3rd November, 2012
Not much to say about this day… we woke up early, as usual and decided to try to do as many of the chores as possible so that we can begin our vacation in Roatan.
Wolf and Patrick took Cary’s car and drove to Coxen Hole to buy an electrical power tester. One of the projects on the list was to find out why Cary did not have hot water. Looking at it did not provide a good diagnosis and Wolf needed to establish whether it was a power problem, or a hot-water-system issue.
While they were away, I carried on with the gardening. Charlotte has hired a man to help me, over the next week, so that all I have to do is give instructions. Caesar is a strong, middle-aged Islander who has a wonderful, placid, friendly disposition. He is extremely keen and eager to work. We continued to transplant and fill the flower beds, grouping them according to colour, texture and structural design. There is still tons more to tackle, though.
Wolf got the hot-water system working, spray-painted the security gate on Cary’s entrance door and fixed a power outlet that has never worked. Cary is over the moon – very pleased with what we have achieved already. We agreed that we would take the day off tomorrow, being Sunday, and do something relaxing; after all, we are on holiday – and on island time…
We spent some time with Gary and Charlotte before they left for the airport and their flight back to Oklahoma City. They handed us the keys and we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and moving in.
We love being on our own and enjoyed the evening watching a DVD and catching up on emails and newsletters.
4th November, 2012
We had decided that today is our day-off, a day of rest, no projects, no chores… just chilling; nevertheless, we still woke early, feeling wonderful that we were in the villa by ourselves. I made tea and we sat upstairs looking out at the blue sea and slightly cloudy sky. It seemed a waste to spend it doing nothing but we both felt really mellow, and not in a hurry to go charging off on some tourist-type activity. We walked to the jetty and I saw a boat with some locals on one of the neighbour’s jetties, so I walked across to ask about the water taxi – one can apparently call them and they will come and fetch you and deliver you wherever you want to go, for a fee.
The owner of the boat was busy cleaning a huge potato bass (known here as a ‘grouper’) the area in front of our houses is a Marine Reserve and they looked a little guilty, when I asked where they had caught it. “On the East coast,” was his rather faltering answer. He offered to take Wolf and I to West End for a fee of US $25 which we thought was a bit steep. Cary agreed, and said that he probably knew we were visiting and wanted us to pay for his morning’s fishing excursion.
We decided to wait until Cary was awake and ask her whether she had any plans. We cooked a great breakfast for the three of us and I prepared a plate of fruit – bananas, papaya, oranges and apple. It is such an indulgence to eat papaya every day.
The sea was calm and tempting so we abandoned our idea to visit the tourist beaches of West End, in favour of some pleasing exercise. We gathered our snorkelling gear, and carried the kayak down to the sea. The kayak is ideal; we paddled out over the reef and tied it to one of the dive buoys. This time we had no trouble getting into the water, as Wolf went in on one side, and I went in on the opposite side, simultaneously… on the count of three… the kayak didn’t even move.
The sea was not as clear as the previous time but when the sun broke through the clouds it was perfect. We swam this way and that, staying in a circle of approximately 100mts from the kayak. We noticed the drop-off which is where they probably take the scuba divers. It looked very enticing, but unfortunately out of reach to us. After snorkelling around for just over an hour we noticed three dive boats heading our way. It was time to move.
I had no trouble climbing back onto the kayak and we were soon paddling towards the shore. We dived into the swimming pool, rinsed our gear and stowed the kayak. We are rather tired, and have decided on watching a DVD and getting an early night.
I baked a German Chocolate Cake which I will distribute to the folk in the complex. One slice is enough for us. I love cooking and baking with gas – it is so fast and easy.
Till next time…
Satisfied, relaxed and contented, sending greetings from paradise.