Author: heidivannini

I’ve thrown up a total of six times on this boat. All of which occurred in three days and we weren’t sailing. In fact, we were tied to a dock.

A lot of things changed when we moved onto a boat but being sick is one of the most uncomfortable. In the past week, Mom, Dad, Sally and I have had a case of the well known, and much hated stomach bug. Dad and Sally got hit at the same time, Dad looked like death for a day trying to sleep in boiling heat. Sally’s tummy wanted no part of any contents inside of it. So we lost them for 2-5 days. And then, when I thought we were in the clear, I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and a stomach that felt far from normal. So now what. Sally was on the couch just in case, Lucy in her room, Fenton in his, and Mom and Dad sleeping in their room. I ended up outside with Willie. Which was okay, I was so so hot so the wind was nice but then my stomach started giving me these signs.

Something to know about me. I don’t puke. That’s just not my thing. I rarely ever barf and when I do, it’s my least favorite thing in the entire world. So now, I’m freaking out. It was about midnight when I went outside and my stomach was upset until four in the morning when I finally emptied my stomach. The worst part was the fact that it is nearly impossible to sleep while hanging your head over the side of a boat waiting to throw up. Anywho, I fell asleep after four and slept until about seven when my tummy thought that three hours was too long.

The next day was a combination of barfing and sleeping. And of course, when you live thirty-seven feet from everyone, everyone knows exactly what’s going on. I got up to (you guessed it) puke once, and Fenton goes, “Oof, that’s the I’m about to barf walk.”

I feel much better now and thankfully, felt well enough to eat Thanksgiving dinner. As if three out of the six people on board wasn’t enough, Mom woke up yesterday morning with the ick.

I know that I’m a day late but I wanted to take a quick second to express how incredibly thankful I am. But is it ever too late to share what you’re thankful for? First of all, this has been the first big sick we’ve had and I’m so thankful we are all in good health. Obviously, I am one of the very few kids that are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go sailing. I can’t put into words how grateful I am everyday to wake up in paradise with my most favorite people. I’m thankful that we have successfully and safely made it all the way to Colombia on Love & Luck. We have had an amazing trip down and I am so appreciative for all of the places, people, and cultures that have made this more exciting and enjoyable than I could have ever hoped. I hope that you have an amazing day and I wanted to say thank you for following our adventures. We love sharing and hope you continue to stick along.

Cheers,

Heidi

Bonaire is a beautiful place. Amazing amazing waters, some of the clearest I’ve ever seen. The entire island is protected so the fish are quite large and colorful. I know that there have been numerous posts about this spot so I’ll try to keep it short.

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It all started with a fish. A very very big fish. A 200 pound 5 foot 1000 dollar yellowfin tuna. We had tuna for lunch and dinner for our entire passage, we caught the fish a few hours in. The remainder of the passage went well, Lucy and I had a nice shift from 7-10 pm every night.

We made it to Bonaire and one of the first places we found was the ice cream shop. Homemade ice cream after five days at sea is one of the best things in the world. Flavors including tamarind, cinnamon, passion fruit, and Bounty were new to us. So yummy.

The atmosphere of Bonaire was cute and touristy. Lots of little shops dotted the streets and cruise ships filled the huge docks. Many many many different cultures came together in this one small island. Bonaire is visited for all sorts of water sports. Windsurfing, scuba diving, snorkeling are among the top. We were fortunate enough to try all of these activities and loved them all.

Bonaire definitely felt like a vacation spot. Bonaire hasn’t seen the last of us…

Sandy Island, a very small island off the coast of Carriacou, is a special place. The water is crystal clear and the sand is pure white. The reefs are all protected and the fish are fantastic. But what I will always remember are the baby turtles we “saved”.

