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Ten Places That Are Special To Me

10/1/2015

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1. Washington, D.C. 
Washington D.C. is special to me because I met some amazing friends there.  I met Sarah (Take Two), Jeanette (Dream Catcher) and Lucia (Flipper).  D.C. also has some amazing places to go!!
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Sarah and me at the National Zoo.
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Jeanette and me at Little Farmers Cay
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Lucia and me at the Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Natural History
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Airplanes on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air & Space Museum
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The baby panda at the National Zoo
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The view from the top of the Washington Monument, looking over the WWI Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, the Lincoln Memorial and into VA to Arlington National Cemetary
2. Fort Pierce, FL
In Fort Pierce, we met back up with Sarah and the rest of Take Two.  We were right behind them on the dock for almost three weeks--including Christmas!
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Using a giant pinecone, Sarah and I made and decorated Ally Cat's Christmas tree
3. George Town, Exuma, Bahamas
George Town is special to me because I met and met up with some amazing friends.  I met up with Jeanette (Dream Catcher) and Coleen (Glass Slipper), whom I had met one night for about an hour in D.C.  I also met Lily (Water Lily)
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4.Great Sand Cay, Turks & Caicos

Great Sand Cay is so beautiful!!   There is nobody living on the island and it is naturally beautiful.
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Great Sand Cay is SO darn pretty!
5. St. John, USVI
St. John is special to me because it is so beautiful and we got to explore its beauty with some friends.  We were with Mark and Kathy (Nancy Lu), Glass Slipper and the Unos.
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Crystal clear waters in St. John at Maho Bay
6. The Baths, BVI
The Baths are special because that was where I spent my birthday!  The Baths are a rock formation that looks like, you guessed it, baths!  It was an awesome place to spend my birthday!
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Dad and me heading in to The Baths
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I am on top of the world!
7. Dominica. 
Dominica is so beautiful!! We took some amazing tours, where we learned about many of the things that grew there,  and went on an amazingly long (8 miles each way!) and beautiful hike!  The hike was so beautiful, though by the end you hardly noticed it because you were so tired!
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What's that? Why, a cashew, of course! This is what a cashew looks like when it is picked from a tree
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This is the result when you press a Silver Fern onto something dark: a fern tatoo
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FINALLY, after 8 miles of up-and-down and up-and-down: The Boiling Lake! It looked like a giant cauldron right out of Harry Potter!
8. Bequia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Bequia is very special to me.  It is very special because we met some very amazing friends there.  On a total of four boats, there are 8 other kids!  They are: Emma, 16, Anna, 14, Sara, 12 (Day Dreamer); Cash, 15, and Nicole, 13 (Day Star); Cora, 12 (Proud Mary); and Kaci, 10, and Hayden, 8 (Traveller).  So 7 other girls (and Cash)!!
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Field trip to the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary with Anna (Day Dreamer) and Kaci and Hayden (Traveller)
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The hawksbill turtles were great, but then I found out the owner had 20 dogs and 4 puppies!
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Sooo cute!
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Heading out in the dinghy with Emma, Anna, and Sarah (Day Dreamer) and Nicole (Day Star)
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Walking to the Whaling Museum with Emma, Anna and Sarah (Day Dreamer). You might not be able to read the green sign, but it says "Welcome to Friendship"!
9. Mayreau, St. Vincent & the Grenadines 
While in Mayreau, we were with Day Dreamer, Day Star, Proud Mary and Traveller and I have some amazing memories hanging out with this group and filming our movie The Thief.
10 Grenada

Grenada is special because of all of the kids.  We are all in the same place now. In addition to some new kids, we have also been with Day Dreamer, Day Star, Proud Mary, Traveller and Glass Slipper.
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Sarah, Emma and Anna (Day Dreamer), Cora (Proud Mary) and Coleen (Glass Slipper) on Ally Cat for a Girls' Night our first night in Grenada!
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Our Visit 'Home'

9/5/2015

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When we packed up and left Ally Cat for 3 weeks to visit people on the home and Colorado front, it felt very strange.  To be sleeping on something that wasn’t moving.  To be living out of a duffle bag.  But the strangest thing of all was leaving all of my friends in Grenada for 3 weeks.  When you are on a boat you make friends really fast, and I’ve made some amazing ones!  It was strange leaving them because we would see each other every day, and then didn’t see each other for 3 weeks!  It wa0s hard leaving them, but it was also hard leaving family and friends at home and in Colorado. 
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Water Wizz is SUCH a great water park!
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Water Wizz with my besties, Sam & Addie, and Sophia

In Massachusetts, we were so busy:  Water Wizz, sleepovers, eating out with so many different people!  And that’s just to start the list!  It was very weird to be in our home town but not in our house!   My dad even got invited to dinner in our house!  After spending 2 weeks in Massachusetts, my mom and I flew out to Colorado and my dad joined us a few days later.
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Cousin Love and Dancing with Julia, Trixie, Becca and Margaret (in front). Betsy was there earlier...where's Ryan??
My uncle had a family reunion so that everyone could see us before we went out on Ally Cat for another year!  He got all of my cousins together, plus almost all of my second cousins, and that is not very easy to get everyone together!!

