We rousted out early this morning and found that we were more ready to finish packing than we had first guessed. By the time our vans arrived this morning, we were packed, had eaten, and were ready to head out for our long journey home.
We made our boat in plenty of time, with a few extra minutes to pursue a couple of final souvenirs. Our boat left the port in choppy waters and within a few minutes we heard a loud "thump" that made us wonder what had happened. The public address system told us (in French) that everything was okay, but that we had actually hit a WHALE! We followed up on the info and found out that it was true, then realized that this may be the only time in our lives that we will have the chance to speak those words: "I was in a boat that ran over a whale."
As far as we know, the whale was fine, as was the boat. We, however, had to deal with the consequences of a choppy sea as a few of us struggled with motion sickness. We bought some Dramamine in town, which only comes in the "drowsy" version over here. That drowsy factor paid off for us as we essentially sedated ourselves to survive the pitching and yawing that might have made us throw up like many of the people around us were doing. We all survived the trip without puking, which counted as a big accomplishment today.
We are back at the hotel where we stayed at the front end of our trip, so we revisited the beach where we swam and sunbathed almost three weeks ago. It was odd to realize how differently we felt about the town, the Caribbean, our comfort in both of those places, and ourselves as a result of all that we have experienced in the last few weeks.
We hope to take it easy tomorrow to get as far as we can at finishing our coursework. That way we will all get real breaks as we prepare for the spring semester. We'll write again and let you know how things have gone in St. Lucia, then we will be back in California late Friday night. We look forward to reconnecting with all of you in person soon thereafter . . .
You guys are just so darn lucky I cant believe it.On your last day, to be rewarded with the ancient Caribbean "Gift of Long Life"
ReplyDeleteYou know, the one that starts out "whereas you driveth your hull against the vertebrae of the worlds largest living mammal"..blah blah blah..and ends with" if your flotation device is not ripped asunder and you continue to participate with the waves in that portion of the ocean that is the transition between sky and water instead of that part of the ocean where all the rocks sit in the mud... blah blah...you are indeed a fortunate individual and should buy a lottery ticket"
Dont be alarmed when you guys arrive back in the San Francisco area, no thats not not a rash on your arms, those are goosebumps.
See you soon.