To Absent Friends!

My grandmother passed away two days ago at the age of 101 after a long and fulfilling life. I've been thinking that in so many ways, she is the reason that I am here. 

She and my grandfather purchased a summer cottage on the shores of Buzzards Bay where I learned to sail as a gangly nine year old.  The love of the sea that spending summers there instilled in me was responsible for my signing on as crew on a 55 ft ketch in Boston Harbor soon after I got out of university. I spent almost a year living on that boat and sailing most of the islands in the Windwards and Leewards. On that trip, one of my favorite stops was Antigua so it was without much hesitation that I took the  job teaching here when it presented itself some 25 years later. 

Granny is also responsible for the friendly, outgoing and positive qualities that my family and I possess. These qualities have made it easy for me to establish myself in a new job, in a new country, with new friends. 

For all this and much more I am grateful for what she has given me. 

I will miss her dearly and will carry on the toast that I first heard at her table:

"To Absent Friends!" 

Movember

Some of you may have heard about Movember, the renamed month of November, where men around the globe grow MOustaches to raise awareness of and money for prostate and testicular cancer. A group of us here at school have been working hard during the past month cultivating a variety of styles of below the nose and above the mouth adornments. This weekend, we will celebrate our efforts with a party and official shaving-off ceremony.   Our little group has raised over $3000EC. If you'd like more info or are interested  in donating, go to Movember.com. You too, can become a MoBro!

Thanks in advance for your support.

Prairie Island

When one thinks of a Caribbean island like Antigua, images of pristine beaches, aquamarine waters and swaying palms come to mind. After getting around the island a bit, some of the landscapes seem surreal, as if they are from a different place in the world. One landscape that grabs my attention is the grasslands.  

When driving by or walking through some parts of the island, open spaces full of high, wavy grass are visible. Sometimes they have requisite livestock grazing laconically in the tropical sun. Often, they are as clear as a Kansas wheat field marked only by a solitary tree bending with the wind. The grass reflects the sunlight and, depending upon the time of day, gives off a variety of earthy hues. 

Mt. Obama

On a recent Saturday, I climbed Mt. Obama, Antigua’s highest peak at 1327 feet above the surrounding azure seas.  Until this past summer, the mountain was called Boggy Peak. The government chose to change the name to honor Barack Obama’s election.  

            The most accessible route to the summit is by the access road that was built to install and maintain the communication dishes and antennae at the summit. There is a foot trail that winds up through the rain forest, but that will have to wait until I get to know the island a little better.

             I was to meet two other teachers, Mark and Chris, at ten in the morning but car troubles postponed their arrival until 11:30, just as the hottest part of the day commences. Luckily, we carried extra water. The road is full of switchbacks and has some of the steepest grades I’ve ever seen. Near the summit the pavement is slick with moisture and mossy plant growth making for slippery footing.  I certainly would not want to drive Subi up or, especially, down on this road. It makes the Mt. Washington Auto Road look like stroll in the park.

            There are good views of the island as you climb. Unfortunately, the summit is disappointing because it is fenced off and one is not permitted inside.  We tried to get views by climbing an antenna outside of the fenced-in summit to get above the surround treeline.  I can only hope they open it up for President Obama if he ever visits! After all, he has reached quite a summit of his own.

Green Island

On the eastern side of Antigua lies Green Island, an uninhabited island with many small beaches and great snorkeling. Some of the Italians that Abi works with venture there regularly to spear fish and cook out on the beach. I was lucky enough to join them on their last voyage.  Two small boats brought us out to a secluded beach with beautiful white sands.  We set up the grill and soon had a fire going to grill some tasty chicken and beef cuts.  Serafina, the youngest member of the landing party at 14 months, basked with us in the warm shallows. The raggazzi donned wet suits, weight belts and snorkels and were gone for nearly three hours.  When they returned with lobsters and several fish, we unfortunately had to break camp and head home as the mosquitoes came on with a vengeance.  

Sailing to Mushroom Beach

My neighbor, M, generously gave me use of his sailing dinghy, a Vanguard 15. It’s a 15 foot, fast planing hull with jib and large main. He and I have sailed a few times and after getting used to her ways, I’ve taken friends out when M is not around. Last week I took the triplets and their mom on a light wind day up to the head of Willoughby Bay. With one triplet between N and I, and the other two on the leeward side of the boat, we tacked upwind for an hour or so swapping sides in a delicate choreography every time we came about.

The waters are laced with coral heads, reefs, patches of sand and weeds. N stood watch on the dagger board ready to raise it quickly if we got into shallow waters but we managed to maneuver through all the varied colored waters with ease. We even came up with a saying to guide us; ‘Blue is True, Green is Keen but if it’s Brown or Black, it’s Time to Tack!’

We ended up reaching ‘Mushroom Beach’, a remote spot we’ve hiked to while fossil hunting. We took turns holding the boat off the beach while we swam in the gently rolling surf. On the downwind run home, we pulled up the dagger board and skirted over the shallow parts we had to avoid on the upwind leg. The kids hung over the sides peering into the shallows trying to spot rays, gar fish, conchs and other sea creatures. We surprised what we guessed was a rather large basking sea turtle as there was a huge thrash and splash ten feet off the bow. A nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon in November!

Countdown to Splashdown

The two person, 14’ sailing dinghy I acquired is getting closer to her first dunking under new ownership. Michael, the bondo expert, was over to help with hull repairs and some general male bonding. I’ve located several missing standing and running rigging parts that should arrive in a few weeks from the states.  The mast has been polished and messenger lines have been fished inside awaiting new halyards. She will no longer be a ‘ship without a rudder’ as I’ve managed to find a used blade in S. Carolina.  Some prospective crewmembers have helped in fairing, waxing and polishing the hull and a trip to the sailmaker is in the works to repair a few spots in the mainsail.  With more hard work, some luck, a name and a bottle of champagne for her christening, the dinghy should be ready for launching and exploring Willoughby Bay, and beyond, sometime in December. 

Up in the Hills

On a recent hike to Strawberry Hill, Javier and I began climbing a trail through the coolness of the rain forest. We ascended gradually to an open ridge that was covered in chest high fields of lemon grass. Lemon grass emits a strong lemon scent when crushed between your fingers and makes for fragrant strolling. Once, when we lost the trail, the lemon grass turned into masses of sharp edged blades that rasped and scraped into our shins. Near the summit we came across several donkeys happily munching away. Some were tethered and tangled and we spent some time untangling them to increase their grazing radius. Just beyond the donkeys we came across two small ponds that contained brown water and small fishes, an unlikely sight at an elevation on a normally dry island. The view from the windy summit (approx. 1220’ elevation)  was panoramic with long views of close and distant hills, roads, and villages all rimmed by the green of the sea.