We confused the staff a bit last night at dinner; they were under the impression that we were leaving Thursday. However, we got a better deal on airline tickets to leave today, Wednesday.
        Roger left for an earlier flight at about 6:30 this morning. Our flight wasn't going to leave until 2:20 pm, so we had plenty of time. We packed up fairly quickly; Kala and I already did most of our packing last night.  Then we cleaned up the lab and set our last batch of snails free in a slow-moving pool of the stream next to the station. They were all painted with pink "snail polish". It will be interesting to see how they disperse the next time Dr. Hains returns.
        We said our goodbyes and then headed down to Canefield to fill up gas in the rental car. On the way, we saw Tiffany's and just had to go in after getting gas. I can officially say I've been to Tiffany's in Dominica, and bought something! Tiffany's is a restaurant, bar, art gallery, and gift shop. She had stacks of soaps of many different local scents and walls covered in local artwork. One wall was a dedicated showcase to a young artist with a very different style. It was dark, gory, and reminded me of a biological sci-fi horror. But there is a reason for these odd paintings and sculptures; the dark backgrounds emphasize the 3-D fingers and toes emerging from the paintings with startlingly accurate nails and creases. Small sculptures show immense patience in moulding the medium (they dare not reveal its contents) to the shape of a brain and adding a pair of sunglasses to it. While most of the Dominicans worry about the boy's mental health, Tiffany sees talent and passion and gives him tips to perfect his work. I see his dark theme as a way of showcasing his creativity in moulding and smooth painting.
        Then we went up the hill past the station to Miranda's for fresh fishcakes (large hushpuppies with some hardly-noticeable fish meat in them).  They were much better hot and fresh than the first time we had them at the end of the day. She also gave us some baked mac & cheese (except instead of macaroni she used some other kind of noodles). 
        We went on to the airport where we ran into another group from the US. We debated over whether they were missionaries or a university group.  My money was on missionaries.  We talked to one guy and found out that they were from Macon University in Georgia. Some of the students were researching sea turtles and some of their work included teaching science classes in a primary school. I was randomly selected for special screening, as was one of the girls from Macon. They made us be the last ones to board the plane, but we got a chance to talk. She said some of their stay also included missionary work; they stayed for 20 days. The screening was a very easy process. The lady gently patted major concern areas (side of waist and ankles, just places that one would typically conceal a weapon). She opened my laptop bag and I helped her move things around, telling her where things were so we didn't have to waste time. I didn't feel so bad boarding the plane, people were still in line to get seated so time wasn't an issue. 
        Once we got to San Juan, we went through customs and immigration, which didn't really take that long, we just had to have our passports and boarding passes out constantly. We got Kala to her terminal and waited until she left, then Diane and I looked around at a duty-free shop and sampled perfume and lotion. We joined Dr. Hains at Air Margaritaville for one of the best burgers I have ever had. I got the Mexicali burger with several different types of cheeses, jalepeno peppers, and tomato salsa. 
        I didn't sleep on any plane rides until the one from Miami to Atlanta. Somehow Dr. Hains expected me to help him stay awake on the drive from Atlanta to Clemson.  I hope he took a caffeine pill because I didn't have much to talk about so I continually dozed off. I did, however, wake up once every minute the entire ride to Clemson to try my best to keep a look out. Unfortunately every time I blinked I took a 45-second nap.  We met my parents and boyfriend at Waffle House right off the interstate in Clemson.  The first thing I wanted to do was brush my teeth, then Jared and I got a snack for the road and I stayed wide awake that whole ride telling them about the awesome food and different things I experienced. We arrived at home at 4:30 in the morning; I didn't wind down and go to sleep again until six.

    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.