76 Miles South

What a weekend! Where should I begin? I suppose, with where I left off.

Our lessons Friday afternoon went very well! We went over everything we had learned during the week, played some games, and then had the kids color fish that Ana and I made for them out of construction paper. They really seemed to enjoy that! Then, we had our 'adult' lesson (she's really only 16) which was also very productive!

After washing off the salt and sand that had caked on during the day, Ana and I went out to eat with Rick and Barbara. They treated us out to dinner at the Seven Seas Restaurant in Bogue. I tried the conch and it was good! Bohemian food consists mainly of fried food and macaroni and cheese; I'm not a fan of fried food, but I figured while I'm here, I should try some of the local favorites. After dinner, Ana and I went to Elvina's for an hour or so before calling it a night.

We had planned on hitchhiking to Wemyss Bight on Saturday morning, but as luck would have it, Pam (who owns the Island Made Gift Shop) was driving to one of her shops in Rock Sound (which is relatively close to where we were going) and offered to give us a ride. We made a few stops along the way in Governor's Harbor, which is the capital of Eleuthera. We went to the bakery and I had an amazing cheese danish that was still warm! Once arriving at Rock Sound, Ana and I headed out to hitch the rest of the way. Sadly, we waited in the sun for about an hour before Pam and her daughters drove by and offered to drive us the rest of the way. Hitchhiking supposedly isn't that hard here! Could we be doing it wrong? Is that possible?

We arrived, 76 miles south, at the Ship to Shore Hotel and Restaurant around 1:30pm and finally met the other instructors! We met the boys and went to meet the girls down at the beach. There are less businesses in Wemyss Bight and everything is very spread out. The other instructors have to bike to their lessons everyday and change locations weekly. It's hard enough walking around in the heat; nevermind biking eight miles to lessons! They half- jokingly call their experience on the island "Survivor Eleuthera." They have had a much harder time getting water and fresh produce than we have (and it hasn't been a piece of cake for us either)! Anyways... once getting to the beach we met the girls- they were all so nice! In summary of the afternoon, we went for a swim (I forgot my suit back at the room, so jumped in with my clothes on..), went back to the room, had a meeting with the Sail Caribbean coordinators (the program in the south is going to do a few days with them), and had dinner at the restaurant. I tried grouper fingers and a ginger beer (Both, very yummy).

After dinner and digesting for a while, we all took a late night stroll down to the beach and did some stargazing. Originally we were going to go crabbing, which would have been fun (or a little scary.. I haven't decided yet!). The other instructors seemed to get along so well and were all really down-to-earth. It's really cool to see how everyone heard about Swim to Empower and the diverse paths our lives are heading down; even though they are currently overlapping.

We realized that coming back on a Sunday would probably be near impossible considering that everything on Sunday is closed and that everyone would be at church! Ana and I were told that there would be a bus for the Haitians to come up north to go to church, but that it would be leaving at 7am. Thankfully, the couple that own and run the restaurant knew someone that was driving up north early this afternoon. So, Ana and I avoided hitchhiking- we were dreading the 76 miles especially after our failure the day before!

After arriving home, we relaxed on the beach for a while and read our books and swam before having our 4pm adult lesson.

My computer battery is dying so I will end this post!

Hitchhiking to Hatchet Bay

Since today is the last day of lessons for our Week 2 Swimmers, we arranged the schedule so we could have a little time to explore in the morning. We made another trip to the post office (it was open this time!). On our way to the bakery, we passed the house where the woman who bakes amazing bread is suppose to live and three little kids were knocking on her door to see if she had any loafs left. She did! Ana bought a loaf. It really was amazing. It tasted a little bit like a croissant, but more bread-like. You'd have to try some to know what I mean! Sadly, the bakery was closed, but after having a piece of bread we didn't mind too much.

We had decided to try to hitchhike to Hatchet Bay this morning and see what else was in that settlement. We walked for a mile or two before a truck picked us up. Hitchhiking is definitely a little awkward, but we are repeatedly told that it is a natural thing to do here. The man was very nice. He showed us where the Hatchet Bay Caves are so we can check them out at another time. He also said that there wasn't much to see or do in Hatchet Bay, but we still wanted to look around anyways. We strolled around the town to see what there was to do there. There were probably fewer stores than Gregory Town, but the waterfront was worth the trip. Ana and I investigated one of the cliffs and found 'some stairs to nowhere.'

