Wednesday, August 31, 2005
As we live virtually on top of the Caribbean Sea it would be no great surprise to learn that there are a variety of ways in which you can entertain yourself with the water element lapping at your door. You can, of course, go swimming or fishing. But how about both with a little stint of ‘fish-sitting’ thrown in.
It was a quiet Sunday morning in the tranquil pond-like water that is our backdoor tropical lagoon and a quick underwater swim was the order of the day.
With water still largely blocking the ears after rising to the surface again, did the young boy standing up to his waist in the water really say: “Can you lend me a candle?” It was needless to say a bright sunny day, so the surprising question seemed a bit far out. “What on earth for?” one could certainly ask with reason, but as the normal attire for frolicking about in the water is a simple pair of trunks it was quite tempting to answer – “No, run right out of them actually”. “Well, in that case” he said, “could you just hold this line then, while I go to the nearest shop and get that candle... I need a float”. The picture as well as the ears were beginning to clear. The boy was fishing and had obviously been quite successful even without a float, in that there were a couple of fish on the end of a line that he was holding.
“All right, why not?” So… he untied the makeshift fishing line from his waist and handed it over. It was an extremely long tennis-shoe lace, with two moderately sized fish hooked to the other end. The fish were not only still alive but quite naturally very eager to get away. The sensation left with was very much like a cross between walking a dog on a leash and baby-sitting
Off he was, and it was time to reflect a little with fish in tow on this sunny Caribbean day. The boy did soon return with his new wax float in hand and re-took charge of the fish. Thankfully, at least for all the dogs and babies of this world, the baby-sitting dog-walking analogy ended then and there because… without question the fish were definitely destined for the pot later that day!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 04:22 PM CST
Sunday, August 7, 2005
After all running a beach-bar is part of our daily routine so we thought we would elaborate on the drinks theme just a little.
As everybody following our blog entries knows, we have had some quite entertaining experiences with the beer and soft-drink suppliers ‘Presidente’ and ‘Coca Cola’ over the years, but what about ‘the hard stuff’.
As we live slap bang in the middle of the Caribbean, it would be no great surprise to know that we are not only living on an island with a great sugar-growing legacy, but one that has a significant history of rum distilling too. The prime local producers are ‘Brugal’ and ‘Barceló’… both companies having their range of brands mainly differentiated by time allotted for ageing. Ignoring the very luxury end of the market, the best brand from Brugal is aptly named “Extra Viejo” meaning extra old and the top brand from Barceló is “Imperial”. We think the names do adequate justice to these two particular brands, although of course we stock all of the main Brugal and Barceló varieties… and if you think we wouldn’t cater for your own particular ‘extra luxury’ end interests, we can of course dig something out for that too – the universally known Bacardi and a little known highly recommended 15-year-old rum from Guatemala that goes by the name of Zacapa for example.
In spite of our island’s rum producing tradition the DomRep, just like so many other countries of the world, is an ardent importer of the Scotch hard stuff. Our own experience tells us that Dewar’s and Johnnie Walker rank highly in popularity… especially the Black Label variety. However, a much cheaper option is imported Scotch but bottled in this country. By far the most popular brand of this type goes under the very improbable Scottish name of MacAlbert though, without any direct intent, it is the actual name of another well known dark horse in Australia - one that runs round race tracks that is!
We do not limit ourselves strictly to the Scotch type so kindly note that we have on hand the Irish varieties of Bushmills and the ever-popular Baileys not to mention the bourbon strain of whiskies led by Jack Daniels and as a welcome outsider Maker’s Mark - a gift to Playa Vista that was very kindly donated by one of our favorite Kentucky visitor’s who speaks largely of its virtues.
If your favorite tipple of the stronger stuff does not appear in this very brief list by all means pop by and check out if Playa Vista might just have what you are looking for… cheers!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 05:53 PM CST
Monday, August 1, 2005
A seemingly unavoidable part of life here in the Caribbean is described in the single simple word “gripe” – actually pronounced “greepay” in the local vernacular. Etymologically we presume there to be a link with the English word of the exact same spelling, though markedly different pronunciation. However, the English seems to refer more to the mental rather than the physical state of malcontent. Perhaps the best translation would be “influenza”, but the variability can be so extreme that it hardly seems right to describe yourself as having “greepay” when you are writhing in near agony in your bed or in other cases merely suffering a sniffle of the nose. One explanation could be that the latter would fit into the category of mere common cold although this still doesn’t seem to adequately get to the bottom of the subject.
Coming from Western Europe we were of course used to such cold and influenza strikes being associated primarily with the colder weather of winter. As we don’t experience such a thing as winter here, we probably thought we would be liberated from such unpleasantries altogether. But of course that would have been too hasty and just a little too convenient!
On the positive side our experiences and observations indicate that it is rare for vacationing visitors to be struck down with any form of this gripe at any time of the year… however, once you overstay that initial holiday period it would seem that you become increasingly exposed to the families of viruses that of course circulate here just as well as anywhere else.
We do tend to think that we have earned some kind of protection through the years, but Mother Nature surely has her ways to show who’s the boss every now and again. Perhaps the most confounding feature of all is the variability of time in suffering from the gripe which can in our experience range from a few hours to even a few weeks and even more destabilizing it can come calling briefly, disappear almost as briefly and then return in full vengeance a day or too later. It can also appear in its stronger form at the beginning, disappear for a few days, lull you into a sense of false security and then sweep back in for another attack later.
One thing is for sure… in spite of the ‘perpetual June’ climate here on our Caribbean island the gripe is a fact of life. The locals put up with it, the newer residents put up with it and the old hands from time to time also have to take their turn. But… consolation is ever at hand making it a whole lot easier to live with the sporadic visits of the gripe in the form of swaying palm trees, near-constant blue skies and azure-blue sea… with such a panorama you merely have to sit back, take it easy and watch your good old body fend off the unwelcome malingerer while reminding yourself you really are in paradise after all!
Posted by Playa Vista @ 12:24 PM CST
