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Published: August 6th 2008
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Greetings from Beautiful Bequia!
You know how the more you get to know someone, the more you admire their good qualities and the easier it is to overlook their flaws. Well, that's how I'm feeling about Bequia.
The day began with more banana pancakes. MMM, so island, mon. It was kind of overcast and looking like rain. I've decided to most often walk instead of catching the bus. (I'm working on a whole other writing on the buses. look for it soon) by walking, I feel more like I'm taking it all in. It only takes about 40 minutes to walk from my house to town, so that must be about 2 and a quarter miles. Just when I get to town it starts to rain. The rains here start out with a gentle sprinkle then turn into a steady rain, but they usually don't last long. Then later on it comes and goes again.
When I said in yesterday's blog that it was boring, I didn't mean it was a boring day for me, I just thought it sounded boring on paper. After spending the morning writing, I wanted to head down to Moonhole. I ask one
of the girls if she thinks its safe to walk down there and she suggests a taxi. I ask Allen the same question and he says he wouldn't have any problem walking to Moonhole. I guess that's the difference in the perspective of a 24 year old girl and a 53 year old man. To get to Moonhole, you have to go through Belmont which is mostly outside homeowners, to Friendship which is half and half, to La Pompe (where I am staying) which is mostly locals, to Paget Farm, which is all locals. Paget Farm is noticeably the most "economically challenged" part of the island. Allen describes it as a fishing village where the men are"tougher", because they have to be. I decide that taking a cab doesn't sound very adventurous so I start the trek.
Halfway between Friendship and Le Pompe, I walk past a grandmotherly woman. She's walking at a pretty good pace for a women of her age, so I slow just a bit and we begin a conversation. She's Annis Ford and she's 76 years young. We walk together till I reach my house. I tell her to continue on while I grab a
couple of things and I will most likely catch up with her.
A quick stop at the house to drop my bag and grab some water and I'm back on the road. I'm surprised at how far Annis has gotten in the short time I stopped. When I catch back up, she is almost to her house. Her son in standing in the driveway talking on the phone. I bid her good'ay and take our picture together, then its onward to Moonhole.
Once you pass through Paget Farm you come to a stone quarry. This is where all the stone that's used in facing houses and retaining walls is collected. (it looks like nearly everything here is built with cinder block construction, then stucko-ed or painted.) Past the quarry is Adams bay. Its a proposed super luxury villa development. So far they have moved some dirt around and posted stakes marking the sight of each numbered lot, but I wonder how its going to work. I don't see the "super rich" wanting to drive through Paget Farm and the stone quarry to get to their multi-million dollar villas-maybe they plan on arriving by sea.
I finally reach
Moonhole. Its a collection of quirky homes built into the side of the mountain. Most were built in the 70's by the late architech, Tom Johnson. Some have no doors or glass in the windows-just open air. To enter the area you must have the permission of a 'Moonholer', so I just walk along the sand and steps bordering the sea. Just when I get there it starts to pour, so I take shelter under a seagrape tree. As suddenly as it had started raining, it stops. A few pictures and I'm on my way back home. When I reach the southern edge of Paget Farm, the rain has just about come to an end and all the neighborhood is out in the streets enjoying the cooler air. A lightning strike hits the ground in the yard next to me. I nearly jump out of my shorts and yell "CRAP!" A couple of neighborhood boys come riding down the hill on their bikes and ask "did you see that lightning? Did it scare you?" Yeh, I saw it, scared me to death" We share a big laugh and I continue on. The boys ride up a block later and try
to make a sound like thunder from behind to scare me. They cackle as they ride on. I make it home without incident. Like I said, everyone here is very friendly.
All the way back into town, I swim some "laps" between the docks and wait around for sunset. I have to wait till 7:30 to get a bus home. They are waiting till the last ferry arrives to make one last run across the island.
I love getting emails, messages, and comments on the blog. I just hope you enjoy reading it as I do writing it. For those of you who have added comments-Thank you a lot, but if you would like me to respond, it is much easier to email back to you if you will click "private message". That goes to my email account and I will send you a personal response.
Thanks to all for keeping in touch,
Yah,mon
David
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Tacey
non-member comment
Hi David!
I hope your having a great time, despite loosing the camera the first day. The pictures look amazing! -Tacey