John and Fi arrived out last Friday. It was good to see them both looking so well and relaxed. It was straight into the pool to cool down, followed by an evening in Chateau Mygo renewing old friendships. Saturday was designated a day of getting over jet lag and getting to know their new roommate, Jackie. They all got along well which meant Sundays trip to waterfalls, gardens and the two Pitons was great fun. We had a wonderful walk through the rain forest after we had swum in the waterfall pool, which was freezing. On the Saturday night a crowd of us took a fourteen-seater taxi to Canaries, a small town about 10 miles away, for their fortnightly Creole street party. It was a good night, live music, BBQ chicken, fish and pork, street dancing and of course lots of beer and home made juices. John was even sporting enough to try the local delicacy, grilled pigtail, washed down with strong peanut punch, which was gross, but he and Jeff seemed to enjoy it. The local people were very friendly and welcoming, trying to get their share of the action and tourist dollar that other villages manage to attract with Fish Fry Fridays and jump ups.
Jackie left for home early Tuesday morning and that helped ease up space on the boat, which seemed to be getting smaller the more it rained.
Rain!! We have had lots of it. So much so that we have lost workdays and are having mud slides on the lot again. They were of concern but our architect, who is an engineer, assures us the house will stay put and it is just a matter of drainage. This means that once the roof is on, perhaps next week, we shall have to divert our attentions to drain excavations and pipe laying. This will inevitably put back the finish date of the house, so we reckon that Christmas on the boat is almost a certainty. Jeff continues to work hard on the lot and misses out on a lot of the fun stuff whilst the children are here. Tomorrow is a bonus day though, as we are off quad bike driving in the rain forest for four hours, it will mean an early start but should be fantastic fun – pictures next week.