Heading to Town

Once I dinghy out of Fulladoza Bay and turn the corner into Ensenada Honda, I never know what new sight will be out there. The other day I saw this boat/ship but had no camera with me. That wouldn't happen again! Well, most likely.

The name of the boat is Rogue. Perfect.

Closing in on town, I noticed that the floating house that wasn't yet complete when I left is now done.

Take a pontoon base, get 'er done!

My other favorite floating house 

I forget what this bird is called.
There are enough bait fish for birds and fisherfolk alike!

I've only seen a fast speed ferry with this hull design (it wasn't a smooth ride, either) but from the bit of information heard, they apparently do research...somewhere... Which I'd already assumed. I'd love to get a tour!

When I first saw the flag, I thought it was from some African country. When I looked it up, a bit chastised to find it was from Antigua and Barbuda, the description made me feel a little better. 

 ...the sun symbolizes the dawn of a new era, black represents the African heritage of most of the population, blue is for hope, and red is for the dynamism of the people; the "V" stands for victory; the successive yellow, blue, and white coloring is also meant to evoke the country's tourist attractions of sun, sea, and sand.

(from Flags with Descriptions, a very cool site if you are into flags)

Even the 'dinghy' is awesome

 I'm not usually a motorboat type but this one is fascinating to me. I heard some people from it were at our Thanksgiving dinner but I never met them. Oops!

Edited to add: It's for sale??

Have a safe sailing Saturday. Do something seasonal.

Catching Up is Hard to Do

Between the move to another housesitting hill and not figuring out how to hook up to the internet there, it feels like days have gone by since last posting, even though it was only one. AND I missed the lunar eclipse for the Blood Moon yesterday morning. 

Lunar eclipse over Santa Clarita

But I did get the bay, probably not long after the moon was out of the shadows in the dawning.

With virtually no wind, the water of the bays has been totally glassy early in the day, the heat seeping into the cooled night air like that cooling didn't even happen, just something imagined in the dark. What happened to Fall?

Instead of a lunar eclipse, the big event yesterday on earth here was the reopening of Zaco's. Wow! Monika and Harry did an amazing job, with the pitching in of a few others to totally transform the space of the place.

Yes, the twinkles are added but the feeling was there. The new bar is gorgeous, from stools to bar to liquor display. The bar is done with coins from all over the world, including Olivia's favorite Harry Potter coin. Treasure hunt, game on!

Below decks give lots more seating in the jungle.

Harry is drinking a new concoction called a...Mexico...something. I forget. What I don't forget is that it is made of Zaco's home aged tequila, from true little aging casks. There's additional bits but I forget what they are. You'll just have to find out for yourself. All I can tell you is I tasted it and it is oaky, smokey and delicious. 

Oops, I missed getting the aging casks in the photo. Bet you didn't notice that, did you? There are plenty of new drinks on the menu for your tasting pleasure. And a pleasure it is. 

The Zach behind the Zaco's. A place can look real good and if the food doesn't live up to the decor, it doesn't matter much. In this case, the food does, consistantly holding its own good standard. With a few additions, there's more fun to be had ordering!

And onward! There is a low buzzing in the air as winter plans start ramping up for season. Buzzing saws, slapping paint brushes, concocting AWC events, this is how we prepare for winter here. A few more weeks and Abierto will be the sign of the times. Unless you get to Zaco's first. 

Have a teasingly temptational Thursday. Do something tastefully transitional.

Rain at night, Sun in the day

Unfortunately, I missed getting a shot of the brilliant morning rainbow on my slow dash down the hill to take care of cat duty. The sky is autumn blue, a few puff clouds around, the sun already full on. These are from the past few days...in Paradox.

From the hilltop looking toward Vieques

Come a little bit closer now

Yes, this is where the name Caribbean Blue comes from

 Bay side

Oh lucky me, my backyard

A Kelli flower - no, I haven't a clue 

what it is, except exotic and beautiful

I'm hoping the cart gets back on the corner this weekend - since I hung my harness up, I'll be waiting on the availability of friends to get that done...in the meantime, I'm looking at ordering chickens for eggs and bread recipes for loaves. Multi-tasking are us (yes, CWIM cooks, shhh, don't tell).

Various and sundry

It's a cool 75 degrees and just rained again. I will happily bail the dinghy for this!

