Kissing Confusion

When you greet someone in Canada you may wave, shake hands, or maybe even a short hug. International greeting is a little different, especially here on the island where there are over 114 recognized nationalities.

Options:

1. Hug then single kiss on the cheek

2. Hug then kiss on each cheek

3. Hug then three alternating cheek kisses

Now here's the problem...everyone does something different and if you do the wrong one it can get awkward and sometimes even insulting. The Dutch do three kisses, the French and many other Europeans do two, and the Latin's do one.

So say you try for three kisses when you were meant only to do one, or maybe stop at two when you were supposed to do three. Then you have the locals who do whatever they feel like. You see how this kind of confusion occurs?

My recommendation? Sorry, I don't have one!!

Recent Pictures

Gotta love waking up to this.

Me n my Cuda.

Kelley Mae and I on a random island we found.

Back to Bequia

We are now in one of my favorite places in the Caribbean, Bequia. I first came here on Argo in 2010 and immediately fell in love with it. It is tiny, roughly seven square miles with a population of about 4000. It is part of an old whaling community that is still apparent through the whalebone necklaces, knives, and other assorted jewelry scattered among the few shops that line the main street.

It is always nice to come back to places. To see the familiar streets (or street, singular, in Bequia’s case), restaurants, and fruit stands. Last night we went to a bar called Beige, named after its owner. It is small and local but before long Beige was dancing right alongside the “gringos” and everyone having a good time.

Today I am looking forward to having pizza from the shack (the best in the whole world!), adventuring over to the other side of the island to visit the turtle rescue center, and checking out my favorite fruit stands. It’s good to be back!

Life As I Know It

Today was as incredible as any other but it was very special in the fact that I had a realization. Let me give you the background before I give you my recognition. We were on the way back from exploring up in the hills; we hiked up to a small waterfall and spent the better part of the day chilling (or as the locals say, “liming”) there in the refreshing cool of the jungle. On our way back we began sampling all sorts of fruits growing on the side of the road. It all started with Kelley Mae holding down a branch of an orange tree as I leapt off a small incline attempting to snatch two of the oranges. We eventually succeeded just as an elderly couple passed us with comments of the “crazy gringos” (foreigners). We then proceeded to taste a wide selection of guava, coconut, juplones, and bananas.

There I was: walking between my two best friends, fruit juice dripping through my hands, rinds, peels, and seeds scattered among our footsteps, gazing out over the bluest of waters under a cloudless sky when I realized….

I could be sitting in an office. HA!

Life, is good J

Living Off Sunshine

Once again I find myself in a living dream. I awake each morning to blazing sunshine and first thing is a dip in the ocean blue. We spend our days free diving, surfing, spearfishing, playing guitar on the beach, fishing, or making friends with the local Rastas. We have discovered the local watering hole; Moon Over Water. It is the Rasta hangout on this part of the island, the place they converge at the end of the day to drink Shantees, play pool, and discus the surf waves.

Yesterday we sailed the boat to Blue Bay for the Blue Food Festival, an annual celebration for the food and culture of Tobago. On our way there we could clearly see the paradise we are in: warm clear blue waters, lush jungles filled with waterfalls, parrots, and coconuts. We are currently in Pirates Cove near a town called Charlottesville and will be provisioning here for our next big sail.

Buying provisions for us means bread, eggs, butter, maybe a few vegetables, and coffee. Other then that:

“We collect fruit off the trees

And fish from the seas

No one having any big needs

We live off the sunshine”

Travel Bug and Cold Allergies

I have made a very important self-diagnosis; I have been afflicted with a severe case of the travel bug and have recently discovered I have a grim allergy to the cold. No jokes. This is extremely serious.

I am once again on the move after a short visit in Canada and the US of A. Currently I’m making the twenty five hour journey to Tobago (via Dallas, a nine hour overnight stint in Miami, Trinidad then a

puddle hop flight to my final destination).

Once in Tobago I will be joining the small mono haul sailing vessel Sparrow. Myself, the Captain and owner, Alex, along with two of my other best amigas (Kelley Mae and Kiki) from St. Maarten will be crewing Sparrow up to St. Maarten. It is expected to take roughly a month with the hopeful arrival date being the beginning of November.

The plan is to surf, sail, and sun ourselves up through this lower region of the Caribbean, island hoping along the way. None of us have copious amounts of cash lying around this year, unfortunately, so we will mainly be fishing and ricing for the next month which is exactly what the doctor would order for my poor stomach after the rich western food I have been inhaling since short spurt back in Canada.

After my arrival in St. Maarten I will be there for another season working at Ocean Explorers, enjoying full moons on the beach, and adventuring with my Maartian Monsters. Life is sounding pretty damn good right now!

Also, I would like to mention at this point a couple of thing:

1) the high in Calgary tomorrow is 7.

2) the high in Tobago tomorrow is 35.

3) I went through the airport today wearing a long sleeve t-shirt, hoodie, leather coat, jeans, and boots. I look ridiculous.

4) Tomorrow my surf board is waiting for me for a sunset surf when I get off the plane.

I am so happy I am finally going to be warm I can barely contain myself in the airplane seat J

Watch out Caribbean, here I come!

Gypsy Cat Stops

Even though this is a fun sail it is still a delivery and as such we have been forced move every day or so and as a result we have visited many islands in only a short amount of time. We have been to: St. Barths (Antilles), Virgin Gorda, Ginger Island, Norman Island, Cooper Island, Tortola, Salt Island (all British Virgin Islands), St. John, St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands), Culebrita, Culebra, Fajardo, Salina, Mona Island (all Puerto Rican Islands), Samana, Luperon, Santo Domingo (Republico de Dominicana), Santiago, Holguen, Havana (Cuba), Grand Inagua, Little and Great Exuma, Barracouta Rock, Staniel Cay, Waderlick Wells Cay, Allens Cay, Highbourne Cay, Nassau, Freeport (Bahamas, We are now is Beaufort (USA) and next stop Annapolis!