Lights, camera, action!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but what about a video?

Snorkeling

Carnival Parade

Home Run 1

Elderly lady dances in between baseball games. Age is only a number!

Home Run 2

Giant tree inside the Quill Crater

A taste of Irene (while I hide in my bed behind my mosquito net)

Statia Day: Dance Performance

(it's probably for the best that I don't have a video of when my friend Lexie and I volunteered to go up on stage and learn some dance moves that night!)

 A fun band playing at SuperBurger

Chased by donkeys on the way to work

Iguana mating ritual during our lunch break

Luis chasing a drunk pig (they get drunk off of fermented fruit and the roots of corallita)

Foxy's Welcome Home Greeting

Sunrise at the garden

Junior Rangers Lionfish Field Trip!

We recently took the junior rangers out on a field trip to learn about the invasive lionfish that are eating everything on the reefs, and what we do to try and control their populations (shoot them!).  I used scuba below while the kids snorkeled on the surface and watched me catch lionfish (well, only one small one that day).  We also saw lots of pretty corals, a nurse shark, and a sting ray!

Explaining how to use a hawaiian sling

Getting in the water!

Underwater Hi-Five

Bubbles! 

Checking out the catch of the day

Of course there is always time for flipping off the boat!

Love these kids!

For those of you wondering what a lionfish looks like.  This one was really tiny! Underwater they look much more beautiful (and bigger too!)

Dissection time! 

Future marine biologists in the making: "Can I look inside the mouth? Can I touch the heart? Can I hold it? Eeww! Coooool."  I was so proud! (and yes, we had already cut off the poisonous spines at this point)

The Canons don't thunder, there's nothing to plunder

So I've been thinking it would be cool to show you glimpses of my Caribbean life through sets of photos with a theme... kinda like an art project I guess (minus the fact that I'm not a very skilled photographer).  I was recently looking through my pictures and noticed that there were a good amount involving a canon... not too many, but enough for me to notice the theme.  So without further ado, I unveil my favorites from "The Canon Collection":    :P

Me: St. Martin

St. Martin

Mom: St. Martin

Fort Oranjestad, Statia

Nat: Look What I found!

Unruly Boys, Stubborn Canon

Fort De Windt, Statia

Baby Turtles!

So we finally had some sea turtle hatchlings! We have had 2 nests with hatchlings emerging and heading out to sea. We were only able to watch the last two stragglers (one with a gimpy fin) of the first nest go, but we timed it right with the second nest, and were able to help a bunch of them out. We mostly let them do their thing, but we help dig out some of the ones who are struggling, and we make sure they all make it into the ocean safely.  It is so amazing to witness! 

Nest 1:

 

Me, Tice, Sam and Kat clearing a path through the sargassum seaweed for the two little guys.

Watching them go!

Video (hope it works, had some trouble uploading it):

Good Luck!

Nest 2:

Nest excavation: Me and Anna helping the stragglers out of the nest.

Babies in a bucket! (We held them in here until we were sure all of them were out of the nest, and then we released them all together so we could watch and make sure they all made it into the ocean)

Almost there!

 

<3  

The Hines Angels

So I mentioned in my Botan Clan post about my botanical family that my biological family was visiting me here on Statia, but I never got the chance to tell you about hanging with them. They were here for 10 wonderful days of adventuring and relaxing. I had such a great time with them here, and I’m not sure if they know how much I appreciated them coming. (Thanks guys! You’re the best!) 

When they landed at the tiny airport they were not expecting to see me because I had told them that I was working and wouldn’t be able to make it.  Little did they know I was on my way with a gaggle of kids to greet them.  We had just taken the summer club kids on a field trip to see what we could find in the tidepools and on our way back I told them we had to make a quick stop at the airport to meet my family and welcome them to Statia.  They were very excited about this idea.  I asked if they could all say, “welcome to Satia” when I gave them the signal, but they had an even better plan and decided to sing to my family instead!  We pulled up to the airport and I saw my family walking away about to get into a car with the woman we rented the house from, so we had to chase them down before they left.  I ran up to my family with 10 little kids running behind me singing “Welcome to Statia, yeah yeah, Beautiful Statia, yeah yeah”. I was so excited to see them I was jumping around giving them hugs like a madwoman. I think they were a bit surprised!  Later, Russ said, “that was so crazy! But at the same time it totally made sense.  I thought, ‘yeah, Coral would show up running down the street with a bunch of singing kids’”. I think it was a proper first impression of Statia.

