Last week, as part of our climate change study program, we went on a field trip to Orange Hill and Owia. It takes about 3 and a half hours from Richmond to Owia, so to make the most of the trip we decided to camp in Owia! What an adventure!
We were almost on time to leave… 8:30 instead of 8, not so bad!!! We drive down the road to the main road and after maybe 500m, one of the front tires deflates… We turn back and the most unexpected thing happens…
we reinflate the tire with a diving tank that we have in the diving center of the school!!!! When you don’t have the means, use your imagination!!! We are always very creative around here!!!! Maybe I should have introduced our VAN, about 15 to 20 years old and it looks like it!!! We have no idea how it is still in one piece, but it still takes us places 😉 Back on track, it’s now around 9 am, and in order not to lose more time, let’s not stop at the tire shop and keep driving… and 5km after the tire shop… “Pchhhhhhiiiitttt” says the tire!!!! and now we are in the middle of nowhere, on the side of the road, with no other option but to hope for the help of passing cars! Jesper our teacher and driver just stands in the middle of the road and stops every car to ask them “hey hey, do you have a Jack?” (the main road is just wide enough for 2 cars, it is not always paved, has many holes, is VERY steep with lots of turns and there is not so much traffic! so it would probably be called a tertiary road anywhere else!) We got lucky, one car lent us a Jack another car lent us a spare wheel (which didn’t fit!) and finally another van took Jesper and the tires to the tire shop!!! So around 10 we can finally leave and get on with our trip! As we drive we can see the landscape changing, until Kingstown we are on the Caribean seaside, the water is of a turquoise blue shade and quite calm. And as we pass to the other side, we reach the Atlantic, rough waves, palms, rocks, another kind of beautiful!
In Orange Hill, we visited the Agriculture research center of the Island. They have an experimental composting facility, a lab for soil analysis, a pesticides detection lab, and a big research platform for different kinds of plants, greenhouses and experimental fields, seeds and tree nursery. A very educative and informative visit! Short visit for such a long trip, but extremely interesting!
Then we visited the Salt Ponds in Owia, it is a natural formation. Lava rocks form a natural barrier and create a natural pool, protected from the strong waves! And this pool is full of wildlife, corals, colorful fish, sea urchins (mind your step!). We camped there and enjoyed the sunrise on the rocks and waves! Yet another beautiful moment in Saint Vincent!
Back at RVA and Sunday was our Team’s Discovery Dive. Another incredible beach, a little-preserved paradise!