Anguilla Youth Sailing Club

Check out a quick video on the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club-

http://homepage.mac.com/travistv/iMovieTheater6.html

It gives a little view into some of the work I've been doing here.

I hope you enjoy it!

St. Lucia Rainforest Hike

Rite and I on our hike through the Rainforest n St. Lucia. The trails were really well kept.

Nice trees. Yep.

Me and the big, big bamboo.

Pidgeon Island
Old ruins of the English forts have trees and creepers growing up through them.

Cannons!

Here's the view from the fort on top of Pidgeon island. The path leads up to a lookout point from which the English spyed on the French fleets on Martinique, which is visible to the north.

Look at that cannon!

St. Lucia Tour

PitonsHere we are with Arnold, and the twin Pitons behind us. Arnold showed us around a bit of St. Lucia on his day off, and we had a delightful time.

In this picture, Petit Piton is the closer, higher and pointier one. That's Gros Piton behind it, and the town of Soufriere (pronounced 'soo-fray') in the valley below.

Arnold and I on one of the main road's beautiful views. At alot of these spots there were peddlers with handicrafts, tales of history, 'tour' guides, and snake charmers.

Arnold's friend gives us the tour at the gardens in Soufriere where we saw all sorts of gorgeous plants and animals. There was even a chameleon eating cocoa beans.

Gorgeous flowers, very sensitive to the oil on your fingers. Don't touch.

Hot Springs
Rite gets spa advice from a nice rasta who's been at the volcanic hot springs collecting the mud for the afternoon. I put it all over my feet too, and it felt great!

My foot. My hand.



The mud dodged your fingers in a very stange fashion. It was on the bottom, but not settled by any means.

The Diamond Waterfall

The 'Diamond waterfall' was the gem of the gardens in Soufriere.

Arthur and Ansel.

St. Barths

There were a lot of buildings in St. Bartholemey that looked quite well-preserved, though a few were probably just faux-antique facades. The island was once part of Sweden, and strange small cultural relics here and there are reminders of such.

We spent a couple nights at 'Le Select,' the inspiration for Jimmy Buffet's song Cheeseburger in Paradise. He was also once the part-owner of this late-night burger patio. A very cute little place to hang out in the heart of Gustavia.

The balcony at Sunset hotel is perfect for reading and enjoying the view over their lovely breakfast. Due to their customer service and organization, however, I wouldn't recommend the place.

Josh and Michael visit

Here we are on Maunday's Bay, with St. Martin in the background. Joshie needs a tan.

Joshie wants to hang with the cool crowd, but his bodyguard says, "the area's not secure." 

Halloween

Me and my youth assistants at the Pumphouse Halloween party.
Rocking! 

Rite and Regatta

Rite has arrived, and we've been exploring some of the sandy beaches... Kenny emphasized certain features of Rite on the wipe board...
And everyone enjoyed the Regatta in Saint Martin!
Yellow ASA hats made everyone stand out!
 

Building, Relaxing

The deck of the clubhouse, with a couple future members hanging out on our 'Canada' chairs next to the lopsided tiller and centerboard rack I built.
Eli gets some assistance making a cubby cabinet for kids to keep their stuff in.

The finished project!
Eli relaxes at the end of the last day of class as the boats come in... 

Munich Pact

We are fortunate to have a leader of strong resolve at a time of war...

America is not what's wrong with the world. -Donald Rumsfeld

The following was posted September 2nd on Metafilter. Of special interest is the fact that Rumsfeld quotes Georges Clemenceau in order to acknowledge the setbacks inherent to war. Juan Cole's comparison to British Decolonization is brief and a bit fiery, but worth reading too.

"Donald Rumsfeld's recent speech at the American Legion Convention has revived interest in the 1938 Munich pact between Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler and its use as an analogy in foreign policy debates. Military historian Jeffrey Record weighs in with Appeasement Reconsidered: Investigating the Mythology of the 1930s. Michael Cairo examines how analogical reasoning based on "the lesson of Munich" influenced the first Gulf War and Clinton's intervention in Kosovo. Juan Cole argues against "the crock of appeasement" as applied to the Middle East, whereas MacGregor Duncan claims that the Munich analogy has caused us to underestimate the diplomatic value of appeasement. Finally, Pat Buchanan claims the Islamo-fascist label is historically inaccurate (or is he worried that non-Islamic fascists get a bad rap?)."

Sandy Island

About a mile and a half north-west of Raod Bay and Sandy Ground (where the Sailing Club is) you can find Sandy Island. After a hurricane took the palm trees away a few years ago, the name fits the place even more.There was an old wreck sitting on the nortern corner. In the shallows and tide pools on either side I found lots of fish, crabs, and snails.
Because of the way the old ship was leaning, you can see blue sky right through the cabin doors.
There is one building here, and they serve food and drinks on weekends I hear. They weren't open the Saturday I went, and with how quiet it has been the last month, I'm not surprised.The island is surrounded by a reef, and you want to approach the beach from the side opposite of the Anguilla mainland. Eli and I didn't know that, so we had some close calls in the motorboat upon entering and exiting, but all's well that ends well!
I even got a dinner out of the experience, but that story is for another time. 

Eli arrives, sand and sail

Eli found this cave on the east end. The waves gnashed a bit too much to venture inside, but it was very colorful to watch from outside when the turquoise water recoiled from the shelves of urchins and sea creatures. The sand was so aerated and soft that you could sink in almost to your calves

Here are some of the youth sailors I'm teaching on the AYSC's Optimists. They're sailing south in Road bay, towards the 'big wharf' where groceries, cars and other things make their way to Anguilla. The previous week was tricky because it was the first time the wind didn't come directly out of the East. The wind comes from the east so consistently, that it was pretty funny to watch the young sailors adjusting their standard sailing routes. It was as if they had to alter their entire world view. Up is down, left is right! 

Iguana Cave: Part 1

To get to Iguana Cave you need to start at Katouche bay, cross through a little marsh, hike up the trail through Anguilla's "Rain forest," go up some (very) old steps, and mosey through a few cacti. Otherwise, you can start at the top by the road, but it's pretty hard to find unless you mark the spot by hiking the trail upwards first (*hint hint* two sticks in an 'X' 15 feet before the bulldozer). A beautiful beach to start at! Please don't take the coconut trees, as requested by the sign.
Every hole-- every single one-- had a little crab that would positively freak out when I walked by! There must have been some crustacean nervous breakdowns that day as I ran aroud chasing every little animal I found. Hermit crabs, Land crabs, Cattle Herons, Damn huge crabs...
Steps to Iguana Cave! I still don't know who made them- let me know if you have any ideas. Frontrunners right now are the English (who mined Phosphorous from caves in Anguilla) Arawak indians, and lastly: very enthusiastic naturalists who decided to maintain the trail for future generations.
Me! At this precipice, peaceful wasps were buzzing around the plants as songbirds were echoing across the valley. Quite a beautiful part of Anguilla. Shortly afterward I found the (very dark) Iguana cave. Next week I'll remember to bring a flashlight and investigate the interior.