The day before you have to leave this place, they slip a note under your door with your flight confirmation and bus schedule for departure. This is commonly referred to by the guests as an eviction notice or sometimes "hate Mail". No one that I talked to was happy to leave. This is like the land of the Lotus eaters, that you can just drift along. The decisions are that should I take a kayak or a hobbie cat this morning? Maybe I should go to the dining room for a formal lunch or stay on the beach and have a hot dog or a cheeseburger. Tough decisions!
This trip has been marvelously successful. About two weeks into the trip, I found myself walking down the beach strolling to the reggae beat. Last Thursday night I was the first runner up in the sexy toga dance off contest. I don't know what I did. I was sober. I was only drinking plain iced tea at diner. The guy who won had a body like Mike Tyson in his prime, so I was never going to win that one. I was the local celebrity for at least 36 hours.
Nevertheless, I am back in Ft. Lauderdale and I am sore all over. I have had more good exercise in the last month that the last twenty years. I intend to continue the exercise program when I get back.
Sometime in the next week, I will describe the ordeal of the one and a half hour flight from Montego Bay (MOBAY) to Ft. LAUDERDALE (FLL). I have to think about it, but I think I went through five security checks.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Monday, August 14, 2006
FIDDLER'S GREEN
There is a place where sailors go if they don't go to heaven, because being a good sailor is not the same as being a good christian. It's called Fiddler's Green and it is somewhere in the neighborhood of Big Rock Candy Mountain, which most people have heard of.
The legend is that is a place where the weather is always clear, the winds are always gentle and blowing the way you want to go, the palms sway in the breeze, the rum bottle never runs dry, the women run naked on the beach and there is always steak for dinner and ice cream for desert.
This may not be Fiddler's Green, but it's as close as I am likely to find this side of Davy Jones' locker.
There are thunderstorms most afternoons but they don't last too long, all food and drink are inclusive and you sometimes have to stop the bartender from filling your glass too often. There might not be steak for dinner every night but many nights and there is always ice cream with every meal but breakfast. The food is varied but there is always fresh seafood; fish, shrimp, lobster and the ubiquitous conch. There is usually a joint being carved and a buffet with rice, potatoes, veggies and salad, bread, pasta and desert tables. I even tried the curried goat yesterday. It tastes very good but it is made like oxtail stew with the bone and gristle still in so it takes some effort to eat.
The scale in the gym weighs in kilos, so that is encouraging to someone used to weighing in pounds. Unfortunately, there is about 2 plus kilos more of my than when I arrived.
I think I will probably fly home from Ft. Lauderdale about the 24th to rest, make and mend and plan the rest of the trip. I will leave here on the 20th for Ft. Lauderdale.
Internet access here is slow and expensive but I bought a whole day. If it storms this afternoon I will write another letter and try to send some pictures if I can figure out the software.
The legend is that is a place where the weather is always clear, the winds are always gentle and blowing the way you want to go, the palms sway in the breeze, the rum bottle never runs dry, the women run naked on the beach and there is always steak for dinner and ice cream for desert.
This may not be Fiddler's Green, but it's as close as I am likely to find this side of Davy Jones' locker.
There are thunderstorms most afternoons but they don't last too long, all food and drink are inclusive and you sometimes have to stop the bartender from filling your glass too often. There might not be steak for dinner every night but many nights and there is always ice cream with every meal but breakfast. The food is varied but there is always fresh seafood; fish, shrimp, lobster and the ubiquitous conch. There is usually a joint being carved and a buffet with rice, potatoes, veggies and salad, bread, pasta and desert tables. I even tried the curried goat yesterday. It tastes very good but it is made like oxtail stew with the bone and gristle still in so it takes some effort to eat.
The scale in the gym weighs in kilos, so that is encouraging to someone used to weighing in pounds. Unfortunately, there is about 2 plus kilos more of my than when I arrived.
I think I will probably fly home from Ft. Lauderdale about the 24th to rest, make and mend and plan the rest of the trip. I will leave here on the 20th for Ft. Lauderdale.
Internet access here is slow and expensive but I bought a whole day. If it storms this afternoon I will write another letter and try to send some pictures if I can figure out the software.
FIDDLER'S GREEN
There is a place where sailors go if they don't go to heaven, because being a good sailor is not the same as being a good christian. It's called Fiddler's Green and it is somewhere in the neighborhood of Big Rock Candy Mountain, which most people have heard of.