After spending 2 weeks doing stuff and visiting with people 24/7, it was nice to finally get a rest!  But we did our fair share of things in Colorado, too!   The day after we got in, my mom, my grandma, my aunt and one of my aunt’s friends and I went to church.  After church, my aunt took her friend, her friend’s cousin and me hiking in the Garden of the Gods, a red rock park right near her house.  After hiking, she had a barbecue with her friend, her friend’s cousin and my mom and grandma.  That was all in one day!  Then we relaxed for a few days.  Once we caught up on some sleep, we were finally ready to do some things and see people again!
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We went horse-back riding in the Garden of the Gods with my aunt, which was a lot of fun!!  Then after that we went to my aunt’s house and had lunch and went back to my grandma’s house.  After resting for a few hours, and cleaning up, my mom and I went to my aunt’s house to help her prepare for a big cookout that she was having with a bunch of her friends.   It was kind of funny, everyone brought something to eat, but our contribution was chopping! 
All in all, it was awesome to see people in Massachusetts and Colorado, but it is awesome to be back in Grenada!
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Ten Reasons...

8/1/2015

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...I love buddy-boating with Kid Boats!
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Hiking in Carriacou with Day Dreamer, Day Star, Proud Mary and Traveller. Top, L to R: Anna, 14; Cora, 12; me, 11; Emma, 16; Nicole, 13; Cash, 15; Bottom, L to R: Hayden, 8; Sarah, 12; and Kaci, 10.
1.  The social life. You can almost always find someone to hang out with.

2.    The possibilities. All of the things that you can do when you get a bunch of creative kids together.

3.    It doesn’t matter what ages the kids are, you just hang out with everyone.

4.      If you leave one set of kid boats behind, then you are likely to find another one pretty soon.

5.      Boat hopping. To change up the scenery you will sometimes go boat hopping, so as to not have the parents get tired with having a ton of kids over every day.

6.      Exploring. If you are with someone who has been cruising wherever you are for a long time, then you will likely know where to go and what to do.

7.      The flexibility. With kids on land you will likely make a plan and stick with that plan, but with boat kids then the plan might change 10 times before you get together, but everyone is fine with that.

8.      The friendliness. If you are going over to someone’s boat and you need a ride, then you are likely able to get one within minutes.

9.      The fact that everyone understands if you can’t hang out that day because you have school, or if you just don’t want to.

10.      The fact that people are just so darn friendly!


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Grenada

7/17/2015

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Grenada, an independent country including itself and six smaller islands at the southern end of St. Vincent and the Grenadines first named Concepcion by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage to the new world in 1498, is located in the southeastern Caribbean Sea.  Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.  The British tried to make settlement, but in the end it was the French that took over after fighting the Carib Indians off the island in 1651.  For many decades Grenada was a French colony, although after the Seven Years War the British took over from the French in 1763.  Military and political struggles continued for centuries, with Grenada finally becoming an independent country in 1794.  Then, in 1983, Grenada was seized by a military group, which caused an invasion by the United States military, rescuing Grenada from Cuban communism.

Official Language- English
Official Currency- - East Caribbean Dollar (EC$)
Capital- St. George’s
Population of Capital- 4,500
P
opulation- 109,590
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The flag of Grenada was officially adopted on February 7, 1974.  The red border is symbolic of courage, the yellow triangles of wisdom and warmth, and green of vegetation. The left green triangle features a small nutmeg, the most famous product of the island. The gold outer stars represent the six islands, and the centered star represents the capital city of St. George's.

On September 7, 2004, after being hurricane-free for forty-nine years, the island received a direct hit from Hurricane Ivan; the damage was catastrophic, with over 90 percent of Grenada's homes either damaged or destroyed.   The country's determined citizens, government actions and international financing brought the island back to life, and by the end of 2005, Grenada was back in business, including tourism facilities.   The modern country of Grenada includes the large island of Grenada, and a few smaller islands on the southern edge of the Grenadines, with Carriacou and Petit Martinique the most significant.   Volcanic in origin, Grenada is dominated by a central ridge of mountains, all covered with lush rainforests. The island is blessed with numerous bays and harbors, and some of the best beaches in the Caribbean.   Once famed only for its indigenous spices (namely mace and nutmeg), Grenada's modern focus is tourism, and the islands are deservedly garnering the attention of the travel industry once again.
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St. Lucia

6/20/2015

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Unlike a lot of the other Caribbean islands, St. Lucia is an independent country.  One of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, St. Lucia is located midway down the Eastern Caribbean chain, between Martinique and St. Vincent, and north of Barbados.  St. Lucia is only 27 miles long and 14 miles wide.  It became an independent country after changing hands from the British to the French 14 times!  The French originally landed in St. Lucia, but then the British came and took over, and eventually, St. Lucia became its own country.

