Yes, I saw my first wild island snakes (plural, more than one: three to be exact) this weekend! I've been anticipating this moment since before we arrived. I usually keep a sharp eye out for any movement along the trail that leads us to campus, but haven't spotted any near our apartment. I'll admit I let my guard down. Especially after asking a hike leader about snake sightings a few weekends ago. The guide laughed and assured me that it wasn't often that you come across snakes, especially Boa Constrictors, which are native to the island.
So on Saturday, I got up early to go to the market (Justin slept in for the first time since we got here!) and then met up with Julie and Lytle (two spouses I've been working with in the schools) around 8:30 to go for a hike. We had decided to hike up to Cabrits, which is an old fort on the north end of our bay. We walked through Portsmouth along the coastline(past the one small section of sandy beach called Purple Turtle) and up into the mountian to the entrance.
We hiked along a pretty wide path which was nice and shady. Little salamanders scampered out of our way which reminded me of Jurrasic Park becuase you can hear swishing movements in the bushes on either side of you. And a movement caught the eye of my friend Lytle and lo and behold there was a SNAKE! Lytle and Julie were scrambling to get out thier cameras and I was scrambling to find a safe place to stand where I could see all 360 degrees of possible snakes slithering my direction. The snake was totally not interested in us and left. His friend was equally chilled out (I'll remind you of the island theme:no worries) and stayed coiled up in the shade.
So we continued our hike to the ruins of the Battery which were overgrown with vines and trees, very Indiana Jones. So we're being silly and taking pictures when Julie looks up the wall and says in a very calm voice, "Ashley, don't come over here." Of course I knew she meant "ASHLEY!!! THERE'S A SNAKE!!!" So I again tried my technique of finding a nice clearing of path to stand in where I could monitor all possible angles of snakey-ness. She got a good picture of it climbing up the wall of the fort though. If you can zoom into this picture and get a good look, you will see that this is a HUGE snake!!! EEWWWW!
The path continued onto the other side of the bay where you could get a pretty good glimpse of Guadeloupe.I tried takinga picture, but the hazy blue of the island blended in with the ocean.
I stood in grass for the first time in a month! Fort Shirley is the main attraction at Cabrit. It was built when England and France were fighting over the island, but the cannons were never used. In this picture, If you look out across the bay, Ross University is at the far left.
We walked all the way back, and when I finally reached the apartment, I was pooped! I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing while Justin studied.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Love,
Ashley
So on Saturday, I got up early to go to the market (Justin slept in for the first time since we got here!) and then met up with Julie and Lytle (two spouses I've been working with in the schools) around 8:30 to go for a hike. We had decided to hike up to Cabrits, which is an old fort on the north end of our bay. We walked through Portsmouth along the coastline(past the one small section of sandy beach called Purple Turtle) and up into the mountian to the entrance.
We hiked along a pretty wide path which was nice and shady. Little salamanders scampered out of our way which reminded me of Jurrasic Park becuase you can hear swishing movements in the bushes on either side of you. And a movement caught the eye of my friend Lytle and lo and behold there was a SNAKE! Lytle and Julie were scrambling to get out thier cameras and I was scrambling to find a safe place to stand where I could see all 360 degrees of possible snakes slithering my direction. The snake was totally not interested in us and left. His friend was equally chilled out (I'll remind you of the island theme:no worries) and stayed coiled up in the shade.
So we continued our hike to the ruins of the Battery which were overgrown with vines and trees, very Indiana Jones. So we're being silly and taking pictures when Julie looks up the wall and says in a very calm voice, "Ashley, don't come over here." Of course I knew she meant "ASHLEY!!! THERE'S A SNAKE!!!" So I again tried my technique of finding a nice clearing of path to stand in where I could monitor all possible angles of snakey-ness. She got a good picture of it climbing up the wall of the fort though. If you can zoom into this picture and get a good look, you will see that this is a HUGE snake!!! EEWWWW!
The path continued onto the other side of the bay where you could get a pretty good glimpse of Guadeloupe.I tried takinga picture, but the hazy blue of the island blended in with the ocean.
I stood in grass for the first time in a month! Fort Shirley is the main attraction at Cabrit. It was built when England and France were fighting over the island, but the cannons were never used. In this picture, If you look out across the bay, Ross University is at the far left.
We walked all the way back, and when I finally reached the apartment, I was pooped! I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing while Justin studied.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Love,
Ashley
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