Saturday, December 15, 2012

Bahamas - Week 3


Bahamas   -   Week  3

12/8/12 12/14/12

Still Rock'in Out
Grand Lucayan porch

Saturday night we went to Taino Beach with Curtis and Shelby for the local fish fry. This was the first time I ever had a deep fried whole fish and it was served with typical Bahamian rice and peas, and cole slaw. I'm picky about cole slaw and I think theirs was a little bit better than mine. I had a Kalik beer, Curtis had a Sands beer, both are brewed in the Bahamas and quite good. It was fun to sit outside at tables on the beach and talk. I don't think I realized that when you are away from home you don't have friends. You have service people to talk to, but usually not about normal, life things. It was a pleasure to sit and laugh and have fun with our new friends.

Saturday Night Fish Fry
w/our CS friends, Curtis & Shelby
Taino Beach


John and I came back to the room and played a game of Gin. I brought cards with us and decided that we could learn some new card games and watch a little less of night time TV. I started out so strong, but then John got the hang of it and it was all over. We used to play cards together a lot, so it is fun to get back to doing this.

Sleepy Sunday. Spent a few hours at the beach. I managed to get into the cold pool for the first time and it was OK after submersion.  Hot tub. A beer for me, rum and Coke for John.  We took a walk down the beach, visited with several couples, and then stopped at a little beach-side hut and got a fresh coconut with its coconut water and rum. Not my favorite, but fun to have a drink from a real coconut. Went back to get a rum and coke, and the guy, Anton, was out of rum and had to go to the store (hard to believe). So he took off and was back in about 15 minutes. Took some fun pictures and had a good time sitting on the beach drinking rum. What's not to like about that. 

I'm one cool jelly coconut
Sip slowly, I'm full of rum 

Monday, shuttle to the store day. Need milk and may have to make a trip just for that. Sure makes one appreciate having a car and just going to the store. I made pancakes this morning and they tasted so good. I didn't want to buy syrup, so got some cinnamon and made the old favorite cinnamon sugar. Yum.

On Tuesday we got cleaned up and were going to hop the shuttle and John's back went out on him. We had just gone down our 3 flights of stairs. He stood on walkway a few minutes, slowly turned around the luckily was able to get up the stairs slowly. Thank goodness because I sure couldn't carry him. Put him to bed with an Advil. He rested awhile then got up and moved around slow the rest of the day. Bedtime another Advil and a good night's sleep.

John got up and said he felt alright. Not ready to run a marathon, but much better. This aging can be unpredictable. I twisted my knee somehow (only turned the wrong way I think). You never know what part of the body is going to act up next. We just keep plugging along. There are days when all is well and you sure appreciate the body. It is 12/12/12, so we're hoping to make it through the day.  Took shuttle to Lucaya Marketplace, looked around, ate lunch, John bought my Christmas present.  Also tried the famous Bahamian dessert, Guava Duff.  A sort of course, heavy cake that has Guava in dough, that is topped with a sweet, whipped, fluff that has guava in it.  I could not taste any guava or anything, just sweet.  Heavy cake, too sweet, so glad I tried it, but I'll pass next time.  I don't think we are into Bahamian food at all.  Walked over to the big hotel downtown, Grand Lucayan, to look around.  What a beautiful hotel and at around $200 a night it should be.
 
Lobby Grand Lucayan
Palm Trees


It pretty much rained all day long Thursday. Hard, tropical rain. It stopped for awhile and John and I went down to the beach to read. Rained again but we were under a palapa, so we waited it out. Went into the ocean, swam around a bit and did some snorkeling. Visited with some people on the beach including a kite surfer. Went into hot tub and it was the first time we had more than a total of 4 people in there. It was a full house and we had fun visiting. Decided today that I better go scuba diving while here, so sent an e-mail to a dive shop to set something up.

Enjoyed day at beach and pool.  Pool is very cold, but I've managed to get in it twice.  Ocean is much warmer than the pool.  Nice to relax, tan, read, swim.

In the pool
Under the water fall
  
Went to beach at 11:30 p.m. for an hour to look at the meteors.  Saw lots of stars, but I guess the show will start later.  We'll see if we can get up at 2:00 a.m.??
 
 
Learned today of the shooting and deaths of so many people.  This breaks my heart when I think of those little children.  Crazy times we live in and I won't go on and on - though I could.  God Bless all the families involved.
 
The sun sets on a sad day
 


This somehow got pretty long – with not much activity. John's back is better, my knee is better so we'll just keep on keeping on.

*  I thought this was interesting since I had not had "coconut water" before and the guy referred to a jelly coconut that I'd never heard of......so if you care, see below.

The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut. The spelling cocoanut is an archaic form of the word.[3] The term is derived from 16th century Portuguese and Spanish cocos, meaning "grinning face", from the three small holes on the coconut shell that resemble human facial features.

Found throughout the tropic and subtropic area, the coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diet of many people. Coconuts are different from any other fruits because they contain a large quantity of "water" and when immature they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for drinking. When mature they still contain some water and can be used as seednuts or processed to give oil from the kernel, charcoal from the hard shell and coir from the fibrous husk. The endosperm is initially in its nuclear phase suspended within the coconut water. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the coconut, becoming the edible coconut "flesh".[4] When dried, the coconut flesh is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut water within is a refreshing drink. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.

