Walking on the beach, I looked like any other tourist, minus the sunburn. I’ve taken an inordinate amount of pride in calling myself a traveller, rather than a tourist, these last 5 years. Yes, I have taken tours, but they tended to be more unusual ones, to the Arctic, the Middle East, the Galapagos. I … Continue reading Just a Tourist in Hawaii
It was overwhelming at first, but now the sort moves smoothly. List on Marketplace. Pack for BC. Give to charity. Leave for next tenant. Paddle boards back to Mary. Give spices to Neil, so he can practice after the cooking lesson I gave him last week. Drop off memory foam, coffee grinder and drying rack … Continue reading Leaving Barbados
“Ada’s having a YogaFest. Let’s go to Anguilla!” My suggestion was not as simple as it sounds. Anguilla was not an easy country to get to, especially from Barbados, even though it was less than 500 miles away. During Covid, Ada had to fly to Grenada, catch a ferry to Carriacou, then sail on a … Continue reading Living the Life on Anguilla
“Your fourth year in Barbados! You are living the dream!” Well, yes. It is pretty amazing. But I often feel that people are picturing us on vacation all the time, just multiplying their tropical holiday by 20. When you live here you experience a lot that someone visiting might not even notice. Storm is past … Continue reading Living in a Tropical Paradise: the Flip Side
Scott swam to the beach and went for a run. I lounge on the catamaran with my book, dipping beskuit in my coffee. Our host Christine had baked the delicious, traditional South African rusks. She makes our breakfast while her husband Roux does boat chores. Early morning run Our sailing trip in the Grenadines at … Continue reading Sailing in the Grenadines
How do you evoke a Caribbean paradise, without sounding like a thousand other descriptions of a hundred different islands? Your table is waiting. ✔️ Warm tropical breezes?✔️ Sandy beaches lapped by turquoise water? ✔️ Hot tropical sun, then a sudden shower of rain, soon over?✔️ Palm trees and lush flowering shrubs?✔️ Quaint fishing villages?✔️ Beach … Continue reading Grenada: Another Caribbean Paradise
“Scott! Look at this! It was made in Barbados!” I’m holding up a leotard/unitard/one piece shorty exercise outfit. Exuberant tropical flowers, red, orange, pink, are splashed large across a white background. What’s surprising is not so much that it was made in the country we now live in, but that I’d bought it 25 years … Continue reading Beautiful Barbados Broad
“Are we halfway up now?” I sat on the rough bench, and Kevin, our guide for the climb up Gros Piton, looked at me pityingly. “A quarter,” he said. To be fair, I had been living on Barbados for a year and a half. The highest hill there is 343 m, and it is in … Continue reading The Pitons of Saint Lucia: Long Hard Climb
BANG! The car started veering so I looked for a place to pull over— not so easy on Maxwell Main Road. Fortunately there was a wide sidewalk in front of one house so I drove onto it and got out to look at the damage. What had I hit? It could have been a deep … Continue reading I’m Glad It’s a Rental: Driving in Barbados
Last night, there was a total eclipse of the moon. Two things come to mind every time I hear “total eclipse.” First, the 1984 Bonnie Tyler song, Total Eclipse of the Heart. Go ahead, click the YouTube link, I dare you. If you’re too young to remember, it is an astonishing example of what music … Continue reading Total Eclipse
Brave Travels 