Sweet Potato Gratin is in the oven, baby is asleep, power is back on, washing is hung out (I love being in the tropics and being able to dry washing outside, overnight!) Mother-in-Law is downstairs doing a crossword and I have the chance to blog... bliss.
The finger, you'll be pleased to know, is much less painful. On Tuesday I had my first dressing change with Jonathan and it was complete agony. As well as the dressing being changed, silver nitrate (I think that's what it is called, usually used to get rid of warts) is painted along the cut edge to literally burn the skin away so it doesn't re-grow over the nail. So, so, SO painful! It ached all day and I went to sleep dreading today's appointment. It was nowhere near as bad as expected though, thank goodness.
Yesterday I took Grandma Flowerpot off for a real tourist drive around the island. We started at the fabulous Shirley Heights. Sitting above English Harbour, this was the site of the old Fort Shirley put in place to protect the Navel Shipyard in the 18th Century. The views are just stunning, you simply can't beat them. To the east it is just Atlantic ocean all the way to Africa. There are cross Atlantic rowers coming into English Harbour almost daily at the moment and when you see the vastness of this expanse of water you realize the immensity of the feat they undertake.
The islands roads leave a lot to be desired and after a good forty minutes of fairly expert pot-hole dodging on my part, we stopped at La Perla for lunch. This luxury resort is tucked away at the end of a long unmade track, so unmade that I am sure most people turn around, thinking they have taken a wrong turn. The restaurant is set around an amazing infinity pool which Grandma and Coco enjoyed after the meal.
More driving, more pot-holes and we finished the day at the village of Parham, Antigua's first ever port. Although it was close to St John's, you felt like you were in the middle of nowhere and definitely off the usual tourist trail. It felt like real Antigua and also, strangely, a bit like Cornwall!? St Peter's Church is a huge, dilapidated wooden structure on top of a hill in the middle of the village. We went up to have a look and were pleasantly surprised to discover that the interior of the building was far from dilapidated. It was light and airy with a ceiling that looked the the frame of an old wooden ship. Speaking to the church warden, he proudly filled us in on the service schedule and invited us to join them on Easter Sunday for their two hour communion... we'll see! Unbelievably though, we discovered that he went to Sussex University (same as me) to study and graduated in the 1980's. I know it's a cliche but... what a small world!
Angus is home tomorrow... yippee... and then he is in Antigua until the end of the season. I can't believe we are even talking about the end of the season but it will be here before we know it. Until then, there is more swimming to be done, more beaches to explore and coconut ice-cream to be found!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bloody Finger
So the finger saga continues. For those of you who don't know how it began, it happened like this...
Two months ago, when Coco and I first arrived in Antigua for the start of our travels, we were dropping Angus at work one sunny morning (actually I seem to remember it was raining slightly) and the task of assembling the buggy, as featured in our blog title, fell on yours truly. Although I have successfully managed this duty for the previous six months, on this particular morning, my fingers got in the way and the buggy ate the tip of my ring finger.
Luckily it was still attached (just) and the brilliant Jonathan at ABSAR managed to sew it back on for me. It was a nightmare though having to look after Coco one handed. Angus was flat out at work so I really was having to cope alone. Since then, although the wound has healed well, I have had several infections due to the nail regrowing INTO my finger.
However, today I saw a surgeon who has managed to cut away some of the finger so that the nail can grow out again. It feels like, after two months, I am back to square one. Bandaged up again, burning pain, daily dressing changes and, most importantly, no swimming!
Hopefully though, this is it. I will now fully recover and this will be an end to the whole sorry tale.
Fingers crossed!
On a happier note, Ranger won the St Barths Bucket and Angus should be home with us in a matter of days... yippee!
Two months ago, when Coco and I first arrived in Antigua for the start of our travels, we were dropping Angus at work one sunny morning (actually I seem to remember it was raining slightly) and the task of assembling the buggy, as featured in our blog title, fell on yours truly. Although I have successfully managed this duty for the previous six months, on this particular morning, my fingers got in the way and the buggy ate the tip of my ring finger.
