Week 1 in the Sun!

Well folks....it's almost Tuesday again which will mean I have made it a week! And it flew right by! Last Tuesday we were introduced to the botanical garden as I had mentioned and Wednesday came the hike up the Quill.....and what a hike it was! I'm not sure if you all are familiar with the current physical condition Murph is in, but walking around the town of Becker and occasionally playing catcher for men's slow pitch softball doesn't exactly prepare one for a hike up a mountain. But I tell you what.....it was definitely worth it! The trail we took was called Panorama Trail. Which was aptly named as it provided us with a view of the entire island as well as a few neighboring islands and miles and miles of endless sea. I took pictures and a short video but as with most experiences here, it will be hard to capture that one! Thursday came and found us pulling Coralita at the garden. Coralita is an invasive plant found on the island which pretty much is the most annoying living thing I've ever experienced. Even worse than you Fatty...haha...IALTO (for all you Common Man listeners!) Friday, we helped Jean, the Marine Park intern, celebrate her birthday. We all ( that would be the 6 of us) went out for supper at the Fruit Tree.....a neat little bar/restaurant on the island. Saturday Jean and I took another hike up the Quill, went for a swim, had an ice cold Heineken at Gallow's Bay on the beach and then headed back home. Speaking of swimming.....this usually is a daily occurrence for us 3 volunteers as we are done working each day at noon and usually head straight to the pier! Sunday found us at Clair's house for a barbecue. It was her husband's birthday and she invited all STENAPA people over. Her husband made the best fresh lobster.....that and the rum cake for dessert could have been 2 of the best foods I've had in a very long time! Well.....the girls are back from shopping and we're heading back to camp! Oh by the way.....what the hell happened last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????? Until next time America......

P.S. Still working on pictures....be patient as it's not as easy to get them up on the computer as I thought.

Murph has Landed part 2

Looks like we are heading to the beach in a couple hours. So I have a bit more time. Currently we are at the STENAPA office and are getting the lowdown on the whole program. This morning we were given a walking tour of the botanical garden, which is where the intern house is and where we will be camping. Amazing garden full of the most exotic and crazy flora I've ever seen. Part of our volunteering will be the upkeep of this garden. It's looking like the weed whipper and I will become best of friends! Clair is the botanical garden guru and knows more about the local flora here than I do fantasy football.....and that's a lot! After a few hours at the beach we will be checking out the local shops and then heading back up to camp. Tomorrow Joe will be taking us on a hike up the Quill. We are actually staying right at the base of the Quill. And once I get some pictures taken and put up here and on Facebook you will see. We also have an amazing view of St. Kitts from our "home". Well.....must be on my way. Just wanted to let everyone know the trip down was a success....minus the 85 year old crazy lady I sat next to on the trip from Chicago to Charlotte. She talked almost the whole way and wants me to come visit her in Canada when I get a chance. I said "sure thing Helen!" She actually was quite the lady and made the flight all that much more enjoyable! Until next time.....

The Murph has Landed!

Destination St. Eustatius has been reached! At approximately 6:30 PM eastern time myself, Ella, and Heather all reached the quaint little island of Statia. We were met by two of the program interns and headed out to our home away from home. And what a trip that was! For all you familliar with minimum maintenance roads....well, imagine about 7 miles of the worst minimum maintenance road you can remember. Yes....it was a lovely ride! Besides us three, there are three interns currently staying with us. Joe, Jean, and Sara. They stay in the intern house, appropriately named, and are there for 6 month stints. We have pitched our tents and are just about to head to the beach! Will post more when I have time!

I'm off!

Quick post as I am about to depart! I hope to make an appearance here once a week but am not sure how much computer access we will get. They do have computers at the Park Office but we will have to pay to use them. Plus, afternoon siestas in the hammock overlooking St. Kitts, scuba diving around sunken ships, or hiking around the rim of the dormant volcano there may just monopolize most of my time! My phone will not work down there, so the only means of communication will be here or you can email or Facebook me. Of course a certified letter, singing telegram, or sky writing is always welcome. I will try to get a few pictures up here, but will make sure to put all of them on Facebook. Hopefully my fellow volunteers take good ones and I can just borrow them and claim them as mine! Well....off to finish packing and then off to the airport in a few hours! At least I will get to watch most of the Vikes at the airport! Whether that will be a good thing or not is yet to be determined.....Until next time....

Statia bound!

Hello everyone! Blog entry #1! After the suggestion from many I decided to use Google blogger as the prime means of communication with all of you back in the States. Bear with me as technology and myself are not necessarily the best of friends! It is currently Saturday evening....one day from departure. I fly out of Minneapolis tomorrow night around 6 pm en route to Chicago where I will stay overnight. I then depart from the Windy City at 6 am....yes, 6 am! It's a very good thing I am such a morning person. Next stop...Charlotte, NC. I then have approximately 35 minutes to hop aboard US Airways flight 1560 to the island of St. Maarten. If all goes well and we successfully land in St. Maarten, I will then have around 4 hours to make my presence known on this tropical paradise! If you would like to see what I mean by "if all goes well", please check out this you tube video http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DzAfQwDizpRo&h=1179a. It is in St. Maarten where I will meet up with the other two volunteers of the program, Ella Taylor and Heather Morecroft.....both from the U.K. From here the fun just keeps coming in the form of a little puddle jumper that apparently is our means of transportation to Statia. By the way, St. Eustatius is more commonly called Statia. Marathon Monday concludes with a hopefully successful landing at Roosevelt Airport in Oranjestad, St. Eustatius around 6:30 pm eastern time. Yes....Statia is on eastern standard time. More project info and other fascinating tidbits to follow! Please pass along this blog address to all those who may be interested. www.randystotesbery.blogspot.com. Thanks and until next time...