After breakfast this morning we visited the town of Soufries to get some provisions like fresh fruit, sandwich ingredients and a SIM card for the I-pad. The town is only a couple of miles away and we were there in a moment. As we descended the road we saw the town in a beautiful overlook. The colored roofs of the houses reminded me of the Cinque Terre. Once we arrived our first priority was to find a place to park. The roads are narrow, crowded with people, crowded with vehicles and we drive on the opposite side of the road than we are used to. All those things contributed to the urgency of our parking. We had been advised by the hotel concierge that the best market was across from the fire station. We decided we would explore on our way to the fire station. As we walked a few blocks it was confirmed that we were the only white people in a sea of black. This is not something familiar to us. People were everywhere. They were selling in the street, sitting on the sidewalks, sitting looking out of open windows that were so close to the street, standing around in clusters visiting. The Western Union office and the little grocery stores seemed to be the only businesses in town that were busy. We found an ATM and removed some Caribbean dollars. We quickly learned that we would not be able to buy a SIMM card for the Ipad. No such network existed on the island we were told. We would have to be happy with the internet provided in our hotel lobby and restaurant. The outdoor market was deserted but we found people all over the place on the side of the road selling little bits of fruit. Like ..take off your t-shirt, place it on the ground and put some produce on it and you are in business. They were selling yucca, yams, parsley, chives and some sort of citrus - probably lemons and limes- but they were different in size shape and color than would be typical. I was in search of portable fruit that could be taken on a picnic, some nice slices of sandwich meat, whole grain rolls etc. We gave up on the roadside vendors as they had nothing we were buying. The three grocery stores in town were tiny and it appeared that if such items were to be had at all we would have to pay dearly for them as they were a delicacy. Most items we searched for were not to be had. We purchased a little broccoli, celery, pears and apples. In the prepared foods aisle we found a few British products and so Ron selected a package of chocolate covered McVites digestive biscuits (relieved I think that he wouldn't go without a cookie all week). We also found some trail bars and insect repellent (we forgot to pack our Deep Woods OFF and so ended up with only 15% DEET). We couldn't find any acceptable sandwich ingredients or substitutes for picnic lunches. When we checked out that all added up to $127 Caribbean dollars. Even with the exchange rate at about 37 cents to the American dollar it was a hefty grocery bill for so little. The entire time we explored the town I found myself filled with gratitude for the things we take for granted. I didn't take any pictures because it didn't occur to me to at the time. In retrospect though I don't know when I would have taken one wthout feeling like I was intruding so intimate did tneir little town feel.
The weather has gone from overcast to sprinkles of rain to sunshine in a matter of 15 minutes. Down pours are mild and brief but frequent. As there seemed to be a break in the weather pattern we decided to return to our hotel. We ordered a lunch from the restaurant and took it to our Villa where we planned to spend the rest of the afternoon lounging both in and around the pool. By the time we had eaten lunch, put on our sunscreen and placed our bodies on the lounge chairs the weather turned to clouds and rain - only this time the weather stayed for a while. We pulled our chairs up on to our covered porch and have spent the past couple of hours dozing in and out of sleep. This is really a lazy day. In a couple of hours we will have dinner at Dasheen - a restaurant at a nearby resort.
These are pictures of our Villa here at the Stonefield Estates:
The entrance to our villa - the Frangipani.
Now you are inside the Frangipani . ...This is where we will live for the next week.
The above picture is of the Petit Pinon. We are going to climb the Grand PIton on Wednesday. Ron wanted me to be sure that you noticed it ...so he had me take this picture of him. I know that Lauren and Colby will get his message. We're having a little laugh as we type this ..because my finger is also in the photo.
Tropical flowers in every spot they could put them. I think we have about four boquets in our room...nice touch. We feel quite secluded and laziness actually feels good. Ron will be going nuts in the next 24 hours ...he can't sit this still for very long. For now though ....we are enjoying it.
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