Luckily it was still attached (just) and the brilliant Jonathan at ABSAR managed to sew it back on for me. It was a nightmare though having to look after Coco one handed. Angus was flat out at work so I really was having to cope alone. Since then, although the wound has healed well, I have had several infections due to the nail regrowing INTO my finger.
However, today I saw a surgeon who has managed to cut away some of the finger so that the nail can grow out again. It feels like, after two months, I am back to square one. Bandaged up again, burning pain, daily dressing changes and, most importantly, no swimming!
Hopefully though, this is it. I will now fully recover and this will be an end to the whole sorry tale.
Fingers crossed!
On a happier note, Ranger won the St Barths Bucket and Angus should be home with us in a matter of days... yippee!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Ireei!
Oh no…. this is turning into one of those hundreds of half filled diaries that I have in the drawer beside my bed. I will be doing so well, adding a short little insert every day or so and then suddenly two weeks go by. I keep putting it off and the next thing is it has been two months. By then I have left it too long to simply pick up where I left off and so eventually I’ll start a new one. Well I don’t want to start a new blog, I like this one, so I need to be more focused.
In my defense, since I last wrote I have moved our little family back to Antigua and then had Mum and Peter to stay for a couple of weeks. So I haven’t simply been lying idly on the beach not doing anything. In fact we have done so much I don’t know where to begin!
* A dream come true… cantering along a white sand of Rendezvous Beach Caribbean Sea for a cooling swim. It was one of the most fabulous experiences of my life, especially as I was able to share it with Mums.
* Time with Gabe, I’m so glad he was able to get holiday so we could all be together for a while.
* A night out! Only the third time I have been out since having Coco . I have lost my stamina though, I was home by midnight and I’d moved onto soft drinks half way through the evening. I didn’t even manage to last until the dancing!
* Jet skis! I am not a jet ski fan, in fact I have always been one of those people who tuts and shakes their head at the ‘idiots’ hooning around disturbing the peace. Well, I have now been an ‘idiot’ and hooned! I wouldn’t do it again in a hurry but I did bloody love it. I realize I am a bit of a speed freak.
* St John’s
* Betty’s Hope sugar mill was a humbling experience and certainly didn’t make me proud to be British. The accounts of the mill during the time of slavery were shocking and sickening. Who on earth did we think we were?
* Coco ’s daily changes, especially the new food throwing phase. It is annoyingly messy but very funny. Why use a spoon when you can shove everything into your mouth using your hands?!
*My first Mother’s Day was perfect. The only thing that would have made it complete would have been if Angus had been there but other than that it was just perfect. A morning walk and coffee (juice for me, I don’t drink coffee) followed by a delicious lunch at Harmony Hall. The day finished at Half Moon Bay with a swim in the ocean and a final gossip with Mum before her holiday came to an end.
These are just a few of the highlights, there have been so many! Along with a multitude of beaches, walks, swims, cocktails, meals… the list goes on. However, we have still managed to save some things for next time! Hopefully this was the first of many trips Mum and Peter will make to Antigua .
It has now been over two weeks since we left Angus in America Haiti so it won’t be long before it docks in St Maarten and Angus can hot foot it straight to Antigua to spend a few days with us before going back to work. Coco and I are counting down the hours until his arrival.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Ye Olde Florida
I am so excited to have received some good blog feedback, thank you all and I hope that means you want me to keep writing?!
We have been in Fort Lauderdale for a week now and have had the treat of spending some quality family time together as well as the heart-in-your mouth drama of introducing more finger food and the oportunity to catch up with my cousin again.
Coco got to enjoy a trip to Lesters Diner, a full on proper American diner that serves eggs and pancakes with pretty much everything, grits are on the menu along with gyros... I still haven't worked out what that is yet. She was a complete hit and managed to monopolize the attention of our toothless waitress. So much so that Angus kept getting coffee refills when he was clearly saying 'no' and my eggs 'over-easy' were a little too easy. Although the food is pretty crap, the whole Lesters experience is one not to be missed.
