A Good Friday

Well, we hadn't anticipated everything closing for Good Friday. We gave up on trying to scuba dive and tried to find a place to surf. We drove up and down the southwestern coast, but no go. Unfortunately, it's just not going to happen this time. I guess we'll have to return again.

As Plan B, we went to Enterprise Beach for the day. Following a very long swim, I hit the lounge chair and finished my book (The Lacuna-two thumbs up). I'm not quite in the habit of wearing sunscreen, so I didn't keep up on it like I guess you're supposed to. Kim and I are both quite red this evening, but I've had worse.

Friday is the regular fish fry in Oistins, just up the road from where we are staying. This weekend it's a whole festival to celebrate the Easter holiday. We walked around the area before dinner and came upon a game of road tennis: think tennis meets ping pong. The court is bigger than a ping pong table but much smaller than a tennis court, painted on the ground between a couple of the fish fry vendors. The players use solid wooden rackets just smaller than a tennis racket. The ball is a skinned tennis ball, although it might start with all its fuzz but just gets worn down from the pavement. The "net" was a solid concrete structure about six inches tall, a couple inches wide, spanning the middle of the court. The serve was like ping pong, but the volleys like tennis, with the players crouching very low to hit the ball across to the opponent. It appeared to be judged by a gentleman sitting mid-court, but he might have just been giving them a hard time, while enjoying his Banks beer. Couldn't tell. We were mesmerized for a long time, watching the players volley in the midst of cooking, vending, drinking, and general milling around. At one point, the player nearest to us stopped to help a car back up and get down the small alleyway. As soon as the car made its way, game on.

We chose to eat at Shirley's fish fry shack, although there were a lot to choose from: Pat's, Joan and Mary's, Debbie's, Margaret's, etc. We chose this one because it was a little farther from the loud music and looked less chaotic. We ordered dolphin, which was to come with sweet potato, macaroni pie, plantains, rice & beans, and breadfruit. When the plate arrived, I was surprised to see all the side items on the bottom and a large steak of blackened mahi mahi on the top. I'm a little particular about my food touching, but the fish was so tasty, I was able to overlook the culinary intermingling. Everything was terrific, and the two of us were full from one plate of food. It probably helped that we had stopped and sampled a fish cake earlier. The fishcakes were more like a ball of spicy dough, with some fish mixed in. Not bad for 37 cents.

We drove up to Hastings later this evening, had coffee, and hung out. It was a nice evening to relax and try to forget the end of vacation is near.Okumaya devam et