We were walking down the beach and came to the tip of the island. There was a small sand dune like lump of small weeds and sand keeping us from the other side of the island. I decided to give it a go and made it to the other side without any difficulties. If you can imagine, the ocean was blocked off. A large wall of coral had been pushed up onto the beach so only a few small trickles of the sea was reaching the sand. And this spot was the home to a nest of turtles.

The baby turtles were high on the list of cutest things I’ve ever seen in my life ever. But but but, the problem here is that there was no possible way for these lil guys to get past the coral and they couldn’t see the ocean in the other side because of the sand pile. We’ve been told by a friend that the babies need to reach the ocean or water on their own before humans touch them or else their sense to go to the sea would be lost forever. Not wanting to ruin some turtles lives, we waited for them to reach one of the few pools of water and then scooped them up. We carried them over to the other side of the island (which was a 30 second walk) and placed them high up on the beach. While in Grenada we were fortunate enough to experience a mama turtle give birth to 50 turtle eggs and see a hatchling crawl out of the ground. We were taught there that the babies build up their lungs and strength on their journey to the ocean from their nest. So we watched them waddle into the water and swim away. We watched about 20 lil ones return to the sea.

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There is something magical about turtles, watching a three inch baby make its way into the sea is truly amazing. To have the perseverance to waddle into crashing waves is something I hope I can bring into my own life. To keep going even when the road is difficult. Push through the waves and swim away.

There is a very small chance for most turtles. Even though there is no certainty that any of those turtles are still around today, it’s a nice thought knowing that we tried. We tried to do the right thing and help these guys have a chance.

-Heidi

(I’m trying to get caught up and up to date so don’t mind the blast of posts that will be coming soon…!)

G R E N A D A

One thing many people ask us when we are attempting to introduce ourselves is, “What has your favorite island been?” Until a little while ago I would list about five or six islands and then add, “But they have all been incredible.” Now, I can answer with one special spot, “Grenada.” 

Grenada will forever be remembered with a very happy face. During the four months I lived there, I taught many small humans how to swim, hiked to five different waterfalls, I was recognized in town, swam on the swim team, befriended almost all of the cruiser kids, hosted a week long day camp, volunteered at the local animal shelter, and made some really, really great friends. 

I’ve already covered my swimming experiences in a previous blog but what I did not know at that time was I would continue my role as an instructor. For the past two(ish) months I spent multiple hours with kicking, bubble blowing, smiling kiddos. Again, super awesome time.

All of the waterfalls we have visited this trip have been gorgeous. These were no exception. The first one we visited was with all of my cousins, so always fun times. The rest were a little bit of a hike to the fall and lemme tell you one of the most refreshing things in the world is plunging into a waterfall after a hot and buggy walk. 

One of the most magical things I have experienced on this trip is being welcomed and recognized in a foreign country. Miss Jessie, the lady we went to for our fresh veggies and some fruit, the mango man at the corner by the supermarket, fresh juices from the lady next to the fish market, soursop and papaya from the man selling goodies in front of the “No Vending” sign. It is so special to see a familiar face while walking through town. I’d occasionally bump into a friend from swimming or one of my swim students. Knowing close to no one this entire trip, having people know my name and stopping to say hi was truly a remarkable happening. 

A good chunk of the friendliest, kindest, most welcoming, smiliest people I’ve ever met in my entire life were swimmers on the Grenadian Sailfish swim team. I know Lucy previously covered our victory and the events we participated in but I don’t think that my words or her words will ever do this team justice. Truly amazing group of kids I hope to keep in touch with for a long time with an incredible coach and a ton of team spirit. I was the only 13-14 female (age was taken from December 31st so I got to be 14 again) swimming for the Sailfish so anytime I was swimming, I was up against three girls on the other team. After being out of the pool for close to two years I knew I was going to have my butt kicked but the team was so enthusiastic and encouraging. Everyone on the other team, Grenfin, would have a big loud cheer when their three close to best swimmers plus me would get up on the blocks. And then the Sailfish would cheer for me. I now have a handful of great friends. One of the highlights of my Grenada stay. 

During this adventure I have found myself playing and hanging out with the smaller children. And there’s nothing wrong with that; there aren’t many teenagers out here sailing. But trying to fill that age gap was a challenge so, I became a camp counselor. I organized a week long camp that occupied many of my small friends for two and a half hours each day. Fenton and I have both participated in Venture Scouts and one of our requirements for many of the tasks we are working on is to share the information we have learned to a larger group of kids. So, I planned out a ‘Scout Camp’ covering all of the required subjects. This week was fun-filled with 30 children participating! We built fires, made our own first-aid kits, went over weather and wilderness survival tips, did a big beach clean up, sang songs, played team building games, went letter-boxing, and much more. I had a great time with those guys and it was nice to lead something instead of play along with them. I learned how much work planning and organizing is! It was a last-minute decision but it all worked out very nicely. The kids had fun, their parents could get some work done, and I learned a lot. Fenton was a huge help and executed the games beautifully. 

I could go on and on about Grenada forever but overall a very very memorable, special spot.  I am so lucky to have spent a part of my cruising life in such a remarkable island. Grenada, you will be remembered forever.

-Heidi

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The Sailfish Swim team in Grenada

Get Grenada swimming

Hello again!
I know that Fenton has already covered this and the event happened a million years ago but I wanted to share my story from J’Ouvert (ju-vay). That morning was definitely one I will remember forever. I’m very glad I chose to go. It was a last minute decision on my part. I mean let’s be honest here, “Hey Heidi, wanna come with me to get covered in grease and listen to music that’s playing way louder than it should be all at four in the morning?!” Um yeeeah no thank you. But if you think about it, this is a once in a lifetime experience I don’t want to miss. And the stories that come after. It’s a new culture at their most exciting time of the year. It was all worth it.
We (Dad, Fenton, Lucy {she decided to skip it} and I) planned our “outfits” the night before. This included a very old way too big pair of shorts I had never worn that I could very easily part with and a large white t-shirt I’m not too fond of. All on top of a swim suit just in case we needed to take our clothes off for the dinghy ride home. We woke up the next morning way earlier than any human should have to wake up at and the music was already blaring. So loudly we could hear it from our boat before we left. The sun had not yet risen but being very pale cruisers we put on our sunscreen and dish soap. Dad figured that Joy would help rub off the greases that we were to be covered with. So we loaded up the dinghy and headed off, stopping to pick up a few more boat friends along the way.
And then, the most terrible noise came out of the seventeen year old sitting next to me in our small boat. A strangled cat mixed with a breaching whale scream accompanied the flopping sound coming from the bottom of the dinghy. The flashlight was whipped out and we caught our first dinghy fish!! Quite the way to start the crazy morning.
We made it to the dock with no further excitement. The music got louder and louder and we could kind of make out the clusters of dark oil covered people. We docked and locked the dinghy and moved about two feet before hitting the wall of people. The streets were filled, jam packed, completely full, hundreds of thousands of loud, crazy, messy people everywhere. Everywhere. Our small group stood and stared for a few minutes, trying to take in the entire scene. We finally decided to try to make our way through the mass of human bodies. We moved about a foot and were stopped by a man with a gallon of white paint. He smeared some on Dad’s face and continued walking. Lemme point out here that this isn’t face paint. This is full on paint-your-walls stuff. Anyways, we decided to make a go for it. We stepped into the streets and the music pounded through my body. My chest thumping to each beat of some of our new favorite songs.
It is practically impossible to stay clean in this setting. Even if you don’t cover yourself in oil, like us, there is no way to walk down the packed streets without being brushed up against. By the time we had moved maaaybe two feet, we all had some sort of coloring on us. We stopped for a minute to enjoy the music and partially because we physically couldn’t move anywhere. The speakers were moving in and out with the music (just like in all the cartoons!!!) that seemed to get louder as the day went on. Then, this man with his buddy stopped in front of us. One of them holding a five gallon bucket of grease and the other with a grease covered piece of seaweed. If you haven’t imagined this already, he dunked his seaweed in the bucket and dripped the slimy plant all over our necks and for me, all in my hair. We moved about a total of ten feet in our entire experience. On a short dash to the next “open” spot, I was stopped by a big orange paint coated hand on my face. After getting some more grease and paint thrown on us, we stood back and just watched.
It was truly the craziest event I have ever been to. The entire island was going insane. Partying hard. And all at four in the morning.
Grenada, you really do have an amazing culture. I feel so special and lucky to have shared J’Ouvert 2018 with you. Thank you for an awesome carnival.

