Last year it was the gas crisis that provided a new experience for us here. This morning, we woke to a layer of dust on everything. The air was thick, and the sky appeared hazy. At first I thought it was sand from the beach on the floor. The Mero sand is black and very fine, which matched the dust coating that greeted us this morning. Then after we loaded up the car to get the kids off to school, we noticed that many people were wearing masks or covering their mouths with cloths.
When we got to school, we heard that the neighboring island of Montserrat had a volcanic eruption. This dust was volcanic ash.
We did our best to keep the ash out of the apartment and from coating everything, but it was not a battle we could win, so we gave into it, making sure that cameras, our laptop and other sensitive electronics were protected. Everything else just became gritty – even the food. Walking barefoot is like having a 220 grit sandpaper floor.
Ironically, Dominica is believed to have one of the highest concentrations of active volcanoes in the world. Yet the ash that’s falling here is from one of the neighboring islands.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Alden and Willow's 2nd day of school
This is our 3rd day in Dominica. Today at school we had a field trip and we walked about 8 miles in the blazing hot sun! It was very tiring. School ended at 12:00!!! That was only because they are getting ready for carnival. Luckily, we got a ride home from my mom and dad and we didn’t have to walk home. We fit 9 kids in our car! 4 sat in the trunk and 5 sat in the backseat and mom and dad in the front. When we returned to the village we wanted to go swimming. So, we went to go ask the other kids parents if the kids could come to d’leau chaud, a fresh water river with a hot spring. The parents said yes and we hopped back into the car. It was about a 10 minute drive. When we got out of the car, we remembered how many ashes there were in the air because a volcano erupted in another island in the Caribbean called Montserrat. They covered the car. Here's a picture of it. 
Lots if people are also walking around wearing masks because there is so much ash in the air. we found a cool link to the volcano if you want to learn more about it. http://www.montserratvolcanoobservatory.info/After we walked a small distance, we were at the river. We swam and did cartwheels into the water. We surfed on the rocks and dared each other to touch the sand at the bottom of the river. Teachers will be glad to know that we went home to work on our homework.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Can you find us?
Can you find us on the map? We are at roughly 15 degrees North latitude (up and down). Can you find out what degrees of longitude we are?
If you find out, post it as a comment to the blog. The first STUDENT to get the right answer will get a prize from the dominican culture. Good luck!
If you find out, post it as a comment to the blog. The first STUDENT to get the right answer will get a prize from the dominican culture. Good luck!
Alden's Arrival Reflections
Our trip to Dominica has had some ups and some downs. First of all, My dad lost his laptop on the airplane but luckily, he found it. Our trip to Peurto Rico was great and we had a safe trip down to Dominica after that. When we arrived in Dominica, we went straight to the beach. We saw most of our friends and they gave us a big hug. We are staying in a nice little apartment with two twin beds for Willow and I, and one big bed for my mom and dad. We have unpacked pretty much everything and of course, noticed what we left behind. We left the underwater camera and a journal for me but we decided that the laptop would be good enough. We miss you all and we hope you are enjoying the snow.
Arriving in Dominica
This trip down seemed to be more challenging than our previous trips. Maybe it was the extra leg, with the required layover in San Juan. Maybe it was the fact that we are here for longer than we have stayed before – which means the same amount of clothing but a lot more food. We have 16 bags total, so keeping track of them all has been no small task as we transition from baggage claim to taxi to hotel and back to the airport.
The biggest trauma of our first day was realizing that we had left the laptop on the airplane to San Juan, underneath one of the red fleece airplane blankets under one of the seats. We realized it as we arrived at our hotel in San Juan. Relief of completing the first leg of the journey turned to instant panic. We’ll spare you the details, but it took a couple hours to finally confirm that they had the computer and that it was safe. We picked it up this morning at the airport after we checked in for our flight to Dominica. Never had I been so happy to see my computer.
The flight to Dominica lasted for just under 2 hours, and as we flew in for the approach, we could recognize some of the hillsides we have hiked in past trips here. It’s a beautiful, mountainous landscape. On the east coast, where the Melville Hall airport is, the hills are covered with banana and citrus farms. A mountain range with peaks just over 5,000 feet divides the island, and on the west coast, the landscape is the same, but the climate is drier, the clouds having dumped most of their moisture on the east coast.
The hour long cab ride to Mero was up and over a mountain pass through the interior of the island. It was beautiful scenery, with the smell of fresh rain and farmers’ burn piles reminding us of how sensual the island is. We wound up the mountain pass and then began our descent to the west coast of the island, our bodies pushed from side to side as the road twisted down the steep hillside.
