The next decade....what's in store?
Musings of a yamfooted traveller still trying to shake off those last 20 pounds as she treks across the Caribbean
Well, ask me not what I have been eating, or how late I have been eating, but I dreamt something really strange last night....
I was having a conversation with Something-or-the-other Fulton. I can't remember the first name. His sister's name is Frances. While talking to him, it dawned on me just who he was....A dead person! In about 1985 or so, he was a teenager and he was in the theatre group I was in. Tragically, he hung himself and we were all quite shaken up because we were around him several hours for the week during rehearsal and didn't know anything was wrong.
So in the dream, I am talking to him, he was looking older, like an adult now. When it dawned on me that it was him I was speaking to, I said to myself "hold on a minute here, if I'm talking to you, that means.....I....must....be.....dead!" I think I said it out loud to him, and he confirmed that was indeed the case. But it wasn't sombre or anything. We were there chatting about something going on in society today. Then, very strangely, he told me that I could go back to life if I wanted. I said I would hang around a little and see how it was. So that's one dream.
Then there are the recurring dreams....
....about ducks attacking my ankles. The first duck dream was that I was living in Grenada and came home late one night. Now to get to the front door of our house (parents were living in Grenada and of course, me not having a home of my own, was living with them) I had to walk inside somebody else's house to get to the back yard, where the entrance to our little house was.
I reach close to the front door, and like what happens sometimes, Pops came to the door to open for me. Note - this is Grenada, so no grill, just a front door. I am walking towards the door, when suddenly from off the little hill behind our house comes a duck scampering towards me. He/It/She uses the beak to grab at my ankles and I have to run like dickance to the front door.
The next duck dream was that I was standing waiting to cross a road, when out of nowhere came a duck and attacked my ankles AGAIN! No kidding.
OK. The other dreams I can't mention in public.
So you dream translators, what do these dreams mean? Why did I dream I was dead? One person told me I am going to live long, the other says it means I am going to get married....eeegad! Why are ducks attacking my ankles?
Who's he? I hear you asking. The creator of that magnificent ice cream called H
Two colleagues promised to take me out and about so I could get some stuff I needed. Is a good thing I don't put all my eggs in one basket, and that as an independent woman, I know how to get around.
So put on my sneakers, borrowed an umbrella and out the hotel I went at about 2:00pm. Mission: To buy knee highs and juice and some other stuff. Destination: Excellent Stores on Abercromby Street, and Cost Price Supermarket at the corner of Abercromby Street and I think it's Henry Street.
Now some tips about walking in the heart of Port-of-Spain. Don't walk with your head held high. Why?
You might walk into a pot hole as I did, or worse, your yamfoot might land in some nasty fish water running down the road from up the road where they wash the fish right on the side walk. Yuk. Port-of-Spain got to be the dirtiest city I have been in, in the entire Caribbean. Well the 10 or so countries I have visited.
And if is not pot holes and nasty water, it's vagrants everywhere you turn. Maybe it's the same in Downtown Kingston, I don't know. I don't walk there. But those are the two things that struck me about the city here - unclean, and mad men, men just sleeping on the side of the road just so.
So why go there again? Well, because it's in walking distance from the hotel init. Don't have to call anybody to ask for a lift to the Mall, I can use mi two yamfeet.
Then you get to hear interesting conversations, like this one. Walking past a Muslim woman sitting outside a shop. Says she "Ah don't like to wash, ah don't like to iron". I smiled to myself. That could have been me talking. She went on to say that she didn't like cooking either. Lady, you have real problems. I lucky you see, cause Sis like to wash and iron but she not a lover of the cooking and washing up wares thing. So we complement each other.
Well thankfully the rain held up, and I got my stockings, some bars of soap, a specific deodorant which works very well, some juice and some unmentionables. So I am set for however long I am here for. How long is that? Your guess is as good as mine. But that's what makes life interesting init. Not knowing when you're coming or you're going.
Ciao. Until next time, this is Yamfoot in the heart of Port-of-Spain on a Saturday afternoon. ("No, ah don't have any money to give you". "Mind you splash mi wid yu dutty watah")
Boy this is so true for LIAT. Tonight, flight was supposed to leave Grenada at 7:05pm. At 6:55, we are airborne on our way to Trinidad. Good thing I wasn't too late to the airport! If I had done the usual 30 minutes before the flight thing, I would certainlly have missed it!
