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Published: August 3rd 2008
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5:30AM Up and at 'em to catch the 6:30 ferry to St V. Once I negociate the "driveway of death" I'm greeted by one of the dollar buses, so I reach Port Elizabeth with plenty of time to spare. I find a chair at the Gingerbread and check some mail. Reading everyone's mail is one of the highlites of my mornings. So...Everyone write long and often.
6:30am. The ferry ride to St V is wonderful. All the way I keep thinking of and seeing things I would like to take pictures of. When we reach Kingstown, everything is a bustle. Saturday morning and everyone is in town for the market. I find a camera from a very nice lady named Verna. Everything here costs about twice as much as back home, which is strange because in other parts of the Caribbean they talk about how cheap things are. Verna lets me plug the battery charger in at the store so I can get all ready to take some more pics. I spent about 4 hours walking around town and of the thousands of people is pass by, I am the only white person I see. I felt like I was
sticking out a bit. Sometimes its hard to blend in.
There's an older gentleman in a truck selling something interesting. He picks up a cantalope sized orange thing and starts hacking at it with a machette. When a hole apears in the center he hands it to his customer and they drink it down. This looks adventurous so I step up to get one for myself. While he's hacking mine open I ask "what is it"? $1.50 ($.60us) he replies. "no, I mean what IS it"? "Coconut" says he. What comes out barely has any taste at all. Kind of a sweet water. I follow the lead of the others and chug down the contents and chuck the "empty" in the back of the truck.
Once my battery is charged I take a few pics around St.V and head for the ferry. This time I board like a seasoned veteran. On the crossing, the dull thumping of the deisel engines, the warm noon sun, and the rocking motion of the ship create a hypnotic trance that calls for sleep. The couple next to me find spots to stretch out and rest their heads on their bags.
As
we near Bequia its great to get a look at her from the sea in the daylight for the first time. A smile comes to my face as I confidently disembark and I get a warm feeling of coming home. I strut down the street ready to take some more photos. Having a camera again makes me feel re-connected with everyone back home. When you travel solo, the only way to share your experiences is to record them on pictures. Each time I take a photo I feel at that instant that I'm sharing it with someone else-even if its days or weeks before anyone actually sees it. I hope that makes some sense to you all.
There's a bit of a local sailing boat challenge going on in the harbor today and Port Elizabeth is filled with the thumping of raggae music being broadcast through huge speakers. There's a real "party-in-the-park" vibe going down. I enter the blog and respond to some e-mails (keep those messages coming, please). Late in the afternoon I return to my house and head for Friendship Bay for a swim. The surf is coming in with 2-3 foot swells and Its fun in
the water. I walk all the way down the beach and discover a nice beachside bar/restaurant named Meskito. On the way back a young couple asks me to take their picture. I gather from their accent that they are from London. "are you on holiday or perhaps a honeymoon?" I ask. She responds "holiday. A bit young for honeymoon". Then she looks at him with that we're sooo in love smile and rest her head on his shoulder. I bid them good 'ay before I get sucked into the romance movie they're living out.
As I'm taking the long way home up a new road I've yet to explore, I'm passed by the taxi that first took me to my island home. "Chris!" I shout. He stops and wipes his hands before giving me one of those fist punch greatings. "Sorry, I'm just eating some pulled pork I got down in town. Want some?" I hate to take his last bight, so I politely decline. I walk the rest of the way home with a big smile on my face passing out "Yah, mon. & good evening" to everyone I meet. When I reach the top of the driveway
I hike the rest of the way up the mountain to get a view of the other side. It feels like the scene in "Six days, Seven nights" when Harrison Ford and Ann Hache(?) climb to the highest point on the island to find the radio becon. It seems I've lived out a half a dozen movie scenes today.
Back at the house I take a cold shower and position the fan in front of the couch. I sit down for a delicious dinner of cheese and crackers with vienna sausage (quite good, since I haven't eaten much all day) And oh yeh, a fresh pack of those coconu cream cookies.
Yah, Mon,
David
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Neil
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Menu Ideas
After reading your last Blog, I have changed my mind on you bring back menu ideas. I hope you took notes on how to open a fresh coconut for the locals. Because when you get back, I would like you to teach the staff. Can you see annie using a machette(?) in the dinning room? (Still waiting for cookies. LOL). Hope you are enjoying your trip. Blog again soon. Neil