More soon,
Heidi
P.S. The dish soap definitely helped with the aftermath of the morning. Only a few ocean showers after we were cleaner than before.

Hello all,

Today is Sunday, July 29th, but I’m going to tell you all about yesterday, and the adventures of Kid’s Carnival. I say I, but this is more a joint project between the crew except for Lucy (because she was sleeping).

Carnival is an annual few day festival with activities such as (very) loud music and memorable, authentic Grenadian dancing. There’s lots of delicious food and colorful costumes and everyone is celebrating. Kid’s Carnival is the same idea, but it’s toned down, and is just one day for the kiddos. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still loud and spicy – but it’s much more appropriate for the youngsters.

We started our day in Prickly Bay, a small anchorage where we stayed while visiting family for a week (more on that later). We had yogurt and made some of the most delicious Mac and Cheese I have ever eaten in my life. After a lazy morning, we set off on a quick sail before dropping anchor in St. George’s. After finding a new spot for home Dad, Mom, Fenton, Heidi, & Sally, brought the dinghy into the jetty and walked along the beach to the mall where the Kid’s Carnival took place. We could easily hear the noise of the festival from the jetty before the ten minute walk.

The carnival took place on a big field with small tents holding vendors, food, music, toys, bubbles, horses, go-karts, and a stage with a DJ. Right away, we met up with some local family friends and Sally and the 11 year old girl, Leanna, got in line for horseback riding. The line took fooooooorever but we got some snow cones so everything was okay. Sally and Leanna waited very patiently and finally ended up on a horse. Lots of smiles.

The show started soon after the horses finished. The show started with a local youth dancing group. They were 5 and 6 year olds. They were adorable, and they had a lot of potential for the future. After that, we watched people dance in competitions to win soda. Then we watched emerging Soca artists. I don’t know a lot about Soca, but I do know that it’s loud and fast. It’s fun to listen to and watch. After that, we got to see royalty. Little Miss Grenada 2k18 took the stage, and she talked briefly about making Grenada a happier place, before strutting off majestically.

Finally, we got to the part everyone had been waiting for. We got to see characters such as Dora, Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, Ben 10, Mickey & Minnie Mouse. The best part was they all danced! The dancing was spicy, but it was enjoyable. We will never be able to see these characters again in the same way.

We left soon after due to some technical difficulties, hurting ears, hungry children, and one kid and our dog back home. It was a fun filled very Grenadian evening. We will never forget the way some local kids can move, the feeling of the music coming from everywhere, and the overall excitement flowing through the air.

We can’t wait for Carnival.

~Fenton & Heidi

Swimming has always been an important part of my life. Mom taught me how to swim at a very small age so I don’t remember learning. The ocean has always been a big pool with waves to splash in. Lane lines and swim caps were introduced. The nervous butterfly feeling before swimming a 100 yard butterfly became familiar. Our mother ocean became home. I have been surrounded by water since the beginning of my time. So when I learned that 90% of the people that live on this island didn’t know how to swim I happily agreed to help teach.

