Number One Beach

In the not-too-distant past, I had my first visit to Number One Beach.  Let's just say, it earns it's title.


It is this great expanse of white sand, which really you don't see that often in Dominica.  Our beaches are usually small, rocky expanses of black sand.  Off to one side, there is a calm little river, feeding into the ocean, so there is placid fresh water to play in if the waves of the Atlantic get a little too rough.  This makes it perfect for little people, but since I didn't bring one with me, I just enjoyed it for myself.

Since most of my views of big water are Caribbean in nature, I really enjoyed getting a glimpse, and a taste, of the Atlantic.  The waves are a little more boisterous, but gorgeous and so fun to play in.

The great mountains in the background also added to the overall effect:

Since I went with a bunch of other people's children I got the joy of seeing tiny footprints in the sand and thinking they were absolutely adorable.

For some reason, I also got to enjoy my own legs sparkling as though I were a Disney sea princess or something. 

The swirling water set off my pedicure quite nicely, I thought.

I did get one of my worst island sunburns yet at this beach, but I mostly didn't mind.

Syndicate Nature Trail

Ok, so this is the same trip, same day, and the same deal applies.  If the belated nature of the post offends you - STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!!  (That just reminded me of one of my favorite books growing up - "The Monster at the End of this Book."  Did you ever read it?  It's sooooo good.  Partly because it features Grover, who is always a favorite.  Partly because it's just plain good.  There was much childish giggling that accompanied every reading of it.  You should find a copy and read it.  The end of my ginorm parenthetical insert - a personal specialty).

After seeing the super cool waterfall that we couldn't get close to because it apparently is a direct water source (lame, right?  I just want to go swimming.  Who cares about clean water?), we went to the Syndicate Nature Trail that has some informational displays and stuff at the trail head.  This one was definitely my favorite:

We also got to see some super tall trees with awesome Tarzan vines hanging down from them:

And, of course, Wonderman had to test the viability of said vines:

I was not quite so bold:

Still, we both enjoyed seeing all kinds of nature-y things on said nature trail:

It was a super fun and informative day.  All the adventuring wore Wonderman right out.

Conclusion:  Exploring nature feeds the soul.

Syndicate Falls

Um, can we still be friends if I post now (which is, like, seventy million years after the fact) about stuff that happened during Christmas Break?  If your answer is "No," please stop reading and pretend this never happened.  I'm sort of trying to catch up a little and face my own apparent aversion to writing (who would've ever thought this possible?).

So, Wonderman and I went on a school-sponsored trip to Syndicate Falls.  It was really cool.  He helped small children cross rivers:

We saw some awesome jungle and a big waterfall:

I also made a new friend.  I told Wonderman that night that she was probably going to be my new best friend.  The black fingernail polish, love of mountains, and dreams of Alaska seemed to guarantee it.

We also got to hike through a valley that wasn't just jungle.  There were more shades of green in one place than I think I even knew existed:

Plus, we ended the hike with one of our guides cutting some fresh sugar cane for us.  Can you tell what a sweet tooth Wonderman has?  He looks thrilled with it, doesn't he?  It was kind of strange, but definitely sweet.  It was like chewing straw that had been soaked in sugar water.  Yummy, right?

Conclusion:  Wonderful and beautiful things are even more wonderful and beautiful when I'm with wonderful and beautiful people.

Discreet

Without further ado, or any inappropriate yet blurry photos of my baby's junk, the latest news on the home front is this: Baby Bean is a girl!  Now the adventures in naming begin.