Now, this was the first time that I Leave Any Thing (unscramble the first letters of those four words and you get LIAT) in a hotel room. My bras! Good thing I hadn't taken out all from the suitcase.
OK, busy day tomorrow. Ciao
Ordered dinner tonight and as I am leaving this lovely isle tomorrow (for Calypso Land) I thought that I must finish all the things in my fridge. One of those things was a can of Low Sodium tomato juice. Why did I buy tomato juice? Well, it's supposed to be good for you init. All that red phyto whachamacallit. And besides, I like tomatoes so it should follow that I like tomato juice, nuh true. Like my nephew says, he knew he would like Corn Pops because he loves corn!
Neways, popped open the can, shaken, not stirred, and took a gulp. Eeegad! I feel like pukeing. Especially too since it looks so much like the blood I see ever so often. Yuk. Well, tried to modify it with another fruit juice.....Ting! Didn't work either. Left the whole of my cancer-fighting juice on the tray for it to be thrown down the drain. How people drink Bloody Mary, I don't know.
When I packed up and left Grenada in 2001 for school in the Motherland, I dropped stuff by all and sundry to keep for me (thanks again folks!). You see, the intention was to be away just for a year. Well it's going on 3 now, and looks like it will be 4 more.
So I decided to make good use of my time in the Spice Isle now, to go through the Green Grip which spent a lot of time under a bed, and more recently, in the back of an office.
Interesting stuff...
Sheets and table cloths, shower curtains and hooks, clothes and fabric.
But the good news is, I left the clothes because when I was leaving here, they couldn't fit. Not even a sniff. Got the surprise of my life when I tried some of them on. OK, so they don't all fit like they used to when I used to wear them, but they could go on, and they could button, and many of them I could now wear. All those 6-day-per-week exercise sessions in Surrey helped.
I got two large bags and put most of the stuff in, to give away to a home for pregnant mothers here. Some items I toyed with whether to give them away....these were the ones which still can't smell me. But I live in hope, so I put back some in the suitcase. Some of the items took me back to the places I remembered wearing them. Here goes....
Striped patterned dress - To Johnny and Nicki's wedding
Black latin looking dress with red roses - given to me by Charmaine B. Remembered the Latin Food Festival at the Peg, when I was one of the MC's, also wearing it on holiday in either St Lucia or Antigua.
Two piece african kinda gettup - worn in St Lucia while staying at Sandals La Toc with Kar Kar and CutieMAD.
Purple dress with small white polka dots. This is perhaps my favourite. I bought it from Erica at the Peg. She was selling some clothes and told me to look at them. I remember telling her that I am sure she didn't have anything that could fit me (even after losing some weight while living in the Motherland the first time). She encouraged me to try them on. It was just so unlike anything that I usually wore. For one, it was sleeveless - always used to shy away from those. For two, it was close fitting - always used to shy away from those. And for three, it kinda looked flirtatious - always used to shy away from those. Well, when I put it on, I had to have it (and probably paid for it in installments too). Where did I wear it first? To Kaiser, for a Shell Shield match in the one-day competition. Boy did I get a lot of stares....good ones.
Just goes to show that you should always go outside of your comfort zone, do things a little differently than you usually do. While going through the grip, there were blouses that, pre-weight loss, I would have gladly kept. Big, baggy and roomy. In the bag it went! Big baggy things are banished forever. So is the Grip! (It really grippish for true)
Kind of lame finale tonight for this season. Miranda broke up with Blair Underwood and went back to her husband. While this is a good thing generally, didn't the writers know I was only watching it to see the Belgian Chocolate?
And What's Her Name carrying on about the grey hair, you think men notice these things? Men...do you notice these things? I don't think so.
Finally got a chance to load pictures on an online album. Haven't quite managed to learn how to do it on this site. Maybe I will try one now and see, but go to this link here.
Gorgeous photos of the Caribbean
...er, I tried to upload another picture of a dog, but that ent work.
That's Grenada's national dish. Scrumptious. Breadfruit, slim dumplings, any kind of vegetable, salt meat, saltfish, saffron and something else which I can't remember, simmered down. A one-pot kind of thing.
