We woke Saturday morning to the sounds of a Canadian invasion. A large family group had arrived at Xtabi the night before and now they were on the cliffs. We heard them laughing and carrying on and it was infectious. When we got up to check it out we saw Gerryg out to sea, floating on his raft.
The Canadians were blown away by Xtabi's cliffs and were daring each other to jump. We invited one of the women up to our terrace so she could get a good angle for photographing the Canadian cliff diving team.
The Canadians were like kids at the beach. They revved up the atmosphere. Just as they were getting whipped up Gerryg stopped by our terrace. We kicked it for a while, it was his last day. He said he was leaving his raft there and that we were welcome to use it.
After Gerryg left we watched the Canadian family cliff jump for about a half hour, then ocean envy got a hold of me. I was compelled to get in. Mrs. Peel got in a chaise lounge and read. When I got in the drink the Canadians were talking about snorkeling. I told them that if they just went around the point (that separates Xtabi from 3 Dives) there was great snorkeling.
I spit in my googles and swam out. The swells were big that day, maybe 4 feet. In two days the sea was too rough for swimming, but for right now it was fun. If you get out far enough to avoid the claptotis (technically standing waves - but sometimes the confused seas that happen when good sized waves hit a vertical surface) you can get a nice ride on the sea swells. I tried body surfing but the waves weren't curling enough. There's a water park in my home state that has a big wave generating pool. If you get out to the deep water of the pool, and tread water the waves give you a constant rolling sensation that seems to establish residency in your inner ear. When you get out that rolling sensation sticks with you.
I was hoping for that sensation from the big waves blowing in from the north, but that didn't happen. Maybe the salt water made me too buoyant.
Swimming doesn't bother my bad leg at all, in fact when I got out of the hospital swimming brought me back to life.. I was taking pain killers around the clock. I had a notion swimming might help so I went to our local Y. The first trip I could barely get in the building because my leg was so damaged. I had to walk with a cane. It took three trips to the Y before I could complete a mile non-stop. The day I swam my first mile (post injury) my pain all but vanished. With practice I got to the point where my leg was not a handicap in the water. I'm positive that swimming sped up my recovery and prevented me from getting caught up in pain-killers.
I fooled around in the rollers for about an hour than swam in. Mrs. Peel was probably getting peckish. The woman eats like she has a hollow leg. One the Canadian guys said, " You swim like Aqua-man." It was the perfect compliment for me and I walked away grinning like a gibbering idiot.
Mrs. Peel and I headed to the beach for breakfast at Colletta's. We made a stop for a Jenny cake. Mrs. Peel was going to get back on thehorse that threw her. Admirable!
Colletta's food was great.
I looked around and saw that all the current patrons were route taxi drivers. This became my new bench mark for locally owned restaurants: Cabs indicate good food. This rule was proven the next day.
From Colletta's we entered the beach via Roots Bamboo.
I scanned the walls and ceiling for my daughters sign but I couldn't find it.
From Roots we walked up the beach toward Seasplash.
What beach erosion?
Their construction was still underway so I thought I'd give "Boombastic" a try.
(Pictures of the new bar from two angles)
The bartender laughed when I said it and an older man who appeared to be Seasplash affiliated said to me," Say that again."I accommodated and he said, " I like hearing that."
Boombastic still works, we got couple of Redstripes for an incredibly cheap price. I took some photos of the construction,
