More Scenes in Roseau, Dominica

This is the view towards our hotel from the Ship (Book Ship I have named it).

You can see how the hotel is built on the rocks. Behind the rooms there is a strong rock cliff which can't be seen in the photo. More of the hotel is built atop the cliff.

I didn't go to the cricket as it is way too hot for me out in the open. I wandered around the town of Roseau and bought a couple of bits of jewellery from the local stalls. These schoolgirls were on their way to visit the Book Ship. Every day there are lots of school groups heading there. There are 1000s of children's books at very cheap prices. Pity my bags are crammed full!!! I felt quite safe walking out of the hotel and up and down the streets nearby. In a moment I'm going to test out the pool which is one floor down so I'll take some photos to post later.

Yesterday morning we went to a Naming of the Stands Ceremony at the cricket ground. Billy Doctrove had a stand named after him. It was  a lovely ceremony with Billy and several Dominican cricketers, who played fo WI, being honoured. We met 2 of Billy's children, who are delightful. Britnee is 11 and Alonzo is 5.

Daryl did an on air radio interview afterwards.

Our lovely Close Protection Officer (CPO) Benjamin,  was always a metre away.









Last night Daryl and I had dinner at La Maison, just a few minutes' walk from here. We weren't sure what to expect but the service by a local waiter was fabulous and the food the best we've had since we have been in the Caribbean.

On Wednesday night we went to another Digicel evening at the State House across the road from the hotel. Apparently the theme was red and white but noone told me til way too late.  :)

The lady between Daryl and me is Antonellia, Umpire Billy Doctrove's wife, The other ladies are her Scotia bank colleagues.There were several local performances, including the guy in  yellow! Check him out.


The steel band had a fabulous sound of course-a real Caribbean flavour.

On Wednesday, very early, we headed for the airport for our 8 am flight to Dominica. The players' bags travelled in style!

We arrived safely after a 30 minute flight, to the musical welcome of this band. As we travelled with the West Indes group there was a lot of fuss on arrival.

We then loaded into our van for the 70 minute trip across the island to our hotel. In hindsight, someone should have warned me about the winding single lane (two way) road that wound itself up and over the mountains. There was a lot of start-stop as we squeezed past other vehicles! I would love to have taken photos for you, of the fabulous mountain and forest scenery but the camera went away smartly as I struggled to keep down the airport coffee. Much to my embarrassment, and relief, I had to ask the driver to stop while I was sick. All witnessed by our team and the carload of security guys who were following behind. Only another 20 minutes!!!! and I was in my room and on the bed. Even looking at the view made me feel sick. After a 3 hour sleep I was feeling better and able to take in the fabulous view.
Those rocks are right below our balcony. We are 2 floors up. The waves just keep on crashing in. The Hotel Fort Young was a fort in the early days, used by the French and English. It became a hotel but was completely flattened by a hurricane in the 70s and has been rebuilt. Our room is lovely. Even with the door closed you can hear the waves. The ship in harbour is a book fair!!! I strolled over for a look on Wed and bought a few novels very cheaply. (This ship travels the world with Christian volunteers running it.) I could feel that I wasn't on solid ground so I have confirmed my belief that I would not survive life on a cruise ship. (unfortunately)





 

Still in Antigua

Our thoughts are with family at home today. Daryl's sister, Claire, is in hospital with a serious viral infection. We send our love and best wishes and hope she is on the mend soon. It's hard to be this far from home at a time like this.

We are still in Antigua where the weather is warm and humid. Daryl umpired his second game here today. I spent the morning on the beach and the afternoon watching TV. Not a bad life.
I'm still struggling with photo placement in these posts so I leave you to work them out.
There's a photo of the PM of Antigua with Graeme Smith, Captain South Africa, at a Digicel evening.

Then there's  our dinner guests at Lydia's Restaurant. They are match officials. Then there is the beach where I spend my time. It is really that blue! Unbelievable really.

That's my spot under the shelter.