We had planned on renting a car for the week, but there were no cars available on the island (probably because it was Carnival week) so we HAD to get 3 scooters.  A few hours later, after zipping around the island, we were all so happy there were no cars available.  The scooters were so much fun!  We started calling ourselves the Hines Angels.

After eating dinner and catching up a bit, I whisked my brothers away to a BBQ, even though they had been traveling all day and had only had a few hours of sleep the night before.  Troopers, those boys. They immediately fit right in with my friends here.  My boss was hosting the party and it wasn’t too long before she was saying “They are so much fun! Can we keep them?” :) 

Russ, being the outgoing individual that he is, made friends with people on the island very quickly.  We would even sometimes hear his name being called out as we drove by on the scooters. Dutch, our friend and a local here, told me recently that he talked to Russ on the phone! I haven’t even talked or emailed with him since they left! Tisk tisk, Bad sister.

Nat became basically famous for his dance moves.  One night when we were out at Superburger (burger joint by day, bar with dance floor by night) Nat stole the show and amazed everyone there with his INCREDIBLE Michael Jackson inspired dance moves.  He was so good he cleared the floor (Gill and I gave up and started bowing down to the master) and the DJ kept playing MJ song after MJ song to keep him going. Eventually he was covered in sweat and had to ask the DJ to stop playing MJ, because he literally couldn’t stop moving if those funky beats were still playing.  I don’t know if I have ever laughed so hard in my life.  I had no idea he was so good!

It was carnival week so the constant sound of a base thumping and people laughing became background music, blending in with the crickets and tree frogs. One night, after partying and swimming off the pier, Nat, Russ and I got home around 4 in the morning.  That morning the Juve Jump Up parade was beginning at 5 in the morning and I tried to convince them to go with me.  They said they would lay down for a bit and then I could wake them up when it was time to go.  Riiiight.  They wouldn’t budge.  But then my ever-faithful adventure companion, my Dad, woke up and decided to go with me.  My Dad and I always seem to be the hardcore experience-seekers during our family vacations. I think it goes all the way back to when I was about 8 years old and we were camping at the Grand Canyon. My dad and I would wake up super early to watch the sunrise while the others slept.  I remember so clearly (and I usually have a bad memory) sitting there drinking hot chocolate and watching the shadows move and transform on the red rocks as the sun came up.  In Yellowstone a couple years ago my Dad and I outlasted everyone (including a National Geographic photographer!) while watching a dead Bison carcass, waiting to see if a grizzly or wolf would come back to eat some more.  Anyway, thanks for the support Dad! Even if we only lasted at the parade for 20 minutes, we can say we went. :)

We all agreed that the week was a good balance of partying, adventuring, and relaxing.  I took them hiking up and down into the volcano, we went snorkeling, we walked on Zeelandia beach looking for turtle tracks, and my Dad and brothers got SCUBA certified! So then we all got to go diving together! It was great to dive with my Mom again, and so fun to watch the newbies experience the magic of the underwater world. After a dive Nat said “I had a moment down there where I thought ‘I have been underwater for half and hour and I’m still alive!’”. I was so happy to share my passion with them and show them what my life is all about here, and to see them enjoying it so much!

We spent a lot of time hanging out with Walter, the bartender down at the Gin House (he says Hi by the way!) drinking Presidente and Pina Coladas, going back and forth from swimming in the sea to sitting in the chairs sipping on drinks and chatting.  Many mornings were spent lazing about on the porch at the house they rented, drinking coffee, reading books, and enjoying the breeze. I was so excited to soak up the simple luxuries living in a house provides.  Such as showering with warm water, without wearing sandals and then coming out to clean, dry towels! Internet, a tv, a toaster, a cutting board, a coffee machine, a washing machine, no rats, no mice poop in my clothes in the morning, only a couple cockroaches and spiders....amazing!  To me it was a vacation spent in luxury!  It’s good to be reminded of all the little things you take for granted. Family included! You guys are all wonderful people. I love spending time with you! Thanks so much for coming down. It went by way too fast and I wish you were still here. I can’t wait till our next family vacation....where ever it may be! xoxo  

P.S. I wanted to share some pictures of the Hines Angels scooter gang, but once again I am having technical difficulties (aka I lost my charger and usb chord for my camera....oops!) 

