February 16, 2017

Snapshot from travels to Barbados

Day Six: Gardens

11:25

It has been a domestic morning. I make coffee for the group, and after everyone has eaten breakfast, I do the dishes, sweep the floors, put a load of laundry in the machine while they head to the beach to swim.

They return quickly, as I am sipping my own cup of coffee and beginning to read the next book on my reading list, a collection of essays by Teju Cole. Soon, I take the laundry out of the machine and slowly hang them all on the drying line in the backyard, the sound of the breeze blowing against the fence setting the rhythm of my work.

I continue reading, occasionally taking breaks to wipe counters or eat cassava pone. It is, after all, a domestic morning.

Snapshot from travels to Barbados

12:45

There was a restaurant in Toronto I enjoyed often—it recently closed, much to my dismay—that sold some of the best roti in the city. I have not eaten roti since its closing, so I was excited to buy some at Sunflower Roti here in Speightstown. The salt fish roti was delicious, and satisfied all my cravings; it wasn’t as good as the roti shop in Toronto, but it was a wonderful lunch nonetheless.

Snapshot from travels to Barbados

15:40

It does seem odd that my favorite activity on this trip so far has been an afternoon walking around a garden, but the majesty of Hunte’s Gardens is undeniable.

L and I explored the gardens, marveled at the flowers, gazed at hummingbirds, drank ginger-lemonade, all while the sun poured through the palm leaves above us and classical musical played around us. It was peaceful, serene, quiet, restorative—it was exactly what I needed today.

Perhaps this is what I am meant to do with my life: spend my afternoons drinking lemonade in a stunning tropical garden with my love.

Snapshot from travels to Barbados

22:25

We rushed out to watch the sunset from the beach; the tide was high and the surf was strong, and the sun enveloped the sky in orange and red, and we were happy.

We made dinner, and ate dinner—local flying fish, this time with homemade peanut sauce—and then I wrote postcards. Tomorrow’s goal is to find more stamps. Tonight’s goal is much more modest: to sleep a deep, refreshing, long sleep, and to dream of flowers and sunsets and laughter with loved ones.

Snapshot from travels to Barbados

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