Zumba with Elvis

Another person who goes out of their way to promote St. Kitts (and her tours of it) is Liz Pereira. She's the Facebook queen and put word out about Zumba at Elvis's Love Shack on The Strip in Frigate Bay on Saturday morning. While $15EC (about $5.50US) per class is a bit steep, most aerobics classes here are $10EC, I couldn't resist the chance to work out at a beach bar.



Don lead the pack and got his groove on. I love these aerobics instructors. You'll remember that I was attending kickboxing classes late last year and the guys who headed that were also full of enthusiasm and exuberance.



We had a little break in-between where a fellow exerciser led the class in some stretches. She later helped me get a little more "seductive" during our salsa lessons (I was too "bouncy").



As with the kickboxing classes, Don swapped out the music for more local fare, with us jumping up to popular songs such as Follow de Leader by the Soca Boys and Dollar Whine by Byron Lee, then to salsa (teaming up to dance with sweaty partners), with even some hip hop where we were supposed to look cool. I'm pretty sure Don was trying not to laugh in our faces. We used weights every once in a while and I loved how they had beans in them or something so they sounded like maracas.



What was Elvis doing during all this hard work? Fishing.



If interested, be at Elvis's Love Shack at 10am on Saturdays and be prepared to learn a few new steps to impress your friends with the next opportunity you get.

Afterwards, Michael & I decided to take advantage of the fact that he wasn't working on a Saturday for a change and headed to the beach. We've been rained out of several Sundays now, so wanted to take advantage of a sunny day. Sun, Sun, Sun!!



The water has warmed up again too, so after running a few beach lengths, I dove in and floated until I turned into a prune. Although it's pouring at the moment, the sun is still out so it looks like today will be a mix.

Did I mention that I really appreciate my hunter cats? The other night, I noticed them sitting on a bathroom sink and staring up very agitated. When I went in and looked up, I saw this.



AACK! That's almost a big as what we used to get in Arizona. I got it down with a broom and couldn't get to it before the cats did. Last night was another rather small centipede. The kitties had been completely zonked, heads tucked upside down all cat-like, when all of a sudden Zura was off and Jack was up like a prairie dog (how do they know??). I got up, turned on the light, and watched the wiggly intruder try to hide from its attackers to no avail. I always wondered if the cats got stung and saw Zura licking her paw, so guess they do. They stuck with it though until I could remove Mr. Pede from our presence. Yep, these two really do earn their keep. Thanks guys!

Getting Ready for Carnival - Ouch!

I'm ready for J'ouvert people! Last night Tina and I went to the kickboxing class put on by the Mudsunami J'ouvert troupe. What is J'ouvert? Craziness. Various groups form huge troupes of revelers competing to see who's got the most team spirit (and loudest music). Sometimes you're in costume or sprayed in shiny paint; other times you're just wearing a team t-shirt. You attend pre-J'ouvert parties to keep your energy levels up and then head for the streets of Basseterre in one big gyrating (winding they call it here) mass, while surrounding huge speaker trucks blaring soca and calypso music. Here are some pictures of one year's J'ouvert if you need a visual. Wikipedia will give you the history.

Needless to say, you need a lot of energy to survive this activity, so the Mudsunami troupe organized this kickboxing class to whip us into shape. Are we going to join the troupe? Unlikely, but we'll look good cheering them on later in the day - much later...

In the spirit of exercising for all to see, like the yoga session I did a couple of weeks ago at the Beach House, this one was outside too. It got blissfully dark though, so no one could see us sweat.



We started with about 4 people, but ended up with 12 before it was all over. We jumped up and down, while kicking and punching each other for a full hour and a half to calypso/soca music to get us into the Carnival spirit. Pain!!! When it started pouring, we all ran under the stage shell. It's a fun class, so if you want to join in, just head to the Royal St. Kitts (not to be confused with the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & The Royal Beach Casino across the street). For $10EC (about $4US) you can't beat it. We might expand to Thursdays too - we had to wean ourselves in. I can tell you that if Elston is leading the troupe in December, no one is going to match his energy level. Nobody. Boot camp anybody?


So Carnival season starts 17 December and keeps on going all the way until 3 January. The Carnival committee has a website and is on Facebook.

