Page 48 - 2003 - Atlantic Islands

little background before we get there. The Zodiac operation was a bit raggedy since

this was the crew’s first landing. However, everybody got on and off very well at the

side gate. The wind and the waves did not help the novice Zodiac drivers, however. It

took Patricia quite a bit of maneuvering to get us lined up at the pier properly for the

able bodied seamen to take us off the Zodiacs. However, the important thing is that

she did it and no one was the worse for wear. The steps up from the dock were steep

and wet but everyone made it up there just fine.

How strange it felt to have the ground firm beneath our step! But many of us found

ourselves swaying a little as we visited the post office, the little museum, the

conservation shop, and the grocery store. The town is arranged around a square with

a municipal building on the seaside and the other shops and a restaurant called

“Reflections” arranged in a horseshoe to make the square. There are flowering plants

around, all familiar to us as tropical and subtropical greenery like bougainvillea,

lantana, oleander, etc. Many of the more vibrant bougainvilleas were actually “caged”

in chicken wire fencing to prevent the goats, sheep, and donkeys from snacking on

them.

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