arrrrrr.

It seems like forever ago that my mom was here. She left a week ago today. Unfortunately my wifi has been really unreliable, hence the delay in sharing the rest of our adventures. I am now camping out by the pool, hooked up to my landlords wifi. Hopefully I can get this post done before it rains!

My mom's parents came to Barbados about 30 years ago. They went on the Jolly Roger, a pirate ship that cruises just off shore, and the story goes that my Pip had a few too many rum punches. After hearing about Pip doing a backdive off the plank, pantsing his friend and making my Mim cry, my mom decided it was a must when she came to visit! So Sunday morning we were picked up and brought into Bridgetown to cast away on the Jolly Roger. We boarded the boat and set sail. Two rum punches deep at this point we were loving life as they played the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song.

Our first stop was in Carlisle Bay to snorkel at a ship wreck. We walked the plank and dove in. Neither of us being very graceful. We avoided doing backdives off the plank, but there were some brave souls that got adventurous. We then spent a while swimming with the fishies before heading to our next destination.

We had a buffet lunch on board. We had steak and tuna along with macaroni pie, salad, rice, garlic bread and more rum. They then sent us out in style to swim with the turtles. This was a blast.

But the best part of the day was definitely swimming with the turtles. I can't describe it. Finding Nemo did a great job of portraying them, Duuudddddeeeee! They were so cool!

After our swim it was time to cruise back to shore. We had a dance party on deck and enjoyed the rest of our sail. It was a great day! Arrrrrr.

molly's adventure

I still have plenty of pictures and stories to share from visiting with mom BUT I think this is a worth while interruption.

My main girl, Molly, is moving to London, ENGLAND! Not London, Ontario. I had to clarify, because I would be excited if she moved to London, Ontario too, way closer to me! I am so proud of this girl, you have no idea. She gave up a job she loved to do something that she has always wanted to do. This is something totally outside of the box for Molly who is even more OCD than me! (hard to believe I know!) She's going to London to work at a pub and she's living in a cottage next door with some friends. It sounds like perfection to me. She has started a blog and I'm so excited to follow along on her adventure, and I thought you (whoever is reading this, that is) would want to follow her too!

Love you girl! I can't wait to hear all about your adventures. And hopefully I can come visit you soon so we can have some adventures together! xoxoxo

saturdays & sunburns

Saturday morning mom and I headed to Hastings where there is a little market set up once a week. I talked about going to Hastings last weekend too. The best part about the market is the walk to the market. There is a boardwalk stretching from Accra beach all the way down to Hastings (and probably further but I've never gone past Hastings). Mom and I stopped to enjoy the view. I can't get over the colours in Barbados. Everything is so vibrant. Gorgeous.

 These pictures we took with my Joby Gorillapod tripod. It is seriously cool. I was able to set it up on a pretty uneven rock and not be concerned about my camera falling to its death. Even my mom, who thought it was a waste of money thought it was pretty neat! I used a remote as well.

We came back from the market tired and sunburnt. I guess we forgot the sunscreen. Only way to fix our silly tanlines was to spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach. This time, we wore sunscreen. We rented chairs from the Tiki Hut on Accra beach, where your chairs cost you $30 Bd but you get to drink that amount at the bar. I'm thinking of making it my summer goal to try every one of the drinks on their menu. 6 down, 54 to go!

oistins fish fry

First things first, I'm not a fish person. I grew up eating fresh fish at the cottage but I would only eat it if it was "a beauty" (otherwise known as a sunfish, which meant my parents lied everytime we ate fish because sunfish have barely any meat on them). I stopped eating fish for a while but I have come to like perch and some other mild fish in the last few years. But I knew coming to Barbados was that I was going to have to eat more fish.

I had heard about Oistins before coming to Barbados. A little fishing town, famous for it's Friday night fish fry. The first night mom was here we caught a ZR (small vans that are known for their loud music and crazy driving) into Oistins. We got there early so we had a chance to look around and check out the vendors. There were a lot of delicious looking options but we decided on Uncle George's. I had been told by everyone I have met so far that Uncle George's had the best fish and they definitely didn't disappoint. Thanks Uncle George.