We went in a couple little shops and ended up talking to a woman in a clothing store. She had a table with CDs strewn across it, so we figured we'd ask her where we could find a place to get some local music. There is a lot of 'island-sounding' music, but Ana and I were interested in getting some music with more of a reggae/hip-hop sound. The woman told us that there was a man down the street who could possibly burn us a CD of island music. It turns out, he's the DJ at the Sea Side Nightclub we've heard so much about. The woman, whose name was Tanile, walked us down to his house and introduced us. He told us to come back in a half an hour or so and he'd have one for us. In the meantime, Ana and I went to go visit Double D at the internet cafe and to get a smoothie. I was definitely craving a smoothie...

We went back to the house and he had our CDs! I was so excited! Island music! Yay!! We decided we should start heading back to Gregory Town for our afternoon lessons. It was so incredibly hot out in the sun. It seems like when you're hitchhiking, the cars are always going in the opposite direction. A man with an air-conditioned truck picked us up after we had been walking for about ten minutes. We were so thankful! I don't think I could have walked much further in this heat!

So, we are getting ready for afternoon lessons and our rendezvous with Rick and Barbara (the couple from Georgia) later on this evening. Yesterday afternoon, Barbara invited Ana and I out to eat at the Seven Seas Restaurant in Bogue. They are leaving to go back to the states soon and wanted to treat us out to dinner. Hopefully we'll still be able to go to Elvina's tonight!

Still can't call the States... but, keep the emails coming! :)

You're hot and you're hot...

"You're hot and you're hot... Not in the I like you kinda way, but in the sun is burning you kind of way." -Takio

The past few days have flown by! I've been meaning to update before I go to sleep, but have been too tired. I also only get internet outside and the mosquitoes here can be fierce! Let me update you on life!

Tuesday morning, Ana and I set out early before lessons to try to run some errands around town. It is practically our only time to go to the local businesses because many of them are closed by the time we are completely finished with lessons for the day. We set out to go to the laundromat, post office, bakery, and gift store. I think I forgot to previously mention, that things here run on "island time." Our first stop was the laundromat, which thankfully, was open. Our next stop was the bakery. It is located on a steep hill and we could smell the aroma of something delicious baking in Daisy's kitchen. When we got there, we were told back to come back in two hours! We felt a little defeated, but decided to come back during our lunch break. The couple from Atlanta had told us that there is a woman in a gold-ish colored house on the hill that bakes amazing bread to sell every morning, so we decided to try and find her... We were told to come back in two hours. Next stop- the post office (I think you see where this is headed). We decided to go back to the house and run our errands later when everything really was open.

Later Tuesday evening, I had wanted to try to walk down to the cliffs at Long Bight to to try and see the sunset. Ana and I walked down and found that it was a bit cloudy, but the view was still incredible!

Lessons have been going very well this week! Nothing here on the island goes as plan, but I'm really kinda like it. Everything is very laid back, so you have no other choice, but to go with the flow. The kids we scheduled for lessons this week did show up- but, brought a few siblings or cousins along! Some lessons run a bit more smoothly than others, but everyone is progressing very well! The kids are adorable and say the funniest things! Our friend, Takio has been one of the most challenging to teach, but yesterday we broke some major ground! He is practically petrified of the water, what lives in the water, and that we are going to let him drown. Yesterday though, after almost a full hour, he was able to float on his belly! He hung around for the majority of our lessons yesterday and by the end of the day, could almost swim on his front. Today we will work on floating on his back... Hopefully, that goes well. There is a boy that is suppose to come to lessons with Takio, but he shows up to whatever lesson he feels like. I hope he comes to his lesson this morning though- he's good at encouraging Takio and to also tell him to stop acting like a baby. The two of them stopped by after lessons yesterday and tried to vacuum our floors. We didn't mind!

There is a four year old who is fearless in the water and it is a little scary! His name is Teyshon and I've never seen a little kid take to water like he does! That lesson period is a little crazy. Ana and I have four or five kids in the water and Teyshon is repeatedly diving off the rocks onto our backs! Ahh!

