Day 7,
Today was our last day on Virgin Gorda and it did not disappoint. We woke up a little later today and everyone got to sleep in till 7:15. Breakfast was at Jasmine house today and it was a great last breakfast. The main course were these massive donuts that were more cake than anything, but they were very delicious. After breakfast everyone hopped onto Glenn’s fancy taxi and headed to the eastern shore of the island facing the Atlantic. We all met at the desalination plant that produces all of the freshwater on the island. This was the site of our service project. We spent the meaning cleaning up trash all over the beach that had washed up from the ocean. I had planned to stay dry and decided to wear my tennis shoes, instead of my dive booties which can easily get wet, this was a mistake. After spending the first 30 minutes my feet were soaked and I really didn’t care. I was going in the water, sinking into giant piles of seaweed, all to clean up trash. I did this because I felt a little guilty. The amount of trash was astonishing and I realized that those little things I may not care about and think about that I throw in any water source, could end up ruining a pretty beach like this one. The trash also messes with the desalination plant and can destroy equipment that thousands of islanders rely on. We spent two hours cleaning the beach and filling three truckloads full of trash. It was a great experience and one that really humbled me. After our service project, everything me went to the yacht harbor and shopped and ate at the restaurant there. I engulfed a cheeseburger and multiple pineapple juices (I’ve fallen in love with pineapple juice on this trip btw). After a delicious lunch, everyone went back to their cabins and prepared for their project presentations. My groups presentation went really well and everyone seemed fairly impressed, except for some grammatical issues the project was very clean and professional. After the presentations, we all hung out and went to have our final dinner at this beautiful restaurant called The Top of the Baths restaurant. The views were amazing and so was the food. I enjoyed Cole slaw, beans and rice, chicken, Mac and cheese, fried fish, and a delicious slice of key lime pie. The food was so good and a great meal to end a great week. After dinner, everyone said their goodbyes and thanked the Dive BVI staff for everything they’ve done. They are truly an amazing group of people, and I encourage anyone who gets the chance to come to Virgin Gorda and go on a scuba trip. The dives are amazing but the people might be better. I learned so much this week and made bonds that I hope will last for a lifetime. I hope everyone who has read this blog has enjoyed it and I understand that I have occasionally forgotten to spell check so I’m sorry for any words that don’t make sense. I’d like to finish my blog with this, the marine world is incredible and it holds the keys to the survival of this world, treat it right and it will survive and prosper. I don’t think I truly realized this till I took this class, but the ocean is beautiful and deserves to be treated as so. Signing off.
-Jake Hubbell