It's hard to read the tiny poster, but SKNVibes lays it out nicely. Going to last year's Carnival website, will give you an idea of what the events were/are. There is something called "In the Spirit of Christmas" from 6 Dec to 10 Dec. A description of this from last year, says it's nightly entertainment in downtown's Circus (from 8pm).

Most of the other activities are contests (fashion shows, Soca or Calypso competitions, beauty contests, etc.).

J'ouvert parties will commence in the wee hours of 27 December, with things going into full swing down the streets of Basseterre by 4am. If anyone on-island wants to join a J'ouvert group there are few vying for your attendance.

Mudsunami is the one planning on partying so hard it has to prep you via kickboxing classes. A fee of $60EC (about $23) gets you into their insanity. According to their website, they'll set you up with costumes, body paint, food and drink. They'll start their pre-J'ouvert celebrations from 2am-4am.

Winners of last year's J'ourvert, Xtreme Bucchanal is launching on 27 November. For the J'ouvert they're going to provide everything you can possibly think of to keep your energy up from midnight until..until, well until you drop some time the next day pretty much. They have a Facebook page going should you want to join or follow along.

I have to laugh that these groups have to provide you with a "wet down" after the party. You're covered in oily paint and sweat, so I'm guessing the wet down is a nice little bonus at the end.

The main parade with all the costumes will be on 1 January, so if you happen to be on a cruise ship that day, you just might get to see it. You never know what time these things actually get going. Here are some great pictures from a prior year. We found that standing near the beginning of the parade worked best (near Springfield Cemetery), and will probably do that again this year.

I have no idea what the Beach Bash cool down on 2 January is. I'm guessing the Carnival's Facebook page will detail it as it comes closer.

It all ends on 3 January with a last lap for those that want to get one final use out of their costumes. More pictures.

Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I don't care where you live, this is not a good way to start the morning.









I, on the other hand, might have figured out the secret. This morning, I and a few others were invited to partake in a yoga session down at The Beach House. One must always take a picture of the dock when down there.






Is this the view for an exercise class or what? Of course, we were upside down half the time so didn't see it, but it was nice to get a glimpse of it every once in a while. The breeze was nice too.


This tractor-rake was a bit annoying, but when all the blood rushed into our ears from our various downward you-know-whats, we hardly noticed it.






The instructors, Tanner and Celeste, didn't abuse us too badly. They would walk around to fix our pose or readjust us, bending or massaging us further into a stretch. It felt good and painful at the same time (massage good, bend bad). Most if not all of us were in pretty good shape to begin with, but 3 of us had never really done yoga before.



I thought we all did pretty good. Look at these two go - headstands!! I got up there with help, but am determined to do it by myself, so will be practicing.







What's great about yoga is that you're so busy trying to strike your pose and not fall over, that you don't notice how long you've balanced on one arm, or how many times you've scooped yourself into a push-up. It's a good work-out. It's also nice to cool down.


Even kitty found its inner zen.





Check out these show-offs! That's Mary on the top tier (2nd pic) and she's the one who shared her yoga gurus with us. Thank you so much! To Tanner and Celeste, who never once yelled "eew" as they touched our sweaty bodies, your efforts were much appreciated!



Thanks to Pat too for playing chauffeur and tackling the potholes (I might have to contribute to the future shock-absorber fund).

It really was nice to exercise with a group again. I like doing my walks/runs in the morning by myself (and anyone who knows what I'm like before 10am knows this is a necessity), but I really miss aerobics and being able to work up a sweat with an expertly led class. BTW, there was serious talk about organizing a yoga retreat, so if you like yoga and want to combine a nice vacation with it, stay tuned and I'll update you as details materialize.

I got home and was a bit relieved to finally see an electric bill. It had been awhile. This one was from July (around $75 US - no a/c). I also had the cable company show up right after I finished my shower (no connectivity again this morning). I've never had a fast connection, but I thought it was just the way it was. Apparently, that was an incorrect ASSumption and something may be wrong with the line coming into the house. Of course, what's been happening lately, is something all together different, but it seems to be working again this afternoon. The Cable will be coming back out tomorrow (maybe) to do some trouble-shooting. If they can increase the speed, I just might have to do a happy jig. I'm online a lot - it's a big deal...

If I can start streaming The Daily Show, well then there will be much jubilation.