Official Language- English  

Official Currency- East Caribbean Dollar (EC$)  

Capital- Castries  

Population of Capital- 61,341 people  

Population- 162,781

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The flag of St. Lucia was officially adopted on March 1, 1967.  The blue field represents the Caribbean Sea, and the triangles symbolize the island's famous Pitons, the twin volcanic peaks. The light blue color of the stands for fidelity. The blue reflects the tropical sky and surrounding waters of Saint Lucia. The golden color stands for the prevailing sunshine in the Caribbean Island and prosperity.  The black and white colors represent cultural influences of black and white people. The three triangles in the flag symbolize the three pitons.  The shape of the isosceles triangle is reminiscent of the famous twin Pitons at Soufriere, an emblem of the hope and aspirations of the people.
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Dominica

6/9/2015

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Unlike a lot of the other Caribbean islands, Dominica is an independent country.  It is located a few miles south of Guadeloupe and a few miles north of Martinique.  On November 3, 1493, Christopher Columbus spotted Dominica, a big black lump on the horizon.  He named it Dominica because he spotted it on a Sunday and the Spanish word for Sunday is Domingo, (that is the same reason the Dominican Republic is named Dominican Republic!).

Official Language- English

Official Currency- East Caribbean Dollar, (EC$)

Capital- Roseau

Population of Capital- 14,847 people (of 2013)

Population- 73,286 people (of 2013)

Flag- The flag of Dominica was officially adopted on November 3, 1978.  The yellow represents the original inhabitants, black the fertile soil, and white indicates the pure water. The centered stars symbolize the ten island parishes. The Sisserou Parrot is indigenous to the island, and is their national bird.

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Dominican Flag
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Dominican Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms- The Dominica Coat of Arms consists of a shield, with two Sisserou Parrots bracing the shield on top of which is a lion.  The quadrants of the shield show a canoe, a banana tree, a palm tree and a frog. Below the shield is the national motto "Après Bondie C'est La Ter" meaning "After God the Earth".

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Saint Martin

5/31/2015

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St. Martin was awesome!!!  We were there for 2 weeks!  Other than Washington D.C. and Hampton, that’s the longest that we’ve stayed in one place!  In the middle of those two weeks, we had our first guest in the Caribbean, Auntie Kim, come and stay with us for 5 nights!

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Auntie Kim and me
For 3 of those nights, we were in Marigot Bay, and the other 2 nights we were at Grand Case.

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Marigot Bay from Ft. Louis
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Grand Case, Saint Martin
For the week that Auntie Kim wasn’t here, we did a bunch of provisioning that included getting a new auto pilot, groceries, marine supplies and toiletries!  That’s a lot of stuff to fit in the time to get, what with all of the things that we did with our buddy boats, s/v UNO, s/v Glass Slipper, s/v SiBella, s/v Lequesteau, s/v Jump, s/v Mythago and s/v Bueller!  We had a lot of fun though, with and without buddy boats.  On the Wednesday that Auntie Kim was here, we went to the huge outdoor market! 

A couple of times, both with and without buddy boats we went over to the Dutch side of the island, Sint Maarten.  The town over there, Philipsburg was a really cool town!  It was nice, with a bit of the local stuff, and a little of what you might find in the United States.  One of the restaurants right on the waterfront of Philipsburg was a popular hangout for cruisers, with internet and inexpensive drinks that were downright cheap at happy hour, 5-7, had a music night and Steve, off of s/v UNO, Rod off of s/v SiBella and Travis off of s/v Bueller did a few numbers!  After Steve had taken the kids back to the boats, Coleen, off of s/v Glass Slipper came over and we had dinner and watched a movie.  It was nice to have it be just girls for once, since on s/v UNO there are 2 boys! 

St. Martin was awesome!!!


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My Birthday!

5/12/2015

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The very cool t-shirt we had painted for my birthday in Boquerón, Puerto Rico. The artist painted Ally Cat in SW Allens Cay, Exumas, Bahamas from a picture!
My birthday was awesome!  It started off a week earlier than my actual birthday in Cane Garden Bay in the BVIs for my birthday party! 
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Celebrating with s/v Nancy Lu, s/v Uno, s/v Glass Slipper and s/v Bueller
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Homemade Hackney Brownies and fudge...YUM!~ That is Kathy, from s/v Nancy Lu, my birthday buddy
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Mom had been secretly collecting cards and packages...I was surprised at how many I got to open on my actual birthday! Thank you everyone!!!
My actual birthday started off in Trellis Bay on Tortola , in the morning to have breakfast and open presents.  Then we went to the Baths on Virgin Gorda, a natural collection of rocks that form, literally, baths!  After spending much of a day at the Baths, we ended the day at Long Bay.  I had a banana bread birthday cake!  It was my grandma’s recipe, and it has chocolate chips in it! 
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What fun!
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The PERFECT place to spend my birthday!
It was really funny, because we had 3 birthdays within 2 days of each other!  First was Kathy, s/v Nancy Lu, was the 10th, mine was the 12th, and s/v Uno had guests and one of their birthdays was the 12th too! 