Last night, Ana and I went to a going away party for Deanna. She is a teacher here and has helped us a great deal with organizing lessons and getting to know the kids. She is headed back home to Canada to go to Grad School. The power was out for a few hours last night (which isn't anything new here), so her party was in the dark. Eventually, candles were found and placed strategically on steps, which helped a little. The food was reallllly good.

Well, it's time for me to go get ready for lessons!

P.S- I uploaded more pictures to snapfish! Check them out! :)

"My Mummy Says I Smell Like White People"

What better day to start the day then a visit from Takio. We schedules his lessons in the morning this week, but that could end up being problematic. He stuck around for the following lesson and then followed us home. He is an adorable kid, but he likes to wreak havoc! He says the randomness things too. Today he told us that his mother told him he smells like white people when he comes home. I guess I never really thought about it, but maybe we do smell different! A lot of the kids here designate us as 'white girls' or 'white people' if they don't know our names. Now that they are getting more used to us that is changing. Walking down the street or on the beach we can often here kids yelling 'Anaandjess!;' like we are one and the same. Takio asked me why I was fat today, which didn't really boost my self-esteem, but I knew he was just trying to make me cry (he told me so). He also said I was turning black. I guess I am getting pretty tan...

Before I got to Eleuthera, I couldn't imagine why people didn't know how to swim. So many of the kids are petrified of the thought of sharks, jellyfish, or something else getting them in the water. Most of the adults here don't know how to swim either. So many of them jump go cliff jumping and do flips in the water, but then, they bounce off the ocean bottom until they can reach onto something. Foreigners that want a piece of paradise usually purchase homes that are on the coastline and make their driveways private property. The coastline is completely public property though; which doesn't really make much sense. Anyways, Bohemian communities become completely isolated from the coast. It's so frustrating to me... How can people move to a foreign country and fence themselves off from the community that it really belongs to? Being interested in public health, I really wonder what really happens when someone needs to see the doctor. I know there are nurses on call that can open the clinic if there is a dire need, but if someone gets seriously hurt, they have to take a boat or fly to Nassau. I'm going to investigate this... It seems as though people here are relatively healthy though, so I'm not sure if there is a need. There are still a lot of things I need to figure out.

I ate a 'curve'/'curb' today. I'm not sure how you spell it, but it was definitely interesting... They cling to the rocks and look like fossils almost, but the kids love to eat them. A few of our swimmers took them off the rock and gutted them for us... it was pretty chewy and fishy tasting. I guess it tastes like conch?

I uploaded some pictures, but there are plenty more! I will try to upload more when I have a chance.

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=223185146/a=16687309_16687309/t_=16687309

Someone let me know if this link works!

<3

My Little Piece of Heaven

*Sigh* Today was most definitely the most relaxing day I've had here so far. Ever since landing on the island there has been something to do or somewhere to go. Ana and I slept in late and then both did our own thing for a few hours. Ana went to the cliffs we had found last week to do some painting and later explored Long Bight a little more in depth. I decided to make the trek up to Holiday beach. I took my time getting there and took pictures of everything along the way. I was the only person on that beach for miles. It was like having my own little piece of heaven. I sat there for a while, overwhelmed by the fact that I am here. I don't think it will really sink in until I'm already on my way back home. I sat there on the beach in disbelief. I am so fortunate to have this opportunity. I did a little more exploring and hunting for seashells before I sat myself down on the rocks to read. It was hard to tear myself away from the beach. Gorgeous.

When I got back to the house, Ana and I walked around town to try and find the kids we have scheduled for lessons this week, but no one seemed to be outside. A little while later, we went down to Long Bight to see if our 4 o'clock adult lesson was coming... but she didn't show. So, the couple that lives on the hill invited us to go to Surfer's beach with them. They are a nice couple from Georgia that spend a few months at a time down here in Eleuthera. They told us where to get the best homemade breads and which restaurants to go to when we have the chance.

Now, Ana and I are going to try and get a hold of our swimmers to start another exciting week of lessons on the Road to Paradise.

Lovin Island Life

The past 24 hours have been crazy! Ana and I did end up going to Elvina's last night and it was a blast; even though we were exhausted! Walking over, it seemed like everyone in town was having a party. Elvina's is a small little restaurant/bar and there is live music every Tuesday and Friday. Some of the "Queen's Highway Band" were playing last night and were a lot of fun to listen to. I took a video, but I don't think it does them justice.


