Pools and Rain Forests (Ottley's) & Food (El Fredo's)

Haven't missed a day at the pool yet. It's come in pretty handy actually since we keep losing power. Yesterday it was out from 9am until 6pm and we were wondering if we'd have to put our visitors up at a hotel or something, but we got light (and ceiling fans) again just before it got dark. Whew!

We've been on a search for monkeys since everyone landed. Normally, this is not too difficult as they run through our apartment complex fighting all the time, but nOOooOOooo. Shipwreck always has monkeys as they put food out for them (and the mongoose), but nOOooOOoo. You usually see one or two on the road-side heading down the peninsula, but nOOooOOooo. No monkeys. Since the group wanted to see the rain forest (and maybe find Dora the Explorer), I took them to Ottley's Plantation where they have lots of easy trails and most always monkeys.

I didn't take a lot of pictures of the plantation, as I've got some on older posts, plus you can go to the link above and get your fix, but here are my favorite parts.



And what do we have here? It's a monkey!!! Actually, there were lots and lots of monkeys so we could scratch that off our list. Of course, Bella was more interested in the (very) old dog & cat on the property than the monkeys. She has a lab at home and our cats aren't being very friendly, so she needed a critter fix. By the way, Marty (the owner and manager of the place) has to be one of the friendliest people we've ever met. He helped us over 2 years ago when we first visited the island and had run out of fuel for our moped just as we cruised up to his property. He siphoned gas out of one of his lawn mowers and sent us on our way. He was just as personable this time.

The trails were nice and easy and took us into jungle, across ancient bridges, and to a huge, very old tree.



On to lunch. We usually try to take people to El Fredo's during their stay. The place is beloved by locals and visitors alike and is one of the few restaurants that offer a veggie roti (they're not on the menu; you have to ask for them). JD & Erin both tried chicken rotis and really liked them. Look at that presentation. Yummy.


Then we were off to - where else? - the pool! The perfect place for a nap.





Finally, some me-time for Mom...








and Dad...(can you see the haze in the background? - it's really hot and humid).

Once re-energized, Bella enjoyed the ledge behind the waterfall



and the smaller pool up above. The depth is exactly enough that she can stand on her tippy toes and bounce around, while keeping her head above water (barely).




Erin was hoping to eat some fresh fish while she was here, so Michael got a co-worker to give up a tuna catch from the weekend and had our pals at Shiggidy fillet it for us. Guess what's in the cooler?

Seems like the cats will even brave a 3-year-old for a sniff of fresh fish.




In the midst of this, Michael started getting worried about a swelling on his leg that seemed to be getting worse. It seems that while he was wrangling cows (yes, you read that right), he stumbled into a patch of acacia bushes and got stabbed by a thorn. With all the sweat and dirt, it was starting to get infected. When Erin (with some paramedic experience) expressed concern as well, we decided to see what a doctor had to say. So at 3:30, Michael called a doctor's office he knew of who recommended a nearby clinic (Medical Associates). We got there, and the doctor had just left. Hrmph. But the nurse called him and he said he'd come back. Yay! 10 minutes and $30US later, Michael had a prescription for an antibiotic and topical cream and we were on our way. Couldn't have done that in the States.



Oh yeah...I can't forget about the bread. That is, The Bread. We had got to talking about the fact that we couldn't get crunchy bread here and Erin & JD went crazy telling us about a recipe they had that couldn't fail. All we needed was a Dutch oven. What the heck is that (won't a Kittitian oven work?!)? So we went to our pal, Nat, who has every cooking gadget known to chefs, and had to actually choose between 2 Dutch ovens. The bread is called no-knead bread and takes 24 hours to make (letting it rise for 18+).



It came out absolutely delicious, despite the fact it rose for many more hours than suggested thanks to the last power outage. It really did seem to be fool-proof, which means even I can do it. Wonder if Nat'll notice if we don't give his pot back.

Today? We think it's water sports time. Of course, it all depends on the weather and everyone's mood, but that's the current PLAN.