Happy beach dog

Miki and Botas walk the beach - he had just as much fun today as last week.



Daf and Botas walk the beach - it was very windy but that calmed down after we ate lunch.









Miki bagging some rays!











One very happy street dog who now considers himself a beach dog. Had to bring home 2 of his treasures.....smelly coconuts which he entertained himself with by stripping off the outer shell.

Lunch on the beach

Back to one of our favourite haunts - La Suegra (the Mother in Law's) for a long leisurely lunch on the beach.










Smiling faces with some perfect margaritas under our belts and some great food as well! Windy day - how can you tell.....nice do!












How can you not love this part of the beach....it is the closest to the reef and that colour......sigh!!!









From the sidewalk next to the restaurant on our way home again.

The musical town

Friday night was the second to last Concert in the Square - the annual biweekly concert series that is a major fundraiser for our town. The music, as always, was excellent, lots of variety, and very well attended.

On Saturday night at David Lau's, Cooker John (in blue) rounded up an amazing assortment of musicians for an evening of great music.

It was almost a jam session and even Kathy (who plays on Friday nights) sang a number with the gang.

The place was packed, and Yubecca and my favourite tourists I met at the bookstore grooved to the tunes!

Music at David Lau's

This is an awful picture, but John Stewart has now taken over the Thursday night slot playing his amazing repetoire of music. It was a cold windy night, so the audience was small but devoted.

Jill and Yubecca (a former student of hers) joined me to listen and enjoy the show


JP and Brenda were also there, grooving to the tunes and wrapping themselves around hot tea and coffee....good grief! It was a beautiful sunny day, but the nights are very cool (down to 12 - 15 by late night). A local cab driver says 2 more weeks of this weather and then it gets hot again. Probably as accurate as any other weather forcast!

The mangrove

Ever since the hurricane of 2005, the mangrove has been slowly recovering. It was stripped clean of leaves and even uprooted, and a lot of the area is still pretty desolate looking.

Some areas are a combination of dead and growing mangrove.



And some of the mangrove looks great - lots of water, lots of new growth, and birds galore - little ducks, herons, ospreys, - all the water birds.



Even in this dead section of the grove, this snowy egret is fishing for his lunch. The whole mangrove is a delicate balance of flora and fauna and is such an integral part of the ecology of this area.

Beach dog!

Today was Botas first ever day at the beach! We went to my favourite spot, the Shell beach, way beyond all the hotels. I put a long rope on the end of his leash and he had a wonderful time. I went equipped with treats, water (for both of us), my chair, my book and of course my camera. We set up and then took long walks in both directions. He has never been so free and even grabbed up sticks and pieces of coconut shells to play with.





He didn't know what to make of the waves. He rushed at them, barked at them and tried to catch them in his mouth. He is a very bad car chaser, so what did he find to bark at - a couple of skidoos going by.....!








I went into the water but couldn't coax him in past his chest, even though he is a lab cross. Swimming was a bit too much for the first day. I think he will do fine at the PM beach where there is no surf.





Here he is trying to catch the surf in his mouth. Luckily, he didn't actually try to drink the water, but he sure must have gotten some down - he drank his whole bottle of water back at my chair.

Aren't I the most handsome beach dog you ever saw???

Gold for Canada!

The only bar in town that had the Olympic matchup between Canada and the U.S. was Don Pepe's, and he must have made his whole years income in one day. The bar area in front was packed and the inside bar was packed, with people sitting on cement ledges and all over the sidewalk! They did a great job keeping up with the drinks and food - thanks, Don Pepe!!!!!!!




Sharon and Les and I got there at 1 pm to get a good seat - Sharon and I each wearing our team Canada shirts!!!









The audience was about 2/3 Canadians and 1/3 USA, so it made for lots of fun. Someone brought their Canada flag and hung it up, and many were wearing Canuck hats, pins, shirts and anything maple leaf.



One of the Americans brought HIS flag and hung it up too - the rivalry was strong, but all very good natured.

Of course Canada prevailed in overtime and won the Gold medal - Go Canada!