Whilst on the topic of food, we have invested in a booster seat high-chair for Coco so, now she has the catch-all plastic tray in front of her we decided it was time to start introducing some finger food. She has experimented with the the odd floret of broccoli and baby crisp with great success so surely this was going to be a breeze? No one had prepared me for the terror of watching the stick of banana or avocado be munched up at such a rate and then quickly followed by wide eyed chokes. I was once advised that you have to trust they will clear it so I stand and watch for what seems like hours but is actually just a couple of seconds. Sure enough, Coco manages to clear the blockage, gives us a toothy smile and then picks up the next piece of food. I am a bag of nerves by the end of each mealtime but she seems to be loving it.
However, we haven't just been eating for the past week. I battled with an infection in my finger (I will fill those of you who don't know about the finger in over the next couple of days) which was agony. Seeing a doctor isn't as easy as one would imagine over here. There are specialists for everything and whenever I managed to actually speak to someone other than an automated service, they simply told me to go to the ER. Despite visions of being treated by George Clooney, this seemed like overkill to simply get a prescription for antibiotics. Anyway, Coco came to the rescue and saved us the vast expense of the US medical system when she decided to grab said finger during a nappy change and burst the infection bubble. A few good washes with some antiseptic and the infection and pain have pretty much gone!
For a bit of relaxation, Angus and I both enjoyed an afternoon at the spa with a Swedish massage. Complete decadence... gorgeous. However, I still find massages just a little embarrassing and I wish there was an international rule book. Shower first? Underwear on or off? Talk? Tip? I spent so much time worrying about whether my feet were dirty and if I should be tipping I never completely relaxed. It was still lovely though.
Nikki, my second cousin came to see us on Saturday. It was so good to see her and we loved being able to show her the boat. We even caught a glimps of the tail of a manatee which I was terribly excited about. I have never seen one and have spent many an hour looking for one so even a tail was something!
The highlight of our week however was our day at Ren Fest - or Renaissance Festival in full. This is a Medieval festival in the heart of Florida.
However, I'm not sure the dragons, fairy's, pixie's and trolls are particularly Medieval! Everyone that worked there was in costume and character. There was a lot of 'ye', 'hazzare', 'thee' and 'thou's' being spoken and some amazing costumes. Ale was drunk by the yard and turkey legs were eaten whole.
There were pirates, wenches, jesters and knights all wandering around setting the scene. Even the visiting public could dress up and some took it very seriously, although there were costumes seemed a little more S and M than 13th Century. This was an American Medieval festival though remember so it did feel a little like a cross between Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean, but such fun! We absolutely loved it, it was truly bizarre and completely magnificent.
Food time, oh joy! More heart stopping moments no doubt! Speak soon....
We have been in Fort Lauderdale for a week now and have had the treat of spending some quality family time together as well as the heart-in-your mouth drama of introducing more finger food and the oportunity to catch up with my cousin again.
Coco got to enjoy a trip to Lesters Diner, a full on proper American diner that serves eggs and pancakes with pretty much everything, grits are on the menu along with gyros... I still haven't worked out what that is yet. She was a complete hit and managed to monopolize the attention of our toothless waitress. So much so that Angus kept getting coffee refills when he was clearly saying 'no' and my eggs 'over-easy' were a little too easy. Although the food is pretty crap, the whole Lesters experience is one not to be missed.
Whilst on the topic of food, we have invested in a booster seat high-chair for Coco so, now she has the catch-all plastic tray in front of her we decided it was time to start introducing some finger food. She has experimented with the the odd floret of broccoli and baby crisp with great success so surely this was going to be a breeze? No one had prepared me for the terror of watching the stick of banana or avocado be munched up at such a rate and then quickly followed by wide eyed chokes. I was once advised that you have to trust they will clear it so I stand and watch for what seems like hours but is actually just a couple of seconds. Sure enough, Coco manages to clear the blockage, gives us a toothy smile and then picks up the next piece of food. I am a bag of nerves by the end of each mealtime but she seems to be loving it.
