Chronicles of a Shoemaker's Daughter

Well, I did finally track down some of my own photos that I did managed to snap before my camera and a big wave had a show-down on Rendezvous Bay ... My internet keeps cutting out every time I try to upload ... somehow the snow storm, which was really a non-event here in Toronto, has affected some of the cable systems around my neighbourhood. Eventually, there should be more than one photo here. ;o] So, today - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - the internet gods have smiles ever so slightly, and they have let me upload a few more photos ... Most were taken around Meads Bay, near the Frangipani Hotel and Straw Hat Restaurant. One or two are from Upper Shoal Bay East, near Gwen's Reggae Grill ... I think ...

These photos were taken around my cottage at Oualie Beach Resort - not so much a resort, but more a collection of ginger-bread cottages on a nice stretch of beach with shallow, warm waters, a pier for boating and water-sport activities, an in-house sea-creature attraction-educational facility-"turtle-camp", and a terrifically laid-back and funky, yet decidedly, old-world Caribbean restaurant and bar. On day one, check-in was early and I decided to forego the plans to tour around Nevis for the day and drop in on old friends around Pinney's Beach, because I could not tear myself away from this place and the haunting view of St. Kitts's South East Peninsula across the narrows!  It seems like a long time ago now, but it was spring, 2009!  Much has changed in my life since then, and this is still where I'd rather be!

OK, so let's wrap th is up. All I can say is that I had some great meals and some meals that did not quite live up to the hype, when I was in Anguilla. Sand Bar not only lived up to the hype, but I liked it SO much, that I went back a second time, even though there were so many other places I had hoped to visit during my short 4 day stay. But I just HAD to sample whatever menu offerings I left behind the first night. It isn't just the fa ct that the chef is Canadian, and formerly from one of the chi-chi hotels in Anguilla, or that her husband who also doubles as the bar-tender offers weary lone travelers a true Anguillian welcome, or the teriffic sunsets, or the reasonable pricing ... No, I think it's just the way that all these elements somehow weave together to provide a very real and relaxed experience. This place is not stuffy in the least, nor is it a beach shack. Yet it is right on the beach! I think if I lived in Anguilla, this would be my after-work hang-out. I li...

Unless of course you write about it. Well it's confirmed - I am not taking any southward bound vacations this spring. So now, Anguilla and the rest of the Caribbean are consuming my every thought. Under pressure of unrealistic deadlines, what do I do? Go on the hunt for unfinished trip reports. Here is what I was able to find so far ... my goodness, am I ever long winded! This is only the first 2 - 3 days - imagine if I had stayeda full week! Dinner my first night, was at Tasty’s, and it was indeed, tasty. Except for the fact that I was a) tired from partying at the family reunion/wedding in Toronto the night  before, and b) belatedly reeling from the rough crossing between St. Maarten/St. Martin and Anguilla: I seemed to be experiencing delayed sea-sickness. My meal of Stewed Chicken with rice and the freshest veggies I have ever tasted, was nicely packed up and I was sent home with what seemed like enough food for the next 3 daysworth of lunches, dinners or midnigh...

I wanted to post a photo of something that happened in St. Kitts. But it seems to have gone to computer chip heaven along with some of my missing Anguilla photos. So, after I left Anguilla, I met up with my friends, "Mr. & Mrs. _eh," in St. Martin, and we flew to St. Kitts on one those wonderful LIAT puddle-jumpers. I rented a car there too. Then I proceeded to do my very best to break it. I even had a "mug-shot" of the evidence ... me holding a piece of what was left of the license plate after I plowed into a low wall, in the hotel parking area. Unfortunately, the photo was taken with my Samsung Ace phone, which died recently, before I remembered to retrieve my photos. With a dead camera, you would think I would have ensured that my phone-photos were well saved, backed up, whatever. But NO! Anyway, I guess today, I started thinking about my weird "equipment karma", that seems to extend all the way from kars to cell phones, to PC's. An...

Well, I must say that I have a lot of special memories of each and every day of this recent holiday - involving so many other special places and special folks that may not get mentioned - not because those moments were any less special, but because this day really stands out in my mind right now, as I grapple with a colder than normal early June in Toronto. In case you're wondering, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th photos in this blog are NOT recent, but from 1990! Now, back to 2009 - one week into this trip, the first Saturday was THE day that finally brought things full circle for me ... the day that I truly fell in love with "my special island" all over again. And, finally ... one of my old friends was visiting the island for the first time, one of the people who was part of my circle of friends, 21 years ago when I first went to St. Kitts and moved into the Jack Tar Village for the better part of a year ... Finally, a member of my old Toronto "crew" who never really...

Hearing about all the recent changes to airline travel - cost saving measures, charges for checked baggage, charges for food and beverage - got me thinking about the good old days, when the customer was king ... or was he/she? I seem to recall that even when there were more (though not necessarily more affordable) flights in and out of the Caribbean, travelers were still at the mercy of any number of elements beyond their control, or comprehension. Though, admittedly there were fewer hassles in terms of baggage and carry-on restrictions, in the pre-pre-911 era, air travel was not without its excitement - and a story to tell at the end of it all! Picture this: St. Kitts, October 1988. My friend, Miss M (a Canadian ex-pat )and I were living at the only real resort on the island. OK, she was living there, while I was on a very, very extended stay - I say this bec ause, technically, I didn't actually have a work permit, but I was definitely working there! Anyway, her older sister, ...