Hot, hot, hot!

Do you know the poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee?"  My junior high English teacher used to recite that poem to us routinely.  I can still bring large sections of it to mind, and it never fails to make me smile.  That poem, about a man trying to escape the cold by any means possible, could be written about Andrew.  He hates the cold.  He hates the snow.  If he had his way, we would live in Florida.  I, on the other hand, am a born-and-bred Canadian.  I love winter.  I love snow.  I hate humidity and temperatures over 80 degrees Fahrenheit  (26 Celsius for those of you clever enough to use the metric system).  Today was my version of hell with air temperatures reaching just about 100 F (38C).  When you throw in 80% humidity, we have "feels like" temps around 115 F/46 C.  That.  Is.  Hot.  

Fortunately, we are in very close proximity to the ocean!  Annette, the owner of the house we rent, offered to take us to a dock that many of the locals swim from, so we could avoid the crowded "Split".   We spent about an hour there in salty, watery coolness.  The water temp is about 84 F, but that is  a far cry from the air temp, so it feels wonderful.  Andrew snorkeled around the "reef" the local residents have developed out of old toilets and sinks.  He saw big schools of fish, a skate (watch out, they sting!), and some big starfish.  I bobbed around in the waves chatting with Annette & her sister, who is here for a visit.  

Andrew's idea of heaven - unlimited snorkel time.

View of the pier from shore. 

We swam here twice today - once in the morning with Annette & Teresa, once this afternoon about 5 pm when I thought I would snap from feeling sweat run down my back.  Both times it was wonderful!  In between, we managed to find a few meals.  I'm sure you were worried!  Breakfast was from our favorite stand on Front Street.  I had a Johnny cake (stewed chicken in a coconut-milk bun) & Andrew had two stewed chicken tacos in flour tortillas.  Cost for those three items was $2 US (including a 75 cent tip).  Paired with the fresh fruit we're still working our way though and it was the perfect breakfast.  

For lunch, we went to Syd's for fry chicken.  I've talked about Syd's (and posted photos) before.  It's divine.  You must try it.   After the sun set, we tried to get burritos from a stand that I've read about on Back Street.  It wasn't open by the time we happened by at 7 pm.  Neither was Anna's pupusa stand.  I wonder aloud if the heat killed everyone?  We ended up at our old standby, Paradise.  I had a BLT (I was craving a sandwich), and Andrew had a shrimp burrito & a plate of fries.  Three rum/pineapple juices and a Belikin between the two of us and our total, with tip, was $27 US.  

We're back at the house now, fighting over who gets to have the oscillating fan blow on them for the longest before it swings back.  Andrew, sadly, typically loses this one.  It's for his own good, really.