“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
-Mark Twain

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Worthing Beach

 Today I spent the day with my dad and Valerie at Worthing Beach in Christ Church, only a few minutes from Valerie’s house.  The air temperature is 85ºF and the water temperature is an average of 78ºF.  The water is clear and blue and just beyond the beach there is a reef.  There are no fish or marine life in the shore part with the exception of two big turtles.

After laying out, we went to Carib Beach Bar on the sand where we ordered flying fish, the official national fish.  It was served fried in batter on baguette with a side of lime and fries.  Delicious!


Naz and my second cousin, Peter Sheppard (from Trinidad), met us at the restaurant.  Peter is an artist who paints stylized realism island landscapes.
 

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A WARM Welcome to Barbados

I arrived in Barbados a few hours ago. It is really humid and warm, 77ºF. I was welcomed by my dad and his girlfriend, Valerie, whose home I am staying at in Christ Church. It was such a relief finally arriving after starting my day so early with heightened security at LAX. A man in line for security told me that they were even doing random security screenings of cars in the drop-off zones. He also said that after the Delta flight incident it is now up to the pilot’s discretion to determine what is and is not allowed on the airplane. Apparently the man’s friend was on a flight where nothing was allowed, no blankets and not even a book because they wanted to make sure people’s hands were visible at all times. I asked a security officer what to expect on my way back from Barbados to Miami and he said to arrive three hours early to the airport and that carry-ons (if allowed) will most likely need to stowed the last hour of the flight. Thank you, Mr. AbdulMutallab. Your bomb attempt may have failed, but you successfully made my airport experience a miserable one.