More stories from Carriacou

Hey all!
Things are still going great here!  We've been doing all kinds of stuff in the past few days.  On Saturday we went to a different beach on the other side of the island which was absolutely gorgeous.  It was even better than the beach we usually go to.  My friend and I swam out to an island about a mile out from there.  I got back from the island before he did, and he, thinking I had drowned, got in a boat and travelled around the entire bay looking for me.  Turns out the guy driving him around was an NCSU graduate from 1971 on vacation here.  Crazy.
That night we went to a karaoke bar.  I'm really hoping pictures from that night do not surface, because there are probably quite a few very embarassing ones of me.  I ended up singing California Girls (by Katy Perry) in a duet with Dr. Fitzpatrick, the trip coordinator.  I also sang I Want it that Way by Backstreet Boys, and Don't Stop Believin by Journey.  It was rather embarassing, haha.
Next morning we went on a couple hour hike across the mountains to the other side of the island.  I got some fantastic pictures, because the epic views from the tops of the mountains were incredible.  We accidentally stumbled on a human burial site when we reached the other side of the island (there was a thumb and piece of a long bone, either a femur or one of the arm bones, sticking out of the side of a cliff).  Sadly we won't be able to excavate it, and by the time the rainy season comes, it'll be washed out to sea.  It was very sad, but it was a really interesting discovery.
Also, on that hike, my friend Cam and I managed to save a ram from suffocating in a thicket.  Random story, I know, but still, it was pretty cool.  I'll show pictures of it all soon.  For now, see yall!
Me

Carriacou Digging!

First and foremost, yall are more than welcome (encouraged) to post comments for me to read, so please do so. 
Next, we started looking for artifacts today!  After digging and moving mountains of dirt out, we've finally started looking for artifacts, and might I say I was very successful.  I found the largest amount of artifacts out of our group.  I got a huge amount of pottery, in many pieces, I found a ritual bowl (used for smoking hallucinogens during ceremonies, apparently), fish and turtle bones (from animals they had eaten), and a ton of charcoal (from their fires, which we use to radiometrically date the samples and find out when they were created). 
Currently I'm chillin out looking over the coastline at the islands nearby and sailboats sailing around drinking a Dr. Pepper in jorts. 
I wish I could impress upon all of you the beauty of this island.  The colors are all so vibrant, the water is crystal clear and looking out on it is absolutely gorgeous.  The pictures I've taken really don't do it justice.  All I can really say is I want to come back sometime. 
I can see Union Island, a politically separate island, from where I sit.  It's about 3 or 5 miles out across perfect turquoise ocean, with a little orange and blue rowboat in between.  You can see beaches and trees on hillsides overlooking the coast, and mountains (which I plan on hiking sometime soon), and gorgeous houses overlooking the pristine scene.  It's really something else.
Hope yall enjoy, and post comments!
I miss everyone, I love you all, and I'll see you in a few weeks!

Partial shot of my view from the balcony at our hotel (you can see the beach we go to), where I get to do my quiet time.

A local vendor of fruits and vegetables.

There are more, they just won't load currently.  They'll be posted in later posts, and on facebook soon.

Carriacou!

Hey all!
Sorry it's taken so long to post again, but I've been real busy doing tons of stuff down here.  We've been at the beach daily, yes I'm sunburned, but not bad, and yes I'm wearing sunscreen (mom).  We've played frisbee multiple times on the beach, and throw around pretty much every day, while also finding starfish and sea anenomes in the (crystal clear) water.  I've been playing guitar all around, and actually have been invited to play at a few local places for karaoke and special events.  I've busted out my hammock (that's for Tucker, Ryan,  and Matt P, if they read this at all) already and taught some others how to use it, which proved more difficult than I expected.
During the beach time, one of our group swam out to a nearby island on a sort of solo journey.  It was a good mile and a half away, but he swam there and then rested and then came back in a pretty good time.  Impressive, I must say. 
Work started today.  Five straight hours of pretty gruelling manual labor, including digging to excavate the site, breaking small rocks with pick axes, cutting branches and roots away, and carrying big buckets of dirt.  And it will only be longer days from here on out.
The place is absolutely beautiful, seriously gorgeous, pictures coming soon (most likely next post, I've taken a good amount).  The site we're excavating is right on the beach, and there's tons of natural beauty and small islands nearby to see.  At the site, we've found pieces of two human fingers, and a burial site thus far, along with tons of pottery.  There are shards of pottery, some 5 or 6 inches long/wide, strewn everywhere, without any need for digging, and there's even more the farther you dig. 
One great thing that I've found is that, of the three American sodas they have here, there is a vast quantity of Dr. Pepper.  It made me exceptionally happy to have found it here, haha. 
I'll post again soon, thanks for reading!
Matt

In the carribean!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken so long to post, but we safely made it to the carribean.
After two planes and a ferry we made it to carriacou, where we've been getting acclimated, hanging out and enjoying ourselves. I'll post again soon (internets a bit persnickity) and I have pictures to post as well!

Pictures of Carriacou

These are pictures from the hotel's website, http://www.adesdream.com/, where we'll be staying in Carriacou.
I hope it's really like this!

This is the main dock/beach, across from the hotel.

Paradise Beach

A view of the Regatta Festival

A look at neighboring Sandy Island from Esplanade Beach (or another beach, I'm not sure)

A view from one of the mountains out over Neighboring Petite Martinique.

So frickin excited.

Things I've done while waiting for the Carribean

In the past week, while waiting to leave for the Carribean, I've done a lot of things, aside from chores.  Most of them exceptionally nerdy.  Such as:
Calculated the volume of water during Noah's Flood.
Calculated why charged particles aren't magnetic monopoles (already proven, just wanted to do it myself.  It's all about flux).
Got the eighth badge in Pokemon Ruby.
Made two pairs of hipster jorts.
Made two pairs of skinny jeans.
Doubled the annual income of my local Chick-Fil-A.
I need to leave so I don't become a bigger nerd.

Getting Closer to Carriacou

Well, I leave for the Carribean in a little over 3 days.  I'm definitely getting excited.  The only problem currently is the packing situation.  Things left to pack?  A lot.  My trowel has yet to come in.  I have to buy my field notebook.  I'd like to get some new guitar strings before I leave so that, in the likely chance that I break one, I'll have back ups.  I've also gotta figure out how I'm going to pack everything compactly and be able to safely get it down there.  Dang, stress.  Oh well, wish me luck!

The Precursor

Hey everybody!  This is my first post, a precursor to my trip to the Carribean!  Here is where I'll be updating you on all the things that happen when I'm down there.  I hope that there will be many interesting things for you to hear about and read about.  I may post some random things, some Bible passages from what I've been reading down there, and shout outs to certain people alongside the adventures that will be going on. 
Please keep me in your prayers as I get ready to go down there and dig in the dirt!

-Matt