Hike of Barbados - Barclays Park - December 25th, 2012

This is a picture of me and my daughter, Alisha, at the beginning of the hike.  Notice that we are smiling and all relaxed looking.  This picture was taken at Barclays Park which is on the eastern coastline of Barbados.  At Barclays Park, you have the Atlantic ocean on one side and mountains on the other.  So, when the Hike of Barbados group publishes that the hike will take place at Barclays Park, you can pretty much bet on the fact that there will be some mountains to climb - otherwise, it would be a swim meet.  :)


OK, folks - this was Christmas Day!  My children had just arrived on Christmas Eve, on the evening flight.  As a mother, I was so excited to have my children with me.  The last thing on my mind on Christmas Day would be a hike - especially one on the northern east coast!  But, Alisha had heard me talking so many times about my past hikes that she wanted badly to do one herself - and since she was only going to stay with us for one week, it had to be the one on Christmas Day (sigh).  I really wanted to do it because of her - I wanted her to experience things that I have experienced here on this beautiful island.

So, after we had gone to the early Christmas Day church service and opened our Christmas presents and I had gotten the turkey stuffed and in the oven....we hurriedly packed our backpacks and put on our hiking gear and headed off for the eastern side of the island.  Now, although Barbados is a small island of about 166,000 square miles, it still takes a good while to drive from one side to the other.  The hike was to start promptly at 3pm - so, we left the condo around 2pm to ensure that we didn't miss the hike (I have done that before, by the way - missing a hike, they are very prompt with their start times on these hikes - which I find amusing in that in a lot of other areas of living on the island they are notoriously late).

Picture looking on one side:

And the other:

Yes, I am apprehensive looking at this mountain we are in no doubt about to climb - but, I wanted Alisha to see that her mother was in shape and I wanted her to be proud of me - so, I wasn't about to let her see my fears.  So, George - the leader of most of these hikes starts us out along this journey.  I have a great video of his first talk about this area of the island - but, I tried to download it into the blog yesterday and it just wouldn't download.  Maybe I can post it on You Tube later.  George is a great narrator.  He loves his country and it shows with his talks.  He is very proud of the Barbados heritage and all that went into his country becoming free.  I really admire George a lot and enjoy listening to his talks.  Here is a picture of the first incline that we started up.  Notice the guy leaning over trying to catch his breath?

So, already not 30 minutes into the hike - I am like this guy here - having to stop and catch my breath.  But, there is Alisha ahead of me - young and energetic - I just kept climbing - I could do this.  One really nice thing about having Alisha along for the hike, is that she would constantly turn around and make sure I was ok.  She would help me up many times along this hike.  She was such a pleasure to be with.  If you can't tell - I really love my daughter.  So, here is an example of how much nicer it is to have a partner on these hikes:

You know, someone that will lend that hand to help you on up.  Do you see in this picture how far we had already climbed in just 30 minutes?  It was a brutal hike, I'm telling you.  Ok, so we come to a landing and everyone gets to catch their breath and get a swig of water and if you have any energy left - take some pictures.  What I have found is that I really would like more time in these little breath catcher sessions, but George is relentless and all too often says "On With The Hike" way too soon.

Some pictures taken at the first stopping point:

Yeah, I know - my face was flushed but I was really trying to appear like I had my act together and not that I was about to collapse.  :)  Of course, Alisha was loving it.  She said, "Oh Mom, thank you so much - this is just what I wanted to do.  This is awesome."  ;0

I had really hoped at this point in the hike, that most all of the climbing would be over.  I mean, look at the pictures - we are already pretty high above the sea level.  And after all, it was Christmas Day and George had told us that he would cut the hike shorter today because they were wanting to have a lime afterwards.  Now for any of you reading this - that have never heard of "liming" - well, it is the Bajan way of saying having a party - food, fun, dancing, music, and drinks.

Oh, horror of horrors, we started up another incline!  This incline was so bad, that it really was more of a mountain climb than a hike.  I was having to pull myself up and pick places to position my feet kind of routine.  And there were tall blades of grass that we went through - I kept offering my shirt to Alisha but she said she would not put it on if I took it off - I believed her but felt bad that her arms were getting torn up with the branches, limbs, thorns that were rubbing against her.  At this point, I was thinking - "Lord, please just let me get to the top of this, please protect us and keep Alisha from getting hurt."  Alisha turned back around to me after this portion of the climb - with the most exhilerating expression on her face - she did not get this from me!  LOL

I was really hoping that because everyone was slowing down ahead of us, that it wouldn't be really bad - but, I was so wrong.  When we finally reached the top of the latest climb, there was no plateau - the other side looked a lot worse than the one we had just climbed  up!  It looked really bad.  I mean, there wasn't even much grass to hold on to, just a lot of slate looking stuff and small, loose rocks, AND a ledge not too far away that had a very significant drop under it.  I was petrified!  Alisha went ahead of me and she made it fine, but I was not too sure of how I would make out.  There was no way, that I could stand up and try to get down, there wasn't much of anything to hold on to.... I got down on my bottom and slid down the rocky area and just hoped and prayed that I would stop and not go over the ledge!  Now would be a good place to stop and tell anyone who is reading this - that there are some really good people that live in Barbados!  There were many times when a helping hand was extended to me along this journey.  And it was never more appreciated to be received than by me!  Several gentlemen positioned themselves along this treacherous landscape to help out.