Statia Stories

Chapter 1: Truck Talk

Before I tell you some Statia stories I think you need to know a bit about our trucks. The trucks always keep life interesting around here. The interns and volunteers have two trucks available for use, but it's very rare that both are functioning at once. We refer to them by their license plate numbers: the 401 and the 28. You'll usually hear them squeaking and bumping down the road before you see them, but, for a visual, once you do see them they are dark green with mostly worn off STENAPA logos on the side. They are full of dents and the rusted bumpers are basically non existent. They are often covered with dirt from the Botan road.  Nine times out of ten they will be carrying a motley crew of people sitting in the back of the truck. They will probably all smile and wave at you. :)

When I first arrived the doors on one side of the 401 were held on by a big yellow rope and they couldn't be opened so we would have to climb in and out the windows (truck monkeys!). Most of the windows don't go up so they get soaked inside when it rains and they smell nice and moldy. The radio only works in the 28 so no one wants to get stuck with the 401. We had old tires for a while that were always leaking air so we were constantly stopping to fill them with more air from a scuba tank we kept in the back. Nowadays we have to bump-start the trucks every morning to get them going. 

One time when we took the battery out of one truck to charge it up (even bump starting wasn't an option at that point) we discovered an old pair of shredded up underwear in the engine! Apparently they once found some steak bones in there too. And we wonder why they never work...So strange!

One time, around 7 o'clock in the morning, I was driving us to work and the horn started beeping on it's own. I was not touching it at all! I had no control over it and it was totally sporadic with short and long blasts like "Beep! BEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEP beepbeepbeeep....pause.....Beeeeeeep! Beepbeep!" Some people we passed waved or beeped back, some stared in confusion, others ran across the street to get out of the way. I was crying I was laughing so hard. 

Anyway, you get the idea. And now you know a bit about our friends the 401 and 28! I think that might help with understanding other Statia stories yet to be told. Stay tuned! 

The Botan Clan

I have spent the past couple months living in a botanical garden with 12 of the whackiest, funniest, most awesome, adventurous, interesting, unique, wonderful people I have ever met!  Sadly, more than half of them just left a few days ago.  Luckily for me, I have my biological family here visiting me at the moment, but I really miss my botan family.  So I would like create a post commemorating these cheeky buggers.  Meet the family!  The volunteers who just left us are (in alphabetical order--not picking favorites! haha)......

ANDY from England. A man of few words...but when he has something to say it is always cheeky and hilarious.  He wins the award for best smile.  Some of us ladies thought he would look really good wearing a batman mask (nice bone structure) hehe. We'll never forget the night we found him sleeping in the bed of the wrong truck outside the bar.  He'll probably have a hard time remembering it. ;) Keep on smiling Andy!

APRIL from Ireland. A wonderful lass who has done many interesting things with her life. Some of my favorite memories with April include sitting on the roof of the cottage around sunset and chatting, her teaching me how to swim like a pro (well, I'm not quite there yet coach), and one night at the garden, far away from the water April decided to put on all her snorkel gear and hike around... and then we proceeded to pour a beer down her snorkel while she funneled it. Bloody Brilliant. 

CALEB from New Zealand. Caleb has also done many interesting things with his life. He spends his winters way up in Canada breeding eskimo sled dogs (there are only 400 left in the world) and hanging out with Polar bears.  Then he spends his summers galavanting around the world and diving in tropical places.  Perhaps unfortunately for him, he is an excellent guitar player and singer and he became our personal musician.  At parties he would try and stop to hang out and socialize and everyone would beg him to keep playing. Play till your fingers bleed Caleb! :P    The garden is way too quiet without ya.

DAN the Man. From Portland, Maine. When he arrived he instantly became friends with everyone on the island. Even the dogs. Wait, make that especially the dogs. He gave these two beach dogs (whom he named Penelope and Roscoe) lots of love and they began following us around everywhere. The night before Dan left, Roscoe chased our truck all the way from the beach up through town. It was like he knew! Then they dropped me and my brothers off and Dan yelled "bye coral! that was our last friday night ever!" and so I joined Roscoe and started chasing the truck yelling "don't leave me guys!"...laughing, but fighting back tears. Pathetic? Yes, but I'm shameless. I'm totally going to miss these guys. Anyway, Dan was my New England buddy and we bonded by talking about things like playing ice hockey (go bruins!), being on boats in stormy weather, Sam Adams, you know... stuff like that. Hopefully, Dan, Gill and I are all going to meet up in Boston in November and have a good ol' New England time.

