we ordered the jerck chicken wings and the lobster sandwich. the lobster sandwich was a very good call, lobster gushing out of the bun, delicious. allie was trying the killer bee, the local rum punch which was perfect. we had a few of these and the next thing we new the afternoon was heading into the evening. the stu from the pirate boat came in to make reservations for the 20 or so kids doing some summer gap program studying marine biology while sailing , what a great gig.
we made friends with the owner sunny and he told us he would be having a bonfire so we decided to drag the whole day out sitting at the beach bar. allie wanted to tour the island the next day so sunny called a friend of his who drives a cab over and we negotiated a deal for the next day including waterfalls hot springs and trinket shopping down town
we also made friends with the local cat who definitely liked me better. we eventually had to declare victory and head back to palapa as we where running low on funds even with the 2$ beers and 5$ killer bees things can add up.
we had a ten am cab reservation and did not get up until 930. i made us a quick bfast of left over beans and eggs anf d cheese in a tortilla and we headed to shore. we went over the itinerary with the cab dude and the first thing he mentioned was he did not know where the waterfall was. ironic as he had assured us the day before he could take us there.
we drove around the island clockwise with the cabby stopping every few minutes to ask about the water falls. we discovered it was next to the prison and as we headed up the road towards it the cabby suggested that we stop at the prison and see if we could get a prisoner to guide us up to the falls. we thought he was joking but then we picked up a n off duty guard and he asked him the same thing. fortunately the guard said no. he had been to the falls and with his help we got dropped of at the trail head with directions up the mountain.
on the way up we met a honey moon couple we had seen at the bar the night before. they had a guide and where decked out in athletic gear. we had flip flops a 6 pack of beer and a dry bag. their guide told us it was "very dangerous" for us to go guide free. the honeymoon couple seemed equally concerned for us. how hard could this be we thought and surprise surprise we where correct. a trail is a trail regardless of the country and we had not trouble finding the falls and relaxing there.
we did 4 of the 6 falls and where back in 2.5 hours. the cabby was getting a bit weird at this point talking about how great a tip he deserved for finding the falls. i told him he owed us a beer for showing him where the falls where. in any case we continued on for a grocery store stop. we wanted a lunch stop but he vetoed this telling us we could have lunch back at the beach. we did grab some chips and beers to tide us over.
the next stop was the hot springs. there are these super hot natural springs near town warmed by the volcanic activity. he poo pooed this stop as well but we where not deterred and with much difficulty managed to submerge ourselves in the super hop t water.
as we where browsing at the gift truck the cabbie began reving the engine apparently in an attempt to get us to hurry. back in the van we told hem we just needed the trinket stop. at this point he assures us all the shops where closed but we insisted he make a swing by. surprisingly enough things where still open. i found a bar and had another 2$ beer while allie looked for trinkets to bring home.
finally back in the van we completed the circuit. of course our cabby was very cranky at this point insisting he get one hundred dollars even though we had agreed on 70$ we where glad we had decided we where not going to tip him at the last stop as he went no about people taking advantage of him. pretty rough life when you get 70$ for 6 hours of work in a country where beer is $2 per.
we had a nice lobster and shrimp dinner at the place next door to sunnys. everything was 20$ including the lobster, super good and super nice service . they even tool credit cards.
back on palapa the sun was setting and i was happy to declare victory but allie was excited about checking out the next island st kitts. we got under way for another night motor and anchoring. i had to veto the first planned anchorage as the swell was coming in but we anchored in this nice wide open bay near a beach bar.
we where happily sipping our rum looking at the stars when out of nowhere a firework's show started up. you cant get better than this we thought and called it a night. tomorrow allie wants to explore st kitts , i am thinking i will spend a relaxing day on palapa and skip another cab ride.
cheers
roger
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