Well, after this - it was all downhill from there.  George got a little lost at this point and we finally just followed the river bed to get back down to the bottom and the road.  This was also quite interesting - walking through the stream, jumping over logs and rocks, bending way down to get under tree limbs, just hoping that I didn't encounter one of those centipedes I keep hearing the Bajans talk about.  Trying to watch the person in front of you as well - so that when they let go of a limb, you wouldn't get hit in the face with it.  But, we made it.

One of the things that I look forward to at the end of these hikes is the fresh juice!  There is a  guy who brings homemade juices from the fruits of the island!  Oh my, they are to die for!  Alisha couldn't believe how great they tasted - we tried five fingers, golden apple, and black cherry - outstanding!

Also, we stayed around for the lime.  The group gave George a cell phone for a Christmas present and I tasted probably the best lemon-aid I have ever had.  Lorna, if you ever read this blog - I would really love that recipe!

I hope to post many more blog entries on the other hikes, and please don't get me wrong with this first post - I love these hikes - not all of them are mountainous regions and there is so much to see and stories to hear from George that makes it all worthwhile.

Prickle

Pudding and Souse is one of the Barbados dishes that is usually sold around the island on Saturdays.  Why on Saturdays - I have no idea - but, that is their way.  As one of their songs goes, "This is what we do."  It took almost two years of me living here on this island before I had an opportunity to eat this dish.  Gary and I had lived at Maxwell Beach Villas all this time and little did we know that some of the best pudding and souse offered on the whole island was right across the street from us!  It is sold most every Saturday at the Golden Sands Hotel - but, you need to go early to purchase yours - because they do run out.

Ok, so you ask - what is this pudding and souse?  Well, the pudding is made from sweet potatoes and the souse is from the pig.  Now, at Golden Sands Hotel - you can request that your souse be lean meat - which is what I always do - that way, I'm assured of not getting what might be gotten otherwise.  What do I mean?  Well, souse is usually made from the pig's head and trotters!  Yikes!  To be quite honest, I'm not a big fan of the pudding made on the island - even though I like sweet potatoes - they put some type of spice in there that is not appealing to my palate.

But, the real reason I am making this post is that everytime I have ordered pudding and souse, they also serve this yummy cucumber relish.  I have wanted to know how this was made since the first time I tasted it.  I love it!  Well, I finally got a Bajan cookbook and the recipe was in there for this cucumber relish.  I bought all the ingredients and yesterday asked Betty to show me how to make it.  This is the result - it was a quite successful cooking expedition - and a dish that will definitely stay on my list of favorites.  Betty said they call this dish Prickle!

So, there you have it - another Bajan term - Prickle!

PS - if you are not a fan of cucumber, onion or parsley - then you probably wouldn't like Prickle.

Sometimes paradise isn't

This is one of those days that I really don't like being an ocean away from my children.  James and Ali are celebrating their engagement tonight in Austin with friends and family - and I'm not going to be there.  Just typing these words makes me want to cry.  So, if any of you reading this - think I have it made - that I live in paradise, etc. etc. - no, there are lots of drawbacks - the grass is not always greener on the other side.  Sigh.

On a lighter note, Sandy and Peter Raymer came over for dinner last night - and Sandy brought the dinner!  She taught me how to make sushi - and I can not wait to try this out for myself.  It was very good.  She was able to buy sushi grade king fish at the local fish market.  I definitely need to take advantage of this situation while we live here.

I'm looking out the window right now and I see a low flat fishing boat with at least 20 young bajans on it - they are going for one of those fish netting expeditions.  It makes me wonder sometimes how that boat can hold all those guys PLUS all the fish that they catch!

Sharon Dalinda and I came to the conclusion the other night - that because we live here on this island in the Caribbean - where there is never an end to summer - that that is the reason, that we have lost all sense of time!  It is like we are in the twilight zone or something.  There is no fall, winter, spring - just summer - continuously - all the time - day in and day out - are you beginning to see the monotony of it all?

Another turtle story - but, probably the best

If you have read any of my previous blogs, then you will know that I have been picking up turtle hatchlings in the mornings - as we walk along the beach and boardwalk - and then I help them find their way to the ocean.  They go in the wrong direction a lot of times because of the lights from the hotels and when the sun comes up - they will die if they are not rescued.  Several people had told me that I needed to quit releasing the hatchlings in the morning and keep them until dusk to release them.  This way, they have a better chance at survival as it is getting dark and less predators would be able to spot them.  So, on Monday - Gary sees a hatchling in the grass near our condo.  So, I pick it up and bring it into the apartment - and realize that I don't know what to do with it all day!

I sent an email to the Barbados Turtle Project with the question on how to best keep them.  They did not respond back before the end of day on Monday.  I put the hatchling into a cardboard box and placed him in our hall bathroom which has no light filtering in from the windows/outside.  He squirmed a lot during the day and I was worried that he would be too exhausted by the time dusk would come around.  But, he made it all day and Gary and I went down to the see and released him.  The waves were strong and we released him in an area where he had to navigate around rocks - so, we were worried that even then we were not doing the right thing!  This simple activity that Gary and I did together was so much fun - for both of us.  It reminded me that there are so many things in life that people can do and enjoy without having to spend money.