90% is a big number. That’s 9 out of every 10 people. That live on an island. A piece of land surrounded by water. What I found out from some of the kiddos I taught and some shallow research was that the no swim policy is a long cultural tradition. They believe that if you don’t teach kids to swim that they won’t go in the water and therefore it’s impossible to drown. Now if you asked me, teach them how to swim and then they won’t drown. On top of this, they’re kids! How do you keep small children that love the beach out of the water? It’s hard. Before I get into the full story I’d like to describe the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, and who ever else was watching. They were uncomfortable with their kids, grandkids, relatives, sister, brothers, in the water. They’re gonna get eaten by a shark! She can’t go over her head!! The seaweed!!! It’s all new and scary. In all honesty, at first I thought it was silly, sharks? Really? But these guys have been taught since forever that the ocean is something to be afraid of. Once I thought through this, it became a lot more understandable.

Swim lessons started on Monday. On the Saturday before, we met with Deb Eastwood, the lady that organized the Get Grenada Swimming program. She came to Grenada 11 years ago as a teacher and has done amazing things for the island ever since. We met her at a hotel with a small pool that some of the other volunteers were staying at. A big chunk of the other volunteers that we met were from the US or UK studying abroad as medics. They got quite anxious to say the least when they saw kids that could barely swim jump off a jetty into very shallow water. But we met them at the pool and Deb taught us the basics. Teach the lil guys to blow bubbles, float, kick, use their arms, and elementary backstroke. Since I was the only one wearing my bathing suit I got to help demonstrate. It was the first time I was in a pool since Florida!

We got to the beach bright and early on Monday. We were teaching on the beach not in a pool. Most of the kids here have never been in a pool. There’s only one public pool on the entire island and if you don’t know how to swim it doesn’t do you much good. Swim started at 9 and we got there at 8. Two kids were already there. One of the two, an eight year old girl, Harmony, ended up with me for the rest of the week. I’m proud to say that she can now successfully swim freestyle and elementary backstroke and float for a loooong time. As more and more kids started coming in we started playing small team games. Little hand games, jumping, following the leader, and singing were all included in the before nine action. We ended up having a good half an hour every morning of fun before the swimming actually happened. It was a really really awesome way to meet some locals and make some memorable friends.

The swimming part was amazing. I love to swim. I love the ocean. I love teaching. I love lil kids. This past week was the best of all worlds. I felt as though I wasn’t only my students instructor but big bud. We had an interesting first day. Some of the kids were very excited and happily ran into the water. Others were terrified. It took some energy to get one friend closer than three feet from where the waves were washing up on the shore. But we all got there eventually. By the end of the week we could all blow bubbles, float on our backs and bellies—they don’t say stomach here, and kick kick kick. Some got the arms and backstroke down. Typically the smaller, more scared and lighter kiddos had a harder time floating. But they tried. They all wanted to learn. I thought that was really special. It’s one thing to try to teach someone who isn’t really trying but to teach kids that want to learn, that’s another story. A much better and more exciting one. It’s also incredible because these guys were all scared. The ocean is scary. Their parents and older siblings don’t swim. Haha that motivated some.

If you ever find yourself teaching small islanders how to swim, I would highly suggest telling them these few things:
-When you need air, you can come up and breathe. I thought this was self explanatory but I found out otherwise. Everyone was okay!!! Just sat and took some deep breaths after that.
-The seaweed isn’t gonna kill you. No it’s not alive. I mean technically sure it’s alive but it’s not going to reach up and pull you under.
-If you know how to swim your chances of drowning are much lower. After a week of teaching girls how to float on their backs and telling them that if you fall in and can’t stand you can float on your back and wait for someone to get you you would think that they would get that. But no. I asked them all on their last day what would happen if they couldn’t stand in the water and they all automatically said they would drown. Noooooo. You would swim or float silly girls.
-Water is allowed in your ears. Yes I know it feels weird but when you jump from the dock your whole head goes in too! They love to jump off the jetty into shallow (so they can stand) water but getting the ears wet when floating is tricky.
-I gotchu. I don’t know how many times I’ve said that in the past week but it’s a very nice reminder.
Overall, it was a blast. I loved every minute of it. I will remember these kids so well and always with a smile on my face. I was really really excited to share one of my stronger abilities with the island. With the help of many volunteers, different beaches, and kids up to learn, 628 kids were taught how to swim in the past week. Monday to Friday, 9-12.
628.
628 kids can now swim.
How amazing is that?
Lastly, I have some news. Big news. I have the honor to share with you that in a week we will have a new crew member joining us for nine months. My seventeen year old cousin, Fenton, is taking a gap year before he heads off to college and is sailing away with us. We are all excited beyond my words will work and can’t wait to see where this next year will take us all. So sooner rather than later the crew of Love & Luck will include, Mom, Dad, Fenton, Heidi, Lucy, Sally, and of course, Willie. Can’t wait friendo. ❤️
Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Heidi