The legend is that is a place where the weather is always clear, the winds are always gentle and blowing the way you want to go, the palms sway in the breeze, the rum bottle never runs dry, the women run naked on the beach and there is always steak for dinner and ice cream for desert.
This may not be Fiddler's Green, but it's as close as I am likely to find this side of Davy Jones' locker.
There are thunderstorms most afternoons but they don't last too long, all food and drink are inclusive and you sometimes have to stop the bartender from filling your glass too often. There might not be steak for dinner every night but many nights and there is always ice cream with every meal but breakfast. The food is varied but there is always fresh seafood; fish, shrimp, lobster and the ubiquitous conch. There is usually a joint being carved and a buffet with rice, potatoes, veggies and salad, bread, pasta and desert tables. I even tried the curried goat yesterday. It tastes very good but it is made like oxtail stew with the bone and gristle still in so it takes some effort to eat.
The scale in the gym weighs in kilos, so that is encouraging to someone used to weighing in pounds. Unfortunately, there is about 2 plus kilos more of my than when I arrived.
I think I will probably fly home from Ft. Lauderdale about the 24th to rest, make and mend and plan the rest of the trip. I will leave here on the 20th for Ft. Lauderdale.
Internet access here is slow and expensive but I bought a whole day. If it storms this afternoon I will write another letter and try to send some pictures if I can figure out the software.
The legend is that is a place where the weather is always clear, the winds are always gentle and blowing the way you want to go, the palms sway in the breeze, the rum bottle never runs dry, the women run naked on the beach and there is always steak for dinner and ice cream for desert.
This may not be Fiddler's Green, but it's as close as I am likely to find this side of Davy Jones' locker.
There are thunderstorms most afternoons but they don't last too long, all food and drink are inclusive and you sometimes have to stop the bartender from filling your glass too often. There might not be steak for dinner every night but many nights and there is always ice cream with every meal but breakfast. The food is varied but there is always fresh seafood; fish, shrimp, lobster and the ubiquitous conch. There is usually a joint being carved and a buffet with rice, potatoes, veggies and salad, bread, pasta and desert tables. I even tried the curried goat yesterday. It tastes very good but it is made like oxtail stew with the bone and gristle still in so it takes some effort to eat.
The scale in the gym weighs in kilos, so that is encouraging to someone used to weighing in pounds. Unfortunately, there is about 2 plus kilos more of my than when I arrived.
I think I will probably fly home from Ft. Lauderdale about the 24th to rest, make and mend and plan the rest of the trip. I will leave here on the 20th for Ft. Lauderdale.
Internet access here is slow and expensive but I bought a whole day. If it storms this afternoon I will write another letter and try to send some pictures if I can figure out the software.
Monday, August 07, 2006
I WONDER WHAT THE POOR FOLKS ARE DOING TONIGHT
I am not sure what I was expecting to find when I got here, but I am Happier than a pig in a mud Puddle. I was half expecting something like some of the early Club Meds I visited in the 60's and 70's. The huts had thatched roofs, canvas walls only six feet high, dirt floors, army cots and no electricity or plumbing. When you did get down the lane to the "loo", the plumbing was French style. I'll explain that to you some time if you don't know what I mean. On top of that the showers were open air with no privacy. That didn't matter much because the French don't bathe much anyway.
By contrast, everything here is first class. The hotel rooms have everything you would want, including irons, hairdryers and satellite TV's with network news from the states, none of which I was. There is every facility you can imagine. Hobie cats, kayaks, snorkeling expeditions to the reef, wind surfers, unlimited food and liquor around the clock, all included. I am enjoying myself immensely and have finally solved my foot problems so I can get on the Conga line in the evenings. That is as gross as it sounds.
I'm running out of battery so I better post this. If it storms later today I may write more. Otherwise that's all the blog until next week.
I have some pictures from film I had developed in Florida and I'll try to post some if I can figure out how the software works.
By contrast, everything here is first class. The hotel rooms have everything you would want, including irons, hairdryers and satellite TV's with network news from the states, none of which I was. There is every facility you can imagine. Hobie cats, kayaks, snorkeling expeditions to the reef, wind surfers, unlimited food and liquor around the clock, all included. I am enjoying myself immensely and have finally solved my foot problems so I can get on the Conga line in the evenings. That is as gross as it sounds.
I'm running out of battery so I better post this. If it storms later today I may write more. Otherwise that's all the blog until next week.
I have some pictures from film I had developed in Florida and I'll try to post some if I can figure out how the software works.
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