GILL from Canada. I am so bummed that Gill was only here for a month.  I feel like I was just getting to know her, and then off she goes!  (To go diving in the Galapagos with Caleb....LUCKY!) Gill was our Canadian wild child. Always oout and aboout, having a grand ol' time.  She is always up for an adventure...especially if it involves scuba diving or swimming late at night after many hours of dancing. She and I were always the last ones on the dance floor. Even at 4 in the morning they would have to peel us away.  We would keep saying "ok, we gotta stop" and then 2 seconds later we'd be right back out there making fools of ourselves again :)  Miss you lady!!!  But remember, big girls don't cry-ee-eye-ee-eye!  I'll see you in Bean town in a few months chica!

RAYMOND from England. The energizer bunny.  He is full of great energy and enthusiasm, as well as hilariously random questions like "if you were a (mythological creature, insect, dessert, fill in the blank) what would you be?".  One time a few of us were riding in the back of the truck on the way to the garden in the middle of a down pour. So not only is your ass killing you, but you're getting pelted in the face with rain.  We were all wearing raincoats except Raymond who forgot his, and I look around at everyone grimacing and looking rather uncomfortable, except Raymond who has the biggest smile on his face.  I will always remember him that way!

TRACY from Texas. She left a month ago, and wasn't able to meet some of these other volunteers (too bad--she woulda fit right in!).  She was the oldest of the group in years, but the youngest at heart. A free spirit with a passion for conservation efforts.  She totally kicked my butt one day when we had to do a really long surface swim back to the boat... she is a power house! Nadio's reaction: "She's too real, man! She's too real."  So true :)  ....Statia misses you! 

ZOE from England.  The clumsy one. The sweetheart.  She was always bumping into things and her legs were covered with bruises and scars. When I bumped into her (which I seemed to do a lot) she would always say "Sorry!" even if it was blatantly my fault.  She loves people and is always sincerely interested in what they have to say. She is very generous and was constantly offering everyone Pringles and other snacks. I have spent quite a few hours laughing uncontrollably with her and Hillary (another totally awesome volunteer who thankfully is still here for 3 more weeks!), but those are stories I'll share another time.  When it comes down to it, the three most important words I have for you Zoe are: Nutella and Bananas. :) 

So those are the members of the botan clan that just left us. I just tried to upload a few pictures of these beautiful people, but the internet just couldn't be bothered with that.  I'll work on it.

Anyway, what it all boils down to is these guys are the BEST! And I really REALLY miss them.  All of us who are still here do. Because of you guys I have had my cheeks hurt from laughing more times in these past couple of months than I have in my entire life. Thanks for that. My cheek muscles are looking great.  ;)

You are all IRREPLACEABLE!  You are my family, and I love you!  Please Don't be strangers.

       

 

Unda da Sea!

Time for what seems to be turning out to be my monthly update! Can't believe it was a month ago that I wrote the last one. Time flies here!

I absolutely LOVE my job for a bunch of reasons. I have learned so many new skills, my tasks are varied, I love the people I work with, I truly care about what i'm doing, and most importantly the majority of my work is done under water! I love a lot of things about diving. One thing I really enjoy is that it often feels like you're being let in on this big secret. Most people have no idea (and probably don't really care) about what is going on down there! I also love how it's thrilling and peaceful at the same time. Every dive is different. Even if you go to a site you've been to a million times before, there is always the possibility of something new showing up. You never know what you'll see! Ok, I could go on for a while-- instead I'll just show you some pictures. Check it out!

 My friend Anja on a fish survey with me. We never have any fun while we work, as you can see.

 Me looking all scientific with my clipboard and meter tape.

 There is a family of Caribbean Reef Squid that hangs out by one of the wrecks we go to a lot. They are really amazing to watch as they hover and dart backwards when you get too close. They are always watching us as well and there seems to be some sort of intelligence behind those eyes. Very cool.

 Photo credit: Anna Maites

 A Queen Angelfish-- one of my favorites! Named for their beautiful blue crown which you can't see very well in this picture (underwater photography is not one of my strengths).

