12
Location: Sandy Spit, Green Cay
Kris’s reggae music woke us up uncomfortably early for the coming day of community service. We had cereal for breakfast, then got dressed and headed for shore on Lava the dinghy. Once we were all on shore, we packed into Nando’s taxi and began our way to the farm. The drive was gorgeous because Aragorn’s farm was on the side of a mountain at the top of Tortola, although Lily missed most of it because she was enjoying a nice nap. At the farm, our group of 15 was split into three groups and were all assigned separate (but similar) jobs around the farm. My group (Liam, Lily, Elle, Anna B., Hannah, and Riley) went to an upper part of the farm to prep grow beds—meaning we were pulling weeds, shoveling, and raking dirt to eventually plant hemp seeds. There was, however, an obstacle we needed to overcome: the ankle to knee-deep mud. Aragorn told us that past groups have just stood barefoot, and so that’s what we did. It was like a foot massage with an occasional rock hidden for us to stop our toes on. The second group (Morgan, Surya, Anna S., Shaila, and Annie) began digging and moving dirt to eventually be filled with concrete and used as a location for the farm’s compost. They also had an obstacle of sorts: the tarantulas in the dirt. They shoveled a few tarantulas by accident, but they’d just crawl away as soon as they were put back on the ground. The last group (Avah, Chris, Griffin, and Benzi) were loosening dirt, pulling weeds, and eventually planting seeds—much like the first group, but without mud. These groups would swap around throughout the day, and in the end, a lot was achieved. During breaks, we were also given fresh hand-picked mangos from the farm along with PB+Js for lunch. After we’d finished all of our work, we got a tour of the farm, and Aragorn gave us an assortment of fruits and vegetables to take back to the boat. Once we’d hiked back to the top of the farm, Nando picked us up and took us to Cane Garden Bay, where Kris was waiting with the boat. On the boat, we were handed our phones as we headed toward the location for the second beach barbecue. An hour later, our phones were taken, and we got ready to party. The location was called Sandy Spit, and it was basically a beach in the form of a small, small island. We ate, talked, and then went back to the boat where we “showered” and a little while later went to sleep. I’m told I did a lot of sleep talking.