Last Thursday was our final day of working in Jamaica. Everyone was tying up the projects that they were involved in. It was a day of a lot of reflection, both in how we were affected by the beauty and culture of Jamaica, but also what each of us left there.
For the first half of the day we all continued on the last bits of our projects. The construction crew were putting the finishing touches on the stairs, the autocad group was finishing up the plans they had been working on, and the film group was getting some B-roll footage to weave in between our interviews. It was about three or four hours of work in the morning before we headed off to the beach.
The beach was a well deserved relaxation. All of us, a little under the weather and overwhelmed with a sense of love for the place we were currently getting to experience everyday, were going to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Now as someone who has Galveston as her go-to beach, when I say that you can see all the way down to the sand that you are standing on… It is amazing. The water is, like the Jamaicans said, "what everyone needs at the end of a hard day.” Walking up to the water you see this white sand go in between your toes, the waves crashing on to each other creating a painting of blue and white ripples as far as the eye can see. We all had a good hour or two in the sun before Barbara, our cook, showed us the real meaning of Jerk chicken.
Stuffed and happy we all piled into the van for what was going to be a magical experience. On our drive to the bioluminescent lagoon it started to pour. Running out of the van and getting to the waiting station alone was a drastic change from what we had been seeing while we were in Jamaica. There weren’t any happy kids running around, but a lot of white tourists, which in Falmouth were hard to find outside of the port. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, our group was called to get on the boat. Grinning with anticipation we were told about the history of the lagoon by one of the funniest guys. He told us about the transportation of sugar and rum that occurred for generations and why this lagoon is a good habitat for the bioluminescent organism.
However, all I focused on was the glowing blue behind the boat as it glided through the water. THE WATER WAS GLOWING!!!! Now how spectacular is that? Once the boat stopped, we were allowed to get out and swim around. All of us jumped out into the water not knowing just what we were getting into. As soon as your skin touches the water wherever you are starts to glow, with each movement that area will light up like the moon. It honestly looked like you were swimming through the stars. After a good 15 minutes of wonder we all boarded the boat again. We all then discovered that if you touch your swimsuit it would still glow, so all of us were then amused for the smelly drive back to the house. Lagoons with bioluminescence are by far one of the most breathtaking things in the world, but also will leave you smelling like sewage. It was totally worth it though. And that was the last full day we had in Jamaica.
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