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 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.
RSS Feed