I did hear back from the Turtle Project group on Tuesday, which was a good thing because I had picked up another hatchling that morning.  This hatchling looked exhausted to begin with, so I was very fearful for his living through the day.  But, the email told me to put him in a bucket/box with some sand at the bottom and then to cover it with a warm towel - that this seemed to calm them down so that they would sleep.  Turtles sleep!  The email also said that someone from the turtle project would come and pick him up that afternoon to release him.  I really didn't understand why they were asking me to do this - why couldn't I just release him myself?  Then, I got to worrying that the little thing wouldn't make it - and there would be this dead turtle when they came by later to pick him up.  But, anyway - I was supposed to have sand in the bottom of the box.  I went to the shore - and dug up enough sand to cover the bottom of the box and on my way back - I discovered another very healthy hatchling!  Whew!  Now at least when they came to pick up the hatchlings at least one would be alive. The warm, damp towel - did the trick - I no longer heard them scratching against the side of the box.  Gary asked me when he got home wasn't I going to release these two and I said No, that they were coming by to pick them up at some point.  This is when I got to thinking that maybe hatchlings could stay a number of days in the box before being released?  One of many questions that I didn't know the answer to.

For some unknown reason, I was not sleepy Tuesday night.  So, I stayed up and worked around the home.  My cell phone rang at 10:30 pm - just as I was putting the last dish in the drain.  It was the turtle project team and they were on their way to pick up my two hatchlings.

I met the group at the front gate - and let them in to park inside the condo's parking lot.  The group consisted of two young ladies that I would guess were in their early twenties.  One of their names was Carla.  She was going to take the box from me and then go and release the turtles and I asked her if I could tag along - and she said yes.  So, we walk through the inside of the condos around the swimming pools towards the back gates.  I was surprised to see that both hatchlings were all of a sudden very active.  That was a relief to me to know that the one didn't die.  One of my questions had been answered - they do seem lethargic at times, but you should still rescue them.  Just as we were approaching the gate to go to the beach, we notice there are ALL these hatchlings around this sidewalk night light!  We start picking them up and putting them in the box.  Then, once we opened the gate - they were all over the place - in the sand - headed toward's Carla's flashlight.  We were picking them up and trying not to step on any of them at the same time.  They were all headed in the wrong direction.  They were going towards the lights at the condos instead of the ocean.  There were a lot of clouds last night - and so the moon was not shining brightly.

Carla started walking in the direction that the turtles seemed to be coming from.  She even saw a crab take one of the hatchlings into it's crab hole - and guess what she did?  She stuck her hand in the crab hole and worked her fingers in there until she had grabbed the hatchling and pulled him out.  She grinned and said, "This is the lucky one."  I'd say so!  It would have taken a lot of money and nerve for me to have done that.  Anyway, she was very experienced and it seemed just minutes before she said - "Ah, here is the nest."

The moment I had been waiting for - to actually see the hatchlings coming out of the nest.  I looked over and there were about three of them with their heads and front fins sticking out of the sand.  So cute!  She sat down by the nest and started working the sand away from the hatchlings.  She explained to me that a lot of times the roots from nearby trees and plants grow in the nest - and the hatchlings get caught in the roots and can not make it out of the nest.  She was helping them.  She pulled probably 6 or so live hatchlings out this way.

Then, she kept digging with her hand - very carefully - not in a hurry.  I watched in silence, didn't want them to be bothered by my presence.  I was seeing the experts at work!  Who cared what time of the night it was - I had always wanted to see this and experience it and it was happening!  I was so glad that I had asked to tag along.  Very perturbed that I hadn't brought my good camera along, though!  No way to record this momentous event.  I did have my iphone V3 and was able to take a few still shots that I am including with this story.  Another tidbit that I have learned is that it is not good to take pictures of the turtles with the flash on.  She dug down for about a foot and a half and then, she started pulling out the empty egg shells.  Her partner had come over and was now seated on the ground opposite her - and she would hand over these empty shells to the partner - who I found out later - was taking them and counting them.  They explained to me that they needed to know approximately how many eggs were in this particular nest.

Carla let out a girly "oooooeeee" and brought out her hand where one of her fingers had jabbed into an undeveloped egg - ooooooeeee.  She brought this egg out as well as 5 more like that - she set these aside in a different location.  At the end, when she could not find any more egg shells, then she took each of these 6 eggs that hadn't hatched and opened them and poured out their contents into the nest looking for any embryos.  5 of the eggs had no embryo and one looked different with some globs of matter - they classified it as unknown.  She then took all the empty egg shells and placed them back inside the nest and then she put all the dirt back into the nest and then she put some leaves on top.  It was as though nothing had ever happened at that location.

So, all in all - there were 175 empty egg shells, 1 unknown egg and 5 unhatched eggs in that one nest!!!  Who would have ever thought this could be?  The interesting thing to me was that if someone had just walked up by the nest, you wouldn't have known it was an active hatchling nest - there were no empty shells - and not that big/deep a hole.  So, I learned from this, that the hatchlings hatch from the shells down a foot or so in the sand - and after they have hatched, then they start working their way up to the top of the sand - they use each other in their struggle to reach the top.

So, my little box that started out with 2 hatchlings had quite a few in it.  Sorry for the quality of this picture, but it was the best I could do with no flash on the iphone V3.

After we had saved all the hatchlings that we could find, we went to the sea shore and Carla sat down and started taking the hatchlings out one at a time.  At first, I didn't understand why she didn't just  empty the box and let them go, but then I realized that she was counting them.  I am very delighted to say that we saved 78 hatchlings last night!  :)  I asked Carla about whether it mattered where we released them in terms of rocks in the ocean or the waves being too strong - and she said no, that for the most part that didn't make a difference.  Only if the tide were very low would the hatchlings have trouble making it over all the rocks.  She told me that the hatchlings immediately go on out to the open sea.  They don't really understand what happens to them at this point in time.  They do believe that the hatchlings eat off the sea sponges and that at some point, the small turtles eat among a reef and when they become mature - that is when they magically swim back to their original nest site to lay their own eggs! It is also better to release the hatchlings the day they are discovered, their chances of survival are better.