The lead singer wore sunglasses even though it was dark inside and the drummer chain-smoked and danced the entire time. Elvina's is decorated with old surf boards, buoys, and license plates from all over. It definitely had an eclectic, beach-bum flair to it! I guess anyone can get up and play an instrument if they want to. Ana played the bongo drums and was quite good! I was exhausted and favoring a potentially broken toe, so sadly, I didn't do much moving around. It certainly did a lot of people watching though! There was an Italian couple who were there that are down here on their honeymoon, the owner and chef of the resort down the road. It was all in all, a very interesting evening.


Today, Ana and I wanted to give some lessons due to the nasty weather we'd had this week. The water was really calm today. Unfortunately, our first two lessons didn't come, but the ones we had this afternoon went really well. We talked to a couple that lives up near where we give lessons and they offered to take us out on their boat sometime soon so we can see more of the coastline and go by Lenny Kravitz's beach. He has a home right down the street. Crazy!

Later this afternoon, we went to a birthday party of one of the little girls we had met earlier last week. It was a lot of fun! I met a lot of interesting people and heard their stories on how they ended up in Eleuthera. Everyone seems to end up here by chance, and then never leave the island (I hope I'm not scaring anyone- I will come home, I promise... haha). The kids seemed to have a great time running relay races and breaking open the piñata. I ran a three-legged race! My toe is purple and swollen today...but, not bothering me as much as it was last night.

I found quite a few shells this afternoon walking along the water's edge. After picking one up, it's hard to stop! I've always tried finding shells that are completely intact and flawless. Being here I've realized that even things that are broken can be beautiful. Things here may seem rundown and dirty, but really, it is the imperfections that make them perfect. I hope that makes sense! Trees and flowers seem to make the rules here and I like the unkempt, natural feel to everything.

Fishy Fishy Cross My Wadah

Last night we went out and played basketball with a few of the kids we give lessons to. One of the boys that had invited us, dragged us through a "shortcut" in the bush (which may or may not have been a shortcut at all). Once we got there, we realized he didn't have a basketball. He led us on a wild goosechase around the town in search for one- and was finally successful. In the middle of our game, the visiting missionaries decided to introduce themselves. While we were talking, some of the boys we were playing with decided to go fishing and left us there. It was just as well, since we were both really tired.

This morning was beautiful and sunny, and the water had finally calmed down a bit! Finally! Our first lesson was a lot of fun. After going over everything we had learned this week, we played a few games; Diving for a foil covered rock, Dribble, dribble, splash (like duck, duck, goose), Marco Polo, and Sharks and Minnows. They seemed to have a lot of fun. Towards the end of their lesson though, the skies got dark again and the waves got much more rough. The next lesson had two little boys who aren't too confident in the water, so nature couldn't have had worse timing! Their Father/Uncle stayed with us while we tried to teach them how to float, but the water was just too rough. There were a few times where we ended up getting tossed up against the rocks. As soon as that lesson ended though, the skies cleared and it was beautiful again! I thought that the weather in the Bahamas wouldn't be as unpredictable as New England! Oh well...

I really feel as though I should tell you the lizard that just ran out on the porch is definitely dancing to the reggae music that is blasting from across the street. Hilarious! Now all I can hear is the clucking of chicken, crowing of a rooster, a morning dove (?), and a barking dog. I think I should look around for a partridge in a pear tree and I think we'd be covered!

Ana and I came back and made oatmeal and tried frying up some plantains. They were pretty tasty, but we definitely need to perfect them. After a short lunch, we decided to have the next group of kids stay and draw pictures with us at the house since the water was too rough. We had a semi-chaotic afternoon between lessons and arts and crafts, but overall, I'd say it was pretty successful!

We have a little stalker named Takio. He comes by the house a few times a day asking for cookies, water, and begging to play basketball. He is cute, but he is a little trouble maker! He actually broke our table yesterday while he was trying to spy on us. I spent the first part of his lesson today, digging a piece of glass out of his foot; and then he wouldn't get in the water!

He accompanied us over to the store and we found lettuce and decided to splurge on our 7lb can of refried beans! I wonder if we'll ever get sick of them... We'll see!


Tonight, we are thinking about going over to Elvina's for some live entertainment- that is; unless we fall asleep first!

