Cabrits 6 - With Beth and Nathan

It is break time at Ross University. A lot of students have left the island and will return shortly. We are here and having a busy week. Today, we were able to go to Cabrits National Park with a couple who live next door. Well, they did this past semester but they have moved closer to campus. We will miss seeing them so often but hopefully we will still see them occasionally. They met us at our house and we waited for the transport to pick us up. Luckily, both Beth and Nathan enjoy kids so the wait was fun for everyone (I think). When the van arrived we loaded up and were off on our Thursday Activity! We did stop by our new friends apartment - they were supposed to arrive Tuesday night but just got here this morning - and I dropped off some food and picked up my new Keens! Hurray! I had forgotten that they had them and was wearing my Hawaii sandals. I was so glad to have the new sturdy Keens!




Once we arrived at Cabrits we headed up the hill. It's a bit steep and since I haven't been there for over two months I was not in climbing shape. We all made it to the top without issue and thus started the picture taking adventure. Nathan let Ben take his Nikon camera and so he was in charge of their pictures, and Marissa got a turn as well. It was fun to watch them but I'll save that for another post. Then we started the hike up to the Commandants Quarters. The hermit crabs were out and about so we had some fun with them. Kemiah was walking so far and I think she was enjoying it but I did put her in as we left the ruins. I tried to get different pictures from the last time but when you go over the same trails it's hard to remember what I did or did not take pictures of. So here are some for you to enjoy. We ended up back under the mango tree for lunch and it was wonderful, as always. It was a fun trip and I'm glad we were able to share it with Beth and Nathan!



Some early photo opps. The girls don't mind posing at all - usually.

Green lush trail and forest.

This guy is probably in the market for a larger home. Kemiah wanted to see him but not too close. He never came out of the shell but I bet he was a big one.

This is more like it - at least for the kids. Xiomara is holding this one.






Here's the hand off. Xiomara is sharing another crab with Kemiah. She let it crawl a bit and then tipped her hand and it fell off. It was more than she wanted so she was done.






This is a strange cluster of seed pods. I have never seen a whole one before. Each section breaks in half and the seed is inside. It is easy to find the broken halves on the ground but it was really neat to see how they go together.







I liked that the new tree was growing from the dead one.

I finally was able to get a nice shot of a butterfly. They usually don't sit still long enough for me to point and shoot. I have a couple that I took and they are fuzzy but still cool looking.

I loved the way the trees (or would you call them vines) twisted around the tree.




Ben was surprised when something fell on his shoulder. He brushed it off and then took a closer look. It as a walking stick. Way cool!

This was one of the obstacles we had to overcome on our hike. Okay, so it's not that big of a deal. The trail is really kept up well and I'm sure if the people don't get rid of it, nature will... eventually.

Here's the mango tree - check out all that shade... and there's a great breeze! Awesome place for a home. That's Kevin waving from under the tree.

Here's our group. The kids and Kevin and Beth are enjoying canups. Nathan and I don't like them. I did try another one today but really, it's just not my thing.

Just one of the many views that can be seen from Ft. Shirley. This one is looking at Purple Turtle Beach.

This is a look at Douglas Bay from the top of the trail. Now, the next time I go snorkeling there I need to remember where the reefs are so I can check them all out!