The Hills Are Alive but Am I?

That's Popcorn's happy face.

So last night after a long day of work on a rainy day, I turned off the computer and headed to The Dock to share a bucket of beer (6) for EC$18 (or US$7) and enjoy my view of the Caribbean Sea (I'd had a view of the Atlantic Ocean all day and needed a change). Cheers!

The bar was surprisingly empty. Actually, the whole island seems to be overly quiet for this time of year. So many people we know have moved on, but even seasonal folks seem to have left earlier than normal. Soon, two more regulars will be off-island, so this will be a real test for me for the 2 weeks I'm here to see if the lack of pals makes me feel less "at home." There were a few Dock groupies, all in their regular seats, and this is a new one in the making.


Say goodbye to the cruise ship.

We headed to a Chinese restaurant because it was Monday, and apparently that was the Monday thing to do. The gang was great, ordering lots of rice and noodles for sides so that I would have leftovers with which to feed myself. Everyone knows I hate to shop for food and cook it, so their efforts were greatly appreciated.

I then drove for the first time to bring us home (some drink more than others) and had to keep reminding myself to get into the correct side of the car and to stay left, stay left, stay left. I was quite proud that I never turned the windshield wipers on instead of the turn signals - not once!

I brought Flush (who was found 3 or 4 years ago as a kitten stuck in a toilet pipe of a house under construction) a toy, and
she was quite entertaining for the rest of the evening.

This morning, it was time to hit the hills for some exercise. This is what I've been craving and is a big thing I miss about St. Kitts. The hills. The views from the hills. The peace. The lack of people. But first, I started out on the golf course. If this had been the States, someone would have been screaming at me to get off the "private" greens. Instead here, workers smiled, waved, and gave me a fist pump when I was close enough. As a matter of fact, I helped a construction guy carry a cooler of ice to a nearby site and then high-fived all the guys before going on my way. I could tell I wasn't in Key West because I didn't have to dodge bicyclists with poor motor skills.



Then I'd made it to...cue the scary music...Timothy Hill.  Deep breath in...



While I was jogging up at a slightly faster pace than my walking pace, someone else was jogging down. He looked much happier, and I told him I liked his direction better. He gave me a great smile and told me I was almost at the summit, so I should hang in there. Hmm, I wonder if I looked like I might not make it.

Then I had to go through the cut. More scary music. You might remember that the main cut had a couple of humungous boulders fall down a few years ago, so an alternate route was created until the government could figure out what to do about the main thoroughfare.



Well, the alternative route recently had a washout, so was closed (I didn't see anything wrong with it).



This meant you had to take your chances going through the main route again. Let's see how fast I can run...

I was heading here...

Going down!

I finally made it to my turnaround point and took it all in.

Basseterre	White House Bay

I was quite surprised by the number of boats at "our" anchorage this time of year (far in the distance on the photo on the right). When I turned around, I had a view of where I had to get back to. Ugh. Well, at least it was mostly down for a bit.

While I was running, traffic was starting to pick up (which means now I was actually seeing cars - I'd had the road all to myself for an hour), and several times people I knew yelled at me or honked. I miss that too. And then I was back at the backside of Timothy Hill. No, my legs weren't throbbing at all. (Apply sarcasm.)

Once over the top, I was sulking because the usual troupe of monkeys I almost always see on these runs hadn't been out and about when I saw this guy. Yay!

Where there's one, there's more, so I started looking harder for the rest of the group. Boy was I surprised when I peeked around the corner. I hit the motherlode. I want to play too! I realize they're pests to most islanders (they are pretty destructive), but I still like seeing them.

Once down the other side, I felt pretty darn good and would have been more than happy to have been done and to be pleasantly exhausted, but noooOOOooo. I still had this hill to go up - yes, to the tippy top.

And this %@$*!!! final hill to finish. I had tried to ignore the fact that I was going to have to tackle these two hills when I had first come down them. I can assure you that I will be driving down/up them the next time - they are not part of my usual routine.

Oy. I kicked into Kittitian mode and walked as slowly as I could, sometimes backwards, on those final two, but I did it. It also helped when I started singing the Put One Foot in Front of The Other song to myself for encouragement. The whole thing took over 2 hours and was probably about 8 miles. Ow.

So tonight I have a date with a couple who recently bought their own catamaran, have read my book twice, and want to talk sailing. I'm looking forward to the company and the additional leftovers. And Michael wondered how I was going to feed myself...

I can feel the tension from the States just flowing away....No planes flying overhead, no sirens, no motorcycles, no air conditioning. As a matter of fact, it's so windy, I'm cold!



I hear there's some tropical stuff hitting Key West this week, so it seems we're all going to be getting wet a bit. I think I prefer my location.