Day 511 - St. Lucia

Today was nothing short of interesting! We were in St. Lucia today & after the past few days of diving, I wasn't in the sight-seeing mode. I opted instead, to try & find some wifi in the terminal. 

I like the terminal in St. Lucia. I've found a few cheap bargains over the years & you never what you'll find. I wandered around the shops & found myself in Diamonds International. Now, just for the record, DI is NOT one of the shops I find cheap bargains in. In fact, I am a strictly window shopper when I'm in that shop! 

When I strolled into the shop today, I was immediately approached by some of the salespeople. They asked if they could help & I said I was just looking. They were all smiles. Then, one of them tells me he has the perfect watch to match my laptop bag. My laptop bag is purple. I smiled sweetly. Then he comes over with a Hublot watch. It has a purple band & plenty of diamonds on the face of the watch. He slips it on my wrist & everyone oooh's & aaah's over the stunning timepiece. I said it was nice, but I'd prefer the diamonds on a nice eternity band instead. To which he replied, 'Platinum or gold?' I said, 'Platinum, of course!'

So there I was with this fancy Hublot watch & a stunning eternity band on my left wrist & hand. Sigh. That's a lot of glitter & glam! They told me if I bought the watch, they'd throw in the ring for free. Ha! The watch was only $23,000. Cough.

After I had removed all of their precious gems & metals, I looked around the shop. The salesgirls chatted with me & complimented my haircut. Pretty soon a few of the salesmen joined in. Before I knew it, we were a group of 6 & I was showing them my wig photos from Christmas, as well as wedding photos & pre-chemo hairdo's. We had a good laugh about all of it. Nice bunch of people working there!

From there I ended up at a little picnic bench next to a few crew who were hacking into the rum shop's free wifi. I joined them & settled in to update the blog. I hadn't been there for very long when 2 couple from the UK sat down at the table with me. Turns out they were from Harrogate! I've been to Harrogate! To Betty's for cream tea! Forgive me if I get their names wrong - Bob, Mark, Mary & Grace. The didn't even know they were on the same cruise until they were onboard! Fantastic! I told them about the blog - although I'm so far behind I'm sure they've given up by now! (Sorry guys!)

Today was also our anniversary! Our 1st 2nd Anniversary! 2 years ago today, we married in the Namib desert at a little place called 'Deadvlei'. If you haven't seen the photos, go to this link & scroll down to March 18th. Mario is an AMAZING Photographer. 

Jaco surprised me today with a dozen beautiful red roses! I was so impressed when he told me he did it all on his own accord! I thought surely the girls in the clinic had put him up to it! But nope! We had a lovely dinner at the Pizzeria - funnily enough, so did the rest of the Medics! They were at a different table with Eddie, the Medical Steward, as a farewell/thank you dinner for all parties involved. Rafeeq is the Supervisor in the Pizzeria & he & Jaco hail from South Africa, so they were able to have some chitty-chatty in Afrikaans in between courses. Rafeeq is a real sweetheart. He knows that Jaco likes these little nut squares & always makes an effort to send a plate of them back with Jaco or myself. 

Tonight I also had an email from Dr. Daly regarding my PET scan results. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but not entirely dire, either. Basically they didn't get a great scan so they want me to redo it in 3 months time. They think there *might* be some residual disease, but they aren't sure. (Most likely because they lost the 4th cycle scan of my head & neck. Yeah.) In any case, I'm not panicking & neither should you. Just pray! I'll keep you posted on what's next!

And with that, the day is done. I'm going to spend some time with my husband. Did I mention that I am married to the most wonderful man on the planet? He is more than I could have ever asked for, dreamed for, hoped for, longed for, or wanted for. I love you Jaco. 

xxxxMaria

The crew in Diamonds International

 Beautiful Roses from my Baby!

 My handsome Husband.

 Hmm... What's new on the menu? (Inside joke!) (The menu NEVER changes!)

 Rafeeq & Jaco

 Nic, Nelis, Eddie, Leana & Bronwyn

The Photogs were dining beside us! Larisa, Nacho, Taufiq & Craig

 The work of the AMAZING Mario Sales

Mario's Artistic Talents on our Special Day!