Yesterday morning, my partner and I went for a snorkel to work on
our projects on mangrove roots.  The
water was as still as glass and the sun’s rays shined down to the sandy
floor.  As we went to our last site
before lunch, I saw a seahorse drifting in and out of the roots.  This is the second time that I saw that
seahorse there; it was so delicate yet so graceful.  I was happy to see it there again because I
really love seahorses; they are very interesting to observe, especially in
their own habitat. 

    After lunch, the
class went on a trip to Cranbrooke botanical gardens.  The first thing I saw when I got out of the
bus was many peacocks; they were all over the place, even on the roofs of the
buildings.  One of them let its feathers
out and it was very colorful and we were all standing there watching it for a
little while.  We also saw a doctor bird,
which is Jamaica’s national bird; it looked like a hummingbird.  We started our mile long walk through a trail
and saw flowers of every color, palm trees, orange trees, cocoa trees, and lime
trees.  The scenery was absolutely
breathtaking, and it felt like we were in a jungle with the canopy of trees
lying over us with the sun peeking through. 

         We were walking
parallel to a river the whole way, and I was watching the blue water
crashing and flowing down the river the whole time I was walking.  One of my favorite parts was when we came to
the white flowers that are edible.  I ate
one along with the rest of the class, and it tasted like sour apple.  I got caught up behind everyone taking
pictures of everything, most of which I haven’t seen before.  The hibiscus flowers were my favorite flowers
to see; they were fuchsia pink and were hanging down.  The last part of the trail we arrived to made
the trip; we came to the part of the waterfall where we went swimming.  The water was trickling down from the rocks
into the calm pool-like area where we were enjoying the cool, crisp,
freshwater.  I jumped off the rocks several
times; it was a ton of fun.  I also
jumped off with my two friends at the same time.  The water was a little chilly at first, but
it felt good after the walk in the hot, humid weather.  Cranbook was gorgeous, and I had a great time
and couldn’t have asked for better weather on this beautiful day.

-Kayla Kraker