I hope you enjoyed this blog - it was one of my favorites to write.  I feel so blessed to have gotten to experience this opportunity.

Video of Octopus feeding along the edge of boardwalk in Barbados

This is a rare event - I have been told by the local Bajans - so, I thought I would post the video for you guys.  It is an octopus that is feeding along the edge of the rocks next to the boardwalk here in Barbados.  Enjoy!

Hermit Crab

I am going to tell on myself -  but before I can do this story I need to preface it with the fact that Gary shaved his head (in case you have not seen a picture of him lately) so, he has no hair.  So, this morning - I am driving Gary to work in our only car, and he looks down at my pants leg and says, "Hum, is that your hair or mine?"  I look down and study it and try to determine if it is a blond hair or a brown hair and it's length and then, finally - it dawns on me that he doesn't have any hair!  I look up at him, unfortunately way too many seconds have passed since he first made the comment, and he is grinning at me like a mule eating briars.   He is full of jokes.  If you have never been around him, you need to be - because he is good at it - and I unfortunately, am way to easy to fool.

Let's see - oh, this morning - our maid (Betty) is here to help out - and it is raining outside but the sun is also shining.  So, Gary says to Betty - "Betty, where I come from - they have a saying that when it is raining and the sun is out - that the devil is beating his wife."  Betty looks up at him and says, "Well, he sure is doing a lot of it about now."  LOL

I always like to post a picture or a video and so, today - we were walking on the boardwalk and Gary spots two hermit crabs carrying their shells towards the sea.  Now, you know that I have been told that hermit crabs like to steal someone else's home (shell) and live in it.  And this video is a good example of that.  Here these two crabs are carrying two shells - totally different in color and shape back to the sea.  Not their own.  Hum, I think there are some people in our lives that could be classified as hermit crabs - don't you think?  They take what someone else has built and worked hard for and feel they are entitled to it as their own?

There's Viagra in Watermelons!

With a title of a blog like I just named this one - I need to explain myself quickly.  So, Gary and I stop at a roadside fruit stand on Sunday.  Gary stays in the car and I get out and look at all the fruits available.  I spot a watermelon that I wanted to buy.   I didn't even think to look or ask what the price was.  I just told the guy that I wanted this watermelon (it was very small) and 4 mangos.  He told me that I owed him 40.00 Bajan dollars!  That is the equivalent of 20.00 USD!  My jaw dropped and I said why is this watermelon so much?  The guy said that it was really good for you.  I looked at him skeptically.  He continued, "Yes, it is really good for men."  I then looked at him suspiciously at which point he said, "No, I'm serious - it has viagra in it!"  Then, I just started laughing.  Gary is looking on from the car - wondering what is going on.  The guy glances over at Gary and then walks to the car and tells Gary 'she don't believe me - that watermelon has viagra in it - it real good for you.'  So, folks there you have it - no need to go buy those expensive pills anymore - just eat more watermelon!

Ok, I promised yesterday that after I opened the sugar apple - that I would post pictures of it.  So, here they are:

After splitting the fruit open, this is what you would see:

You have to pull each section of a seed out - and here is what that looks like:

It was a lot of work to put each of these individual seeds into my mouth.  It was very sweet and tasty, but I'm not sure it was worth the effort.  So, you put this into your mouth and you suck the gooey stuff off of the seed and then you spit the seed out.  Although, I did feel like I was probably eating some really beneficial, high antioxidant fruit that researchers will find out years from now prevents something like cancer or alzheimers!  :)
Here are all the seeds that came out of that one little bitty fruit - can you believe it - it is as bad as a watermelon.  Oh wait!  Maybe in future years the researchers will discover that this fruit also contains viagra!  LOL

Part you gine?

Part you gine?  This is another Bajan expression which means 'Where are you going?'

Have you ever wondered what the youth of Barbados do for fun - on this small little rock of an island?  Well, here is a glimpse - picture was taken on Sunday afternoon - they were playing on the beach and got up on these rocks posing in all these different shapes - with the ocean as the backdrop.  Not a bad way to grow up - huh?

Ever wonder what the adults do for fun?  Well, basically they do the same thing that you or I would do if we were living here.  They cook up some food, invite some of their family and friends to meet them down at the beach.  And they have a picnic!  So jealous.  This picture was taken Sunday afternoon as well.  But, we see this ALL the time here - they usually wait until the sun is starting to go down around 4:00pm and then they bring out the food - and enjoy the afternoon until the sun sets around 6:30pm.  The time of the sun setting does not change very much  throughout the year.  It gets dark really early here - but, then again - the sun comes up very early as well.

She ain't gun run my blood inta water!

I saw this new fruit in the Super Centre - that I had never seen there before.  It is called a sugar apple and is supposedly very sweet when ripe.  I don't really know how to tell when it is ripe, but Linda Phillips said it would be softer to the touch - and that I should watch out for the seeds.  So, in another day or two, I will probably open it - and will post another picture of what the inside looks like.

New Bajan saying:  "She ain't gun run my blood inta water"  This was said to me during my manicure.  It was said by the manicurist telling me about her sister.  It seemed her sister was calling her all the time asking her to do this and that for her and this was the manicurist response to all that.  I like it.  She ain't gun run my blood inta water!  I think we all could start using that expression for some of our peoples that are forever getting on our nerves.

