THE NORTHERN LINK

My friend Hen and her visiting friend Annemarie, Ernard, McDowell, and I hired Henrik and his van and took our favourite road trip known as The Northern Link.  It connects the west coast and the east coast of the island along the north coast.  It climbs over Morne Aux Diables (2,826ft) and has stunning views both north to Guadeloupe and Les Saintes, and south across  Portsmouth to Morne Espagnol.  The summit is the crater of a dormant volcano.   

The weather was cool, and as we headed to Penville and Vielle Case became quite misty.  We drove through the clouds and decided not to stop and take the ten-minute easy hike in to see the Cold Soufriere where the sulfur bubbles up through the rocks.  We did stop by the side of the road to view the truly awesome verdant mountains and valleys.  On to Pointe Michel and the Chocolate Factory. There Allan Napier grows and makes the best chocolate anywhere.  We were graciously welcomed, given a tour, and shown the process - from tree to pod to bean to drying to curing to bar.  Annemarie bought several bars to take home to the UK.  I bought myself a large bar of ginger chocolate.

Then we headed to the village of Calibishie, walked around a bit, had a lovely leisurely lunch by the rolling Atlantic Ocean, and watched a man out in the ocean collecting winkles (wigo in patois).

From there we drove to Bense and spent some time there.  Both McDowell and Henrik knew everyone and were warmly greeted.   We had intended to go from there to the Chaudiere Pool but decided that since the road was all chewed up by the big trucks working at the new airport site, and we were tired and satiated by the overwhelming scenery we would save it for another trip.

Home to Portsmouth, well satisfied with our day and the outing.

AN ARTIFACT

 Hans and I would have been married for 60 years when he died last summer.  We lived together, as a couple, for 45 of those 60 years.  We were married in the Hampstead registry office in London, July 26, 1963.  We exchanged wide gold wedding bands as was the custom of the times.  He never wore his.  I dont know where it is.  I didn't see it, or find it when I was there.  I did find mine. I had taken it off when I moved to Dominica and left it at home in Perth.

But some years before that, as my finger knuckles were swelling and knotting and becoming arthritic I had to get it cut off.  I could not get it past my now misshapen ring finger knuckle.  Steve, a local artisan goldsmith fashioned a little hinge and catch on it, so I could open it wide and then clip it on.  I wore it like this, safely, for years after, until I  took it off and left it in the Brooke Valley house. Then when I was home this past summer to say goodbye to Hans I found it and put it back on.  I don't know why, we had hardly even talked to each other for the last ten years, but it seemed the right thing to do and I was comfortable doing it. So I kept it on my finger when I came back. 

 After months of gardening, swimming in the sea, hauling stuff around, washing dishes, etc it never opened or slipped.   A couple of days ago I was feeding the dogs in the pouring rain and they were jumping up on me, night was falling.  I had slippery sandals on.  Down I went, onto the muddy cement path, scraped my knees, and had a hard time getting up as the dogs had me all tangled up in their rope.  That evening I noticed that the ring was not on my finger. The catch must have snapped open when I fell. 

I was more surprised at the emotion I felt when I saw it was gone than the fact that it was gone and that I had lost it. Sad.  I figured  I had lost it forever.   How could it not be gone in the rain, and mud, with mad dogs about?  A hunk of 18-carat gold.  I wrote it off.  No point in worrying about it, or grieving its loss.

The next morning dawned dry and sunny,  I went out with my coconut broom to clean up the path where I had fallen down. Sweeping, sweeping, sweeping......and there it was.... lying alone, clean, open, waiting to be found and put back on.

I haven't put it on.  It is safely put away with my other gold jewelry.  An artifact from another life.

A Quiet January '24

I have tried several times over the past week to write something but not much has happened or is happening. 

Christmas and New Year have come and gone.  Carnival opening in  Portsmouth has come and gone and was a success.  We are now awaiting Carnival itself.  I hope to have my iPhone back and camera working by then.

People have been lost at sea, murdered, died, gotten sick, and gone back to the UK, USA, and Canada in the past few months.  Petty thievery abounds. At the same time, people have continued the struggle, survived, and revived.  Dominican resilience has shown itself to be as strong as ever. New friends have been made and there have been some minor successes. 

Today's small success is that I called the vet and actually got him, and spoke to him on the first attempt,  The dogs are growing and are quite big, although not yet fully grown, and haven't been vaccinated.  I am nervous that the female will get pregnant, she needs to be spayed, and the male needs to be neutered. I have procrastinated about calling the Vet because I just knew it would be a frustrating hassle.  But an hour ago I had an inspiration!  Call NOW the 'voice' said.  So I did.  I got the Agricultural Station on the first try, the woman was pleasant and gave me the Vet's number.  I called, and he answered!  I said I am looking for Bryan the Vet, and he said, "Well, darling, you found him."  Great start.  He then told me that there is no vaccine on the Island, but a shipment is expected next week and he will come with it.  I hung up, happy, surprised, and feeling victorious.

