10 Years, 12 Nights, 6 Hotels, ONE LOVE - April 2012 Trip Report

[Hubby-man]

Trip report Continued from previous page….

Since morning the heat had risen to an almost unbearable level. Away from the shadow of the shrubbery the sun was beating brutally onto the pavement. The few hundred feet of road between the Catcha gate and the yellow fence of Banana Shout were distorted in the slow convection of the air. Dust clouds, that had been swept up by passing cars, hung in the air without a breeze to move them.

In the midday sun the yellow fence shone brightly. A banana-shaped door handle indicated an opening near the middle. The words “Banana Shout” were painted inside an oval logo, looking just like a stickers on the fruit in your local supermarket. There was no sign of a knocker or doorbell anywhere.



“Do they literally want us to shout Banana?” I suggested.

Daisy wiped the sweat off her forehead, not amused by my brilliant joke.

“Just knock already!”

I did. We waited. I knocked again. Nothing.

Daisy knocked again. Then she screamed loudly: “Hello, anyone there?”

Some dogs down the road responded, but only silence came from the other side of the fence.

“Are they expecting us?” I asked.

“Of course, do you really think I would get the day wrong!?”

“No, of course not! I‘m gonna try it,…… BANANAaaaaaa!”

“Do you hear anything?” Daisy asked.

I pressed my ear against the fence, and then tried to peer through the gaps in the boards.



“I don’t see anyone,…… BANANAaaaa!!!!!”

The yelling had caught the attention of the neighbors now. From the bar further up the Road a Jamaican approached on a scooter.

“Ya Mon, you need a ride, Mon?”

“No thank you, we just want to get into Banana Shout.” Daisy replied. “I need to drop my luggage off and get a shower.”

“Yah mon, no problem, Marianne is tending the goats, let me get her.” With that the helpful man left his scooter, ran into a field directly across the street and disappearing in the tall grass.

“Herding goats?” I asked, “This is too cool.”

We waited a few more minutes, then heard voices approaching. From the cover of the grass an apparition from the sixties appeared. A tall slender figure emerged from the dried out golden meadow with long flowy dark hair loosely tied into a pony tail..

With a big smile, that exposed a row of glowing white teeth, she approached and immediately took Daisy’s hands into hers and emphatically apologized for the delay: “I can’t believe the groundskeeper didn’t hear you.” Then she kissed both of us on the check and beamed: “Let me give you a tour! This is so exciting to have you here!” I seriously had the impression I was in 1968 during the summer of love and had just arrived in a sunny Oregon commune. Everything in view seemed to confirm that reality.

Beyond the yellow fence the impression only became stronger. In the center of a small driveway a naïve rendition of the sun and moon were carved into the trunk of a tree and painted brightly. Everything seemed to have at least a splash of color playfully applied. To the left a small hut housed an office.

[Hubby-man]

Marianne led us down a little path between plants and more brightly colored structures.



“This is the main house”, she said pointing, “if you read the book Bananshout, this is the structure that was first built here.”

“I have read it. “ Daisy said excitedly.

We are inside a book now! These are the real buildings and people!

“And here is the communal kitchen.” Marianne explained further.

[Hubby-man]

Down from the main house, past a tiny grove of large trees, a flat area extended to the cliff. This was the part of the property visible from Catcha and Rick’s Café. In the center was a little thatched hut. Needless to say it was adorned with all the basic colors of a decent palette, a splash here another one there. If a color had been forgotten on the outside a spot inside was found to accommodate it.



Art work was strewn about everywhere, mostly Rasta carvings. A wooden Giraffe looked longingly out to the Ocean. A monkey seated on the giraffe’s back held a banana in his hands, like provision for the journey ahead. The two looked ready for the departure. While carved with little detail, the image was so powerful it will probably stay with me forever.

Pointing to the left Marianne finally pointed out the place that would be our home for the next few days. The structure was incredibly large. Walking up the stairs to the porch Marianne apologized, that certain repairs had not yet been made, since the last hurricane had made them necessary, but I could not find what she was referring to.

The house had a single large room and a bathroom. I was again reminded - in the most positive way - of my experiences with communal living. Beside the bed a large wooden dining table dominated the room. Everything seemed to have been picked and thrown together by different people. Rather than the result of a cohesive interior design, chance and cooperation had made this room. I was delighted and so was Daisy.





In the bathroom Marianne broke the bad news. “The water pressure in the shower is low right now, but….”, and here it got good again,” there is a fresh water shower cut in to the cliffs! Let’s go see it!”

[Hubby-man]

We put down our luggage and followed her back outside. The stairs cut in to the cliff right outside our veranda were insurance-disaster slippery, so watch out!



As we descended through little caves and rocky arches, the ocean groaned and bellowed forcefully against the rock. A few feet above the foaming waves the path reached its lowest point. A natural pool right up against the edge was bubbling like a Jacuzzi powered by the tides. Behind it set further back a little platform had been poured from concrete. Above a shower nozzle was ready for your cleaning needs draining into the ocean. So bring some bio-degradable soap. It is way more amazing to shower here than in a “proper” bathroom.





This ended out tour. We were then officially introduced to “Plug” the groundskeeper. “He can fix anything or provide anything you might need.”

Plug nodded.

“This should be fun!” Daisy exclaimed.

“Definitely!” I replied.



To be continued….

[kaycee]

lol@you shouting "banana" lovely pics by the way!

[Angel]

Loving this Markus, welcome back. You and Daisy have such adventures.

[Sam I Am]

For some reason, whenever I read you trip reports I get the warm fuzzies
I don't get them often, so thank you.

[gerryg123]

Awesome photo of crab .... Great report!

[billndonna]

What an excellent report and pictures,thank you for sharing!!!

[Seveen]

okay i went beyond crying - i SOBBED - lol