A Striped Burrfish! These guys always make me laugh. 

These pictures only give you a tiny snap shot into the things we see down here. They really don't do it justice at all. Life is so beautiful Unda Da Sea!   

animal encounters

It's difficult to simply describe this place and the experiences I am having here...I wanted to first upload some photos because it helps to be able to visualize it, and I know that looking at pictures is way more entertaining than reading my jibber jabba, but I'm having some technical difficulties with the photos at the moment.  So I guess you're stuck with stories for now!

Living in a botanical garden on Statia is a lesson in coexistion with the natural world.  I think I'll start by telling some funny animal encounters, because that is a part of everyday life here.

Well to kick things off, right after I landed in the crazy tiny plane that took me here, I am greeted by a bunch of smiling, dirty people and we jump into a truck that has definitely seen better days.  We begin driving down this crazy dirt road full of pot holes and it seems to go on forever (now it feels like nothing!), and two of the people in the truck with me keep saying to each other "so where's this pig we gotta check out?".  I must admit I'm a bit confused, but I just play it cool and don't ask any questions.  It turns out that a piglet had died in the road and we had to stop to pick it up and throw it into the woods.  The smell was terrible, and is now a smell we are quite accustomed to here; we call it "the death smell".  Whenever there is a dead animal nearby, so to will be the death smell. 

Driving the road out to the botanical garden is kinda like playing a video game or something. Dodge the cows, pigs, donkeys, lizards, land crabs, rocks, and pot holes.  Oh and if you're riding in the back the game becomes duck under the branches and see who can get the least amount of bruises on their ass.

Everyone is incredibly friendly here, and it is expected of you to wave to everyone you pass while driving and walking down the street.  I've become so used to waving to everyone that I have been caught waving to cows and dogs recently.  I guess anything that moves deserves a wave right? :) I'm almost to the point of waving to the rats and cockroaches in our kitchen. Almost.

The first week I was here I used a mosquito net with holes in it and woke up with a cockroach crawling on my face. Didn't make that mistake again!

One night I woke up to my roommate yelling my name because a huge, purple land crab was in her room. I, however, was not much help and proceeded to jump on her bed with her and scream and laugh until the boys woke up.  It took a snorkel, broom, dust pan, sheet, and lots of barking from our dog Foxy (who almost lost his nose to those huge crab claws in the process) to get it out.

During one of my first days down at the marine park office I was sitting outside speaking with some of the women I work with when some liquid started pouring out of the tree onto the picnic table below.  I asked "why is the tree leaking?" and they laughed and told me to look out because they knew what was coming next.  I guess Iguanas need bathrooms too right?

I could go on forever with funny animal stories.  For example there is this rooster named Dutchess (they thought he was a hen when he was little) who lives on the side of the volcano and is fed a lot by hikers.  He will follow us all the way to the top just to get a few plantain chips.  Another example: I have a package waiting for me in the post office, but I can't get right now because it's closed on account of it being infested with killer bees. Like I said, I could go on forever... but don't worry I won't. If you want to hear some more, just ask. Everyday is an adventure here- the fun never stops!

Hopefully I will be able to share some photos of the garden with y'all soon.  I would love to show you how beautiful my home is!

Better late than never?

Hello Everytone!

Yes, I do realize that I've been living on Statia for a month and a half and I have not posted a single thing on here since I arrived.  I owe you all an apology. Although, for those of you who know me well, you probably expected half as much. I have been so busy working and playing and living a beautiful little life here in the Caribbean.  My internet access is limited and slow.  I haven't taken many pictures or written anything about my time here yet (I think because I have come to think of this as my home and my life rather than just a trip).  But enough with the excuses; I have been slacking off and I know that you all would love to here about my life here on Statia.

This post will have to be quick, and I won't be able to post pictures because it takes a long time to upload them, but I'll answer a few essential questions you may have. Yes, I am still alive. Yes, I love it here and I love my job!

Here is a link to the website of the organization I work for:  http://www.statiapark.org/index.html

If you click on "Parks" you'll see the 3 different parks we have here. I work in the Marine Park and I live in the Miriam C. Schmidt Botanical garden. Not too shabby!