The tourist season has been very slow. Shops, street vendors, bars and restaurants, guest houses, and tour guides are struggling. We have managed reasonably well.  I believe this because McDowell does not rely on the tourist trade. McDowell's patrons are local folk.  He cooks an inexpensive, thick, tasty, generous, savory broth (fish or chicken or vegetable) filled with rice, lentils or kidney beans,  green bananas, plantain, dasheen, breadfruit or noodles, and, of course, rum and beer.  He will also make a filling egg and cheese sandwich for you.  Fish in his coconut sauce with trimmings and side dishes and a garden salad is a specialty and a little more expensive (not enough, I say) No fancy lobster dinners.

It has been cold 27 degrees C during the day and 22 C degrees at night. Rainy, Rain and cool temperatures are good for the rum trade!  Portsmouth is dark and quiet at night.  Nothing is open, no one is on the street.  Quite odd.

Note.  I have been using the word 'easy' to describe life in Dominica.  That is the wrong word,  It is not easy to live here.  First of all, this is an island.  If you didn't bring it, it isn't here,  If it is here it rusts, corrodes, tears, won't work, or you have to go to several different shops to get what you need.  Exhausting.  A much more appropriate word would be 'simple'.  Simple, because there is very little choice or it is just not available.

You Know You Are Dominican If You.....

 YOU KNOW YOU ARE DOMINICAN IF YOU…….

·      Arrive an hour late and greet the group with a hearty, “Good Night”

·      Know the difference between bush tea, cocoa tea and green tea

·      Play dominoes on an old board balanced on your knees in dim light

·      You point with your lips

·      Say ‘just now’ meaning anything from in a minute, to soon, to tomorrow

·      You douse everything with hot sauce

·      Suck your teeth to show disgust

·      Ask someone to pass you something that is well within your reach

·      Talk way louder than necessary

·       You think plantain is a food group

BOXES

 At last, my 3 bins have arrived.  They are now at home getting unpacked.

I have to say this arm of the government works well:  DAPA  (Dominica Port Authority).  They have developed a procedure for picking up barrels, boxes, and small containers from the congested and too-small port at Fond Cole.  It is slow, there are many papers that have to get stamped, and small fees to pay but as long as you go where you are told, do as you are told, and just follow the procedure you will eventually get your boxes through customs and onto your vehicle. The various guards, security officers, officials, and customs officers were helpful and even courteous in some cases.  This is remarkable because it is completely different from past years. I have done this now 6 or 7 times and in the past, it was always a guessing game run by diffident workers.  

The port is huge, the sheds are huge, and there are hundreds of huge shipping containers stacked all over and being moved about by huge, huge equipment.  It was hot.  And I was very, very car-sick.  The ride down from Portsmouth did be in.  They don't allow anyone into the compound except the person whose cargo was to be picked up.  So McDowell had to wait outside and I did it on my own! 2 hours!

The customs man who was checking me asked me what was in the bins.  I told him honestly, I don't remember.  It left me on August 25 and it is now October 25.  He chuckled as he cut through the shrink wrap Nick had used to secure the bins.  When he opened the bins he saw books and art supplies and didn't bother to look further.  There was nothing to find anyway.  However, I did have 200 plastic shot glasses and 200 7 oz plastic glasses right on top, which he confiscated.  That type of plastic (#6) is banned.  He explained, showed me the chart, and apologized!  I didn't argue, I had bought them at the dollar store, and I was happy not to have a huge customs charge,  I only paid the basic 100ec,

So that's it until the next trip to my Canadian home.  I now have two nice new large rubber maid containers here.

iPHONE BLUES

Just before Hans died, Nick bought him an iPhone 12 because he (Nick) was out working all day, and Hans was alone.  He (Hans) could call 911 or Nick with one button if he (Hans) needed help.  But Hans couldn't manage it, so it never got used, but was registered in his (Hans) name.

 Nick gave the phone to me.  Nick got the phone UNLOCKED and cleaned up by Bell and Apple by the time I left with it.  He talked to them, they did their thing and it left Canada unlocked and good-to-go. NO.  When I went to buy a local SIM card they said it was locked. I had to get it unlocked first before they would sell me a SIM card.

There is a young man who often comes to the Bar, sits in the breeze on the patio by the ocean, drinks his rum cocktail, and smokes his little joint.  He moonlights as an IT tech.  He has done several internet things for us over the weeks.  I liked him and trusted him, so obviously I thought he could unlock this phone.  He said he could.  I gave him the phone.  After trying for several days he told me that he could only do it if he bought a  program from Virgin USA.  It would cost $149 US dollars.  I thought about it briefly and agreed.  It got charged to my MasterCard.  They said it would take 4-5 business days to download. he showed me the email, I read it. OK.  A week went by, and then he showed me another email from them saying that they couldn't do it and would refund the money, which they did.  Joed tried another company, same cost, the same notice that it would take 3-5 business days.  They also refunded the money.

