“This is a really good place to stop for lunch, if it was open.” “You’ll have to come back when St. Nicholas Abbey is open— It’s worth seeing.” “When it’s open, you’ll go down these steps and be able to swim inside the caves.” Animal Flower Caves The situation has changed dramatically since our first … Continue reading Barbados, (Mostly) Open for Business
“We killed the flu!” A friend who loves data posted a graph of the year over year numbers for influenza. There was a precipitous decline this year. Apparently masks, social distancing and hand washing don’t just inhibit transmission of Covid-19. He analysed data from the States but the same trend is apparent in Canada— seasonal … Continue reading Slacking Off, Tightening Up: It’s Not Safe Yet
We rented a car in Barbados for the first time the other week. I haven’t driven on the left side of the road since about 35 years ago, on a trip to England! Scott has only driven in the States. It’s not that the steering wheel is on the other side— it’s that the wipers … Continue reading Driving in Barbados
“You’ll get used to it.” “I can’t even sleep, now, if I can’t hear the frogs.” As I put my pillow over my head, earplugs in, I contemplated the advice offered on the Barbados Expats Facebook page on the sound of the frogs at night. Our place is right beside a field and the creaking, … Continue reading The Sounds of Barbados
“I envy your brilliant pandemic plan.” Wait, what? The comment from a friend whom I was messaging with, for the first time since I’d moved to Barbados, took me by surprise. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I did it for love. The closed Canada-US border meant that Scott and I were separated. After … Continue reading Caribbean Covid Plan
“Let’s go before it gets too hot.” It’s not one of Scott’s running days, so we head out across the street and take the beach trail. By the time we have sun screened, dressed and gathered our hats and water it’s 7 am. On the trail to the beach The surf is too high to … Continue reading An Ordinary Day in Paradise
The waiter brings another Rum Punch as we lounge poolside, deciding which catamaran tour to take the next day. Just kidding. We cling to the seat back in the ZR van as it careens at high speed around a corner, reggae music blaring, headed to the fish market. We’ll buy the catch of the day … Continue reading It’s Not a Holiday
“Covid test?” I had the printout of my negative result in my hand with my passport. I was sent to the left; those without or with a stale dated or non-PCR test went to the right. My plane had been full, because it was the last flight into Barbados from Canada where you could board … Continue reading Welcome to Barbados— 2020 edition
When my plane landed on March 7th, my mind was on mundane things: whether my son would be on time to pick me up, whether “our” friends I’d been skiing with would choose to remain “my” friends now that we were separated. (Yes, and no, by the way.) I certainly wasn’t thinking that I wouldn’t … Continue reading Flying in the Time of Covid-19 (Reprise)
I keep seeing pictures of my ex. (Thank you, Facebook and Apple algorithms!) It’s not surprising, when we were together for a dozen years before Facebook was even invented, and when I’d taken ten years of selfies of us after I bought my first smart phone. That’s the peril of a modern breakup. You don’t … Continue reading Pictures of My Ex
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