Went to a new restaurant last Friday night - called Cin Cin.  It was very good!  I know I am now a local here - because I ran into two people that I knew while we were eating there.  Gary and I took Sharon and Tom out in celebration of Sharon's birthday.  The restaurant is right on the water's edge - and it is on the West Coast - so, if you go early enough - you can see the gorgeous sun set. They had the restaurant decorated very modern - with a picture of Andy Warhol and the furniture looked very Swedish.  Pricing wasn't crazy outlandish as it is at other West Coast restaurants.  Tom said that I should take up a consulting position for different corporations that send expats to live on the island - as a consultant on how to make the most of living here and how to handle all the cultural differences.  Hum - an idea.  I don't think I have what it takes to do that, though.

Saturday - it rained most of the day - so, we stayed inside and I cooked a big breakfast and spaghetti for lunch. We went to see the movie "The Rise of the Planet of the Apes".  Again, I ran into a friend that I work out with - yes, definitely a local.  The movie was really good, by the way.  I like the Olympus Theaters here - they have a VIP theater which is really nice.  It has hard wood flooring and reclining seats and the workers will actually bring you your food during the movie.

Sunday - went to church.  On my way home from church - I passed a woman washing her clothes with a soap stone on a concrete pavement.  She seemed happy.  She had several friends/family around her.  Just makes you realize that life is what you make it.  She was probably happier right then doing that hand washing than any rich person living elsewhere on the island!  This section of housing that I drive through - has a community shower that is outside in front of several of the homes and this concrete block is close to the shower.  It's what you call - having "close" neighbors for sure.

I learned that when you see MP in the newspaper in front of a person's name - that means they are a Member of Parliament.

I learned an English saying - "Dose of Salt' which means quickly through with.  :)

The Invasion of Seaweed

This is hurricane season.  It starts right after Easter and goes through October.  Barbados is located so far south and east - that most of the time, the little island is not affected by hurricanes.  But, what starts as a tropical wave here on our island - will usually turn into a tropical storm and then a hurricane that reaches the USA.  So, right now - with it being the month of August - we are having more than usual tropical waves passing through.  When these storms pass through, you can bet on that there is going to be mass amounts of seaweed that wash ashore.  I saw this mass of seaweed from my balcony on Friday - and took a picture of it:

And then here is what it looks like once it reaches shore.  Just masses of this stuff.  Shame that no one has found a way of using this stuff for profit.  Usually, after a few days the seaweed starts to dry up - it turns a black wilted color and then, it just vanishes away after a few weeks.

Morning bathers, Off to go fishing, Moonlight Hike of Barbados

I don't know if you can see the bathers in this top picture or not.  If you cannot see them, then you might want to click on the picture to enlarge it.  But, I included this picture to talk about "bathing" here in Barbados.  I have now lived in two different locations on the island.  And in both locations, there are always bathers that come out very early each morning and get in these choice spots in the ocean.  They know where these spots are.  What are choice spots?  Well, they are spots that are shielded by rocks - so that the person doesn't have to fight against waves all the time.  They are also spots that have nice sand on the bottom instead of reef or pebbles.  And they are spots where a person can stand or sit comfortably without having to be able to swim.  In this picture above, you can see that the bathers are shielded by the ledge of rocks.  This group of bathers that come out are usually retired persons.  It looks like they have a grand ole time each day - they sit in the water for about 30 minutes and talk with their neighbors about whatever is on the coconut express for the day.  I'm envious of these people - not necessarily for their being able to get in an ocean each day - but, for the fact that they are enjoying God's creation and enjoying the company of their friends.

Also, in the USA, I never heard the term "bathing" - we called it swimming.  Now, in the USA, we did call our swimsuits - bathing suits - upon occasion.  But, the British and also the Bajans call it bathing.

This next picture below is a shot of the fishing boats headed out for the day.  You will see a line of them each morning heading out from the Bridgetown port or the Carlisle Bay area.  They set off early - usually going toward the South Coast to make their catches for the day.  The fish are usually barracuda, marlin, or dolphin (that is not flipper, just a fish that they call dolphin).

I want to take some time and go back to my hike that occurred last Sunday evening from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.  It started at the Heywoods Beach and went North first by Port St. Charles and then we headed inland to a Mile and a Quarter, up to Ebworth, and down to Speightstown.  Here is a map that was taken on someone's iphone that had the application called Run Keeper.  I really like this application because it plotted via GPS exactly where we walked and how many km this ended up being.  Which by the way was 11.21!

I really enjoy these hikes.  I don't know why really - they are hard.  It is not a leisurely walk.  This particular walk was a moonlight walk.  Meaning that we walked the majority of the time after the sun had set.  I had a torch as they call it - we in the USA call it a flashlight.  I didn't really see a lot of my surroundings - because it was dark and because I was devoting the majority of my time to keeping the torch light aimed at the path in front of me.  I have a tendency to stumble - and that was the last thing I wanted to do on this hike, since Gary was not with me.  It was miserable a lot of the time because it rained pretty much the entire trip and people were always trying to get to the front.  These hikes don't give me a sense of camaraderie amoungst the peoples!  Most all are walking very fast - trying to prove that they are better at the hike than you are.  So, that just makes me want to walk as fast as well.

There was one spot on the trip where I had to go through dense trees and undergrowth and that kind of scared me.  I actually couldn't see the person in front of me for part of that way.  And, truthfully - I do not like to have limbs and weeds raking across my arms - I always feel like there will be a spider or snake somewhere near by.  Although, Barbados doesn't have many snakes at all on the island - because of the mongoose.  Yeah for the mongoose!

