To lose one's head

As seen thru the lens:

  

Me taking photos. Denver trying to get something done. A recurrent theme. 

Yesterday's sunset.

One of a few rum distilleries on the island. This one restored and operated by a local Barbadian architect and his family. 

Denver and today's catch. Two tasty snacks. My job is to tootle along with him pulling that trusty orange life-saving float and try to avoid boat traffic. 

More of the beautiful St Nicholas Abbey. We spent a few hours on the grounds, enjoying the breeze and trying to figure out how we could just take up residence for the next two weeks.   

There's pops of color everywhere. The cerulean blue of the water, the green of the foliage, the bright many-colored houses. Brighter is always preferred.  It's hot and noisy, loud and expressive but then also somehow laid back, slow-moving and behind the times.  Barbados is in the top twenty most densely populated countries in the world, and it shows.  People are everywhere, all the time, waiting for buses, drinking at rum shacks, just sitting, waiting for something to happen.

Crowds everywhere, but the surf breaks are surprisingly empty.  I've been told the locals come out during the winter months when the swell picks up, but it seems like the Bajans interaction with the sea is more based in boats, rather than surfing and diving.  For the past couple weeks it's often just the two of us catching all the tiny waves we could want.

#kookoftheday

Bottom Bay

Those evening hours

 

Tried to justify the amount of time spent under this tree by using Dante's Inferno as a head rest.

Turns out Barbados, although part of the Caribbean island chain, is completely surrounded by Atlantic waters. Everything seems so different now that I know this.   

Barbados

Our new friend, Squeaky, taking that first cup of coffee very seriously. As it should be taken.


In other news: right hand driving on third-world country style roads is a harrowing experience. In which every natural driving instinct becomes entirely unhelpful. The desperate need for fish cakes and a rum punch is, so far, the only thing that gets me out the apartment door and back on the road. 

The space above my in-law's shop has become our temporary home away from home. It was used as a storage area for the last ten years or so (I wish I had taken some before photos) and had nice bones but needed bookshelves, a paint refresh and some solid organization. It was a fun project and gives us a great space to regroup.

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Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood - such a rad place! Winter or summer it's got to be one of the most beautiful buildings and settings I've ever seen. Mt Hood was one of the first mountains Denver and I successfully climbed and skied so it holds a special place in my heart. We brought our bikes along this time and found that there are some really great trails in the area.

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Next up - Barbados! We are flying out tomorrow and plan on staying thru mid September.  After the last few months of nomadic living I'm really looking forward to staying in one place longer then a few nights.

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