Latest word is that we still go to Dominica Wednesday, but Jamaica is off due to some shootings of police there in a drugs dispute. Not sure where that game will be now...maybe St Lucia or even Trinidad. (Trinidad was on the agenda for the games held here. An election was called and it was deemed unsafe for cricket so Antigua was chosen.)
It's an unpredictable world.

We arrived here in Antigua on Tuesday morning. There was a 30 minute drive to Jolly Beach Resort where we are staying until Wednesday. Jolly Beach is a rabling resort which can hold about 1000 people. Thankfully there are only about 200 at the moment. It's an all inclusive stay with food and drinks included. Mind you I have been slugged a mere $US95 per day extra. Internet is free and we can both use it at the same time. Still not happy at the price. Pity I'm not big on cocktails in this heat.
There's an all you can eat buffet restaurant where you can eat 3 meals a day. It's ok. Last night though we booked another one and had a la carte plus wine. Very nice and free. Tonight we are off to a Digicell Reception for players and officials, the dinner in a different restaurant again. Daryl went to the game today to watch but doesn't do his first game til Saturday.
I spent a few hours by and in the pool today. I tried to stay in the shade under a palm tree while reading but I am a little burnt. I have never seen such red and incredibly burnt people before. We are much more sunsmart in Aus.

The ocean is calm, blue and cool. You can just walk in as it's a lovely temperature, just a bit cooler than the pool. I'm enjoying the relaxation here.

Views from breakfast

                                             The Pool

Please excuse the photos and captions that are all over the place. I'm gradually learning but progress is slow!

We arrived in Barbados on Saturday. There was the usual steel band welcome at the airport. My camera fogged up immediately in the warm humid air so the photos are not the best.
We stayed at the Barbados Hilton which was lovely. The pool was warm and the ocean looked welcoming. However the wind blew up and strong waves closed the beach for swimming. Daryl and I were just wading in when we were whistled out by a life guard.
On Sunday, we went to the Twenty Twenty Final between Aus and England. I was barracking for Aus along with a small crowd of Aussie supporters. There were thousands of England fans and they were jubilant at the end of the game. The Aus women did win though, beating NZ.

We had 3 days in Barbados. Daryl had a conference Monday and I went shopping locally.

This was our Police Outrider who escorted us to the cricket. These rides are always fun. 













 

View from our roomGoodbye Barbados

The Final is about to beginCharacters at the game

We left Barbados at 6am with torrential rain and strong wind suggesting we might have a rough flight. The small Liat Dash gave us a smooth ride though and we landed in Antigua safely. There was a bit of action at the airport before we boarded. One of the planes had smoke billowing out of one propellor after it started up and passengers were hurriedly deplaned. Not our plane thankfully.

Back to New York

We took the train back to New York and then a train and ferry to stay with friends Kathy and Joe on Staten Island. Daryl met Them in Trinidad a few years ago and we have kept in touch. We dined at a lovely restaurant that night with views of the Brooklyn Bridge. The food was delicious. Next day Kathy took me to Michael's Art & Craft store to check out the scrapbooking supplies. I managed to buy a few things, addng to our already heavy luggage. We then took the ferry back to Manhatten. The ferry is free and holds several hundred people. You get fabulous views of the Statue of Liberty and also of a mini Sydney Harbour Bridge, from the ferry.
We checked in to the Holiday Inn again for one night, rearranged our luggage and prepared for a 4:30 wakeup. We took a taxi to JFK the next morning and boarded an American Airlines plane for Barbados.

Spotted in a shop window in Salem

Salem Cemetery

Salem

Today we took a train to Salem and had a lovely day wandering the historic town.
I have a bit to learn about uploading photos in alignment so please bear with me.
We found a few things to buy, including a cross stitch of the local area and a couple of Christmas ornaments.
There is plenty to see in the town and lots of colourful history.
We also called into the Sports Pro shop which is conveniently positioned at the 'T' (train station). Tim and Nelson will look fine in their new Celtics gear!

Icecreams USA style