Lots of Lasts

I can't believe how quickly this trip went by.

Everything is wrapping up nicely. Thursday was our last day out at the field, which was really sad. There are a lot of things I'll miss about this study abroad. The island, the culture, definitely the people, the rum, the adventures. But I'll miss the archaeology the most. I'm here living my dream; this is what I want to do with my life. That's going to be tough to give up. But Thursday I got to help Victor and Amanda with the ground penetrating radar, which was really cool. We got some interesting data, which will be helpful if they do further excavation at Coconut Walk.

Ground Penetrating Radar

We spent the rest of the time there just finishing up trench 2273. Friday they used a backhoe to backfill the trenches, but we weren't there for that. So Thursday we packed up all of our gear and said goodbye to the site. It was a really difficult thing to do. It was a fantastic first site, and I know it'll be the first of many.

Goodbye, Coconut Walk

Friday we finished up everything at the lab! Everyone was thrilled to be finished scrubbing nerites with toothbrushes. We cleaned all the material, and once it dried we separated and bagged it. We also cleaned all of the supplies and gear we've been using.

Yesterday was my last day diving. We dove on the shipwreck of The Christena. It sank August 1st, 1970, so today is the 40th anniversary. The overcrowded ferry was traveling from St. Kitts to Nevis when it sank, taking with it the lives of 233 people. Before we dove we threw flower to commemorate the dead. The mood was very somber; it was a humbling experience. The ferry was a lot smaller than I thought it'd be.

For our second dive we went out to the place called Turtle Bar. It was an awesome coral reef. We saw tons of fish and coral of all different colors. We also saw a few huge lobster. But the most exciting thing of the day was a sea turtle who swam right by our group. It was incredible. I'm really going to miss diving. I'm certified for life, but I just don't know when I'll ever get the chance to dive again.

Our final exam is tomorrow. It's too bad because there are a lot of events for Culturama today, but I don't know if I will be able to go because I really need to study. But we'll see what happens. So just a few days left in my adventure. Then it's home, sweet, home.