Beach Day

The weather today couldn’t be any better. It’s clear, calm, the sky is scattered with a few puffy white clouds. The sea is flat calm and a clear as a swimming pool. Awesome!

I went for a morning swim along the buoy line out in front of White Sands and down to Sandy Haven. I hugged the buoys and rope all the way out and back. It’s been a while since I swam but after a few minutes the muscle memory kicked in and I was gliding through the water, flying over the sea bed. I saw a beautiful little black and white eel snaking along over the ripples in the sandy bottom.

It is so nice not to have jet skis out on the bay. Prior to the ban, the jet skis would roar along just outside the buoy line, churning and polluting water. While swimming, I would hear their almost-constant buzz, even through the earplugs that I wear. Also, there seems to be markedly fewer guys on the beach hustling jet ski rides. I never realized how many of those guys there actually were. The beach seems much calmer now. However, I do feel for those who have lost their livelihood. I know they must really be hurting now.

Halfway through my swim it suddenly struck me that I was in the very waters where a man had died two day previous. It was a sobering thought and a stark reminder of just how tenuous our hold on this life is. This morning there was an arrangement of bougainvillea branches in the form of a cross in the sand at the location where the man was brought ashore.
Last night was the repeat-guest-buffet at White Sands. They cut up a couple of big sheet-cakes for desert. Last year after the buffet, my buddy Shrek devoured eight pieces of the cake. Understand that he was sub-powered at the time. So we were laying bets as to how many pieces he would pack away this year. Since he wasn’t ‘sub-powered’ last night, I figured he would only eat four pieces. He stated adamantly that he was only going to have one. We got Peaches, one of the White Sands chambermaids who was doing double duty serving at the buffet table, to keep bringing Shrek cake, As soon as he finished a piece, she would replace it. In the end Shrek ate six pieces.

Speaking of ‘Shrek’ and beach names, we have settled on a name for our newbie. His real name is Bob. His new beach name, well earned, is ‘Sideshow’. And we’ve settled on a name for one of the girls in our crew. She didn’t like the one we’d given her, ‘WeedEye’, so we came up with another that she seems to be happy with, ‘21’. In Cashpot the number 21 is associated with ‘Bad Girl’. So 21 it shall be.

Last night we went to Bourbon Beach. There was a good crowd there. They had a bonfire going, the stars were out and the moon was backlighting a thin band of high cirrus clouds. The house band was pretty good too. All-in-all it was a nice vibe. I walked around to be back of the bar and was a little surprised to see boardie-PGW there. Just a little surprised, mind you. PGW is in town accompanying a buddy who is getting some dental work done.

We left after midnight. Walking by the Waves field we heard donkeys braying. The Negril Donkey Races are on today. It seems the donkeys were getting excited about the event.

I have sketchy Wi-Fi where I’m staying. I have to leave my room and hunt the signal, so I only go on-line to post my blog and quickly read your comments. It’s a pain and I don’t have time to respond to all of your comments and question, but rest assured that I read them with interest and appreciate your feedback.

Likkle more . . . .