Sand dollars, Jellies, and Broken Glass

I can hear the waves crashing against the rocks from the front porch. The past few days have been really stormy which has put a small wrench in our plans for teaching lessons. This morning, Ana and I walked over to Holiday beach, only to have our first lesson not come! The walk is pretty long and there isn't too much to look at, but we certainly see our share of lizards, soldier crabs, and black crabs. There are also a lot of abandoned cars in the woods here. I wonder how they got there and why people just leave them. We waited around for a while and then decided it would be best to try to walk back, eat lunch, and try to do lessons at Long Bight Beach. We ended up giving lessons for the next four hours and they went surprisingly well considering the massive waves and the number of kids we had. We only had four or five at a time, but some of them couldn't really swim at all, so that was a little stressful. We went out in a kayak though! I didn't realize how strong the waves really were until I was trying to paddle against them!

Ana and another girl got stung by a jellyfish today. It looked like it really hurt! They were both troopers though. We finished up the lesson and one of the boys found a sand dollar for Ana. It is so beautiful! I hope I can find one before I leave! After our last lesson, we walked back to the house with two of our swimmers. They picked us some goose berries, which weren't like any other berries I've ever eaten. I'm not sure if I can even describe the taste... The boys then refused to leave until we gave them a cookie, and even then wouldn't go. They hung around outside on the porch until there was a bit of a mishap. One of the boys was trying to see through our kitchen window (because we had locked them out) and decided to stand on a glass table. We heard the glass shatter and went outside to make sure they were alright. One of the boys had a few good cuts, so we cleaned up and sent him home. He felt really bad about the table and offered to stay and help us clean it. Hopefully we can find replacement glass for it somewhere. It's so hard to find anything here! Ana and I may have to hitchhike to find some fresh veggies. I'm really missing salad right now. I can't believe it's been almost a full week already since we've been here!

I still feel like I'm in the ocean being rocked by the waves...

Day 2 of Lessons

So, I am just sitting here; chilling on the front porch with the chickens. I love how they run around free here. Sometimes when I'm walking next to the woods it scares me a little because you can hear them rustling in the leaves. One of them just caught a lizard a minute ago and they were all fighting over it.

Well, it has been an interesting day. The past few days have been overcast and rainy, so the water at Long Bight Beach where we teach lessons has been super rough. I've got some pretty good scrapes from being thrown up against the rocks. A girl yesterday afternoon sliced her foot open pretty deeply. Ana and I really had to play lifeguard yesterday with our first aid kit. Today, for lessons, our first group told us that we should go to the Atlantic side to Holiday Beach because the water would be much calmer. They were right. It was about a 25 minute walk to get there though and we made the trek several times. The lessons we had today were pretty successful and the kids seemed to have a really good time. This afternoon, when the water was too rough we had a few of the boys over to draw pictures. They were hilarious. We've learned a lot by talking to the kids. I wish I could type everything here that I've learned, but it would take forever.

Ana and I just finished our delicious dinner of tortillas and refried beans, spinach, onions, and cheese. I'm kinda in love with refried beans at the moment. We almost bought a 7lb can of them this afternoon when we were refilling our waterjug at J & C Discounts across the street, but we figured we would come back another day for them. Right after we ate some really ripe mangos. Mm... Did I mention we found the bakery with pineapple tarts? It's up a really steep hill, so we have to earn them to eat them!

My fear of picking up an accent has started to become true. I seem to pick up accents really easily. Today, one of the boys told me I talked like a Bohemian. I couldn't hear myself saying anything differently, but he was pretty adamant about it.

*Stinging Doctor= Horse Fly

What a Ride!

Hello from the Bahamas! With a little down time today, I realized that I get wireless internet from the porch of our beautiful stone cottage on the 'road to paradise.' I will catch y'all up to speed on my adventures by typing some of my journal entries...

6.13.08

A lot of what I wrote on this day has to do with battling nerves and anxious anticipation, so I will spare you the nitty gritty details such as how long it took me to walk to my departure gates and where I bought an orange juice. After landing in Nassau, things became more interesting.
I met the other instructor, Ana at immigration. It was so nice to finally meet her! We had some time to chat before flying out to Eleuthera on Bahamas Air. I was really nervous about that flight... Maybe it was because we had to actually climb up stairs to get inside; really close to ginormous propellers! Or maybe, it was not knowing what to expect on that flight... It only seated maybe 15 people, and the engine was really loud. I was only three rows back, so I had a clear view of the cockpit. Yikes! The flight was only fifteen minutes long, but that was long enough for me! The view from the air was absolutely gorgeous though. I could see the whole island. Eleuthera is 2 miles wide and 100 miles long.

