Mangos

It's mango season.  We don't have a bumper crop as in years gone by but still enough that we can't eat them all.  We give bags full to our friends, our garbage pick up guys, our pool man, our neighbors and pretty much anyone that will take them.

 

It's the time of year that we usually fight the parrots for fruit off the tree. We have tried many things to scare the parrots away...without much success. This year we have a new hazing tool.  We got water guns. But this year, we have had very few parrot sightings.  It's like having a fly swatter in your hand...you never see the flies. The water guns have been a fun toy even though we don't use them on the parrots.

The golden mangos on our tree are smaller than the mangos in the store. We harvest about two dozen a day.  Harvest means we pick them off the ground when they fall off the tree. What does everyone do with their mangos: mango sorbet,  pureed and frozen for sauces and drinks, smoothies, breakfast fruit with yogurt, mango chutney, mango daiquiris. The locals pick them right of the tree and eat them skin and all just like an apple.

 

Water guns for the win.

Scooter Practice

We are going to travel to Lipari, part of the Aeolian Islands, off the coast of Sicily this fall. We are planning to use less rental cars and more trains, buses and boats to travel around the Mediterranean.  In keeping with this plan, Rick had a brilliant idea to rent scooters on Lipari. Since we have never ridden a scooter, we thought it would be a good idea to get some practice before we leave for our travels.

Enter "Little John", a scooter rental company on Bonaire.  They deliver a scooter and pick it up for only $25 a day! They gave us a quick, (less than 5 minutes) tutorial on the scooter and told us it was like riding a bike.

We decided to practice in the neighborhood before we tackled the main roads with traffic.  Rick is the braver one, so he took the first ride. he learned to negotiate turns which are not as easy as it looks.  He traveled to the paved roads, practice on a small roundabout, negotiated the potholes and  speed bumps (yes we have speed bumps called "dremples") and drove 40km/h on the straight aways.  

He got back to the house and tried to dismount. I heard him say "could I get a little help". I walked out to see him laying on the ground with his leg under the scooter. I didn't get a picture because I was concerned that he was hurt.  I picked up the scooter and  he got upright with no damaged parts. Thank goodness.

I was next.  Since I have short legs, Rick had to hold the scooter while I mounted. I started it, revved it a few times and took off.  I never got over 25km/h.  I was a grandma riding a scooter and I looked the part. I discovered that right hand turns are easier than left hand turns and traffic scares the shit out of me.   I tootled around the block a few times and decided that my first practice session went well.

I have a whole new appreciation for scooter riders on the island.  They used to be just an annoyance on the roads because they go slow and are difficult to pass in a car. Now I know that they are scared to death that a passing car will blow them off the road.

 

Sunset Moonrise

Each month, we and several other expats gather on the beach for sunset and moonrise.  It's the time that the sunsets within 10 minutes or so of the moon rising.  We gather at a narrow, flat part of the island so that we can see both from one location.

We do a potluck that began as just appetizers and has grown to be a full meal buffet.  Everyone brings a special delight from their kitchen and we all enjoy the company with drinks and a show from mother nature.

July's event was spectacular.

The Sahara dust has been very present on the island for weeks.  The dust blocks the sun and the moon from showing but does give us spectacular colors at sunset.  July's sunset was clear of dust and clouds.  The moonrise almost looked like daylight even though it was around 7:10 pm.

Our friends in Saudi Arabia (who used to live on Bonaire) provide us photos of their moon rise a day before we get ours.  It a way to share a special event even though we are thousands of miles away from each other and in different time zones.

We had a special treat this month with a swim by of dolphins.  They were following a bait ball and slapped the water with their tails to get the ball back together for capture. Several leaped out of the water showing us their full bodies.  We saw mommas with babies, hunters and we think there were about 15 or 20 in this pod. 

Although there is a pod that seems to live around Bonaire, it is a rare sighting to see so many so close and so active. Truly a wonderful and spectacular sight.

Thank you to B. Shelton for taking this photo and capturing such a magnificent creature..
 

Planting Palms

The big palm trees that caused us such aggravation are now gone.  This left a huge blank space in our landscaping. We went tree shopping to fill in the area.  Our criteria was: palms that don't need trimming.  We also had several small palm bushes in pots that needed to go in the ground so we used some of them as well. 

Our friendly and expensive nursery, Green Label, delivered our new palm tree.  This palm drops leaves all on its own without having to trim it or climb a ladder. All we have to do is pick up the palm fronds and put them in the trash. 

Our landscaper dug holes down to the coral bedrock which is not very deep. Apparently, large trees can grow and thrive in shallow soil.  The landscaper hacked off about two inches of roots, put the tree in the ground and called it good.  Rick ran a drip system to each plant.

Now we have plants surrounding the cabana that will grow to about 8-10 feet and create a tropical  feel for us on this desert island. It another project in the books to create a low maintenance garden.