Beach Day

We've had a lot of rain lately but yesterday was sunny and warm so I hit the beach with my friend, Annee.

Coming around the western , Caribbean Sea side of the Island, we breathed deeper:

We swam, walked and lounged at Turner's Beach with its incredible turquoise water:

We plunked our lounge chairs in the dual shade of palm tree and wood umbrellas:

A house next to the beach with amazing views of  it all:

Sugar used to be king here before it could be made cheaper in another country. They still make rum from the sugar cane, though. We saw this restored sugar mill on our way home:

This is my last week at Crossroads so I'll grab all the Island opportunities I can.

Update From Antigua

The sun is shining still as it has all day but gray storm clouds fill the sky to the West and block the sun now and again as rain readies to fall. It didn't take long to jump back in the saddle at Crossroads and feel at home, especially with the warm welcome from the staff.

The view from my room:

Saturday at Long Bay Beach with good friends. This is my friend Annee Delaware's photo:

We lounged here, swam, walked the beach and talked the day away:

And admired the local crafts:

I scurry around researching the latest on pertinent topics for our clients and current best clinical practices. But I calm myself with the knowledge that what's most important comes from the heart rather than the head. Have to say I love this work.

Wildflowers and Waterfalls - The Perfect Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday, double 66's. My daughter, who lives here in Trinidad's Northern Rain Forest,  orchestrated a wonderful day for me and now that I have the magic combination of electricity, phone connection and internet all together, I wanted to share it with you.

The day started with what has been affectioately nicknamed "muffin bread"- made by my daughter, loved by my grands and now by me. Together with coffee and foamed milk, and a flower from the garden, it made for a good start to the day.

How about a drink made from flower petals boiled with cloves and fresh nutmeg from a tree nearby? It's sorrel, a popular beverage this time of year. It's a lovely jewel red color and I just love the whole idea of drinking flowers.

My birthday present from my daughter was a hike to a local waterfalls that I hadn't yet seen. My granddaughter accompanied us. Along the way my granddaughter picked wildflowers for me to make my birthday bouquet. She was excited by all the bright colors she found. I felt like a queen.

The destination of our hike was a series of five waterfalls reached by climbing up the river that connects them. We've had LOTS of rain since I arrived so the river is full and rushing with strong current. It meant that we had to scamper up rocks or bush to the side at times rather than always stay in the river. But I figured if my five year old granddaughter could do it so could I.

The reward for the challenging climb however was this beautiful sight, the fifth waterfalls, carved into a half moon cave and thunderous from recent rain. Our decision to bathe naked in the pool at the foot of the falls was modified somewhat, at least for me, when I felt the cold breeze blowing down the gorge. I backed into it as far as I could before getting too cold to continue. My daughter was far braver than I even through her screams.

A gorgeous, secluded spot. A perfect present. I felt exhilarated and rejuvenated. 

My granddaughter took this photo of me with my daughter at the top- sweaty, dirty, tied but very happy.

My second best present was this photo in the front yard with my grands, ages nine and a half and almost six. Their agreement to one smile a day in a photo was extra special on my special day. My daughter printed this and framed it for me to take home. Precious.

Add to this the fun of playing "Plants vs Zombies" with the grands and learning all kinds of new strategies, coloring with my granddaughter who is seriously into drawing and coloring these days, having home made pizza for lunch, my grands making brownies, the birthday treat I requested, sharing a delicious dinner made by my daughter from produce grown by her husband in their organic garden with three researchers living in a second house on their property who research the mating rituals of hermit hummingbirds and the lek- specific dialects they sing, and finally, in a rare occurrence, beating my daughter in Scrabble. 

I even connected to facebook and email long enough to be inundated with well wishes from around the world and an e card from my Honey. Perfect birthday. I feel loved and grateful for my life.

[Writing this in dial- up internet land is a long process that I am nevertheless glad to be able to do after my hiatus from blogging and my blog friends. The first post mysteriously disappeared when I changed the original title so I've added further details to this post in my eagerness to connect with you again.]

Hummingbirds

These amazing photos are courtesy of my freind, Jennifer. The rainforest of Trinidad has 16 different species of hummingbirds alone and this is merely one of them. Its body is an irradescent green blue color. Beautiful!

 

This is a rare shot of the hummingbird with its wings forward. She caught it at just the right moment of time for all of us to enjoy. Nature in all its glory.

What's amazing you these days?

First Farmers

While hiking to the waterfalls pictured in the last post in the rain forest, I came across a long line of leaf cutter ants hard at work. Look closely and you'll see the tiny ants carrying (relatively) large leaf parts back to their comnunal home.

At first folks thought they were eating the leaves but, no, they were piling the leaves up so a certain kind of mold could grow on them and they then eat the mold. Growing food for their sustenance. Farmers. The first. Just one of the amazing things I've seen in the rain forest.

Merry Christmas to All

I'm in dial up land and it's excruciating! Every single blog I follow downloads soooooo slowly and the comments! On the other hand, I'm with my daughter, her husband and the 2 grands, so my heart is happy in most important ways. Hopefully, I'll even have a family Christmas photo to post soon (if I can!).

But, I wanted to wish each of you a delighful Christmas filled with joy and love. You enrich my life and expand my horizons and I thank you, fireinds of the blogosphere!

Holiday Fun from the Caribbean

Barry, my quiet, soft spoken co-worker came to work with his car decorated like this:

And the back looking like this:

But he was most pleased with how it looked at night:

Part of the fun of all this was how incongruous this fabulous car is when owned by quiet, unassuming Barry! It's a show stopper for sure.

Happy Holidays to all of you from the Caribbean!

May your dreams come true and may you do something unexpected and delightful.

Views From Antigua

My favorite church in Antigua, old, still used and lovingly kept.

English Harbour where I lived for 2 1/2 years. It has an historic Georgian Dock Yard and many visiting boats in the winter, currently including the Maltese Falcon, the world's largest sail boat. In juxta position to the above church, it's an intriguing, sleek, futuristic looking thing.

The little cottage at Crossroads where I've been staying for the last 5 1/2 weeks and for 3 1/2 more days (but whose counting?) until I go to Trinidad wherein waits my husband, daughter, son-in-law and the grands. Oh joy, oh bliss! Let the holidays begin.

Beauty and the Beast

Look closely. It's a neon caterpillar, like something out of Alice in Wonderland. It was just outside my door.

I'm frustrated with the lack of ability to make changes to my photos, can't crop, enhance or anything else since there's no program on this (work [after hours]) computer. Does that mean I've become a nerd?
But yesterdays evening sky was lovely.

Birds Nesting Near The Coast

I took these photos this weekend to illustrate a wonderful Rumi poem from Ruth's marvelous Rumi Days that speaks of them and of the need to love ourselves. The Cathedral is St. John the Divine in St. John's, Antigua.

Soul, if you want to learn secrets,

your heart must forget about shame

and dignity.

You are God's lover,

yet you worry what people are saying.

The rope belt the early Christians wore

to show who they were, throw it away.

Inside you are sweet beyond telling,

and the cathedral there,

so deeply tall.

Evening now, more your desire

than a woman's hair.

And not knowledge,

walk with those innocent of that.,

faces inside fire, birds nesting

near the coast, earning their beauty,

servants to the ocean. There is a sun

within every person, the you

we call companion.

Rumi

Sharing the Caribbean Life

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the gym last evening:

And from this morning before my run under the not so funny but kind of cute category, otherwise known as the reason you shake out shoes in the Caribbean before putting them on: