots. They are amphidromous, meaning they are spawned in fresh water, spend their larval stage in salt water, and then travel upstream as juveniles through adulthood. 
    After putting bathing suits under our clothes, we headed up to Emerald Pool. It's a gorgeous jade-colored pool at the bottom of a waterfall that, over the millienia, has worked its way further and further back and created an alcove in the rock below. You will see this in some of the pictures. The stream flowing out of the pool has created a small gorge with steep banks. The light came down over the waterfall perfectly and we were the only people there on a Saturday afternoon. We went swimming in the pool and I could see my feet clearly, even the rocks I stood on. I even stood under the waterfall, although the pounding on my head wasn't the most pleasant experience of the trip. With snorkle masks on, we could see a few freshwater shrimp and gobies (small gray fish). Along the trail we got some other interesting pictures and found a stick bug remnicent of a praying mantis. We also saw part of a trail created by the Carib indians long before Columbus' crew came to the island.  
    Next we went to another river mouth called the Rosalie, passed by a site used in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and found that our snails preferred a more freshwater mix in the estuary rather than the salty waves of from the Atlantic Ocean. They also seemed to populate the darker colored rocks slightly more than lighter ones. The rocks were very slippery; in fact, most of the coast is rock. One family taught us how to extract almonds from their shell using rocks; they tasted wonderful. 
    We returned back to the station for dinner. After dinner I went by the bar (it's actually attached to the dining room) and asked the bartender, Clinton, if he made any virgin drinks. He said all he has without alcohol is soda water with lime. However, I did smell some of the other Dominican specialties, particularly rum punch and another kind of rum they drink at Christmas time. Unfortunately, they all smelled too strong of alcohol for my taste. Everyone loves Kabuli, the locally brewed beer, but I don't care for the smell of beer anyway.

    When the island came into view of the airplane, we saw some magnificent, lush mountains. It's a shame they wouldn't allow electronics to be on to take pictures. As we circled about the north end of the island, we saw rooftops along the prominent roads, rarely far from the roadside other than a few agricultural properties. Some land was grassy and we could see abandoned ruins of shanties damaged by hurricanes, but most of the land was uninterrupted tree life. Among other forest leaves that look similar to the Appalachain mountains from a distance, if you can imagine them without pines, the palms and other tropical trees towered in their midst. 
    Upon landing, immigration and customs was very quick considering that two flights came in at about the same time. My luggage was a bit dirty, but customs did not bother to go through our bags; probably because they recognized Professor Hains and knew why we were here. We rented a small SUV, which Prof. Hains drove on the left side of the road, and took the older of two routes to our lodging at Clemson's facility called Springfield in St. Paul. When we stopped for gas an older woman walked up o the car asking for money for bread; though we apologetically denied. The ride was roughly an hour long beside the coast, through mountains, over rivers, and past shanties and people walking along the road. A couple of times we passed some guys who made cat calls going "Sssssssss"; Prof. Hains said that last year some of the girls on the trip caught the guys' attention and they were called "white chocolate." Gosh I hope they don't say that to me! I'd rather be called sugar or butter; I don't like white chocolate...it just doesn't cut it as chocolate.
    When we got to Clemson's property, Prof. Hains went off-roading a little to show us an old guest house called the "Bee House" and grabbed up some lemon grass for us to smell just by reaching his hand out the window. It was planted as an experiment for agricultural diversification. Clemson also has an overgrown area of banana trees.
    After getting back on the main road, we entered the Springfield-Archbold station, a nice set of buildings and a beautiful garden. There's no powered air conditioning, but there's really no need. We are so high in altitude that even the middle of the day is comfortable outdoors. Most of the windows have screens on them & slats so we leave them open. Our group from Clemson is staying in the Stream Guest House, just on the other side of a stream from the rest of the buildings. Texas A&M has a larger group using the dorm rooms; they leave Tuesday. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 of which have on-suite bathrooms. We do have hot water! It is heated as it comes out the showerhead at the flip of a switch. The ladies' room has two single beds and a bunk bed; I'm on the top bunk next to the window. :)
    Before dinner at 7, Kala, Diane and I went down through the garden to a pool in the stream just a short walk through the forest. We noticed crab legs along the path where birds left the remains of their snack. Some of the rocks down by the pool were a bit unstable, giving us practice for future excursions. Prof. Hains has told us that Springfield has soap that we can use to bathe in the pool. 
    At dinner we had some kind of purple potato-like things called "dasheens". I'm sure that's not the correct spelling. They are a root plant but when we saw the plants growing on the roadside they looked strikingly similar to elephant ear plants. After dinner we ventured into the laboratory to grab some outlet converters and other equipment for our studies. Then Roger, a teacher in Charleston's alternative school, showed up by taxi; he had taken a later flight on a different route. We finally settled in for the night.