Spent bird hunting time this trip, had a newbie Botanist Biologist with us. Doctor birds were in an area where I had noticed them before, just had to take the time to talk with a motorcycle cabbie (quizziacle look – why would you be looking for what I see everyday?) and get tips on the trees they would be in (look for the orange flowers). Now if it swims like a duck and walks like a duck it can whistle like a duck? That’s right there are whistling ducks out at Royal Palm, l.o.l..
Spent a few hours with a chef we have known for years. Stopped to pick up the beach walking crew at Fisherman’s Cove one day and ran into Garth of Kuyaba, Tamboo, Mom’s, Sun Beach fame. He made Coleen coco bread for our Church’s communion a few years ago and has always fascinated me with his take on different dishes. 3 Stars set back away from the beach is his current haunt, him and a cat named Collin. We ordered lobster at 8 in the morning, combination of thermadour and grilled and pulled into a feast at 7 that night. My bus was the sound system, my cooler the bar for us and chefs. Rice and Peas, Salad/Slaw, Steamed veggies, Coco Bread served family style,,,, big bowls of a dark garlic clarified butter,,,, what a delightful night to celebrate a time of full moon. Note to self for future times Garth will throw in complimentary pumpkin soup and do a spice or chocolate cake for 1200.
Cosmo’s with conch bits is always a peaceful shade ridden place to waste away time waiting for beach walkers whether they make it or not. When I ordered a que of rum one day the owner came by and complimented us on recognizing value.
If you want to ruin the time of your life just turn on the naïve button for a few moments and time can turn evil. You see in my opinion larceny is evil but larceny must mate with opportunity to take place and we are the ones that bring opportunity to the ritual. A young couple drop their bags off in our very secure property and head to the street and deliver themselves right into the hands of opportunity, “do you know where we can get,,,,”, out comes the cell and along comes a white plate vehicle carrying larceny, “get in we will go get,,,,,,”, a trip away from town and being relieved of the money they had on them taught them a hard lesson. A red plate on his way home took mercy and delivered them back to the security of our property. I despise the larceny but I shake my head in amazement at the present of opportunity.
It seems that this is the time of the year for crop rotation, on visits to a couple of farms and drives in the hills I noticed that many of the tubers were gone and being replanted, pears were hard to come by but many fruits were in supply. The yam poles for the next crop were being cut and were stacked along country roads high in the hills but most fields were poleless. Cane burning was a daily occurrence in the savanna.
Dennis at Whoopies has quite a crop of new goats, A word of advice, don’t go up rubbing and petting on baby goats, your scent overcomes the mothers scent and she will not let the baby suck. He was very proud of the number of nannies that had triplets this year.
Had time for one glorious meal at Ivan’s, my sweet Jesus. Did not have time for Pee Wee’s annual b-day bash or the 20th anniversary Bob Marley Birthday Bash even though we drove by/through both (I say through because in addition to the location a good bash takes up a block of street on both sides of the event). Somehow a 20th Anniversary sign has joined my “04” sign on the wall above my computer desk. Did do Devon House Ice Cream a couple nights and stocked up on Juice Patti’s for the frig a couple times (like pizza I find cold patties as flavorful as fresh – I also dropped a beef in the toaster one morning for breakfast and it was delicious). Missed STL Sally’s fiesta, even though she and a group of friends were our servers for dinner the night before at Montana’s (now we will have to add Montana’s to our list of great dining experiences that we never have time to eat at each trip – great food – great prices – one couple from our resort went over and pre ordered in the morning and had what they said was one of the best eschovetched (sic) fish dinners they had ever had anyplace in the world and they have seen a lot of this planet).
Why don’t we have time for rum cream and coffee every morning here in the states? And shouldn’t we take the time to enjoy a sunset at home occasionally? And as good as the spicy bun and rum cream and coffee and guava jelly is on my patio I have to admit a Complete Breakfast (fresh fruit, fresh juice, steamed coffee, steamed cream, brown sugar, toast, eggs, bacon for $10.00) at Mariposa is a great investment of capital but even more so morning beach walker observing time.
Superbowl party on the patio was great, but I would have to guess the timing of the rain storm was less than pleasant for some properties. The beach walkers said they had projection screens and rows of chairs and buffets set up outside at some properties. We took a 20 foot cable down and moved our room TV out onto the patio. Bruchetti (made with fresh bagettes from Charlea, apparently the baker there bakes extra and sells them if you get there early enough in the morning), gaucomloi, barrel chicken toastadas which some how morphed into stove top tortilla pizzas (imagine getting creative with the plethora of fresh ingredients and spices). The game started, the drinks flowed, the food was enjoyed and then the rain began, blowing in from the sea this was one of those blow leafs out of trees soakers, our group kept moving in under the roof out of the wind blown rain until were huddled around the TV like a group huddled to a bon fire on a chilly night, we were in bed 20 minutes after game, what an enjoyable evening.
I can tell you that Tony’s Hut has one of the best sound systems for 10 people on the beach. Tony had his speakers re-built and I brought him a peavey escort 2000 with equalizer to replace the one that blew up in October, Grace now has a mic to play with. The inaugural tune up turned into quite a party. I slipped over for some time alone with the system the next day and Lord Sweet Jesus that thing will hum. Some of the guest at our property smilingly and factiously offered me thanks for providing a new beat to the beach.
It was a time of new friends and re-newing old relationships. New a couple from New York, a couple from Montreal both true treats. Old Fidel, Dennis, Niah, Pat at Pat’s beauty hut, Desmond, Garth, Emma, the chef at Bourbon Beach, Dwight our long time friend and gardener at the resort, Vivian and staff, Tony and Grace, Brian and Carl in the hills, the list goes on and on,,,,,, time to rest and nap reflect on memories.