The fourth of April, two thousand eighteen. Big big big fun filled day starting at eight in the morning and ending at ten forty-five at night. The biggest thing I learned on that day was life. Not the type of tree cocoa grows on, how loud geese can be, Christopher Columbus’ landing, but life. How we live, how others live. How much we have, how little some have. How big a difference we can all make. But rewind a lil bit. Back to eight in the morning.

We arraigned the tour with José several days prior to the actual date. He’s an incredibly kind guy that knows three languages. One of which is English. Everyone in town knows him and as we saw it, everyone likes him. He picked us up at the government dock in a big AIR CONDITIONED van with his driver Billy. In Dominican Republic, driving is a scary task even for those who haven’t traveled more than 10mph in a while. With motorcycles, potholes, donkeys, chickens, dogs, cats, goats, horses, and lots and lots of cows, driving in a car is a lil challenging. Aaaand on top of all that, after all the rain we’ve been getting, many of the dirt roads are flooded and slick. Billy and José however, know these towns like the back of their hand so we didn’t have any troubles. We all piled in and almost automatically went to grab our seatbelts. Well, there were no seatbelts. Or speed limits. Or stop signs. With all of the animals too! We went along a short but very bumpy, ride and stopped at a cow community. No I’m not making that up. We stopped at a cow community. We walked right into a large {pile of yuck and…} number of cows and the bull and watched them hand milk a cow. Pretty neat stuff.

After a twenty minute drive, mostly on paved roads (yayayayay), we stopped at a so called beautiful gathering spot, resort, and beach club. We were told that they take the Carnival cruise passengers to this spot, but it is open to anyone. Anyone can bring food and drink and hangout at this spot. We were let inside and beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent, they are all understatements. It had a beach, many cute tables and huts, stairs right into the ocean, showers, restaurant. It was great. I told Mom I could see myself getting married there. So if that says anything…haha.

Back into the car we went, after checking again for seatbelt, seriously though every time we got into the car. Like we know they aren’t there but our arm just automatically reaches up and haha we looked pretty silly but hey! Safety first kids! We drove for a while and ended up in the city of Isabella, where Columbus set up the first settlement in the new world. But okay let’s hold up for a second here. In my social studies class in so called America, we were taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492. And this is all true. But what they don’t tell us is that the Domican Republic and Haiti are the America he landed on. I’ve always assumed he washed up in Boston?!?!?! Maybe I’m stupid or wasn’t paying attention or I missed something entirely but seriously did they ever teach us about Columbus in the DR? I don’t think so. So until yesterday I don’t exactly know what I thought but I definitely didn’t think that Columbus discovered the island of Dominican and Haiti. Anyway, the museum was really interesting. It took a lil brain power seeing as it was all in Spanish. Thankfully, José was an amazing tour guide and explained everything in excellent English. We walked around the ruins of the first settlement. It made everything really real to see the very last bits of the house Columbus lived in, see the small cemeteries, and the church. Apparently, the settlement was still up and had more than an outline of large rocks but a lil miscommunication a little while ago ended that. What I understood was the government ordered the space to be cleared, meaning some trees and greenery, but the entire city ended up in the ocean. So I learned a lot a lot of history, the real history.

