Hurricane Sandy

Tuesday was when a different adventure started. Woke up to rain, lots of it. And wind. At breakfast we discovered that a tropical storm was heading for us, and due to turn into a hurricane before hitting us on Wednesday.

So, we had a relaxing day in the villa. Reading, listening to music, watching TV. Stuart managed to get 3 swims in, despite the rain. I didn't!




Had a bottle of champagne in the evening on our balcony



And then got a jitney in the pouring rain and ate in the Chinese restaurant.

Wednesday morning dawned, lots of rain, and at breakfast we were briefed that a hurricane was indeed on the way, all resort transport was stopping, most restaurants were closing apart from the two main ones, and those of us in villas high up should get to the main house and weather it out there. This was the view from our balcony when we got up.

So, armed with iPad, books, iPhone etc, we got to the lounge at 11am in the last jitney to travel. The wind got up, the rain came down. The resort was completely boarded up



And the resort staff were in hard hats, waterproofs and wellies, with very large machetes stuffed in them....



So, we sat it out. Gradually things got worse, and I think the main hurricane hit us about 4pm. There were 110mph winds and driving rain. Palm trees were falling all around. I saw this one fall, it was quite spectacular.




The resort had closed all the bars, " to keep us safe", and stopped all transport, but some people chose to walk up the hillside to their villas, despite the wind and falling trees!

We read, played games, chatted to people. It was all very jolly, but boring by the time we'd been there 8 hours. We were lucky that we could go outside under the huge porch to watch the storm, and you can see how bad it was

Eventually, about an army of men went out with machetes to clear the paths, and then about 8pm jitneys started running again, and we got back to our villa. The devastation we passed on the way was amazing, loads of trees down, and there was a palm tree in our pool. Our room had a small amount of flooding but not much.

It was certainly an experience, and quite exciting rather than scary. But that was because the resort was extremely well organised and we were in a safe place. I can't imagine what it must have been like for some of the residents of Jamaica, who certainly don't live in well built houses.



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Jamaica

Sunday was an early flight from Provo to Miami, and then a 7 hour stop over. So, once we'd done that ridiculous American thing of picking up your bags and checking them in again we got a cab to South Beach.

Glorious sunny day, so we had an alfresco coffee with a delicious blueberry tart, walked down Lincoln Street, and then onto Ocean Drive for a long walk and look at the beautiful art deco hotels. Took loads of pictures, these are just a sample.








Then back for lunch by the beach at a little cafe called the purple penguin. Underneath the Penguin Hotel of course.



Stu had an omelette from the breakfast menu, washed down with beer of course. Got a cab back to the airport and just had a couple of hours looking at the shops and sitting in the lounge before our short flight to Montego Bay. Glad the flight was short, as it was very, very bumpy. I don't like bumpy! Picked up at airport and driven by a slightly mad Jamaican to the resort, took about an hour.

Arrived to some cold towels, and two chilled glasses of champagne. Our villa is on the top of a hill in a wonderful tropical garden, a jitney ride away from the main house. Jitneys are the little buggys which whizz around the resort ferrying you from place to place. Found a towel swan when we arrived. Like you do.



We found a grill by the pool serving food through the night, so had something to eat and a couple of drinks in the bar before the ride back to the villa, where we found the fridge very well stocked with rum, brandy, gin, vodka, beer, champagne, wine......

A great nights sleep, and we spent the next morning in our pool

Then we went to the beach side of the sport, and had lunch of jerk chicken, rice and peas and rum punch whilst listening to reggae. How Jamaican is that!



Some sunbathing, more rum punch, then we swam up to the swim up bar where I drank rather too much champagne, and Stuart was on the white Russians. Nothing that a little nap didn't sort out before dinner in the grill.

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Cracking Conch

Saturday we were up early, before 8! Off to catch a boat out to the reef. Fabulous day, and we were only a small party on the boat which was great. First stop was to dive for Conch, but they were playing hard to get, and no-one caught any. Luckily they had some live ones on the boat. Then it was off to the reef for some snorkelling. I really don't like water, ( a wimp, I know) so I stayed on the boat whilst the others went off looking at fish.









And apparently there were lots of fish!

Then it was off to Iguana Island, where we were shown how to crack conch



And get the conch out. Weird looking thing!


