In any case, we all met at 6:00AM to head out. We were in a wooden boat which is all made by hand. Most of the wood, if not all, was hand cut making it look very ancient and rugged. Below on the left, is a picture of a boat which is similar to what we were on.
Initially, we had some engine trouble which took some time to get going. It would run for a little while, then quit. The waves would push the boat a little and then we would get going again. This kept repeating over and over. Emilien's dad finally took the cover off of the engine and before I knew it, he was siphoning fuel through some tube. After that, we had no problems at all. We would periodically get splashed by waves and over time we would have to bail the boat out with an old rusted coffee can. It wasn't to the degree of being dangerous, however the boat would fill enough to submerge your shoes entirely, then one of the guys would bail us out as we kept moving.
A few hours later, we were fairly close to the island. For those of you who have visited, you probably have noticed that there is what seems to be a spot of erosion just left of center when you see it from Port de Paix. Once we were closer, I found out that it isn't just the ridge line that is eroded, but the erosion is in the shape of what a mud slide would shape. I'm not saying that it was a mud slide, but just the shape of it. It was interesting to see up close what I have been looking at all along from 6 miles across the ocean. If you take a look on Google Earth, you can sort of see the erosion. Of course, you may not give a rip unless you have been here, but it is a little interesting nonetheless. Above, you can see the dip within the island ridge. Here is a closer picture.
After we got a little closer, we turned and followed the coast heading toward Point West beach. From the pictures I have seen, it is a beautiful beach. We didn't go quite all the way (I think out of the concern for fuel) but we did end up at a very nice beach with a descent amount of coral. Brice and Thom had walked ahead and just as Jonny, Scott and I had stopped at a spot to look around, they came back. I guess they couldn't go further because Brice had an "equipment failure". His sandal broke as he tripped on a rock. Just as his body jerked forward, his camera fell out, hit another rock and landed in the water. So, we decided to hang out at the spot where we were.
When I first walked into the water, I was bare foot. After I passed the sandy portion, I noticed sharp rocks and coral so went back to get my shoes. Thom had brought some snorkeling gear and let me borrow it. I have seen plenty of reef pictures but had never been snorkeling before. It was amazing to see the tropical fish and other marine life in person. I was looking at some of the coral and noticed that there was some sponge looking piece so I grabbed it and it easily broke off. I then noticed a wavy piece of coral that looked soft, however when I touched it, I noticed that it was rigid. I twisted it and a piece broke off. Just as I heard the snap underwater I felt a pain in my hand. I hadn't thought of the possibility that it could have neurotoxins. Within seconds, my whole hand was hurting and the joints in my fingers ached. I didn't feel much of a tingling sensation but just a pain. Fortunately for me, it didn't travel up my arm and within a half hour it went away. In any case, I guess I should have left the coral alone.
After a little while, we headed back because we knew it would take longer to get back home and the waves would be bigger. We walked along the beach and as we moved, I kept stopping to take pictures. I was carrying a water bottle, waterproof case and a few other things, so I would set my stuff down, get my camera out and then snap a few pictures from time to time. Here is a picture of a rock overhanging the edge of the water.
Here is a picture of Thom in front of a few houses along the beach. Notice what the house is built from.
Just as we were getting back to the boat, about 80 yards or so, we stopped one last time to get pictures in front of some rocks along the beach. I set my stuff down and stood in front of a rock so Scott could take my picture. When we were finished, I walked back, grabbed my stuff and headed to the boat. We had to wade into the water about 30 feet or so which was about two and a half feet deep. When I got to the boat, I lifted my waterproof case over and noticed that it was empty. I must have dumped out my camera and phone along the way. I went back to where I started and didn't see the camera anywhere. When I turned around, everyone was waving to let me know that they found them. My camera, phone, multi-tool and a pocket knife all fell into the water. Of course the multi-tool was fine but the problem was that my camera and phone had been submerged in salt-water. As soon as I had them, I took the batteries out and put them in a case. Unfortunately, they were submerged for a minute or so and my phone was on when it had fallen in. Also, the trip back took three and a half hours so I couldn't clean them quickly. Either way, there wasn't much I could do, but wait until I got home.
As we were riding back in the boat, we were hitting larger waves, so it made for a fun ride. The bad part was that we were getting soaked so I kept dipping my sunglasses into the water to wash them off. I couldn't use my shirt because it was too wet and would just smear water. Dipping them left a few droplets of water on the lenses, but better than using my shirt. I wanted to wear them because I was getting salt water spray in my eyes at a regular rate and it was burning a little. Well, it wasn't but a few minutes and I dipped them in just as a wave hit my arm and I dropped them. I didn't have too tight of a grip on them and before I could grab them, they were long gone. Fortunately, they were inexpensive. I had bought them with my brother for fishing... glad we bought cheap sunglasses.
When we got back, I went straight home and started soaking my camera and phone in drinking water (the cleanest water we have) to get the salt out. I would have liked to use distilled, but didn't have any. Once I soaked them with two separate "washes" I then soaked them in rubbing alcohol to get rid of the water as the alcohol would evaporate the quickest. So far, my camera doesn't work, but I did get the pictures off of it. My phone wont start up either, but I am hoping that I can get my contacts off an internal memory card. I cannot remember if I put them on there or not, but I'll find out when I get home. I did back up my contacts about two years ago, but I have no idea who I'll be missing. So, if you are reading this, go back up your phone contacts!
3 comments:
That's what you get for breaking off coral. Do you know how long it takes to grow?
What was that house made of?
Right, what was the house made of? Shells?
Hi Doug. I truly enjoy reading your posts. What a eventful trip! That boat trip is something that I have always thought about but fear the ocean waves. I enjoyed the rock picture, looks like the front half of a turtle....hence the island name! What were the houses made of?
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