I still want to do the hikes each Sunday, but I might skip the moonlight ones.  Well, our hot water heater is broken, so there is a plumber being called to the condo.  Also, the TV cable servicemen are coming to install a second cable box.  It is about time!  We have been asking for this box since we moved in May - that was 3 months ago.  I was told this morning that there was actually a calypso song written this year for Crop Over on the dreaded wait of cable boxes.   I hope I can get a copy of that song.  It will mean a lot to Gary and I.  It was only this year that I realized what the difference between calypso and soca music was.  Calypso is a story being told in a song format - that has political or country problem meaning but is told in a funny story kind of way.  

Budget!

So, yesterday - August 16th - was a big day here in Barbados.  It was the day that Parliament was in session to revise the budget for the coming year.  Interestingly enough - next year is election year.  Sound familiar?  Everyone was talking about what the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister were going to do.  Everyone on the island is suffering from the high taxes, high fuel, high electricity, and high food costs.  Again, sound familiar?  The Bajans already go without electricity as much as possible.  They rarely ever turn on the air conditioning.  But, the country is in a lot of debt.  Hum, again - sound familiar?  What would they announce for the budget for the coming year?  It was on everyone's tongue and minds yesterday - I mean everyone - even Gary and I, the continuous tourist, were aware of this and concerned for what would be announced.

So, this morning - on our way to our walk, we run into one of our neighbors - and he said he couldn't wait to find out what the budget was - would they do the right thing for the country or would they do the wrong thing, but what would get them reelected next year?  Again - sound familiar?

So, as Gary and I were walking - I started noticing all the locals walking by us.  They had a spring to their step.  There were smiles on all their faces.  I told Gary - I bet the answer was they went with what the people wanted instead of what was best for the country.

As, we approached the newspaper man that we buy our paper from each day, I asked him - "OK, so I haven't seen the paper yet - but, I can see the smiling faces on people and there is an added spring to their step - so, I'm saying that the Parliament reduced the taxes.  So, what is it?"  He smiled at me and said, "Yes, they are saying they are going to give us a Tax Ease."

Now isn't that so interesting - that we could tell what the outcome was - just by looking at how people were walking down the boardwalk?  Can I go ahead and predict who will win the elections next year?  :)

Well, just come on and sit down by me!

Well, today was the dreaded day!  I had to go to the immigration office to get my passport renewal extension process started.  First, you don't dare wear a top that is sleeveless!  They will send you home.  Next, be prepared to wait in line for over an hour - just to state the purpose of your visit.  Then, be prepared to wait two to three hours before your name is called and your case is heard.  And here in Barbados, they love (I mean they really love) to see how many times they can send you home because you need more information.  It is not like they will give out a list of everything that is required - no, that would take the fun out of it all.  So, today was my dreaded day.  My passport stamp for entry into this country is up on the 25th of August.  I thought I had everything needed - Gary's work permit extension approval, MONEY (400.00 bajan dollars!), application filled out, passport picture, my old passport, and my new passport.  I even thought to bring a book along to read while I stood in line and waited.  

When I got to the counter, guess what - I forgot a copy of my marriage license!  Argh!  But, they said to be seated and after I had waited for two hours, and was sitting in front of this frazzled lady - she said that since I had already been approved for an extension with Gary last time, that I didn't need to bring proof of our marriage!  Thank heavens!  Now, all I have to do is go back in two weeks and wait in the line for an hour - and then request my passport - and hopefully, they will give it to me with the needed stamp.  

After I left the immigration office, I decided to treat myself to lunch on the 2nd floor of Cave Sheppard.  This is a buffet line - and has some really good Bajan soul food available.  It is like a small diner - with booths that line up against the windows overlooking Broadstreet.  Everytime I go there, it is always crowded with a line going out the door.  But, I have always managed to find a seat.  So, today after I went through the buffet line, I saw an open booth - and took it.  I was busy eating and looking out the window - when all of a sudden, this grandmother came and sat down across from me with her two granddaughters - one sat by her and the other one looked at me - as like - well, are you going to move over and let me sit down?  So, I moved over - and they sat down.  Weirdest thing!  They didn't say, may we join you?  They didn't introduce themselves to me.  They just sat down!  So, there we all were.  But, I have come to realize more and more each day - that I am not living in my home country and that this country that I am living in - is quite different in the obvious ways but also very subtle ways as well.  This was one such subtly.  

Another difference that I have just recently encountered is when the Bajans go to a concert.  I didn't realize that they didn't understand at rock concerts - how when the musician finishes and leaves the stage - in America, they are expecting the crowd to start clapping and whistling for an encore.  Then the musician comes back on stage and sings/plays another song - usually a quite popular one.  But, they didn't know to do this and at the recent beloved concert where their very own Rihanna - whom they call Ri Ri - when Rihanna finished her performance - half of the stands and grounds started to leave!  Gary and I were just standing there in disbelief!  We couldn't believe that the people didn't want her to give an encore.  I found out later - that they didn't know they could do this.  Of course, they would want her to give an encore!  Actually, she did come back out and sang one of her best hits ' Umbrella'.  I'm sure that wherever they all were in the leaving process, they just stopped and listened to her.  But, it was a shame that they didn't know to do this.  