After landing in North Eleuthera airport, we met Jen and Deanna, who have been very active in organizing the lessons here. From that point, we really hit the ground running! On our way to where we are living, we crossed a bridge that showed both sides of the island. There is the 'Atlantic Side' (East) and the 'Caribbean Side' (West); but, both bodies of water are actually the Atlantic Ocean.

After arriving at our little stone cottage next to the 'road to paradise,' Jen and Deanna gave us a tour of Gregory Town where we are staying. Everyone here is so nice! We met some children who are taking lessons, saw coconut and mango trees, chickens, and a whole lot of lizards. After our tour, Ana and I went swimming and then I finished the other half of my pineapple tart (SO YUMMY!).




6.14.08

Amazing doesn't even begin to describe the day I've had. Ana and I started our day off with a jog and went down dirt paths to explore. Some ended up being dead end paths, but were worth it just to see the flowers. One path we went down was really rocky and long, but totally worth it. We ended up on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I wish I had had my camera with me! I have made a mental note to go back there- many times before I leave. I think I saw a humming bird today... but, I definitely saw a SEA TURTLE!!! After our jog, we went for a swim and saw some really pretty blue and yellow fish under the 'caves.' We also some some clear fish, a yellow and black striped fish, and a couple starfish.

After our jog, we went back to the house to grab some water and lunch, but then were out exploring some more! We stopped in the local stores to say hello to people and talked to several kids about lessons. They all seem really excited! We decided to find Surfer's Beach, which was apparently a lot further away then we had thought... A police officer stopped further up the road went in reverse to see if we were lost or needed a ride. He laughed at us when he realized we were trying to walk to Surfer's Beach. He drove us there and waited while we looked around. He drove us back to town and showed us several other beautiful beaches. He had a ton of very useful information and was super nice! I was initially nervous about getting a ride, but hitchhiking here is very much accepted. Gas is over $6 a gallon here, and not everyone has a car.
The remainder of the day was spent swimming, cooking dinner, planning lessons, and trying to call home. The one payphone in town doesn't work and neither do our cell phones. I hope everyone at home isn't freaking out! Later, Jen introduced us to our neighbors; Ma and Pa. They are the sweetest older couple!

I am pleasantly exhausted.

6.15.08

Another beautiful day in Paradise! We started our morning off with a jog, and ended up going further North then we had yesterday. We found a resort that had a beautiful beach, but it felt man made and artificial. On our way back, we tried finding the pineapple field the police officer told us about, but didn't have much luck. When we got back we went swimming with our clothes on. We were too sweaty to try and change! When we got back, we got ready to go to Church at 11am. We figured it would be a good idea to go since religion is a integral part of the people's lives here. There are several different types of churches here, so the congregations are very small.

To sum up the rest of the day, we called people about lessons, went to a family get together (that Fish invited us to- Everyone here has nicknames...) at the beach and swam for a few hours with some of the kids, jumped off a cliff (yup), and watched the Celtic's game at a someone's house.

*Bellyjuice= coconut water, coconut milk & rum
*Potcake= a mongrel dog that pretends to be fierce

6.16.08

The Celtic's lost! Sad! Everyone here seems to be a Laker's fan, so that didn't make the loss any easier. We finally got our phone working!! For local calls anyway... and I was able to use the internet again at Double D's Internet Cafe in Hatchet Bay. She makes amazing smoothies.

After having a little down time, we walked around town trying to locate some kids for lessons. A woman gave us some mangos. Everyone is always giving us fruit- I love it!

Later on, we went to Rainbow Bay where we saw some breathtaking views. The picture I have up at the top of the blog is from there... Wow. I wish I was better at climbing. I'm pretty scratched up.

6.17.08

First day of lessons. The first few went pretty well. The water was really rough due to the massive thunderstorm we had last night. Everything seemed to be going well until 30 kids showed up after their Vacation Bible School. We stayed out to keep an eye on everyone, but there was no way we could do lessons. I got totally fried. I applied SPF 50 multiple times, but it didn't seem to help much.