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Tuesday, 2/15:
Quest for cacajuates! It took me two days to figure out just how to say cacajuates! Cacajuates is Spanish for peanuts and the preferred snack for our resident parrots. Dolly, the resident property manager directed me to a local market just down the hill from Eldon’s, the big market in town. We found the peanuts but without the shells which I found out was risky when I tried to delicately give one to them. After having my finger nipped, I was content to just place them on the edge of the cage. Our other “resident” animal is the agouti.
When we walk down the hill to the water, we occasionally see them dart across the path in front of us. They’re an interesting critter with the snout of a beaver and the hind legs of a rabbit and about the size of a woodchuck. They also seem to be quite docile. I have seen one grazing contentedly in a meadow. When we took to the hot tub in the late afternoon, one calmly poked around about 20 feet away on our small lawn. I wonder if they like cacajuates?
Another rainy night overnight with rain predicted all day. Today’s weather was a little more benevolent. Longer breaks in the rain but extremely windy on the water. No diving and no water taxis today.
The girls went to yoga in West End first thing. Their original plan was to take a water taxi to West End but one look at the water and the uncertainty of rain changed their minds. I drove them down there and after going to Woody’s and looking for a place to walk other than the beach, I decided to stroll down the main drag. I walked almost all the way to end and back. It was a perfect morning. It was in the mid-70’s and traffic was minimal in the streets. All of the patrons of the dive shops were idling in the cafes. A lot of the restaurants hadn’t opened yet and the cruise ships were not in town yet. Of course I had to stop at Sandy Buns to pick up a warm cinnamon roll. Walked for about 45 minutes and then returned to my car. Next stop was the nearby bakery and then my daily stop at the fruit stand. Headed back to the house where Clay and I decided to take a walk on the beach. In the meantime, the girls all went out for their own cinnamon rolls and coffee. A little while later they and Matt drove over to the house for a swim and lunch. In then afternoon there were card games, more walks and another hot tub soak before we headed for dinner.
Dinner tonight was at Creole’s. My fondest memories of meals from our previous trip in 2020 was the exceptional carrot cake at Creole’s. Their desserts are legendary and numerous. Their specialty is grilled chicken. It is amazing and inexpensive. Their sides are creative and tasty. I had a half chicken with sides of yuca and coconut rice and beans. The yuca had a very interesting vinegar and cilantro sauce. For drinks we all went with concoctions that included a generous dose of fresh ginger. Mine was passionfruit-ginger. There was also limeaid-ginger. Good cocktails too. After we had been served, the restaurant ran out of chicken so they decided to close down for the night. Before we left we all grabbed a dessert to go: key lime pie, carrot cake, tres leches, brownies, etc. Of course five minutes before we were ready to leave it started to rain. I gallantly volunteered to go get the car but underestimated how far away we had parked. I got good and soaked but the good food and good vibes more than made up for my discomfort. The girls and Matt decided to stay in West End so we returned to our house and hit the sack. In bed by 9 pm. I must be getting old…
A promising weather forecast for Wednesday! Let’s go diving!