Meanwhile, McDowell was getting more and more agitated about the whole thing.  Joed had the phone and as far as McD was concerned he also had my MasterCard number and my NBD account number and I was being taken and refused to acknowledge that Joel was fooling me, which I continued to insist he wasn't.  McD was very upset and angry with me for 2  weeks. I trusted Joed and  I know how long these things take in Dominica and was willing to give it time.  But Joed was not coming to the Bar every day as he had been. I agreed to call him.  No answer.  Messaged him, "Bring the iPhone back, locked or unlocked".  OK was the reply, but he didn't come. I messaged and called him every day for 4 days. Phone calls would go directly to his voicemail.  I gave it one more day. 

 By this time McD had already gone to the police and spoken to the Inspector to tell him what was going on. what he suspected and asked his advice.  The Inspector said we were doing the right thing.  McD was no longer even speaking to me. He was 'blue vexed' as they say.  I decided to give it one more day, another phone call, several messages.  No response.  

Finally, I had enough and I was upset by this time.  I took myself to McDowell at the Bar and said OK I am ready to go to the police.  He took my hand, told Clarence to mind the Bar and we went directly to the police station, which happens to be steps away.  They didn't know him, (Joed Hector) but began the process of looking him up in their records, came up with nothing and said they would go find him.  The police were mad at me, McD was satisfied, I was sad.

6 AM the very next morning, Joed was at the Bar door with my iPhone in his hand.  McDowell wouldn't let him in, or wake me or accept the phone.  He told Joed to return it to the police and they both marched down to the station and Joed gave it to them.  I picked it up from them at 9 AM. They handed it to me with a look of disgust. 

Someone in the police station tipped Joed off, called him and told him that the police were coming.

So today I went, where I should have gone in the first place, and was told that APPLE always relocks their phone when it comes here and it cannot be unlocked from here.  I would have to call them and request that they unlock it for here, Dominica.  I am not going to do that.  There is no Apple outlet in the Caribbean.

I am so fed up with the thing. It will now languish in my bottom drawer.  I can't even mail it back to Nick as Dominica has no postal service.  It is a useless piece of electronic junk.  Takes excellent pictures though, but so what.  The next person that goes to Canada can take it and mail it to Nick.  Maybe I can sell it and buy a Samsung here.

I feel sad that I cannot explain to Joed that I did trust him and that I fully expected him to figure out a way to unlock the phone.  All he had to do was respond to one of my texts, to come. to bring the phone back. It is because he didn't respond at all that I am left with a niggling suspicion.  I could text him, I guess, but I wouldn't do that to McDowell.

December 2023 - I have heard via the jungle drums that Joed has been in court lately on several charges.   Apparently, he has not p[produced the various phones he was supposed to be fixing!   

PHILLIPE

 Tropical Storm Phillipe struck us last night (October 2, 2023) along with Guadeloupe and Martinique, our near neighbours. After a weeks-long drought and hell-like heat we finally had  RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, causing much destruction.   Not to us, we were snug and dry, but today Salisbury is underwater, the cliff at Tarrish Pit is crumbling, and the road from Trafalgar to Woten Waven is awash and not passable. Probably the road from Calibishi, over the bridge is also impassable. The usually calm and patient Caribbean Sea was very high, and noisy and brought a lot of detritus and debris, and the bloated body of a rather large drowned dog.  EBoy and Darius waded in and got it but couldn't bury it because there was just too much water and heaps of beach shit.  The Sea is still rolling and the several local rivers that flow into it are running hard and fast.  Today it is raining off and on and it is dark. 28 degrees C, so it is not cold at all.  Damp.  Nothing is drying.  There are barges, cargo ships, and tugs moored way out.

McDowell is worried about what happened in the heavy rain at Destinee.  The pomme cythere trees were loaded.  Is the fruit now all on the ground?  Lemons?  Plantain?  He will try to go up there tomorrow.

                             Pomme Cythere - makes good juice.  Said to lower blood pressure

Is this the last storm of the season?  The hurricane season does not close until the first of November.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 35 degrees C, sunny, west breeze.  Nice.  Cleaning up.  The beach stinks.  The sea is filthy, but calmer.  The tap water is orange!

McDowell went up to the farm early this morning. No real damage but a lot of fruit on the ground.  He came back with 20 coconuts, several bushels of pomme cythere, guavas, lemons, and lime. He took the puppies; they romped around and went for a walk up the Waitakubuli Trail (segemtn13, a difficult hiking section of the system) which was never properly opened up after Maria. He saw his 8 Valencia orange trees just beginning to bear. The puppies are asleep, knocked out from their morning in the bush.

 I'll be making guava juice this afternoon.  I don't make the pomme cythere juice as it is too much work