So I went with Kelli, Ashley, and Haley (other trainees) to Sulphur Springs, where we bathed in the cleansing waters of a volcano. It was hot! It took a few minutes to get used to, and then we realized a bunch of tourists were looking down at us from up on a bridge. It was a little embarrassing. Oh well. Part of the point of going to the sulphur springs is to rub the mud all over yourself. Yep. It wasn't until afterwards that we realized we didn't have a very good plan for getting it off. We went to find the waterfall, but it was pretty much the same grey water, still warm. And there was a naked guy hanging around. I guess he really wanted to be 10 years younger. We didn't get to go and look at the volcanic crater, because it costs US $5 or EC$12.50, and a couple of us didn't have enough money to do that and get back.Next we had planned on hiking, although Kelli and I didn't realize Ashley and Haley had planned on hiking across the rain forest, from roughly Soufriere to roughly Micoud, on the other side of the island. That was the first thing. The second is that no one would tell us how to get to the trail, because they all said we needed a guide. As mentioned before, we didn't have the money for a guide. And it was raining when we asked, so I don't think that helped. It's my opinion that we should wait until dry season, because during wet season you never know when there will be a downpour, even if it doesn't look cloudy enough. It's not that we weren't willing to get wet, but for me I don't think the trail would be good when it's very muddy. It's also my opinion that we don't know the island well enough to go on a 4-5 hour hike without someone who has taken the trail before, even if it's just another volunteer.
Well, we rode into Soufriere and started walking towards where the trail was. We ran into Hallie, who was headed to meet some of the other trainees who hired a taxi (it was a good deal, it was one of the trainee's host family). We walked along a road, tried calling another volunteer to see if he wanted to come or could give us direction--he also said we shouldn't go without someone who knows where they're going--and met a guy in a field who said that we shouldn't go without a guide, but offered to take our number next time he sees us and he'll take us on the hike halfway across. Hopefully in later months we'll get a good chance to hike whereever we want in St. Lucia, but yesterday probably wasn't the best time. I did feel a little bad because Ashley had her heart set on it, and I'm sure she'll get her chance soon.
So instead we met up with the other trainees,
who were at a restaurant in Soufriere. They were waiting for food, but us hikers all brought our lunch, so we went and ate at a little shaded place. We tried the beach first, but it's not exactly that kind of beach. I think that's where I cut one of my toes; a piece of a broken bottle probably scratched it when we stepped in the water. After lunch (including a HUGE mango, nearly the size of my head, from Kelli's backyard) we went back to the restaurant. I thought about getting a beer, but EC$5 for a Piton is against my morals. It took fully 2.5 hours between the time the taxi group got to the restaurant and when the whole group left. Only about 20 minutes of that was spent eating, though appetizers and salads were served earlier. The food was apparently good, though the wraps weren't actually wrapped.
Us hikers ended up getting in the taxi with the rest of the group. We went through a few towns on the way, stopping often to get pictures of the Piton mountains (Gros Piton on the right, Petit Piton on the left behind a hill), and stopping to look at churches in town, and stopping to walk on the beach for a little bit in Choiseul. We made our way through Laborie, and finally got to Vieux Fort. I opted to go home rather than hang out on the beach once we got there, since I had the previously mentioned cut on my toe, that I felt should be treated sooner rather than much later. 
At home I ate dinner, went to my room to read, and fell asleep aroud 7:30 or 8pm. I woke up around midnight, tried to read, and fell back asleep. I woke up at 5:30, in time to get ready for the walk today.
Unfortunately, I forgot my camera today. My host mom organized for some people in a club she's in to go on this health walk a couple towns over. We got there just in time, although unfortunately the organizers and the police escorts didn't. The walk was supposed to begin at 8, but it wasn't until a good 50 minutes later that we were allowed to go. It wasn't a very long walk, up and down a couple small hills on the highway, to a playing field next to a secondary school in La Fargue, a part of Choiseul. We participated in an aerobics workout, then ate the bananas and watermelon they had provided for free, and hung around for a couple hours, watching kids (high school age, mostly) dance, a jump rope competition, and things like that. We left before the other sports (football [soccer], cricket, basketball, volleyball) got going. It was a good few hours of being outside and getting active. It was also cool that all the older women (in their 50s/60s) in our group were dancing--wining, even--to the music. They impressed me, and I impressed them with the same moves. They thought I caught on quickly, but I told them I already knew how to dance like that. Though I now need to work on some more moves I picked up from some of the younger girls.
So, lots of walking. Lots of being outside. No sunburn for me, either! Sunscreen and dorky looking hats are awesome.
Oh, one more thing. Yesterday in the taxi van Judy passed around a cacao bean. I ate a seed, and it's sort of hard to describe. The outside is sweet and slippery/rubbery, and the inside is what chocolate comes from--it's little crunchy bits of it. If you've every had completely unsweetened chocolate, that's what it tastes like--very bitter, but certainly still chocolatey.
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