surf, sun and fancy french soap!

I just returned from a fabulous trip to the french island of Guadeloupe. The island, shaped like a butterfly and known for its surf and rum distilleries, is only a couple hours by boat from Dominica. I stayed on the south coast in a small beach town called Saint François. We surfed and rode bikes around town during the day, and then went out for local music and great french cuisine in the evenings. I still can't believe its so easy to get there from Dominica! À bientôt Guadeloupe...

Visit to Fort Shirley w/ Bunmi & Viji

Bushwacking on Morne Trois Piton

SHE-RAAAA

Dinner at Red Rocks

Celebrating the end of 1st year and Lauri's birthday...

ok, by the looks of it, maybe i was thinking it was my birthday by the end of the night...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my Irish kin!

This picture should make you want to drink more Guiness and be joyful that your St. Patty's Day does NOT look like this... 

Erin Go Bragh

USDA launches interactive atlas comparing food and health

USDA launches interactive atlas comparing food and health: "The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a new online mapping tool to assess American food environments and how a range of factors may relate to diet-related illnesses."

http://maps.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/

It's Carnival and the air is clear

Last week, there was a partial dome collapse of a volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, resulting in a thick layer of ash on neighboring islands. Although Dominica is quite far from the activity, we have been wading through a viscous layer of soot for the last week. That is until yesterday... when Carnival brought along with it a heavy downpour that seemed to settle and cleanse everything on the island - except for my computer since I thought it was a bright idea to study outside on saturday. There I was, oceanside, with my protective surgical mask securely guarding my airway and my exposed laptop clicking through my library of anatomy slides. My brilliancy left me with a big circular tan line in the middle of my face and a filthy laptop:) 

Carnival season is in full effect! Carnival Monday was yesterday with a music-filled parade through town. I missed the Dominica Carnival Queen contest over the weekend... and I've been primping for so long. I guess there is always next year:)