However, we haven't just been eating for the past week. I battled with an infection in my finger (I will fill those of you who don't know about the finger in over the next couple of days) which was agony. Seeing a doctor isn't as easy as one would imagine over here. There are specialists for everything and whenever I managed to actually speak to someone other than an automated service, they simply told me to go to the ER. Despite visions of being treated by George Clooney, this seemed like overkill to simply get a prescription for antibiotics. Anyway, Coco came to the rescue and saved us the vast expense of the US medical system when she decided to grab said finger during a nappy change and burst the infection bubble. A few good washes with some antiseptic and the infection and pain have pretty much gone!
For a bit of relaxation, Angus and I both enjoyed an afternoon at the spa with a Swedish massage. Complete decadence... gorgeous. However, I still find massages just a little embarrassing and I wish there was an international rule book. Shower first? Underwear on or off? Talk? Tip? I spent so much time worrying about whether my feet were dirty and if I should be tipping I never completely relaxed. It was still lovely though.
Nikki, my second cousin came to see us on Saturday. It was so good to see her and we loved being able to show her the boat. We even caught a glimps of the tail of a manatee which I was terribly excited about. I have never seen one and have spent many an hour looking for one so even a tail was something!
The highlight of our week however was our day at Ren Fest - or Renaissance Festival in full. This is a Medieval festival in the heart of Florida.
However, I'm not sure the dragons, fairy's, pixie's and trolls are particularly Medieval! Everyone that worked there was in costume and character. There was a lot of 'ye', 'hazzare', 'thee' and 'thou's' being spoken and some amazing costumes. Ale was drunk by the yard and turkey legs were eaten whole.
There were pirates, wenches, jesters and knights all wandering around setting the scene. Even the visiting public could dress up and some took it very seriously, although there were costumes seemed a little more S and M than 13th Century. This was an American Medieval festival though remember so it did feel a little like a cross between Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean, but such fun! We absolutely loved it, it was truly bizarre and completely magnificent.
Food time, oh joy! More heart stopping moments no doubt! Speak soon....
Monday, February 15, 2010
Mojito
My first mojito since finding out I was pregnant and it was completely joyous! Not only was it one of the most delicious mojitos ever, but it was drunk on South Beach, in the sunshine, accompanied with an enormous American burger, on Valentines day, with my gorgeous husband.... oh, and my brother-in-law!
Only kidding Marcus, we loved having you around this weekend. Poor Marcus thought that he was coming to live it up in Miami and ended up sleeping on a sofa bed in our studio apartment. Yep, all three of us and the baby in one room. It was like going back to our backpacking days. However, Marcus insisted he slept better than in his corporate hotels and we loved having him so nobody's complaining.
This is our last night in Miami. I am fully 'Deco'ed' up and, I have to say, I would definitely come back here. Next time, I have visions of staying in the Hotel Victor on South Beach, bringing glamorous, sparkly dresses, and drinking cocktails in the super-cool bars with the jellyfish (one of the hotel bars had an aquarium of jellyfish that looked like a lava lamp). However, this time, I was very happy to wander the streets in my trainers with Coco in the buggy. I feel like I have got my bearings in Miami now. Next time I can hit the ground running.
Highlights of this trip were:
South Beach (I will never be cool enough for South Beach)
Art Deco Walking Tour (Really interesting, highly recommended. I love hearing the stories that your guidebook doesn't tell you.)
The Museum of South Florida (Florida has had quite a dramatic time over the past couple of centuries.)
Lincoln Rd Mall (Great for sitting in a cool cafe and people watching. Books and Books is a fab local shop, I'll leave you to guess what it is selling!)
Miami Beach Boardwalk (Great walk with the ocean on one side and all the posh hotels on the other.)
I didn't make it to Little Havana this time, that experience will have to wait.
I can't get over how Coco is taking this all in her stride. We moved to a hotel today so that is two hotels, two houses and two flights in the last four weeks but she is completely unphased. I'm not sure my feathers are quite so unruffled. The move today seemed hard and exhausting. It is the little things that you don't think about at home that just feel slightly more difficult. An example was trying to get all the washing done before packing and checking out this morning. You have to find change for the machines, you can't leave the machines unmanned... bla bla bla. It really isn't that much of a drama, everything is just not quite straight forward and today it got to me. Maybe I feel bad today because I was rushing around and took my eye off Coco for a second and she rolled off the bed... again. That's the second time I've done that. I feel so terrible and such a crap Mummy. I will not leave her on the bed ever again.