Then for a walk to look at the Iguanas which are everywhere


And then a swim, in another turquoise sea off a white sand beach.



When we got back to the boat, the conch had been transformed into ceviche, which we ate with tortilla chips, and very good it was too.



Then a fast dash to the shore. We'd been out on the boat for 4 hours, and were in need of a shower and a rest out of the sun. So we had a lazy afternoon, and then drank a bottle of Prosecco to toast our wedding anniversary, and off to catch the sunset again. Had a lovely meal, and watched the sun go down. Then back for a couple of drinks and bed, only to get up at 5.30am for a quick drive to the airport to catch our plane to Miami. The end of a fantastic week in Provo, it only seems 5 minutes since we got here thanks to our great hosts Toby and Helen, and now we set off on the second part of our Caribbean adventure to Jamaica.


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Dogs, Ospreys and blueberry mohitos

Thursday we set off in the car for another drive, this time to Leeward, parked the car on a lane, and immediately got adopted by 5 very friendly dogs who came for a walk along the beach with us and just wanted to play.




Another deserted beach, another turquoise sea.




Lovely walk along the beach with the dogs, and we got a good look at Iguana Island, more on that later! You can just see it behind the dogs in the picture above.
Then we drove along Turtle Tail, and looked at some beautiful houses, most valued at about $5m. Best start saving. Home for a swim and some great enchiladas cooked by Toby and Helen.
Friday Toby and Helen had off work, so we drove to North West Point, and took the car along the path Stu and I had walked along on Wednesday, a much better idea than walking! At the end we were met by another amazing beach




And some Ospreys. I was really surprised to see them, but we got a great view of them flying,




sitting by the beach:




And on their nest, which they're built in an old light container




Beautiful birds. We had a great walk down the beach




And then back home for lunch and a swim. In the evening we tried to catch the sunset, but we were a bit late, and it was cloudy. But we did catch an amazing bay




And a thunderstorm - the clouds were a wonderful colour




Then it was a couple of blueberry mohitos




Why have I not had this amazing drink before! A steak, and home for an earlish night


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Somewhere in Paradise

Great BBQ on Monday evening, Jerk Chicken and some steak which had been marinaded in rum. Yum!
Tuesday morning we set off for the beach again. Surprise surprise, the sun was out, the sky was blue, the sea was turquoise and the sand was white. Of course, I had to build another dribble castle....



Looks rather good on the rock I think!
Then we walked down the beach to find the famous Rickie's bar, but no-one had told us it wasn't actually called Rickie's :-). We found it anyway, and sat looking at the sea drinking cold beer and eating a leisurely lunch.



Walked back along the beach (did I mention it was deserted),



and back for a swim.



Great take away Pizzas that night for tea.
Wednesday we set off in our hire car to explore the Island. Drove along Chalk Sound, a large inland lagoon separated from the sea by a thin strip of land, with some very expensive looking houses on it. The lagoon was beautiful, full of small islands.



Then we drove up to the north west corner of the island, and hoped to get to North West Point, but got out of the car too early, mainly because it didn't look like it was possible to drive down the path, and set off to walk. After a while we realised a) it was a lot further than we thought and b) we were being eaten alive by insects.



I now am the proud owner of some amazing bites! So, we turned back, and drove to Da Conch Shack for lunch. An idyllic place on the beach, under palm trees, and yes, I did eat conch ( pronounced conck out here). Nice, a bit chewy like squid:



Sat for ages just looking at the sea, watching pelican, and back for a swim, chilling out, and with views like this, who could blame us!



Then a quick drive to Turtle,Cove where walked around the marina, and called in at a bar for a quick mohito.



At night we ate in an amazing bar under the stars, on the beach, called Somewhere. A fab day on paradise island!
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Turks and Caicos, here we come

Saturday was an early rise, 0330, especially as we hadn't actually gone to bed that early, having been to the City Hall to watch Alan Davies the night before. Luckily we both managed to sleep on the 3 hour drive to Heathrow. We weren't sure what BA would make of our rather unconventional luggage:



But luckily they were marvellous! 9 hour flight to Nassau, and an hour on the ground, and then the last hop to Provideciales where we stunned the customs people by walking through the "something to declare" channel and offering to pay them money. Not that I think we could have smuggled the boxes through!

