Tuesday, March 17
Happy St. Patrick’s day to all those who find this day special!
Personally, I don’t mind avoiding this day as I am not a big drinker anymore. So, instead, let me tell you about my Tuesday!
It started out with a lazy wakeup, my morning ritual, and a nice cool shower. I still didn’t have gas for my stove, so I ate a couple of melon slices and a mini bagel to address my appetite. I didn’t go on my morning walk because I knew that this morning I would actually be walking to work. I left the house at about a quarter to 0800 and started my miniature journey. I lackadaisically (great word) walked down my road. It definitely looked different in the daylight from the night before. I took in my surroundings as usual and enjoyed the stroll. Well, I guess it was a little faster than a stroll because I got to work 5 minutes before 0800, which means if I was actually walking to get there without lollygagging, I would have made the walk in about 7 minutes.
7 MINUTES, Y’ALL.
I have never been so close to work in my life. I still can’t get over it. I’m walking to work and it takes less than 10 minutes?! I thank God for this house I’m living in because my coworkers either live on the other side of the island, or mid-island. I’m the closest one to the office and it was definitely by the grace of God that I found my house, my kind landlord, and a rent that won’t leave me literally starving. I am so incredibly thankful for that. I got to work and started my day. Basically, it was another day of conference calls and reading up on the programs I would be in charge of or participating in. It was also another day of disinfecting the office and every surface we can clean. It was a good day.
I also got to pick up my car during lunch! Hooray! I was also allowed to leave the office for a little while to get my car registered and get new license plates and such. This was allowed because obviously I had to move my entire life to the island, so there is some time allotted for things like this and boy am I thankful! As you know, places like the Post Office and the DMV (known here as BMV) close well before you get off work (insert eye roll here).
So, I got my car and went back to the office after everything was done and I still had an hour until I got off work. I finished some things up and went home. When I got home, Matt asked if he could come over for a sec. Of course I said yes (duh) and he came over, we chit-chatted as I was putting stuff away and then he said he was going to go to the monk baths and asked if I wanted to go.
Monk baths?
I was all in the moment he said “monk” so we hopped in his Suzuki SUV and headed off on an adventure. We headed north towards the rainforest and he pointed out different landmarks of the town. He is the perfect tour guide. He decided to take a detour and drove up this busted road (reminded me of backroads in Michigan) and we stop at this pull off in front of a house. I look to my left and the sign said something about being open to the public, but you enter at your own risk. Turns out, this place was the ruins of the Estate Mount Washington, which had been both a cotton and sugar plantations, a rum distillery, a Great House, and a citrus farm over the centuries.
We start walking through the property and to my left there is this large circular garden. It reminded me of the sand gardens that people would rake for meditation. Turned out, it was for meditation, but it was a walking maze. You walked around the maze reflecting on your life until you make it out of the maze. It was incredible.
We then turned and walked to an area that was where they would crush the sugar and the citrus and whatever else they decided to crush. You had to walk through a couple tunnels on this part of the property, and Matt was warning me to watch out for these little wasp things called Jack Spaniard wasps. Apparently, they are nasty little buggers and they will attack if you get to close. Luckily, it looked like the groundskeepers cleared the tunnels (mostly, they missed one!) so we were able to walk through without getting attacked. As we were on our way out (we had other things to do), we passed by what was labeled a “dungeon” and I reflected on that. I also made a mental note to come back and do some more exploring of the whole property at a later date and time.
We get back in the car and continue heading north. These roads are getting worse! I thought Michigan roads were bad! Anyway, we take another quick detour because Matt wanted to show me this cool tree that Rafiki from the lion king lives in. It’s called a Baobab tree and it’s in the Virgin Islands! We stop by one and he shows me the fruit that it grows. Found a whole one on the ground so we grabbed it and headed off. But seriously, that tree was beautiful. More mental notes.
We continue down the road and we finally reach our destination. There is another car there and Matt makes his slight irritation known (haha) and we park, get out, and start climbing down the side of the road. We walk out onto this rocky landscape that can only be described as hard rock with holes in it formed by years of the sea crashing against it and erosion. It was beautiful. There was a family there with a dog and we all said “good evening” (the custom on the island to say good morning, good day, etc) and exchanged pleasantries. Then there it was. The Monk bath. It was this rectangular spectacle, with an arched exit to where the ocean would flow in. It was absolutely beautiful.
I was in awe, but I felt like I couldn’t really sit still and enjoy it because there were other people there. We did conversate with them, and that was nice. They asked if we lived here and I explained that I’m the new fish biologist, to which they asked questions about summer camps and what not. I gave them my number if they wanted to follow up. Another mental note: I need to make business cards. I pet the dog, it growled, I stopped petting. Matt was a little further away from me and the dog went to him, he pet the dog, and then as Matt was walking away to get closer to the bath, THE DOG BIT HIS ANKLE. Yooooo I was in a shock because it was as if I didn’t know what was happening. The woman freaked out and apologized and then did a swift kick (not super hard) to the nose of the dog. Thing is, the dog was just protecting the baby that was not too far from where Matt had just walked. Matt understood that, even though that dog really did a number on his ankle. Basically, after that we just kind of started walking south and the family left. Matt started showing me all of the different holes in the rock, which would basically become geysers when it was high tide. He also showed me a spot where there were nothing but a bunch of rock urchins! He said that they hurt like hell. I asked him how he knew. He said, “I stepped on one and then I fell and stepped on another.”
Y’all I almost busted out laughing so hard. I mean, I totally laughed, but it could have been a full belly laugh if I didn’t hold it in. (haha sorry Matt, I know you’re gonna read this)
We turned and started walking north a bit, mainly because I needed to pee (yay for a random concrete little building), and the sun was starting to really go down and the views were just incredible. I took another photo with a tide pool and the sunset and I just couldn’t get over the beauty. I feel like I’ve never seen such beautiful things. Fact of the matter is, there is literally beauty in nature everywhere, we just have to be willing to go searching for it. And that’s what I decided to do. I’m going to keep looking for the beauty in nature here and I’m definitely going to find it. With Matt’s help, I’m not only going to appreciate this island, but I’m going to learn a lot about the history of it.
And I can’t be more excited.
Cheers to another day in paradise.
-Curby
CURBY IN THE SEA 