I'm going to sign off from Miami and will speak to you all from Fort Lauderdale.
Only kidding Marcus, we loved having you around this weekend. Poor Marcus thought that he was coming to live it up in Miami and ended up sleeping on a sofa bed in our studio apartment. Yep, all three of us and the baby in one room. It was like going back to our backpacking days. However, Marcus insisted he slept better than in his corporate hotels and we loved having him so nobody's complaining.
This is our last night in Miami. I am fully 'Deco'ed' up and, I have to say, I would definitely come back here. Next time, I have visions of staying in the Hotel Victor on South Beach, bringing glamorous, sparkly dresses, and drinking cocktails in the super-cool bars with the jellyfish (one of the hotel bars had an aquarium of jellyfish that looked like a lava lamp). However, this time, I was very happy to wander the streets in my trainers with Coco in the buggy. I feel like I have got my bearings in Miami now. Next time I can hit the ground running.
Highlights of this trip were:
South Beach (I will never be cool enough for South Beach)
Art Deco Walking Tour (Really interesting, highly recommended. I love hearing the stories that your guidebook doesn't tell you.)
The Museum of South Florida (Florida has had quite a dramatic time over the past couple of centuries.)
Lincoln Rd Mall (Great for sitting in a cool cafe and people watching. Books and Books is a fab local shop, I'll leave you to guess what it is selling!)
Miami Beach Boardwalk (Great walk with the ocean on one side and all the posh hotels on the other.)
I didn't make it to Little Havana this time, that experience will have to wait.
I can't get over how Coco is taking this all in her stride. We moved to a hotel today so that is two hotels, two houses and two flights in the last four weeks but she is completely unphased. I'm not sure my feathers are quite so unruffled. The move today seemed hard and exhausting. It is the little things that you don't think about at home that just feel slightly more difficult. An example was trying to get all the washing done before packing and checking out this morning. You have to find change for the machines, you can't leave the machines unmanned... bla bla bla. It really isn't that much of a drama, everything is just not quite straight forward and today it got to me. Maybe I feel bad today because I was rushing around and took my eye off Coco for a second and she rolled off the bed... again. That's the second time I've done that. I feel so terrible and such a crap Mummy. I will not leave her on the bed ever again.
I'm going to sign off from Miami and will speak to you all from Fort Lauderdale.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Miami Baby
My first ever blog posting! Who am I writing to and for? I suppose myself. If nothing else, this will be good for posterity. I can keep these blogs like a diary and in years to come, Coco will be able to look back and see where she went in the first few years of her life.
The Miami Boat Show started today hence that being our current location. I have passed through Miami several times before, the airport, a lunch with my second cousin who is at university here and an evening at the AA stadium to see a 'Heat' game, but other than that, this is my first real visit to this flamboyant city that is so famous with the fashionistas.
My first impression was that it is a city like any other. A mass of concrete but it happens to be by the ocean and has a climate that is better than most, but there is something different. There is something a bit gritty about Miami. A dangerous, edgy, seedy undertone. I get the feeling that everyone else knows the secret and they are keeping it from me. Those sideways glances that say, "if you only knew", but I don't know and nor am I ever likely to find out. Especially as I feel like I don't even speak the language! According to my guidebook, Florida was actually Spanish until 1821 which goes some to explaining the fact that I feel like I am in a city that is a Hispanic/American hybrid. That and the fact that Miami is the self proclaimed 'Northern Capital of the Latin World'. It's not just Spanish that I am hearing though. There is French and Creole mixed in there too and I certainly feel like I am amongst the English speaking minority. I wish, I think more than anything else, that I spoke another language. Not a bit, but really well so that I could actually throw myself into a conversation with confidence and purpose. There is an elderly housekeeper at the apartment block where we are staying. She has a hunchback and can't say anything apart from 'hello' and 'baby' in English, at least that is all I have heard her say so far, but she looks as though she has so many stories and I wish I could ask her about them.