Well I had been asking everybody at work if they weren't making any Oil Down (that's the way it's spelt...the title is the way it's pronounced). One told me she made one day and was going to bring for me, but she wasn't sure if I ate pig tail! I eat everything, I told her.
Today, got a call from another lady who was on a day off. "Guess what? I'm cooking oil down today so I was checking if you were at work to send some for you". Eyes wide open with glee. "What don't you eat?". I eat everything. She called a couple hours later to say that her nephew was on his way with it.
Now I thought that they lived close by and that her nephew had a vehicle. Not at all. They live in Beaulieu on the other side of St George's and he took the bus! Isn't that nice? That's how the people are here. Just plain nice, nice, nice.
Now I have niggritis or however it's spelt.
Must go walking tomorrow for sure.
Le Weekend. Rent a jeep. Do nothing, or do it all. You one and the universe. So here's what I did.
SATURDAY
Got the jeep at 10:00am. Signed up the papers, and the guy asked if I wanted the insurance, then he remembered that I lived here so he said "you accustomed to the roads man, you don't really need this". I'm thinking to myself now that this would just be the day when I bang up into something, or worse....fall into one of them there drains on the side of the road!
Well neither happened thankyouverymuch.
Had called a friend just after I got the jeep and he needed a ride from the gas station where he was getting his autographed bimmer washed. Picked him up, dropped him home and headed up River Road, took a right into Tempe, drove through Mt Parnassus and up to St Pauls. Cut through La Borie and ended up in Calivigny. Checked out a few houses....as if....but you know the West Indian thing - drive around and look at people's houses - only thing it wasn't Sunday.
Oh no! I forgot my towel! And if I am going to dabble my yamfeet in some clear sea water, then I need a towel. So headed back to the hotel. Parked up the jeep, and while walking into the hotel, I see another friend. Said he saw me driving. I tell you, if you want to keep your visit private, don't go out pon di road inna one si-mall highland. Went upstairs, intending just to pick up the towel and hit the road. But I hit the bed instead. I was pooped. Spice Sun drunk me. Slept only for one hour though.
Back out on the road, I headed St David's side, so past Calivigny, Westerhall Point (posh houses out there) and drove into the Marina. Just look at all them boats. You know, when I was younger, I didn't know that the boat bottom was shaped as it is. Afterall, any picture one drew, had the boat having a flat bottom init. So imagine my surprise when Miss Annlong drew a boat one day and it had this pointed piece! You live and you learn.
So these boats are on dry dock, being cleaned, repaired or whatever.
After the marina next stop down the road was this place. Beautiful new addition to the accommodation choice in Grenada. Well it's not fully open yet. No tv, no pool. Those were the ongly reasons I was not spending Saturday night there (20% discount off US$250 for the night....money is a transient thing). Had a bowl of soup. Restaurant very tastefully done. So too the cottage. Very, very, very, very, very, very, very, nice. Get the picture?
Headed to La Sagesse afterwards, to look at their new rooms. Cheese to Chalk. Or it should be Chalk to Cheese. Whatever. And the beach rough. So what's the pull? Dunno.
OK, time to head back. Reached around 5:45pm. Got ready to go by a Jamaican/Grenadian couple to talk to their daughter about the hotel industry as she is (was) thinking of it as a career.
After that, it was a loverly dinner at my former place of employment with a gorgeous view of St George's which was lit up from the lights on at the football stadium. Grenada was playing Cayman I think. So said the owner of the autographed bimmer.
SUNDAY was a drive up to Hermitage to do an interview which you wil read on here
Oh, about the advice that I gave the personable young lady. Once you enter the industry, just tell yourself that you will be single for a looooooooooooong time. (But if you are, these are the things you can do with your weekends)
This is what you want me to experience.
No thank you. Epidural and all.
I'm going driving in the country tomorrow! Renting a vehicle, putting on my swimsuit, and have the whole day to do whatever I want to do....stop at a little beach here and dabble my yamfeet in the water......go and look at new construction (that sector is booming here).
I can't wait. Carrying the camera too. Grenada is too beautiful. Can't leave home without a camera. I just hope it doesn't rain.
And oh, something else I was excited about this morning when I got up....I realized I had got just about 8 hours sleep for only about the second time since I arrived.