Day 514 - Barbados

A day of bittersweet goodbyes & happy hellos, today found Leana, Bronwyn & Larisa leaving the ship. Larisa's Mom came onboard for a short while this morning & Jaco & I were able to meet her & bid them a fond farewell as they ventured out on holiday in Barbados. Leana & Bronwyn left for sunny South Africa. Leana is starting a new job & Bronwyn is getting married!


Jaco was busy on board, so I headed off the ship on my own. I wanted to go to the beach & I thought I would walk to the nearest public beach. I didn't think it was that far, so off I went. 


On my way through the terminal building, I stopped in Del Sol. Last year I met Leandre & Tiffani, who work there & also met Collet's family when they holidayed in Barbados a year or so prior. It was a bit of a small world/shot in the dark, but we had a great chat last year & I wondered what the chances were that they were both still working there. To my delight, they were!


We had a great visit! I've missed them! We must have talked for nearly an hour! I didn't want to wear out my welcome, so after we made plans to meet in 2012 at the Calgary Stampede & then at Carnival in Barbados, I was on my way to the beach.


It was a little further than I had initially thought. I think it took me nearly 30 minutes to walk there. But once I was there! I had the entire beach to myself! I think there were maybe 3 people that came by, but they didn't stick around. I had a most relaxing time bobbing in the stunning, crystal clear blue-green water. The waves gently rolled in to kiss the white sand beach. I was about to get out when a young lad came along & hopped into the water. He started chatting to me & oh my. He had the thickest accent I've come across yet! I couldn't understand half of what he said. He has a young son, but he isn't married. He didn't seem too impressed by the girls on the island, claiming they were only after money. He works in the construction industry & doesn't live to far from the water. Of course, this was the most of what I got out of a 20 minute conversation. At one point, I'm certain he said, 'Gonorrhoea', but that certainly didn't fit into our discussion!


After walking back to the ship, I grabbed my laptop & headed back out to do some internet. I posted my postcards I had written on the previous cruise & was just finishing up the last few cards when Leandre found me sitting on a bench outside. We visited for a good hour to hour & a half! I was so touched that she spent the time talking with me after a long day at work when she could've just slipped past me & went home. 


We called Collet's Mom on the MagicJack & I surprised Peggy & Chris by telling her who I was with. It was great! After Leandre left, I phoned Mom2 & sat outside to finish my postcards. There was a frangipani tree close to the bench I was sitting on & it smelled delicious. I wish I lived in a climate that could support frangipani trees. I'd have my own forest of them!


And with that... the day was over... Lekker slaap,
xxxxMaria

 The Gals & Guy of Del Sol

See you in 2012 Girls! 

 The Cricket Stadium

 Kensington Oval

 The beach all to myself!

 Stunning water!

 The ship isn't too far away!

Mr. Gonorrhoea!

Day 217 - Running Around In The Snow

Okay, so last night I fell asleep to the sound of rain. I love to hear the rain & have a nice cool room while I'm snuggled deep under the covers. I have a window right next to the bed, so I opened it up a little bit & listened to the drops come splashing down. 


I woke up to the sound of rain & admired at how green everything looked. I love the miracle of Spring & how quickly things transform. Sadly, my admiration turned to disbelief as I looked out the window a few hours later & saw the rain transforming to SNOW! Ugh! Seriously? Yup.


It snowed all afternoon & through the night. Blah. So not excited about that! Mom & I went to town for the late afternoon & luckily it was only raining in the city. I managed to tick all the things off my list (on my handy iPod!). I picked up my engagement ring, as the stone was loose & luckily it was just a prong & not a chipped stone! Gasp! They polished it up & it looks brand spankin' new! Feels like I'm newly engaged again!! :o) 


I stopped at the bank & the teller was so sweet! We visited about wigs & weaves & she's going to include me in her prayers. How thoughtful! I told her I'm going to come back & show off some of my wigs... :o) I haven't been banking at the TD very long, but they are so friendly! I have yet to have a negative experience there! And they're open late & on Saturdays!!! Is there any question I've found a good bank? Especially after the CIBC omitted a digit on my cheque! Ha ha... That will keep my chuckling for a long time!