I have walked a lot over that last couple of days. We are staying on the edge of Downtown and the Design District and yesterday I walked all the way to South Beach! The Venetian Causeway was fabulous, this strip of inhabited land right across the middle of Biscayne Bay. If I lived in Miami, I think I would live on the Venetian Causeway.
Today I decided to explore Little Haiti. I wanted to see the Botanicas, the shops selling items of vodou, and the Haitian women in their brightly coloured wraps. On the way there I had naive daydreams about wandering the streets with smiling women coming over to meet Coco while I asked poignant questions about Haiti and the reality of vodou. One local would befriend us, show us around and maybe even invite us to join them for lunch?! Wrong!
I can honestly say that I have never felt like I shouldn't be somewhere more than I did today. There we were, in the middle of Little Haiti, and we stuck out like a sore thumb. It probably didn't help that our buggy is bright green, but still, we were out of our depth. Nobody smiled at us, the streets were busy with people but, I'm not exaggerating, people actually stopped and watched us walking along. This was not our place and we were trespassing somewhere we were not wanted. Nobody smiled, nobody even acknowledged us, they just stared. Time to go. We didn't get to see the botanicas, we just hotfooted it out of Little Haiti and into the neighboring Design District where we seemed to blend a little better into the background.
Tomorrow, I am going to give Little Havana a go but maybe I'll approach that with a bit more caution. Wish me luck!
The Miami Boat Show started today hence that being our current location. I have passed through Miami several times before, the airport, a lunch with my second cousin who is at university here and an evening at the AA stadium to see a 'Heat' game, but other than that, this is my first real visit to this flamboyant city that is so famous with the fashionistas.
My first impression was that it is a city like any other. A mass of concrete but it happens to be by the ocean and has a climate that is better than most, but there is something different. There is something a bit gritty about Miami. A dangerous, edgy, seedy undertone. I get the feeling that everyone else knows the secret and they are keeping it from me. Those sideways glances that say, "if you only knew", but I don't know and nor am I ever likely to find out. Especially as I feel like I don't even speak the language! According to my guidebook, Florida was actually Spanish until 1821 which goes some to explaining the fact that I feel like I am in a city that is a Hispanic/American hybrid. That and the fact that Miami is the self proclaimed 'Northern Capital of the Latin World'. It's not just Spanish that I am hearing though. There is French and Creole mixed in there too and I certainly feel like I am amongst the English speaking minority. I wish, I think more than anything else, that I spoke another language. Not a bit, but really well so that I could actually throw myself into a conversation with confidence and purpose. There is an elderly housekeeper at the apartment block where we are staying. She has a hunchback and can't say anything apart from 'hello' and 'baby' in English, at least that is all I have heard her say so far, but she looks as though she has so many stories and I wish I could ask her about them.
I have walked a lot over that last couple of days. We are staying on the edge of Downtown and the Design District and yesterday I walked all the way to South Beach! The Venetian Causeway was fabulous, this strip of inhabited land right across the middle of Biscayne Bay. If I lived in Miami, I think I would live on the Venetian Causeway.
Today I decided to explore Little Haiti. I wanted to see the Botanicas, the shops selling items of vodou, and the Haitian women in their brightly coloured wraps. On the way there I had naive daydreams about wandering the streets with smiling women coming over to meet Coco while I asked poignant questions about Haiti and the reality of vodou. One local would befriend us, show us around and maybe even invite us to join them for lunch?! Wrong!
I can honestly say that I have never felt like I shouldn't be somewhere more than I did today. There we were, in the middle of Little Haiti, and we stuck out like a sore thumb. It probably didn't help that our buggy is bright green, but still, we were out of our depth. Nobody smiled at us, the streets were busy with people but, I'm not exaggerating, people actually stopped and watched us walking along. This was not our place and we were trespassing somewhere we were not wanted. Nobody smiled, nobody even acknowledged us, they just stared. Time to go. We didn't get to see the botanicas, we just hotfooted it out of Little Haiti and into the neighboring Design District where we seemed to blend a little better into the background.
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