Also, concerning these concerts.  They have a festival each year called Crop Over - where they celebrate the finishing of the sugar cane crop.  They have many calypso and soca musicians that try to win the titles of Party Monarch, People's Monarch, Pic-O-De-Crop, and Junior Calypso Monarch.  After all of these competitions and the winners have been announced, they have a final concert where they put all these different category winners together as well as other famous artists from times past and they call it Cohobblopot.  It is a fantastic evening filled with lots of good music and fun.  Well, this year - it was raining cats and dogs - and so, we decided to sit in the stands where the rain couldn't reach us.  But, do you know what?  The people in the stands around us sat like zombies!  They didn't utter a peep when the announcer on the stage asked the audience if they were having a good time.  They didn't move in their seats with the great music being played.  They sat there - very still - like they were in church!  It was very remarkable to me.  And I found out later that that is what they do.  It is a very classy, respectable event in the stands - even though there is all kinds of good party soca music being played.  Oh well, I am in their country - so, I need to abide by their subtle rules.  

I'm tired and have got a lot of laundry still left to do, so that is all for today.  

Continuous Tourist

I was told recently by a young black Bajan that there are 4 kinds of whites on the island!  There are : 1) the St. John whites - don't ask me, I don't know why they are different 2) the rich whites 3) the middle class whites and 4) the continuous tourist.  Now I know what I am - a continuous tourist!  Actually, Gary and I think that fits us - we are indeed continuous tourist to this island.  We are definitely not rich and we have hardly ever met any of the middle class whites - except at church.  We seem to be finding our friends among the other expats.  So, I guess that is what we are - continuous tourists.

Saturday morning, we got up and decided to take our morning walk on the Boardwalk - and since I have already taken pictures of the coconut man and turtles - I almost did not take my camera along with us.  But, there was that little voice inside me that said, "You better take it - you will regret it!"  I'm glad I listened to that little voice, because two different things happened that were camera worthy - actually three - no, four!

First, before we ever left the front door of our condo, Gary exclaimed - "Vickie, hurry get the camera!"  I already had it with me and so started shooting pictures in the direction that he had pointed.  So, we are on the 5th floor and this little fellow was causally strolling along the 4th floor hallway.

I then walked to the end of the 5th floor hallway and this is what I saw, he had decided to jump up on the railing outside condo 412:

 I think he was checking to make sure no one was looking.  Then, the next thing I knew, he had jumped over to the fire escape railing of this apartment:

Then, it was like he was watching what was going on inside this condo - and he was trying to get in!  Craziest thing to watch.

I had actually been leaving my door open to our condo - during the day - it allows the breezes to go through the apartment - which can be very nice  - keeps from having to run the aircon so much.  But, after seeing this - I will not be doing that anymore!  LOL

2 - After we are walking along the boardwalk, I see something in the water that seems to be moving toward shore and at a faster pace than what a wave would gradually carry it in on.  As it got closer, I realized it was an octopus!

Can you see it?  It is along the edge of the rock at the bottom left.  See it's arms outstretched?  It was neat to watch - because it would go in and out along the rocks edge - feeding.  When the octopus would go to a new area of the sea bed - you could see all these small fish come scurrying out from under the rocks - escaping it's next meal!  It was neat to watch this so close to where we were standing.

3 - Since the tide was so low this morning, there were several men out fishing with hand nets.  They would cast the nets out into the water and then slowly gather them back in.  Here is a picture of one such person with the nets in his arms - ready to cast out.

4 - Again, because the water was so far out with the low tide, there was this dog that had walked out into the ocean - along the pebbles of the sea bed - and it really looked like he was trying to catch something for himself.

Ok - that was the end of the pictures.  But, one other thing that we have noticed about the people on this island - is that they do not like to venture from their homes when it is raining.  I found this fact to be very rewarding for myself today.  I went to the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium for the 9 o'clock fitness class which is usually packed with women - at least 25 or so - mostly local bajan women with a few exceptions here and there.  I walked into the room thinking it would be full of peoples - and there was no one.  I looked around at the guy at the reception area - and he said 'Yeah, yeah - the class will meet."  So, when the class started (five minutes late) it was 3 white women - all expats!  No one else showed up because it was raining!  I loved the individual attention from the instructor and the more leg room.  Maybe it will rain more often (he, he).

Living with an eye on the sky

On Tuesday morning, there was a "rainbow" around the sun, which left many a Barbadian curiously worried.  I was having coffee over at a friend's house and so I did not see this wonder.  But, once I left there and went to a store - everyone was talking about it.  The next store I went to - everyone was talking about it.  The picture at the end of this article was taken by a woman in the first store.  The picture at the top was taken by Linda Phillips who goes to my church - Grace Fellowship.  Even the next day, I heard people on the boardwalk talking about this marvel and it was in the local newspaper.  The Barbados Meteorological Office's phone rang nonstop for over 3 hours after this occurrence.   

People wanted to know if the world was coming to an end.  That very same day there was an earthquake on the neighboring island of St. Lucia.  Everyone had just been hearing about the US Economy and how the stock market was down, way down.  They were seeing the riots in London.  They were reading of the mass famine in Somalia.  So, why couldn't it be when Jesus was returning?  It really got me to thinking that Tuesday afternoon.  I go on about my life and always think of Christ's return as something that will happen "someday". I know a lot of the signs that Jesus foretold seem to be happening now.  But, no one knows the hour and moment of Jesus' return.  We have to be on guard and waiting.  I realized that if it had been the moment of Christ's return, I wouldn't feel prepared or worthy enough.  The song that kept going through my head that Tuesday afternoon was "The King Is Coming."  Oh, what a glorious day that will be.  

What this phenomenon really was - was a halo - and it supposedly occurs all the time.  I guess it just hasn't happened here in Barbados.  When you have a certain type of cloud in the sky - cirrostratus, you get refraction of the light and you get that circle around the sun or the moon which is called a halo.   

