Day 16 - The whole island is drunk or hungover. These people love christmas. Well, drinking.

Day 16

Today is Christmas day. Left Laudat safely, and we motored into Roseau. We took a detour from the way straight back to Calibishie and headed to a place called Emerald Pool. We bought some things from the people selling various wares at the entrance. There were many tourists, as today was a cruise ship day and this is a quick easy stop for many. We purchased some carved faces out of fern trunks. I bought a colourful sarong and a simple t shirt with the flag on it. It was hard to find something not too touristy. I didn’t really want a shirt that said ‘we be jammin’ or Dominica, W.I. with a picture of a sisserou parrot or something on it. Tacky. Bob Marley wasn’t exactly a unique pick either, since they’re as common in Canada. We also bought a little carved bamboo case for jewellery as a gift. Emerald pool was scenic, if not filled with tourists. A waterfall spills from the jungle floor over a cliff into a perfectly clear green pool. Apparently many jungle scenes have been filmed here for various movies. . . one could see why. We left this place after being rejected by the jaded lady behind the snack counter. We asked her what smelled so delicious and she said ‘we makin some chicken’.
“Oh could we buy some of that?”
“Sorry mam, it’s not ready yet.” The girl sighed.
“Oh when will it be ready?” Asked my mom
“Not for a while – umm. . . yeah it’s goan be awhile.”
Realizing the chicken was a vain pursuit, I ordered a Fanta. As the girl turned around she muttered “Ohh Christmas tieredness, paty tiredness. . .” Understandably hung over from the night before. I am starting to think this entire island has an alcohol problem. Most people seem like they haven’t really sobered up from yesterday. The tunes are still blasting, and when the wind blows the right way up or down the valleys, you think you are literally next to a speaker, it’s uncanny. Also the fact that most men are polygynous here means that most families consist of something far from what we know as the nuclear family, with marriage being far from the norm. This along with hot weather facilitates being hammered on Christmas day, on the street, dancing. After the pool we made our way to Calibishie, via Sineku. We had a stop to make and a debt to pay. We pulled up outside a familiar ruins, concrete with no roof on the top floor, and arched doorways. The same pots and pans stood in the doorless doorway as before. My father recommended we drive on, as it appeared no one was home and there were a bunch of young thugs around Bethan’s age sitting on the back of a truck and under an awning of the shack next door. They were eyeing us like opportunists. I backed the car up and asked them if Hope was around. They affirmed he was and a couple of them yelled for him in unison. They said he was upstairs. From over the wall of the top floor Hope poked his head out, glistening with sweat. He disappeared again, and moments later appeared at the staircase leading down the side of the building. Hope recognized us immediately and made his way over to our car after taking a sip of water from a bucket nearby. We told him thank you for what he had done for us, and that we appreciated it. I shook his hand and discreetly slipped him $20 EC. He registered the transaction seamlessly and took it without a sign that he had it, lest the watchers see that he now had some money. Tears welled up in his eyes as he gripped my forearm, which was resting on the window frame of the car. He thanked us profusely and wished us a merry Christmas, vowing to find the rest of our things. We clunked fists with him, as is the customary greeting and show of respect here. We drove off feeling like we had paid a little back – something had been set right. We made our way into Calibishie, greeted the owners, grabbed a sandwich, and headed to the beach one last time. Some families were there, children playing in the surf, enjoying a quiet afternoon. After we returned we decorated a small 4 foot palm tree in our yard with some Christmas decorations we brought with us. It was the closest to a Christmas tree we’ll get this Christmas. We got some good close ups and a family photo next to it. We have only now to eat dinner and pack. Tomorrow it is off to Melleville hall airport for the close of our trip. Not that things are over – far from it. The way things run here I’m sure there will be a page to write about us trying to get to Barbados to connect with our flight home. 3 hour stop over. . . I hope that’s enough time for all the technicalities to sort themselves out. If things there run anything like here, we might wish the stopover was 6 hours. . .
Soon it is back to deep snow and solid ice. What an adventure this has been.