I have to run, but I will write more soon with a lot more details and I will post some pictures too!  Hope everyone is doing great!

xoxo

In order to be prepared for my internship (which begins on monday!) I needed to get my Advanced and Rescue diver certifications. So I decided to first go to St. Maarten to take those courses and have some fun doing amazing dives while I'm at it! 

My mom used to dive a lot and she thought it would be fun to take a vacation and come along with me to get back into diving!  We were looking at our Basic Open Water SCUBA certification cards and noticed that we were both 19 years old when we took the course and we were both certified on August 12th, exactly 30 years apart.  My mom was certified on August 12th, 1977 and I was certified on August 12th, 2007! Coincidence? I'll leave that up to you to decide  :) 

     

This is right after she left me alone with a shark!  We were taking turns swimming up to the ladder to get on the boat one at a time and my mom and I were the last two left under the boat when a caribbean reef shark swam towards us out of the blue.  My mom made a biting motion with her hand and then pointed to me as if to say "he's going to eat you!" and then took off for the ladder. She's such a protective mother. She climbed up and then for a moment it was just me suspended in mid water alone watching this shark.  It was actually a really cool, peaceful moment I was grateful to have. Thanks Mom!

We were lucky to find the Ocean Explorers Dive center.  The team working there is amazing.  I learned so much from them and had a blast while doing it.  They are a great group of fun, intelligent, hard working people. Thank you Jef, Astrid, Shane, and Lu! 

Ocean Explorers Dive Center, St. Maarten

They've got a pretty sweet location right on the beach

Gearing up!

So now I'm a certified Rescue diver and ready to start my internship with STENAPA! I fly to Statia tomorrow and my Mom flies back to Rhode Island.  Our wonderful, action-packed little vacation is coming to an end, but my adventure is just beginning!  I do not know how often I will have access to internet on Statia, but I will do my best to keep updating this site.  Thanks for checking it out!

(to view the dive video on the previous post, made by my instructor Jef, just copy and paste the link)

xoxo

Dive video!

My instructor Jef brought his camera with us on one of the dives we went on on Wednesday and made this video.  The picture is really clear and he did a great job editing. Go Jef!  I'm the goofy one in the brown and grey wetsuit with yellow fins and bright green mask.  You can see us poke our heads into an air space in the wreck.  So strange to find a pocket of air 114ft below the surface! They captured the lion fish because they are invasive in this area and causing problems.  It was really fun. Check out Jef's video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIugA4N8-3k&feature=youtu.be

Thanks to Ocean Explorers Dive Center! You guys are the best!

See ya later!

Considering how often I come home and then leave again (the new name for my generation,"the boomerangs," is quite fitting), you'd think I'd be used to saying goodbye, but it seems that every time it just gets harder.  So I always try and remind myself that it is actually a "see ya later" rather than a "goodbye," because sooner or later, I'll boomerang back :)

I am so grateful that I had a few rare months of just hanging around Jamestown with my friends and family.  My life is full of such wonderful people.  I am really going to miss you guys. But it's ok, I'll see ya later!

Definitely gonna miss this guy! (and his guitar playing) On this particular morning relaxing on the porch, Spring felt so close you could reach out and hug it (as long as you had a sweatshirt on). Hope the weather is getting nicer back home!

                               Mis chicas! I always bring this picture with me when I go away  :)

                                                   Me and couple of the Hines boys

Roof Dog!

OK, so if I put up a picture of everyone I'm going to miss this post would go on forever.  I think it's safe to say that if you're taking the time to look at this, I'm going to miss you!  So don't be strangers!  Keep in touch and update me on your lives too!

xoxoxo

Test Run

Hey Everyone! Welcome to my blog! After a few requests that I create a website I can update while I'm away, I decided to give it a shot.  I'm new to this whole blog thing so this first entry is a little test run for me.

The title of my blog, Koraalrif, is the Dutch word for coral reef.  I thought it was fitting since I'll be going to an island in the Caribbean, St. Eustatius, which is owned by the Netherlands and the two main languages spoken there are Dutch and English (good thing because so far all I know how to say in Dutch is coral reef!). 

Many people seem to be a bit confused about where I am going and what exactly I will be doing there, so I've included some youtube videos about the non-profit organization I will be working for, STENAPA (St. Eustatius National Parks), and the island itself (nicknamed Statia).  The first one is a bit blurry...

So maybe those gave you a little better of an idea of what I will be doing, but I will describe it to you and share pictures and videos of my own as I experience it!