Sunday Exploring

Waking up each morning to the warm sun is so good. Apparently up the hill here there is normally a breeze which keeps the temperature  very comfortable. However the weather has not been as "normal" this last week and it is hot from 6.00am...............however I am not complaining.

The island is "divided" into 6 areas, St John's, George, Peter, Paul and  Mary.  Today we were exploring the area on the south east part of the Island known as St Philip. Everywhere you look there are many, many churches. Even the smallest of villages will often have 2 or  3 churches. The ladies are always so well dressed  with very smart long but colourful dresses and of course .....hats.  As we passed through one small village I could see that all of the choristers were dressed in white robes, a real contrast to the colourful dresses.

All shops are closed on a Sunday but you can still buy  wonderfully fresh fruit and vegetables at little stalls by the side of the road. No parking bays ....you just skew to a halt  wherever. Tiny, fat little sausage like bananas are the sweetest ever as are the very small pineapples, native to the island. Friendly advice is also given as the vendor looks for the best piece for his customer...............eat the bananas tomorrow when they will be perfect!

Everywhere is so green and lush, the grass wild and high in many places due to the recent heavy rains.

The island is only 17 miles wide and it wasn't long, having driven along the main highway, Fig Tree Drive, before we reached our first port of call, English Harbour having passed Aunty May's Garden Shop!

The Marina is empty with only a few yachts left, the rest having taken off to cooler climes in the mediterranean. This is the "closed" season here, May to November,  the hottest part of the year!

I spent ages just watching the antics of a very old pelican as he ducked and dived catching fish.

I was reminded of you Munroe as a 7 year old  boy  reading "Storm Boy" for the first time  and the dramatic effect it had on you when the pelican was shot! There were 3 pelicans flying around and diving , always successful  with a mouthful of fresh fish as their reward.

This part of the island is much hillier, not high but with constantly changing heights. Bright and colourful buildings and with many hand painted signs obviously communicating the views of the writer!

Our first beach of the day was Pigeon Point and as you see just glorious. Nearly deserted with only a couple of adult groups just sitting and chatting in the remarkably warm waters, a scene that will have been repeated there since time immemorial!

Half Moon Bay, our next stop, so reminded me of Barra  in the Outer Hebrides, when Maggie and Brian, Jim and I  anchored there when we were on Arctica  in April 2008. Opposite sides of the ocean but the colours just the same..................although temperature somewhat different.

So many different sites and scenes reflecting the culture of the island!

So many gorgeous scenes and  how can I choose one  snap to represent a whole  experience of a beautiful moment in time? So many photo opportunities and here I go again snap, snap snapping........thank goodness for the advent of digital cameras........has it only been 13 years since my first camera?

Our next stop for lunch and ultimately for the rest of the day was a new luxury complex built by friends of Ann ( in fact her ex pupils!) at Nonsuch Bay. This was at the ends of nowhere along a very slow, and rickety, rocky, access road. Lunch was just delightful looking out from the hillside across the infinity pool out to sea. The fruit punches....non alcoholic..........are just fantastic.

We bedded down on the beach for an afternoon of reading and swimming and I have never  been in such hot.....no not warm............but hot sea water!

If you have the odd $750,000+ spare cash you can purchase one of the smaller one bedroom studio apartments................a little bit out of our league!

On our way home we eventually found a property we had identified for  Ann's consideration.............food for thought. Looking at properties helps fine tune your criteria and helps you determine the specifics. I do know however that the minute you walk into some place you know instantly whether it is really for you!

Exhausted............... we eventually arrived home just as darkness was falling, another satisfying and happy day.