Next stop - Chinook. (For those of you reading from overseas, it's actually pronounced 'Shin-ook' (ook as in hook)) (It's a warm dry wind that blows down the east side of the Rocky Mountains during winter months.) If you're lucky, it melts MOST of the snow & then refreezes as slippery ice & then it snows again, leaving parking lots & streets a disaster to navigate! One of Calgary's bigger malls is called Chinook Centre. I popped into SportChek to see what kind of stuff they had for the World Cup. It's in South Africa this year & I thought I could find Jaco something with the South African flag on it. All they had was a t-shirt in a hideous shade of yellow. Never mind. Their flag is really pretty...

I was returning a luggage weigh scale that I used once in Mexico & then it broke. The lady wouldn't give me a refund & offered me a credit. I told her I had great luggage & enough handbags & wallets to last a lifetime. (Don't tell Jaco the handbag thing - a gal can NEVER have too many!) :o)  Mom had went to a restaurant to order some supper to go. I left the shop without my refund or credit & also forgot my keys there! I found Mom sitting at Starbucks. The restaurant was closed for renovations! Doh! I realized the keys were missing about now. We walked all the way to the other end of the mall & sure enough, there they were. As we left the shop, Mom pointed out the kiosk outside. They sold wigs. I told Mom, 'Nah, they're not my style & they are fake & they are expensive.' She said, 'No, come here. Look.' She pointed to the name of the kiosk - Oceana. Hah! Imagine that! We made our way back to the car & left the city.


We headed towards Longview. Tonight was Fawna's evening with some spiritual speakers from Australia. Of course we arrived late. I wasn't sure where exactly it was & I phoned Fawna's house to see if her husband was home & could tell us where to go. Her daughter answered the phone & I nearly bust a gut from laughing. Here's a recap of the conversation:
'Hello?'
'Hi, Fawna?'
'No, she's not here.'
'Oh, is your Dad there?'
'No, he's with my Mom.'
'Oh. We're supposed to be going to the event your Mom has arranged this evening, but I'm not sure of the location. Do you know where it is?'
Okay, this is the one that got me. In a totally posh British accent, she says:
'I'm not sure of the specific location of the exact event you are referring to.'
Are you kidding me?? I'm sure she's only about 8 or 10 years old!!! Too funny!


Anyhow, we found the place & of course, we were only 40 minutes late. The couple that were speaking were most talking about the Course In Miracles & how it had changed their life. The wife had just wrote a book & the husband did most of the talking. He was quite entertaining! We finished up about 2230 (!) & then headed home.


Before we left, we let the dogs out for a wee. While they were sniffing around, I hear this REALLY LOUD 'CRACK'! behind me. I turn around to see that someone has just SMASHED into my car!!! Oh no!!!! Poor Contemplate!!! I go over to inspect the damage & sure enough there is a big dent in the back bumper & there were bits of shattered plastic lying on top of the bumper from the license plate area. The trunk was also open. I tried to close it. Nope. Again. Nope. Again. Repeat 60 times. Nope. Oh dear. I know it gives me hassle from time to time, but NEVER this much!!! Finally it closes. The lady gives me her address & phone number & I am to call her with the cost of repairing the damages.


We drive home. It's a freaking blizzard. The slush is lying on the road & splashes up over the car, pulling it all over the road & making visibility zero. Add in the falling snow & the visibility is less than zero. (Negative visibility?) We drove about 60km/h the whole way home. I chatted with Jaco for a large chunk of it.


I just don't think he gets it. I tell him it's snowing (on the 27th of May) & he says, 'Oh, cool. That must be beautiful. You must enjoy it!' Are you kidding me? Does he have any idea how stressful driving in this 'stuff' is?!? Pretty? It's dark out & you can't see a bloody thing!!! And this is why I don't want to live in Canada!!!! I'll take an Australian dust storm any day!!!! And the debate goes on...


We arrived home about midnight, with a fair bit of organizing to do before the 0530 wake up call for tomorrow... Wish me luck, it's going to be a short sleep! xxxxx


Maria & Valentina

Oh so pretty.

Blah.

Not cool for the end of May!