In Isabella, we also stopped at two very, very, small shops that had hand carved wood animal figures. They were absolutely amazing and really cool to see. We also stopped at the first church that is still up and running. We looked around for a lil bit, there were lots of gorgeous plants and VERY VERY VERY LOUD GEESE. Along with some turkeys, doggos, kitties, were the security geese. Now typically we’ve seen security dogs. Big ferocious sounding mean dogs. And they definitely know how to keep unwanted visitors away. Well, here at this church, the geese are the alarm system. Now you’re probably thinking ‘well duh heidi geese can be loud.’ No guys these birds are screaming, honking, crowing, squawking, like I’ve never seen before. That was definitely a new one for us. Security geese.

We headed back to Luperon {our starting spot} for lunch. We had a fantastic rice and beans and chicken and salad at a small local restaurant. All the food we had in Luperon and the DR was awesome. So so good. After we finished we got back into the car and headed for a cocoa plantation. In all honesty, I wasn’t too too excited for this stop but I was pleasantly surprised. It had allllll the trees there. Mangoes, avocados, cocoa, bananas, plantains, paprika, coffee, sopadillo, and many more I can’t either spell or remember. They had magnificent flowers that I loved photographing. And then, probably my favorite part of the plantation, the animals! I automatically was drawn to an adorable kitty that let my pick her up and snuggle and aaah so sososososos cute. They also had geese. Very very loud geese. Haha they had some cows, sheep, goats, they had a baby goat that Sally got to hold for a while. Also adorable. But my favorite animal there, and my favorite animal in general were the ostriches. They are so so funny looking and smile at you and hahaha makes me laugh just thinking about those goofballs. It was overall, a really interesting spot.

After the plantation, we headed off to a poorer section of the Dominican. We brought with us our collection of toothbrushes that so many of you kindly donated to help children in need. I can tell you now that the kids were ecstatic. Beyond happy to receive these small but special gifts. It was a tricky ride there. Many of the streets were flooded which made for a slow, bumpy ride. It was quite the hike to Cambiasso, the town we stopped in. I don’t know if I’d even want to call it a town, more like a community. It was on a white sand, turquoise water beach. Really really pretty. The houses looked like what many of us would call a shack, or shed. The van that we were in was bigger than most of these shelters. Families live together in one room spots. Some kids didn’t have clothes. No one had shoes on their feet. Bathrooms were the middle of the street for some. They depend on people passing by for business. It was real life. I’ve heard about all this stuff before, seen photos, read papers. But I don’t think any of it can really describe what it is like to walk around and see it. Most of the kids were at school when we arrived so we handed out toothbrushes to the younger kiddos. They were speechless. It really meant so so so incredibly much to them. I don’t think I can ever describe the look on these lil guys faces. It’s something you have to experience, you had to be there kinda thing. Something that really struck me hard was when we asked José if we should give the mothers and/or fathers the toothbrushes for the kids that were at school, he said no. They would never get to the kids. Parents would sell them and buy something for themselves instead of give it to their own children. I can’t start to explain how grateful I am for everything that I have. I really do appreciate my toothbrush more now. I don’t know how many kids my age get to see people living like this. I would guess not that many. It was really the greatest learning moment I think I’ve had. Ever. You can go to the best college in the world but what they can’t teach you is life. Real life. It’s out there. It’s really real now. I met a mother of five children. I’m guessing she was no more than two years older than me. It’s really hard for me to imagine having five kids and one room to live in depending on passing by visitors for money. What I also don’t think always comes across is that these people are the smiliest, and friendliest people we’ve met. They were really truly grateful for us coming. They appreciated our company. These aren’t bad people. I can’t say with 100 percent certainty for everyone but these people didn’t do something wrong that put them where they are. They were born with the wrong last name, the wrong storm hit them hard, it is what it is. And they are willing to look past that and make the best out of what they have. And things like this keep me going. I encourage you to tonight, when you go to brush your teeth, with a toothbrush, toothpaste, safe drinking water, take a minute to think about how much you have to be grateful for. There are a lot of things that remind me how truly lucky I am. And all in all, I’ve really been shown that we are all one big family. We’re all human.

