Our Local Bar

Last Sunday was a damp, drizzly day.  So what do you do on a damp day?  You go to your local bar.  Our friend Craig has a small outdoor bar covered with a good palapa to keep the rain off, so Dennis and I walked about 1 mile up the beach to Craig's BareBones Beach Bar.  We took some mutton snapper to grill on his big grill and also some shrimp ceviche, green salad, and some homemade bread to toast on the grill.  Martha joined us and she brought some pork ribs to grill.  It was great to be out of the rain but still be outdoors since the temperature was so pleasant.  A great way to spend a damp afternoon.

Dennis and Craig grilling the fish at Craig's bar. I really like how he used bamboo to skirt the bar. 

Yesterday we got 2 new water vats.  These vats store about 500 gallons.  We were surprised by the cream color; usually they are black to inhibit algal growth in the water.  Even though they weren't black, they did seem to be opaque, so I hope that will be OK.  Each vat is about 5 ft in diameter. With us down here full time, we will need to collect and store more during the rainy season to last us through the dry season.  Dennis and Richard will get these plumbed in with the other 7 vats.

They are big enough to crawl inside, which you have to do to clean them.  The opening is about 20 inches in diameter.

On the south side of our cabana, there are 4 dwarf yellow coconut trees.  They are called yellow because the coconuts are yellow on the outside and also because the palm fronds turn yellowish as they get older.  We like these coconuts because they are disease resistant, they have delicious coconut water, and they bear abundant fruits.

Coconut palms on the south side of our cabana.

"Dwarf" is a relative term!  They are certainly tall enough to provide some welcomed shade to the cabana.

Look at all those beautiful yellow coconuts!

Another plant whose fruits we enjoy is the guava.  Our guava tree is bearing lots of fruit right now.  Each fruit is roughly pear-sized when mature.  We pick them before they are ripe, otherwise the birds get them.  I made a batch of guava and lime syrup that I will use to flavor yogurt, fancy drinks, and desserts.

Immature guava fruits.  The brown on the leaves is due to the salt spray and windy conditions.  The tree seems to be thriving in spite of the salt and wind.

I do leave some for the birds, but it is hard to be sympathetic to the birds when they take a small chunk out of multiple fruits instead of concentrating on one fruit!   

Around the Cabana

As you approach our cabana by boat, you can't see it until you are almost directly in front of it.  The sea grape trees, noni bushes, and dwarf yellow palms shield it from view.

The cabana is behind the trees on the right.

This view of the cabana from the dock is always a welcome sight to our eyes each time we arrive.

This is the view looking out to sea from just in front of the cabana.  The hibiscus and cana lily flowers are a glowing red.  Amazing what grows here considering that the "soil" is just sand.

Some of the hibiscus flowers are doubles.  The hummingbirds and orioles love theses flowers.

The great tailed grackles like to perch in the cercropia trees.  Lots of birds enjoy the cercropia fruits.  You can see a few of the sausage-shaped immature fruits beneath the grackle.   Turns out these relatives of mulberries, so that may explain the interest to the birds.

This is the same plant that is in the header photo with that beautiful flower - shell ginger, Alpinia zerumbet.  The foliage is lush and lovely after an early morning rain.

  This  spider lily, also called a Crinum lily, grows wild in the jungle and is very tolerant of sea spray.  The locals consider them weeds!