I had an awesome birthday!!!


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The Virgin Islands

4/30/2015

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Hiking down Cinnamon Bay Trail overlooking spectacular Cinnamon Bay
The United States Virgin Islands, USVI, and the British Virgin Islands, BVI, are part of a group of islands that make up the Virgin Islands.  There are also Spanish Virgin Islands that are part of Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States.  The USVI and the BVI are all within 50 by 15 miles.  Both the Spanish and USVI are owned by the United States, because Puerto Rico is owned by the US.

Except for the flag flying overhead, the US and British Virgin Islands share many similarities.  Both the US and British Virgin Islands use American currency (US$), and both drive on the left (Keep Left!).  English is the official language spoke on the Virgin Islands.

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The USVI, discovered by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage, are located 13 miles east of Puerto Rico.  A territory of the US, the USVI were purchased from Denmark for $25 million, in 1917, to prevent an enemy (for example, Germany) taking control.  The three largest islands of the USVI are St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix.

St. Croix, the largest at 84 square miles and most heavily populated with 54,000 people, is the furthest south of the three populated USVI.  St. Thomas, 32 square miles, has a population of 52,000 people and is home to Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the USVI.  St. John, the smallest populated island at 19 square miles, has about 4,300 people. Almost two-thirds of the island is dedicated to the Virgin Islands National Park.  

The U.S. territorial flag of the Virgin Islands, below, is a white background with a yellow eagle grasping in its right and left talons a green branch and three light blue arrows and bearing on its chest a shield with a blue chief, and, below that, 13 alternating white and red stripes; flanking the eagle on its right and left sides, are the light blue capital letters V and I, standing for Virgin Islands.

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A territory of Britain, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is an archipelago of 59 square miles with 50 islands, islets and cays of all shapes and sizes.  The government is comprised of an elected House of Assembly, a Cabinet comprised of ministers appointed from the majority party and a Premier.  The Governor is appointed by the Queen and is her personal representative as well as the Chairman of the Cabinet.

There are four main islands in this archipelago, the largest of which is Tortola, 21 square miles, with a population of 23,908 people.  The second largest is Anegada, 16 square miles, with a population of only 312 people!  Virgin Gorda, which is known for its beauty, is 9 square miles, with a population of 3,394 people.  Jost Van Dike, the smallest, is 4 square miles, with a population of 297 people.

The flag of the BVI, below, was adopted on November 15, 1960.  It is a Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the corner, and with the coat of arms of the BVI.  The coat of arms features Saint Ursula and the lamps of her virgin followers, which gives the islands their name.  The civil ensign is a red ensign with the coat of arms of the BVI.  The red ensign is to be flown on board vessels either registered in the British Virgin Islands or by vessels visiting the British Virgin Islands.  The Governor of the BVI has a separate flag, a Union Flag defaced with the coat of arms. This design is similar to flags of the other Governors in British overseas territories.
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Horseback Tour in Samana

4/6/2015

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Jacob and Noah from s/v Uno, and I are FINALLY getting to ride horses!
Our horseback riding tour in Samaná was awesome!!!  We rode for the whole morning and then had lunch on the beach!  We started with taking a ride from about 10 to about noon through woods, where we saw cocoa, coffee beans, bananas, and plantains growing.  Then we stopped at a local house that sold: coffee beans, ground coffee, 100% chocolate and this really good coconut candy.  They told us how to make homemade hot chocolate that was really good!  I learned so much there!  One thing that I learned was that coffee beans are red when they are ready to be picked.  I also learned that the cocoa beans turn yellow when they are ready to be harvested.  Then we rode a short way to the beach where we had lunch.  At the end of the ride on the trail to the beach, when the horses knew that they were almost done they went crazy and we got to gallop down the trail to the beach!!!  It was so fun!

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Meet Blancita!
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I was so happy to go horseback riding and loved Blancita
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Noah and me getting to know our horses before the ride
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The beautiful table laid out at the house where we learned how locals process cocoa, coffee, and coconut to be used and sold
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This is what your chocolate looks like as soon as the cocoa bean is harvested!
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Ripe coffee beans
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The local grapefruit was good--much sweeter than we are used to at home
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Mom and me LOVING the gallop down the beach
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Meet Juano, Mom's horse...he was FAST!
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