 

Bahamas - Week 3


Bahamas   -   Week  3

12/8/12 12/14/12

Still Rock'in Out
Grand Lucayan porch

Saturday night we went to Taino Beach with Curtis and Shelby for the local fish fry. This was the first time I ever had a deep fried whole fish and it was served with typical Bahamian rice and peas, and cole slaw. I'm picky about cole slaw and I think theirs was a little bit better than mine. I had a Kalik beer, Curtis had a Sands beer, both are brewed in the Bahamas and quite good. It was fun to sit outside at tables on the beach and talk. I don't think I realized that when you are away from home you don't have friends. You have service people to talk to, but usually not about normal, life things. It was a pleasure to sit and laugh and have fun with our new friends.

Saturday Night Fish Fry
w/our CS friends, Curtis & Shelby
Taino Beach


John and I came back to the room and played a game of Gin. I brought cards with us and decided that we could learn some new card games and watch a little less of night time TV. I started out so strong, but then John got the hang of it and it was all over. We used to play cards together a lot, so it is fun to get back to doing this.

Sleepy Sunday. Spent a few hours at the beach. I managed to get into the cold pool for the first time and it was OK after submersion.  Hot tub. A beer for me, rum and Coke for John.  We took a walk down the beach, visited with several couples, and then stopped at a little beach-side hut and got a fresh coconut with its coconut water and rum. Not my favorite, but fun to have a drink from a real coconut. Went back to get a rum and coke, and the guy, Anton, was out of rum and had to go to the store (hard to believe). So he took off and was back in about 15 minutes. Took some fun pictures and had a good time sitting on the beach drinking rum. What's not to like about that. 

I'm one cool jelly coconut
Sip slowly, I'm full of rum 

Monday, shuttle to the store day. Need milk and may have to make a trip just for that. Sure makes one appreciate having a car and just going to the store. I made pancakes this morning and they tasted so good. I didn't want to buy syrup, so got some cinnamon and made the old favorite cinnamon sugar. Yum.

On Tuesday we got cleaned up and were going to hop the shuttle and John's back went out on him. We had just gone down our 3 flights of stairs. He stood on walkway a few minutes, slowly turned around the luckily was able to get up the stairs slowly. Thank goodness because I sure couldn't carry him. Put him to bed with an Advil. He rested awhile then got up and moved around slow the rest of the day. Bedtime another Advil and a good night's sleep.

John got up and said he felt alright. Not ready to run a marathon, but much better. This aging can be unpredictable. I twisted my knee somehow (only turned the wrong way I think). You never know what part of the body is going to act up next. We just keep plugging along. There are days when all is well and you sure appreciate the body. It is 12/12/12, so we're hoping to make it through the day.  Took shuttle to Lucaya Marketplace, looked around, ate lunch, John bought my Christmas present.  Also tried the famous Bahamian dessert, Guava Duff.  A sort of course, heavy cake that has Guava in dough, that is topped with a sweet, whipped, fluff that has guava in it.  I could not taste any guava or anything, just sweet.  Heavy cake, too sweet, so glad I tried it, but I'll pass next time.  I don't think we are into Bahamian food at all.  Walked over to the big hotel downtown, Grand Lucayan, to look around.  What a beautiful hotel and at around $200 a night it should be.
 
Lobby Grand Lucayan
Palm Trees


It pretty much rained all day long Thursday. Hard, tropical rain. It stopped for awhile and John and I went down to the beach to read. Rained again but we were under a palapa, so we waited it out. Went into the ocean, swam around a bit and did some snorkeling. Visited with some people on the beach including a kite surfer. Went into hot tub and it was the first time we had more than a total of 4 people in there. It was a full house and we had fun visiting. Decided today that I better go scuba diving while here, so sent an e-mail to a dive shop to set something up.

Enjoyed day at beach and pool.  Pool is very cold, but I've managed to get in it twice.  Ocean is much warmer than the pool.  Nice to relax, tan, read, swim.

In the pool
Under the water fall
  
Went to beach at 11:30 p.m. for an hour to look at the meteors.  Saw lots of stars, but I guess the show will start later.  We'll see if we can get up at 2:00 a.m.??
 
 
Learned today of the shooting and deaths of so many people.  This breaks my heart when I think of those little children.  Crazy times we live in and I won't go on and on - though I could.  God Bless all the families involved.
 
The sun sets on a sad day
 


This somehow got pretty long – with not much activity. John's back is better, my knee is better so we'll just keep on keeping on.

*  I thought this was interesting since I had not had "coconut water" before and the guy referred to a jelly coconut that I'd never heard of......so if you care, see below.

The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut. The spelling cocoanut is an archaic form of the word.[3] The term is derived from 16th century Portuguese and Spanish cocos, meaning "grinning face", from the three small holes on the coconut shell that resemble human facial features.

Found throughout the tropic and subtropic area, the coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diet of many people. Coconuts are different from any other fruits because they contain a large quantity of "water" and when immature they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for drinking. When mature they still contain some water and can be used as seednuts or processed to give oil from the kernel, charcoal from the hard shell and coir from the fibrous husk. The endosperm is initially in its nuclear phase suspended within the coconut water. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the coconut, becoming the edible coconut "flesh".[4] When dried, the coconut flesh is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut water within is a refreshing drink. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.