 There are picnic tables set up under tents with twinkle lights which makes for a very cute atmosphere. I had the mahi-mahi and mom had tuna. We shared a big helping of macaroni pie and each had a few rum punches. There were quite a few chickens and roosters wondering around while we ate and this guy was glad we ordered fish!

After dinner we wandered around the arts and crafts booths while enjoying more rum and beer. We stopped off at the stage to watch some "wukking"(Barbados dancing) and listen to some awesome steel drum versions of current dance music. Mom had been up since 3:30am so we called it a night early and headed back to my apartment for a quick dip before passing out.

barbados, beaches and banks (beer that is)

I am in Barbados. I am in Barbados. No matter how many times I tell myself I still can't believe it.

The flight was uneventful. My dad brought me to the airport Thursday night. The trip to the airport was probably more eventful than the flight itself. There were a bunch of road closures and if anyone has driven with my dad they know that he does not deal well with detours. Long story short I thought I might die before actually getting to Barbados. BUT we made it to the hotel in one piece and passed out for a few hours before our 5:45am wakeup call.

I watched the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants during the flight. I forgot how cheesy it was and that it makes me cry every time. After that I started reading the Fault in Our Stars. And cried again. The person next to me on the plane probably thought I was psycho.

After a quick nap we were flying over Barbados. I was able to snap a quick picture with my iPhone of the coastline as we decended. Gorgeous.

Once I got to the apartment and changed, Juliana and James (my landlords), took me into town to get a Barbados cell phone. They also showed me the way to the beach, grocery store, restaurants etc. We stopped to get rotis on the way into town. I tried curried chicken and potato and loved it! After unpacking, a quick swim and a shower, I called it an early night.

I woke up early with the sun and had coffee (it was instant and gross) and eggs on my porch. I headed to the beach and walked along the boardwalk to the Hastings market where I bought some fresh melon and bananas. The market had a few produce vendors, arts and crafts, and a smooothie/juice bar. I had a fresh fruit smoothie with mangos and bananas, mmmm. I walked back only the beach and even though it was overcast, it was beautiful. I cannot believe I am actually in Barbados.

Can you see the little crabs?

After another quick stop at the grocery store, I finally headed home. Just in time too because it started to pour as I was getting home. Now I'm going to relax with my ice cold Banks Beer and hope that the sun comes out so I can go relax on the beach.

whirl wind

I think "whirl wind" is a pretty good title for my life right now. I moved back home from London on Saturday and I'm still pretty much living out of boxes. Half of my stuff went into storage and the rest was brought back to my parents house. Unfortunately, my stuff was dispersed between three vehicles for the move and my attempt at organizing and labelling each box's intended destination failed. This means that I've spent the last few days searching for things I need to pack only to realize the box I need accidentaly ended up in storage. Ugh!

But the packing process is proving to be a bit of a challenge. I'm a "What-if-I-need-this-What-if-I-don't-like-this-How-can-I-choose-just-one-Have-to-have-it-all" kind of packer. You know? In the beginning I always try to plan outfits, but then a little voice inside my head asks, "But what if you don't want to wear that shirt with those shorts?" Which then leads me to packing 3 other shirts that go with those shorts, because who knows how I'll be feeling that day. That's a common problem right?? But I think I'm doing pretty well right now. I am aware that I am over-packing slightly but I'm gone for 10 weeks! I keep finding blogger tutorials like "How to pack a carry-on for 1 week" or "What to pack for a month long backpacking trip through Europe" BUT no one has made a tutorial on "What to pack for a two and a half month long internship on an island that is seriously hot and humid." And I'm not about to because I'm basically putting my whole "summer wardrobe" and a bunch of work clothes into a suitcase and hoping for the best.

At last weigh-in, both of my checked luggage are at the max (50lbs). Oops. Let's hope my scale at home is accurate or weighs heavy. My carry-on and "purse" (a massive tote bag I'm hoping to pass off as a purse) are also both jammed packed. AND I'm leaving behind a few pairs of shoes for my mom to bring when she visits this month.

I'm currently scrambling around the house while crossing things off my to-do list/packing list. I leave tonight to head to Toronto and my flight takes off early tomorrow morning. Hopefully my next post will be while I'm sitting on my porch soaking up the sun!