When I approached him with the camera, this gentleman moseyed right up and snuffled my hand, but I grew a little nervous at his hefty hooves around my flip-flopped feet, and he grew a little nervous at all the noise as HB started up our new car.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Enquiring Equine
On Sunday, HB and I went to wrangle our recent vehicular purchase out of the bush it had been dwelling in for eight months. There was someone else in the lot who was curious about our activities, and came over to check us out.
When I approached him with the camera, this gentleman moseyed right up and snuffled my hand, but I grew a little nervous at his hefty hooves around my flip-flopped feet, and he grew a little nervous at all the noise as HB started up our new car.
When I approached him with the camera, this gentleman moseyed right up and snuffled my hand, but I grew a little nervous at his hefty hooves around my flip-flopped feet, and he grew a little nervous at all the noise as HB started up our new car.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
La Dolce Vita
Things on Saturday night didn't go exactly to plan. As I discussed doing in my post from Saturday, I stopped by La Dolce Vita to pick up some ice cream to photograph. While I was in the store, located along the "frontage road" for Waterfront Drive, near the Glancina George Building, I tried to take some pictures of the beautiful case of colorful gelato on offer at La Dolce Vita. Classic flavors like Pistachio and Chocolate are complimented by more creative examples like the new Pina Colada, and the intriguing, bright-blue, "Smurf" (does it taste like sarsparilla?).
Unfortunately, the beers I had consumed at Mulligan's St. Patrick's Day celebration inhibited my camera skills, and all my photos turned out as blurry smears of light and colour. Probably related is the fact that I completely neglected to take any photographs of the gelato I actually purchased before ravenously consuming it. So you're going to have to make do with imagining the loveliness of the creamiest, most flavorful gelato you've ever tasted, and then realize that's what they produce at La Dolce Vita. Of the four flavors we've tried (hazelnut, caramel crunch, banana and coconut) the hazelnut was my favorite, with an intensly nutty, roasted flavor that reminded me of eating nutella straight from the jar.
I have no idea how HB and I have managed to live in the BVI for eighteen months without ever giving the place a try. After moving here and discovering that the ice cream sold at the grocery store was usually freezer-burned and hard as a brick, we just gave up on ice cream consumption wholesale, assuming we would just have to make do with the occasional DQ treat when we were back in the States. How we could ignore the richly flavored, perfectly-textured offerings of La Dolce Vita for so long, I don't know.
The point is: if you're in the BVI and need an ice cream fix, ignore the sad freezer cases at the grocery stores and make a beeline for La Dolce Vita. You won't regret it.
Unfortunately, the beers I had consumed at Mulligan's St. Patrick's Day celebration inhibited my camera skills, and all my photos turned out as blurry smears of light and colour. Probably related is the fact that I completely neglected to take any photographs of the gelato I actually purchased before ravenously consuming it. So you're going to have to make do with imagining the loveliness of the creamiest, most flavorful gelato you've ever tasted, and then realize that's what they produce at La Dolce Vita. Of the four flavors we've tried (hazelnut, caramel crunch, banana and coconut) the hazelnut was my favorite, with an intensly nutty, roasted flavor that reminded me of eating nutella straight from the jar.
I have no idea how HB and I have managed to live in the BVI for eighteen months without ever giving the place a try. After moving here and discovering that the ice cream sold at the grocery store was usually freezer-burned and hard as a brick, we just gave up on ice cream consumption wholesale, assuming we would just have to make do with the occasional DQ treat when we were back in the States. How we could ignore the richly flavored, perfectly-textured offerings of La Dolce Vita for so long, I don't know.
The point is: if you're in the BVI and need an ice cream fix, ignore the sad freezer cases at the grocery stores and make a beeline for La Dolce Vita. You won't regret it.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
March Sadness
Sorry about the lack of post yesterday, guys. I'm dealing with a few different things family-wise that are rough, and I'm having difficulty focusing on writing about the BVI, especially as I've not been in the mood to venture much farther than the porch to find new and exciting subjects for the blog. I'm battling some pretty bad homesickness for the first time since last spring, and while I'm sure it's related to the rough family things, it feels somehow independent of that -- like maybe March is just my time to be homesick in the BVI. I'm going to attribute it to the annual "browning" that takes place this time of year, as trees briefly drop their leaves, or just turn brown from the lack of water. Somehow that seems to be a good reason for being homesick.
At any rate, the best way I've found to counteract the blues is to list some things I'm happy about:
1. March Madness generally. More specifically, KU won last night! Rock Chalk!
2. We bought another vehicle -- an old Range Rover that currently doesn't start without being jumped, but runs beautifully once it's started. I'm happy that HB will have a little bit of a project to work on here, and that we'll have a vehicle we can take on rougher roads.
3. La Dolce Vita. After a year and half, we've found what's always been there -- AMAZING ice cream in the BVI. I should probably do a whole separate post on this. Yes, a separate post. I'll have to go by and pick up some samples to ... photograph ... tonight.
4. The cute neighbor dog. He's a little black and tan short-legged Tortolan island dog, always out and happy and looking so cute when we drive past. Recently, he befriended a white and tan cat and so now he and the cat are always hanging out together in the road.
5. Goats generally. This goat picture I found from November specifically
What are you happy about right now?
At any rate, the best way I've found to counteract the blues is to list some things I'm happy about:
1. March Madness generally. More specifically, KU won last night! Rock Chalk!
2. We bought another vehicle -- an old Range Rover that currently doesn't start without being jumped, but runs beautifully once it's started. I'm happy that HB will have a little bit of a project to work on here, and that we'll have a vehicle we can take on rougher roads.
