The fun parts of Saba: Hiking and Scuba

I would just like to preface this blog post by reporting that we experienced an EARTHQUAKE this weekend. It was rated a 5.2, 53km east of Anguilla. I felt my house shaking while I was sitting on my bed and I just started running because I didn't know what was going on. It wasn't until afterwards when the reports came out that we knew for sure it was an earthquake. I had never experienced anything like that in my life. I thought it was a landslide at first because there had been one near my house recently BUT it wasn't and we are all good here in my shaky concrete house. Craig's parents Alex and Liz and his sister Martha are all here for a visit so it was an experience for all of us. 

In other news... I am officially moving onto 5th semester! 
We have been celebrating by exploring Saba, drinking wine, playing cards, and doing hikes and scuba. We even did an easter egg hunt this morning.

We did the Sandy Cruz hike after our exams. It was the last hike on my Saba Bucket List. 
It is a trail carved into the side of a cliff on the backside of the island where is isn't developed at all. The 360 view is unbelievable and the sounds of the birds and wildlife scurrying around adds to the atmosphere so much. The rainforest is so dense with different trees and vines and leaves that at times it was actually dark mid-day. It wasn't as strenuous as some other hikes but it took us about 3 hours by the time we walked to the trail and back into town. I only fell once! Which is practically a record in my accident-prone life. A little scraped up but so worth it. 

Lizard!



Weird flowers

Climbing vines

Weeee

Bananas

Some big leaves


Bit of a view

We've swam through this cave!

Love the way it rains

View of The Bottom

Class picture day!
The 4ths during the last week of classes
One more semester for us!


My first experience scuba diving!
We trained in the pool in the morning and went out in the ocean in the afternoon.
We explored Saba's coral reef and it was amazing.
So many bizarre shapes and colours and rainbow fish. It looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Unlike anything I have ever seen on land. It is a whole other world down there.
I've been out on the water doing snorkelling before but breathing underwater and being able to get to close to everything for an extended period of time was unbelievable. I wish the underwater camera showed the colours! 

We were told to stay within a few metres of our guide because we weren't certified, but I don't think I left his side the entire time. I know that people panic underwater when something goes wrong and try to swim to the surface so I wanted to make sure I could grab him if I needed him. 
We were able to go down 40ft which was perfect for me.
It was interesting applying concepts we learned in school about lung expansion. For example, when we were done the dive, we had to travel half way up and stay there for 3 minutes for our body's to adjust before going all the way to the surface. 

Martha was able to snorkel above us and Craig's parents came out on the boat too. So much fun and great company. 

Me and Craig

Me with the trainer Aaron

Hello!


Stay tuned for my next adventure... Europe!
- Kimberly

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