Then a short drive to Toby and Helen's, and we were here. Lovely to see them both and their house, and after unpacking all of the stuff in the suitcases that we hadn't declared, including 4 pairs of curtains, we went out for a meal. Good local beer and food, but given the time difference I was a bit too tired to eat all of it. Bit of a treat to see a Night Heron walk into the bar, but none of us had cameras to capture it.

Good sleep, breakfast and out to the pool, where one of the family cats made friends with Stu and slept with him on the sunbed. Toby was having problems with his car, so we went into town and brought our hire car forward, then popped into the supermarket to pick up some essentials. Boy is it expensive over here! Cheapest wine is $14 a bottle, and even a piece of Camembert cheese was $12. Everything has to be imported, virtually nothing is produced on the island so you can understand it.

While we were out Helen revealed what was in the the boxes we had carried:



All ready for baby B-K when he arrives in March.

This afternoon we walked 10 minutes down a lane at the back of their house to be greeted by this view:




How fabulous is that. A deserted, white sand beach with a turquoise sea and blue sky. You might even see the pelican who joined us with his mate and flew so close to us, diving vertically into the sea for fish.


Of course, I had to build a dribble castle, my favourite pastime on a beach.



Then it was a short walk back, and to the pool for another swim and some reading in the sun. It's a tough life out here, but I think I could get used to it!

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Camping and floods

September is always the end of the camping season for us - not least because we're not old enough to have a camper van yet, so we still have our lovely, spacious tent :-)

This year our last trip this weekend was to Laneham.  We've been before, and thought we'd try it again - it's a lovely campsite, just a couple of very flat fields on the banks of the River Trent, and a good facilities block.

So, after torrential rain at the beginning of the week we were a little apprehensive, but when Stu and I got there Friday afternoon it was glorious. We've been camping a few times this summer, and I think this is the warmest weather we've had for putting the tent up. Perfect afternoon - tent went up easliy (it doesn't always), no arguments, and in an hour we were sitting in the sun reading the papers and enjoying a well earned g and T. With a power station in the background!

Our friends arrived later (one of them delayed because their camper van wouldn't start - more on that later), and soon we were set.

Eventually we set off to walk to the pub, only about 10 minutes away along the river. A good meal of fish and chips followed, and we set off to walk back. That's where the problems started. The Trent is a tidal river, and as we got to where it runs by the road, it became apparent that the road had disappeared, and there was a lot of river where there shouldn't be! It was very dark but we had torches, and managed to scrmable up a grass bak to get round some of it, but there was no alternative but to paddle through some of it. Of cousre, the more sensible people rolled up their trousers, but most of us just walked through. Back at the campsite we had wet feet, jeans, socks and shoes, but a warm camper van, a change of clothes, and plenty of brandy to warm up!

Next day was sunny again and we dried the wet stuff on the handy camper van rack!

We had to walk through the floods again to catch the bus to Retford. Luckily the tide was a little lower, and it was daylight so we didn't get quite as wet.

 Had coffee outside in the sun,

then joined the Chesterfield Canal, and walked to The Gate at Hayton - just over an hour's walk. It was lovely, very quiet apart from the odd boat, lots of wildlife, and an interestingly named lock along the way.

Met family at the pub for lunch, then walked back to town via the Hoppole pub, which had wild hops growing in the towpath near it. Bus back to Laneham, and walked back to the campsite - about a mile. After a rest, and a play with Stu's new telescope looking at the very bright full moon,

We walked to a new pub opened by a local brewery, about another mile, and met my family again. We played dominoes and cards, and ate excellent sharing platters - cheese, pate, pie, dripping, pickles, and a mound of bread. As well as sampling the real ale on sale of course. Then walked back. We walked a long way that day!

Sunday morning was a leisurely communal fried breakfast - each of us contributing something, and although not sunny, the tents were dry.
Then we started packing up and our friends set off in their camper van, only to ring us about 10 minutes later to say they were stranded, they'd obviously had a petrol leak, and needed assistance. Stu set off to help, and left me. Sitting in a field, on my own, in a half taken down tent, which I daren't complete taking down because he'd gone off in the car and all of our stuff was in the field and I had no shelter if it rained....

Still, he came back eventually and we got the tent down just before it rained!  All in all an excellent end to the camping season. Can't wait for next year!