Back to the Beach!
We made a few new observations this trip. The most obvious one was the absence of the PWCs on the beach. What a joy this was for us. (and many others that we talked with) Now, I have nothing against jet skis or the people who ride them, but it always seemed to me that the most aggressive peddlers (and the most abundant) were the guys trying to get you to go jet-sking. One of my biggest peeves was when we are out floating in the sea, enjoying the peace and tranquility, and no matter how many times you say no thanks, every 2 minutes another one would pull up and shout..... "Hey gen eh ral! You whan go for a jet ski"? Why??? If they just asked when you were walking around I wouldn't care, but when they roll right up on you when you're relaxing, ignoring the ropes, and stink up your senses with their smelly, loud PWC's, it becomes VERY annoying. So it was nice that they were held in check this trip at least. I hope they can come up with a plan that works out well for everyone but, if not.....we don't mind if they stay gone for good.
Unfortunately, what seems to have gotten much worse is those guys with the horses on the beach. Mark my words, it is just a matter of time until some poor person (probably a child) is going to get seriously hurt or killed by one of those runaway animals. I stopped counting how many times we witnessed a close call where the horse just missed trampling an unwary beach goer just minding their own business, completely unaware that they were almost very badly hurt. And for what? I've never once seen any of those horses treated well. They look emaciated and extremely unhealthy. They let them crap in the water right next to people who are out swimming without giving it a second thought. The guys trying to get people to ride them all look like common thugs and I've heard that most of the animals were stolen in the first place. It's unfortunate, but I think that the only thing that's going to change this nonsense is someone else getting badly hurt or killed by one. I know there are other places to go if you want to ride a horse so PLEASE don't give these guys your money to ride their stolen horses on the beach. If they aren't making any money out there then, maybe they will go away from the beach for good. (wishful thinking?) We did see a great sign at the front desk at Treehouse when we were looking at the property. It basically said some of the same things, so at least I know some of the hotel owners feel the same way. Thanks Gail!!! Great sign!
We spent the next couple of days doing our usual beach routine. If we don't stay out real late at night, we usually get up pretty early so we're almost always out on the beach by 10:00 or so. We like to start out in the morning by having some rum cream with coffee in it, eat a delicious home cooked breakfast in the villa, and then sunscreen up for a day on the sand. We don't drink every day when we are there but, we find a nice beach bar-hop can be pretty fun once in a while. On those days we start to get pretty thirsty by about noon or so and that's when it becomes time for a walk.
We usually see some pretty interesting things on our beach walks and this trip was no different. We saw two different roofing jobs on the beach. The first was at the tiki bar at Margaritaville. No big deal there but I did like the way they had the ladder set up.
The second was at Beaches. (I think) Now, this one was a head scratcher! We watched these guys for a little while. Instead of the guy doing the painting climbing up and down the ladder to move it, he just stayed at the top and hung on. Then the guy on the bottom would then grab the rope and pull the top of the ladder over about ten feet. (YES, with the guy still at the top!) The two guys at the base of the ladder would then shimmy the bottom of the ladder over until it was straight again and the guy would paint away until he had to be moved again. I wanted to get a video of this interesting technique, but the beach police in the picture shooed us away when they saw me taking pictures. Not exactly an OSHA approved method back home. I dig that Jamaican ingenuity.
The other couple watching were quite amused as well.
There was another comical encounter we experienced with a fun Boardie couple on here. We stopped in at Barry's Bar on the beach for a beer before we did the long walk of AI beach. There was one other couple already sitting there. Then I noticed that the other people looked kinda familiar. By the time I realized that it was Weathermon and Mi Lady, they were already saying hello. Just another nice, fun couple that we have met down there. I was only a little bit embarrassed when I saw that we were both wearing the same swimming suit. Had to get a picture of that right?
Due to the high quality of Julie's photos.....you can't actually tell who it is but I swear it's really us. I hope their picture of us turned out a little better.
Gotta have an afternoon nap sometimes. Love them hammocks!
It's not easy staying in the thing at a 90 degree angle.
Another shot from the beach that I thought was amusing. Nothing to see hear folks!
Shell guy!