After getting settled, we headed down the hill to the center of town to say hello to our friends. Reuniting was sweet, with most people recognizing our kids first. We watched as their faces turned into huge smiles. Lots of hugs, fist bumps and “how-have-you-been” exchanged. We were all happy to see familiar faces.
A sense of calm swallowed us up, with all travel anxiety melting away. Ah, we’ve made it. Everything arrived safely. Tomorrow it’s off to Rouseau, the capital, where we will shop for the girls’ school uniforms and go to the farmers’ market for veggies. Then we plan to go snorkeling.
The biggest trauma of our first day was realizing that we had left the laptop on the airplane to San Juan, underneath one of the red fleece airplane blankets under one of the seats. We realized it as we arrived at our hotel in San Juan. Relief of completing the first leg of the journey turned to instant panic. We’ll spare you the details, but it took a couple hours to finally confirm that they had the computer and that it was safe. We picked it up this morning at the airport after we checked in for our flight to Dominica. Never had I been so happy to see my computer.
The flight to Dominica lasted for just under 2 hours, and as we flew in for the approach, we could recognize some of the hillsides we have hiked in past trips here. It’s a beautiful, mountainous landscape. On the east coast, where the Melville Hall airport is, the hills are covered with banana and citrus farms. A mountain range with peaks just over 5,000 feet divides the island, and on the west coast, the landscape is the same, but the climate is drier, the clouds having dumped most of their moisture on the east coast.
The hour long cab ride to Mero was up and over a mountain pass through the interior of the island. It was beautiful scenery, with the smell of fresh rain and farmers’ burn piles reminding us of how sensual the island is. We wound up the mountain pass and then began our descent to the west coast of the island, our bodies pushed from side to side as the road twisted down the steep hillside.
After getting settled, we headed down the hill to the center of town to say hello to our friends. Reuniting was sweet, with most people recognizing our kids first. We watched as their faces turned into huge smiles. Lots of hugs, fist bumps and “how-have-you-been” exchanged. We were all happy to see familiar faces.
A sense of calm swallowed us up, with all travel anxiety melting away. Ah, we’ve made it. Everything arrived safely. Tomorrow it’s off to Rouseau, the capital, where we will shop for the girls’ school uniforms and go to the farmers’ market for veggies. Then we plan to go snorkeling.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Thanks for the help!
We're off in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow - first by bus to Boston (at 5AM) and then by plane to San Juan, where we spend the night in Old San Juan. Everything is packed, and we're working our way through the last minute punch list. I discovered last minute that the thermostat in the kitchen doesn't work, so I added a trip to Home Depot to the list. The wood stove has been masking the defective thermostat for some time, I suspect, so I'm glad I discovred that this morning. Who knows what we might have found when we returned if the heat didn't work in our kitchen while we're gone!
A big thanks to everyone who contributed books, school supplies, reusable shopping bags and cold hard cash to help get all the donations down to Dominica. We're constantly amazed and in awe of the wonderful help we ave received as we prepare to bring the supplies down. This year, we are beginning to think about creating a specific focus for our - and your- efforts. Should we try to build the library for the school (currently one very small bookshelf), or is there another area of need that we should help them with? We'll continue to think about this as we travel and hope that anyone who has ideas will offer them as well.
Look for an update once we get settled in our final stop of Mero, a little town of approximately 100 people midway up the west coast of Dominica. Who knows, we may take some pictures of the girls in their new school uniforms so you can see what they look like as they prepare for school with their Dominica friends.
Tomorrow it's off to Puerto Rico for a day and then on to Dominica on Tuesday.
We're off!!
A big thanks to everyone who contributed books, school supplies, reusable shopping bags and cold hard cash to help get all the donations down to Dominica. We're constantly amazed and in awe of the wonderful help we ave received as we prepare to bring the supplies down. This year, we are beginning to think about creating a specific focus for our - and your- efforts. Should we try to build the library for the school (currently one very small bookshelf), or is there another area of need that we should help them with? We'll continue to think about this as we travel and hope that anyone who has ideas will offer them as well.
Look for an update once we get settled in our final stop of Mero, a little town of approximately 100 people midway up the west coast of Dominica. Who knows, we may take some pictures of the girls in their new school uniforms so you can see what they look like as they prepare for school with their Dominica friends.
Tomorrow it's off to Puerto Rico for a day and then on to Dominica on Tuesday.
We're off!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
It's on it's way
Here we are with Turner, the Jamaican transplant to Maine, helping us pack. Thanks to all of you the books,backpacks,flip-flops, and much more are on there way to Dominica. All of the donations fit into two huge cardboard barrels. we estimate that it was about 500 lbs total! Wow! Check out the pictures.
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