3. La Dolce Vita. After a year and half, we've found what's always been there -- AMAZING ice cream in the BVI. I should probably do a whole separate post on this. Yes, a separate post. I'll have to go by and pick up some samples to ... photograph ... tonight.
4. The cute neighbor dog. He's a little black and tan short-legged Tortolan island dog, always out and happy and looking so cute when we drive past. Recently, he befriended a white and tan cat and so now he and the cat are always hanging out together in the road.
5. Goats generally. This goat picture I found from November specifically
What are you happy about right now?
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Sanctuary
Near Josiah's Bay, there is a salt pond, and an estuary between the pond and the ocean, which creates an ideal environment for shore and marsh birds. It also creates an ideal environment for the BVI Bird Watching Sanctuary, located just across the estuary from the beach. When I was in the area in November, there were a few great egrets, and a great blue heron hiding in the shade.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Pale Pink
There are several different varieties of hibiscus in the gardens of our apartment building, but this one is my favorite. About once every two weeks, it puts out two perfect pale pink blooms, that last for a day, or maybe two.
For hibiscus enthusiasts, the BVI Hibiscus Society meets once a month to celebrate the flowers and compare particularly lovely examples. They also organize an annual show at the J.R. O'Neal Botanic Gardens in Road Town, usually in late September or early October.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Morning Shack
Had the chance to drive by Bomba's Shack this morning, and it looked so colorful and happy in the sun, so different from the den of iniquity it becomes after dark, especially on full moon nights.
Bomba's Shack on a full moon night is definitely something to try if you're in the BVI at the right time of month. It is one of the biggest monthly parties in the Caribbean, and from my admittedly limited (one-time) experience, it's a great time. Although the Shack is open from before nightfall, the Full Moon Party really starts to heat up around 10pm, and goes all night. The $50 unlimited drinks wristband is may be a good or bad idea for you, depending on your personality type. Hallucinogenic mushroom tea and a commemorative Bomba's Shack cup is $80 per person, and includes an unlimited-drinks wristband.
Bomba's Shack on a full moon night is definitely something to try if you're in the BVI at the right time of month. It is one of the biggest monthly parties in the Caribbean, and from my admittedly limited (one-time) experience, it's a great time. Although the Shack is open from before nightfall, the Full Moon Party really starts to heat up around 10pm, and goes all night. The $50 unlimited drinks wristband is may be a good or bad idea for you, depending on your personality type. Hallucinogenic mushroom tea and a commemorative Bomba's Shack cup is $80 per person, and includes an unlimited-drinks wristband.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Chocolates
One of the little things I absolutely miss desperately about the United States is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. It's such a small thing, I know, but they're nearly impossible to find in the BVI. Every now and again, if I happen to wander into Vanterpool Pharmacy on the right day, they'll have a few twin-packs of full-size cups, at which point I will buy one and consume it before I leave the store. My favorite Reese's, though, are the miniatures, individually wrapped in foil. For these little delicacies, I have to wait for one of our infrequent trips to St. John, where I will buy the smallest bag I can possibly find.
The smallest bag?! you might exclaim in puzzlement. Why should I not get the largest bag, so I can smuggle them back to Tortola and continue to enjoy them for as long as I can restrain myself? Here is where my chocolate indulgence gets complicated by climate. As a regular reader of this blog may have discovered, the BVI is a warm place. If you have really been paying attention along the way, you also now know that there is not much air-conditioning in the BVI. And here is what I've found: Reese's are not nearly as good when they're melted.
I've tried to get around this. I've kept bags of Reese's in an air-conditioned car on St. John until the last possible moment before departure, and then stuffed them into the refrigerator immediately on arriving home. On a cool evening, the chocolates will survive the half-hour ferry ride and the half-hour drive home, to arrive intact in the refrigerator. But then, of course, they are refrigerated. And there is a big difference from an air-conditioned chocolate and a refrigerated one -- usually about 30 degrees Farenheit, and about 30 degrees of hardness, too. So I've found it is best to buy a small bag, and enjoy them all in one go, in the air-conditioned splendor of a St. John hotel room, lying on my back in bed as piles of Reese's miniatures wrappers build on the nightstand beside me.
The smallest bag?! you might exclaim in puzzlement. Why should I not get the largest bag, so I can smuggle them back to Tortola and continue to enjoy them for as long as I can restrain myself? Here is where my chocolate indulgence gets complicated by climate. As a regular reader of this blog may have discovered, the BVI is a warm place. If you have really been paying attention along the way, you also now know that there is not much air-conditioning in the BVI. And here is what I've found: Reese's are not nearly as good when they're melted.
I've tried to get around this. I've kept bags of Reese's in an air-conditioned car on St. John until the last possible moment before departure, and then stuffed them into the refrigerator immediately on arriving home. On a cool evening, the chocolates will survive the half-hour ferry ride and the half-hour drive home, to arrive intact in the refrigerator. But then, of course, they are refrigerated. And there is a big difference from an air-conditioned chocolate and a refrigerated one -- usually about 30 degrees Farenheit, and about 30 degrees of hardness, too. So I've found it is best to buy a small bag, and enjoy them all in one go, in the air-conditioned splendor of a St. John hotel room, lying on my back in bed as piles of Reese's miniatures wrappers build on the nightstand beside me.
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