Location: Sydney's, Jost van Dyke
Today, by popular demand, I have returned to write another masterpiece of epic proportions. Our day started off in Cane Garden Bay on Tortola, where we were greeted by a gorgeous sunrise on the distant horizon. We then had our meals prepared for us by chef Jordan and sous chef Carson. They had made us the delectable Frosted Flakes which may not be considered as cooking in most eyes, however the way these professionals displayed their food can only be described as art. Carson, as I’m sure you already know from my previous blog, is food safety certified, so we all knew we were in good hands with the cereal preparation. After the cereal, which can only be described as food for the gods, we prepared for the 8-mile hike we had ahead of us. After a brisk speech by our camps director, Mike, we all headed up the steep incline that some would not leave for another 3 hours. Many of the foolish students attempted to run the hike but their hopes were all quickly crushed by the length and steepness of the first stretch. However, one of our brave students of the Odyssey no less managed to run roughly half of the entire hike upwards and was the second man to the top, which we were all very proud of. Other notable mentions go to Claire, Ella, Freddy, and Carson, who all finished top 30 out of 155 students, so we are all proud of them as well. On the journey up and down the mountain, we captured many stunning views of both Tortola and the vast body of water surrounding it. Although the hike itself was grueling, the payoff was worth it tenfold as, in return, we received many breathtaking views, delicious food from the restaurants by the beach, and a grocery store large enough to restock all of our snacks. Many students reconnected with their families today as we got our phones back until 13:30, which we all enjoyed. After lunch, we proceeded to set sail for a small island with beautiful, soft, white, sandy beaches. On the beaches, each boat competed in a sandcastle-building competition in which Greta, Rachel, Alyssa, and Molly did outstandingly well. So well, in fact, that we won overall with their hammerhead shark and its baby. Freddy, Tucker, and Carson made another sand castle, which didn’t get entered into the competition but was fun to make. After they were done with the main parts of the shark, brig and Freddy decided that this was a good time to join a group of men gathered from all the other boats to dig a really big hole. This very quickly descended into a cult-like obsession with digging the hole, which got very deep.
We left the beach very satisfied with our accomplishments, some for digging holes, others for winning a competition. We then proceeded to take a shower and get ready for the barbecue. At the barbecue, Jordan and Catherine got matching outfits, which I will not be going into detail about. I can tell you with great certainty that they were funny. We all danced the night away and mingled with all the boats as a thunderstorm boomed around us.