I know God is talking to me.  I think he wanted me to publish this post.  He wanted me to share it on facebook as well.  Because the very next morning (Wednesday), my email devotional from Pastor Jack Graham was entitled "Living with an eye on the sky."  I will end with his devotional.  But, I hope I can start living with my eye on the sky.  

"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

I once heard a man speak who was the head of a Christian orphanage in Kentucky. And the unique thing about this children’s home is that all the children there are mentally handicapped. As the man was talking he said,

“You know, we have a maintenance problem at the home. We teach these precious children the Bible and they don’t understand a lot of what we’re saying. But we tell them about Jesus and that Christ came to save them. And not only that, but we also tell them that Christ is coming again and when He does, everything’s going to be perfect and they’re going to be perfect.

“We’ve got a maintenance problem. And the maintenance problem at our home is the windows! We can’t keep the windows clean because these precious little children believe so strongly in the Second Coming of Jesus that they put their little faces and their little hands up to the window every day and they look for Jesus to come and make everything right.”

How aware these children have become of their need for a restorer because of their circumstances. And the truth is that you and I have that exact same need. We suffer from the sickness of sin on a daily basis and our only hope is Christ’s return.

The windows of every Christian’s home should be smudged and dirty because of our passionate expectation of Christ’s soon return. So live your life with an eye on the sky waiting for that glorious day!"

Hiking Barbados - Carrington Sugar Factory

Every Sunday afternoon at 3:30, the National Trust Foundation sponsors a hike somewhere on the island of Barbados.  I have been wanting to do this hike every since we moved to this little rock.  Somehow, though, have managed to avoid it until yesterday!

A friend of mine had told me that the hike took about one hour.  Ok, I could do that!

Gary and I arrive about 15 minutes early and parked our car along side the next car - and rolled down our windows.  Gary said he heard the people in the next car mention something about "oh great, I guess we will need to call an ambulance!"  Can you believe the nerve of those people?  I'm sure they looked at us as old foggies and white tourist and people that couldn't hack a hike.  Hummmmmmm.

We found out that the hike is actually 3 hours in length!  Oh boy!  Gary looked rather unhappy about this, but he wanted me to do this hike, so he said let's continue on with it.

Folks, I will go ahead and tell you - we made it without an ambulance!  :)

There was so much to see and so many interesting places to go - that we would have never seen in a car.  I'm definitely hooked.  We passed through the community of Ebenezer, through sugar cane fields, pass the men's prison, through a Quaker graveyard, pass St. Phillips Church, and Bushy Park.  I think we probably walked about 10 miles!

Our tour guide's name was George.  Boy, was he an interesting character.  He was so vivid with his stories and just so intriguing with what he had to say.  I am thinking about posting one of his talks on youtube - I feel like there would be a few Barbadians that would really enjoy listening to his speach.

George stopped our walk when we approached the men's prison.  He said he wanted to honor the mothers who were standing out front of the prison for their sons.  It seems the mothers come and stand in front of the prison - in hopes that their sons can see them from the windows.  Sad.  George said in the olden times, that the prison did not have the iron bars on the windows - just pane glass.  But, as a show of the signs of the times, now the windows had bars on them.

George stopped in a cemetary and there was this HUGE tree in the middle.  He gave a nice speech about how the Barbadians should remember their heritage and honor emancipation day because of the labor and sacrifices of the slaves that came before them - and all that they did to ensure their freedom.

We walked through several small communities - each would have it's share of barking dogs, and people with their heads out the windows - watching us go by.  There was always many black bellied sheep and a few cows to pass by.  At one point, several hikers went into the bushes and picked some fresh cherries.

The hike was not that hilly but it was muddy in many places.  After George gave his last talk, he said that would be the last of them and that we would now return to the Carrington Sugar Factory.  In my mind, that meant just a few more minutes and it would be over.

I could see the smoke stack of the sugar factory in the distance and kept looking at it as my goal.  I kept thinking to myself, "I can do this.  I will show these Bajans!"  But, that smoke stack seemed to get further away instead of draw closer.  My feet were killing me.  But, I kept going - I knew if I stopped - I might not start back up.  One couple walked along with me and he told me, not to look at the stack but instead to focus on each step that I took.  That reminded me of lessons in life.  If we look at the final destination, we might think the journey or road is too hard to do/travel - yet, if we will just take that first step and then the next one and next - before we know it - we have made it to the finish!

At one point, we lost sight of the stack and the gentleman turned to me and laughed and said, "See, now it has completely disappeared!"

I really kept up my pace there towards the end - there was NO WAY that I wanted to walk into the home stretch at the last of the line.  We had to walk through a sugar cane field on the last stretch and that is the picture you see at the beginning of the story.  I didn't know who the couple was that had thought we would need an ambulance, but Gary and I were quite proud of ourselves and I'm sure the couple had to be impressed.  We had several come up to us at the end of the hike and invite us to come back the next week.

Awaiting us at the finish was a boy who had a big cooler full of different type of drinks that he/or his mama had made up.  I chose the mango.  Folks, that was the best drink I have ever had!  It was pure mango juice that had been frozen and was being allowed to thaw out - and so it was this slushy stuff.  Oh my!  It was so good.

Next week is a moonlight hike.  They said to bring my torch.  I knew from my brief stay in England - that that meant a flashlight to me and my American friends.  I really would like to do that hike, but we'll see.  I'll leave you with several more pictures that I took.