5
Location: Savanna Bay, Virgin Gorda
So, today started quite interestingly. We began the morning with Gwen and Hannah so graciously trying to haul up the anchor, and captain, and dingy tender all at once while all of us still slept. But, unfortunately, the dock line holding the dingy to the boat got caught in the port side propeller. This, of course, delayed us as both Gwen and Hannah, as well as Will from Some Beez, had to unwrap the line from around the propeller by hand. To make it worse, Hannah was stung by a jellyfish while in the water helping. It was a terrible sting, and we all awoke very concerned, but she was a real trooper and went through the rest of the day coping with the continual pain from the venom of the Jelly. After concluding our very eventful morning with successfully removing all of the lines from the propeller, we headed back to Spanish Town. But, instead of working hard, we took a day off after the long day that preceded and ventured deeper into Virgin Gorda to the well known “Coppermine National Park.” This was an incredible spot, taking us up and down rigid rock structures alongside huge, crashing waves – terrifying yet spectacular. This tested my fear of heights. But it’s moments like these that make this program so incredibly rewarding, as I encouraged myself to complete what was an experience of a lifetime. At the end of this mind-blowing hike, we landed upon a beach where we did a quick cleanup, picking up plastic bottles, fishing net, bottle caps, and many other pieces of trash that threaten the safety of the marine ecosystem. We continued our clean up at another beach ways down the road. Here, you could truly see the damage caused by Hurricane Irma – jet skis and boat lines buried under the sand, unable to be retrieved by our bare hands. BZ took the opportunity to teach us more about different types of plastics, using examples that we had collected across the beach. The rest of the day was chill yet fun-filled as we had our first shore time, or free time, in Virgin Gorda where we got to buy lunch, and snacks, and even use our phones – we were all extremely excited because, being teenagers, we were just itching to reconnect with the technological world. The day concluded with a beautifully prepared Veggie Burger barbecue where Some Beez and our boat connected and had one big, social feast. The excitement over the programs adventures and the gradual strengthening of the Two Ghosts family is truly beginning to shine. We can not wait for the coming opportunities and adventures.