By the time we got back to the dock after the ride from Cambiasso it was nearly six in the pm. We quickly got dressed into nicer clothes, regained some of our energy, and met our friends that we met at the marina for dinner. The man who owns the marina that we stayed at also owns the restaurant so it was all really nice. It was so fun to watch Ellana, six years old, Spanish speaking, and sally, ten years old, English speaking become great friends. We ended up spending the next day with them too which was also a blast. By the time we got back home it was way late and after a day full of excitement we fell asleep real quick.

It was truly an incredible experience. The biggest thing I learned on that day was life. Not the type of tree cocoa grows on, how loud geese can be, Christopher Columbus’ landing, but life. How we live, how others live. How much we have, how little some have. How big a difference we can all make. How thankful I am to be where I am. How grateful I am to be sharing this message and story with you. Thank you.

Till next time,
Heidi

Friends! Wowie haha it’s been a while. I’m gonna backtrack a lil bit here so let’s pretend it’s about a month ago. First of all, I wrote this a while ago when we were still in the Bahamas and never got around to posting so here goes.

I’ve seen a lot of beautiful places in my lifetime. I’ve hiked Grand Canyon and the Tetons, I’ve been to the boundary waters multiple times, I’ve visited pink sand beaches, but none of this comes even close to what we saw yesterday (yesterday being a long time ago). Yesterday I went to not only the most beautiful beach but most beautiful place so far in my 14 years of life. I don’t think words will do much at all but I’ll do my best. First of all, this special spot is located in the Exumas Land and Sea Park on Shroud Cay. The park is very similar to a National Park for the islands. You are allowed to take nothing but photos and amazing memories. The way into this beach is a dinghy ride through the mangroves. No vessel over three knots is allowed which makes for a quiet and peaceful ride. We saw a sea turtle and lots of little fish on the way in which made the trip there exciting. Towards the end of the dinghy ride, I was sitting on the very front of the dinghy, the tide was down so I was trying to help pilot Dad through the sand and rocks. Now this is where the magic happened. I was at the very front, motor is down low as not to disturb the sand or ruin the bottom of our dinghy, we make a slow, big, wide, turn, and bam. At least 50 shades of the blue Atlantic and the whitest sand I’ve ever seen. It was incredible. The water was surprisingly warm and the sand was softer than I thought possible. We spent a good chunk of our day in paradise. As I write this we are headed for a different island also protected by the park. Got some pretty big shoes to fill. Haha I don’t know if anything will ever compare to that experience but I’m excited to see what comes next.

The next spot we visited was also amazing. This doesn’t mean much because all in all the Bahamas were extremely peaceful and gorgeous. The video I posted was from that next spot. It was the first time in a while we got to go hiking so we spent a day finding our way around the island. Great fun. We visited a few more special places but I think everyone has done a great job keeping that updated. I know that Dad has a few longish ones coming. So moving on to Georgetown!

Georgetown was kid paradise. I met first fourteen year old we’ve seen since October! It was a blast, the beach was spectacular, and a definite community was present. We made lots of friends and loved meeting them at the beach every afternoon at two. Campfires, swings, sea shanties, and friends. What more could one ask for? So so much fun.

As most all of you know, we are happy in the Dominican Republic. The mountains are absolutely gorgeous and the new culture is beautiful. I’m sure we will have more on this as we continue to explore this country.

Cya,

Heidi 🌴☀️❤️