Melissa's Summer Break in Dominica (with plenty o' pictures!)

So sorry about the complete lack of blogging this month! I guess in the lead-up to Melissa's final, I was too focused on keeping her going through the week of studying. Also probably a little bit of laziness, as well as not much happening outside of the studying. And once break started, we were spending too much time going all over this beautiful island and seeing the sights that have eluded Melissa for the most part. So here is a picto-blog, narrated by Melissa herself (!). Enjoy!

Aww what a cutie! He's smiling for the picture.

These crabs are funny to watch. They dig out their holes by using the big claw to hold the dirt against their body. Then they sidle out and flick the sand away. This one came out after fighting another crab for the same hole.

I sense a new profile picture for Eric here. Look how nicely Rosco is sitting for the camera!

Rosco still isn't sure about the water. We're working on it.

Sunset on Coconut Beach.

This is one of those accidental awesome shots. The plant in the foreground, the blue of the sky, the red of the palm tree, and it satisfies the rule of thirds. Kudos to me!

The looooooonnnng line of new first semester students we walked behind on the way to Syndicate Falls. There were nine tour buses! This hike was not for the faint of heart; the Welcome Committee neglected to tell us that this hike requires 3 river crossings and good hiking shoes. A few of the parents that came along were in nice sandals or socks and shoes they didn't want getting wet. It was entertaining to watch them wringing out their socks and complaining to their student about how hard the hike was. 

Happy Eric.

Aren't these awesome? I almost tripped because I was looking up at the ferns instead of my feet. 

These are the rocks at the base of the falls. They were super slippery! They also had to tell us not to bathe in the water because this river supplies the town below. Apparently it's ok if 150 people walk in it though...

Just hangin' out.

Yes, that is barbed wire behind us. I guess climbing isn't allowed.

Some pretty flowers near the end of the hike.

Here's a different day when we went to Champagne Reef to snorkel. Eric's really excited to get out in the water!

This is a gem for the scrapbook...

So this place didn't have a beach, just a bunch of rocks. It's really too bad we don't have a waterproof camera, because the sealife here was amazing. It's called Champagne Reef because there are volcanic vents deep below the sea and they give off bubbles that make it look like champagne. It was gorgeous.

This is about right for Dominica. Luckily, he had already made our food before he left.

The juices of the day were passionfruit and pineapple. Eric had a chef salad and I had the grilled mahi-mahi. Although here, mahi-mahi is not a nice fillet of white fish. Instead it's the name locals use instead of dolphin fish. I suppose too many students were worried that they were eating dolphin or something.

Yes I know, I'm still terribly white. But it's hard to get sun in the classrooms!

This is a different waterfall called Trafalgar Falls. You can't see it here but there's another fall up to the left of my head. Our guide told us that it used to be one waterfall but a landslide happened and caused the second waterfall to appear. 

Here's the other waterfall. I actually think this one's prettier. See the different cascades about 1/3 the way up? It's smaller but nicer. Apparently someone climbed this one, while the water was rushing down!

Lovely ladies! Kaydee is in the middle and Sarah to the right. Fourth semester here we come!

Here we are at Screw Spa. No, that water's not dirty, it's just full of sulfur. This place is great; there 4 or 5  pools of varying temperatures and they are all fed by natural hot springs. This one was probably a normal hot-tub temperature. They cemented the walls and floors of the springs so they are rather pleasant to be in. Also, it's only 10EC ($4) with an ID so it's a great deal! 

We went to a fancy hotel in Roseau for dinner and had some drinks. Eric's rather proud of this picture.

Enjoying our drinks...because it'll be the last time before the semester's over! 9 weeks until our final and 12 weeks until the comprehensive exam...and less than 6 months until the USMLE Step 1! Scary thought.

And a nice ocean shot to finish it off. This is back on Coconut Beach. The two bumps are a piece of land called the Cabrits. There's a fort on the larger one that's a remnant of the colonial era when England and France were squabbling over rights to the island. 

Ok, it's Eric again.  As you can see, we had plenty of fun this break! And we did even more things, but forgot to bring a camera to those...Gotta work on that. Photography is one of those things that I always forget that I enjoy.

So tomorrow, Melissa starts back up! She actually started studying this week, reviewing old topics, previewing lectures for the upcoming week, and doing as much printing as the school will allow her to. I'll try keeping you peeps updated as her final island-semester goes along.

Have a good one!

-Eric (& Melissa)