The bay this morning

More mangoes in training

Gumbo limbo excitement

Wild thing blossoms

Yesterday went well at the vet's. CWIM has either a) a hormonal issue or b) a psychological issue. I personally don't see the difference, but according to the good doctor, the hormonal will respond to drugs, unlike the psychological. Hmmmm.

There were a LOT of critters at the vet's yesterday. Big dogs and small dogs, and many cats whose lives were altered forever. One of the dogs was pretty interesting, a Brazilian Mastiff who is a rescued dog from here! Apparently the original owner got in a bit over his head and when the current owner got the dog, she was very mangy and in need of some serious loving attention. Now, she is, as you can see, one very healthy looking, very BIG dog. And still a puppy at a little over a year old. Not the sort of puppy you go up to though...(the link is some interesting reading, if you are curious about this breed). Lesson is...don't take an animal if you don't think you can follow through (same with having a human baby, by the way).

Brazilian Mastiff

As anyone knows who goes to Susie's Restaurant, there is a large cat population she and Jacinto (and certain staff) take care of there. One responsibility of that (and we are lucky to have a few wonderful people who feed and take care of the strays, Susie and Jacinto among them) is taking them to be spayed and neutered. Yesterday, five got the job done on them. I couldn't decide if it looked like a drug rehab center or a ward of the injured. Drugged out and sore, but no longer adding to our cat population, they'll be fine by today, no doubt.

Jacinto checking out the cats before the doors were opened...
they came stumbling out like fighters after a serious 12 rounds - and went right for the food
(I was going to take photos, but figured the flash was one more shocker they didn't need)

A look at the bay from a different view. Yesterday the wind died, the humidity rose and it was possible to sweat just lifting your glass. Yes, YOUR glass. When a slight breeze came up again it was from the east, or backwards as we say here, and held very little refreshment. But today is, obviously...another day indeed. Enjoy it!

Free Range Friday

I wasn't going to go to the veggie guy today. In fact, I was on the way to Holistica Aimee to buy my ticket for tomorrows Chefs for Charity event (hint hint). But then I was offered a ride and though my dinghy was in town and I really wasn't going there I thought, hey, it's Friday! I can get a ride to the veggie guy...so I did.

I wasn't going to buy Brussels Sprouts either. I don't like them. But, my daughter Sarah keeps insisting that if I'd just cook them the right way, I'd be a convert. She is half-way to be believed because she grew up not liking them either and she loved vegetables of every sort, almost. I figure now she just inherited my dislike for them, much as I inherited my loathing for beets and my dislike of lima beans and cooked carrots from my father.

There they were, nestled against a bag of mint. They looked fresh. They looked cute. They looked like they wanted to come home with me. I answered their call. I bought some other things too, including a head of cabbage. Apparently my body is crying out for all the good things these strong vegetables have to offer. And they offer a lot! Cabbage for example, was called the 'drug of the poor' in the middle ages. It helps prevent colon cancer. It's a great source of vitamins A and C, along with plenty of beta-carotene.


Brussels sprouts are a derived from the wild cabbage, which seems pretty obvious to me. Now, I like raw cabbage. But cooked? No thanks. Except...when it finds itself in soup, sort of crunchy. So to me, Brussels sprouts are just tiny cabbages, right? Not really. Not if they are 'cooked right'. We'll see about that. In waiting for my daughter's reply to how to cook them, I've been doing some research on them. It was funny that almost every site about Brussels starts with a qualifier about how they are the least liked vegetable, but this writer will show how to change your mind. This particular site has me pretty convinced. As the title says, she really does Love Brussels Sprouts! But if you want to know why they are called Brussels sprouts (and more), you'll need to read this.

I hauled my goodies back to the dinghy (except for the huge bag of oranges that the veg guy promised to be muy dulce....I let a friend put them in his van to get tomorrow), and headed for home. Another beautiful afternoon, even though the day was been unseasonably and unreasonably sweltering. I thought it might be when this morning was lake calm.

Disturbing the peace

By the time I headed in to the cart, a breeze had come up, but not much.
This is in the middle of Ensenada Honda.

When I hear from Sarah on the Brussels sprouts recipe, I'll follow her directions and let you know how it goes, savor or spit. In the meantime, I'm grilling corn for tonight.