The tent on the outside
The tent on the INSIDE!This will have to be fast...I'm on govt computer...
So I can't upload pics until the weekend, but have a bunch to add to illustrate this adventure.
There is a link on my blog page to the Friends of VI Park page...that is the blog that will have all of the information on the work we are doing here and you can read about the mapping of the Restonburg Ruins that we are doing this week. Will update Friday.
Living in a tent is interesting, especially in the virgin islands. On Sunday night, there was a huge storm and the nice little tree over my tarp decided it didn't feel like standing anymore, so in the middle of a downpour, at 1 am, CRASH. My tarp came down on top of the tent, not to mention that it scared the living daylights out of me! I put on the headlamp and shoes and went out to inspect. Removed the tree, made sure the tarp was draped over the tent to keep me dry that night, and went back to 'bed'.
Monday, I attempted to grill for myself. I thought (in my infinate optimism) that I could avoid spending the $8 that it costs for a bag of charcol and just use sticks and leaves that i found around my campsite. Do you know how hard it is to light damp sticks and leaves? Stop laughing, it was a good idea! So obviously everthing was too wet. I caved and bought the charcol. Okay, so then I refused to buy the lighter fluid because its just full of chemicals. Do you know how hard it is to light charcol in like 98% humidity? I caved and bought the lighter fluid. The damn thing, after about 1.5 hours of trying, would not light. I was so hungry I thought I'd eat the damp sticks and leaves. I set up the propane stove, boiled a potato (this is was supposed to be a much more elaborate meal for those of you who know i enjoy cooking...the potatoe was meant to be a side), braved a cold shower, and went down to the beach to watch the stars come out.
Me, cooking dinner. That is the damn potato.
This trip is interesting...its a mix of really zen moments and really frustrating ones. My yoga teacher, Margaret, always puts us into Shivasana (corpse pose, at the end of class) with this mantra: "imagine you are lying on a beach...let warm sun wash over you, feel soft sand support you, hear the waves crash around you and allow the weight of your body to relax into the earth as your mind becomes quiet..". Shivasana is very hard for me to find because for some reason, my mind is never, ever quiet. However, watching the stars come out I heard Margaret in my head, let the soft sand support me, and (ignoring the "no-see-ums", tiny little bugs that nip at whatever is not covered up at night) forgot the whole grill incident and felt so happy and at peace with this opportunity.
The next night, last night, I came back from work a little early and got a swim in before making dinner. I wasn't going to be so ambitious last night...crackers and carrots sounded awesome. I still needed to take the coolers out of the tent though. As I was taking them out, I tripped over the bottom zipper of the tent flap, totally bit it as my cooler opened and food went everywhere and the zipper completely ripped. As it is, I use bug spray like perfume here. I went to work on the zipper, attempting to re-thread it to no avail. It was useless..the door to my tent was wide open. Long story short, during this ordeal I'd called my co-worker Kourtney, whose phone was off, and left a message asking if there was another tent somewhere. She must have gotten the message because after I'd found duck tape from the surf-shop boys and had resigned myself to drinking no water so I could duck tape myself in for the night and was feeling tears well up while eating my carrots and crackers in the dark after two hours of trying to fix my stupid tent, Susanna and Ronnie (Kourtney had called them) strolled up to my tent with another tent!! They had brought me a beer!! They were going to help fix things!! This was a mini, little pop-up tent though. One that sleeps maybe two or three people. No worries. We set up that tent inside the big tent. It doesn't fit a cot though, so now I'm on the ground. But it's dry and without bugs and now I have a tent-apartment. I made Susanna and Ronnie a dinner of red beans and rice (in honor of Carnival, of course) and we had beer and rice and crackers and sat outside of my new tent apartment. Right now I'm wondering how many animals will have gotten into the bigger part of the tent where my clothes, food, etc are chilling since I've been gone today. There are lots of mongoose in the campground.
I live in a tent inside a tent. How many people can really say that?
Today's song is called "Quilombo" by Gilbert Gil and it goes out to Joy. A quilombo is my favorite argentine word, and it basically refers to a situation that is a whole, big mess. I think sometimes we all get into a quilombo out of our control.
Then, this morning I was dying for a cup of coffee and had no cash left to buy it at the little store in the campground. A cup of coffe is $2. As I was walking back to the tent from the lab this morning, I found $2 on the ground on the walking path. So, I had my coffee and set out for another day of mapping sugar mill ruins (c. 1718). It all works out in the end my loves.
This is where I go to work every morning. The building there on the right is the lab. Accross the way is the surfshop, and the beach is all around! My tent is about a three minute walk into the woods from here.
Lots of love,
jilly
The next night, last night, I came back from work a little early and got a swim in before making dinner. I wasn't going to be so ambitious last night...crackers and carrots sounded awesome. I still needed to take the coolers out of the tent though. As I was taking them out, I tripped over the bottom zipper of the tent flap, totally bit it as my cooler opened and food went everywhere and the zipper completely ripped. As it is, I use bug spray like perfume here. I went to work on the zipper, attempting to re-thread it to no avail. It was useless..the door to my tent was wide open. Long story short, during this ordeal I'd called my co-worker Kourtney, whose phone was off, and left a message asking if there was another tent somewhere. She must have gotten the message because after I'd found duck tape from the surf-shop boys and had resigned myself to drinking no water so I could duck tape myself in for the night and was feeling tears well up while eating my carrots and crackers in the dark after two hours of trying to fix my stupid tent, Susanna and Ronnie (Kourtney had called them) strolled up to my tent with another tent!! They had brought me a beer!! They were going to help fix things!! This was a mini, little pop-up tent though. One that sleeps maybe two or three people. No worries. We set up that tent inside the big tent. It doesn't fit a cot though, so now I'm on the ground. But it's dry and without bugs and now I have a tent-apartment. I made Susanna and Ronnie a dinner of red beans and rice (in honor of Carnival, of course) and we had beer and rice and crackers and sat outside of my new tent apartment. Right now I'm wondering how many animals will have gotten into the bigger part of the tent where my clothes, food, etc are chilling since I've been gone today. There are lots of mongoose in the campground.
I live in a tent inside a tent. How many people can really say that?
Today's song is called "Quilombo" by Gilbert Gil and it goes out to Joy. A quilombo is my favorite argentine word, and it basically refers to a situation that is a whole, big mess. I think sometimes we all get into a quilombo out of our control.
Then, this morning I was dying for a cup of coffee and had no cash left to buy it at the little store in the campground. A cup of coffe is $2. As I was walking back to the tent from the lab this morning, I found $2 on the ground on the walking path. So, I had my coffee and set out for another day of mapping sugar mill ruins (c. 1718). It all works out in the end my loves.
This is where I go to work every morning. The building there on the right is the lab. Accross the way is the surfshop, and the beach is all around! My tent is about a three minute walk into the woods from here.Lots of love,
jilly
5 comments:
Had never seen a mongoose, so I Googled. Kind of cute, but I understand you would not want to share your dinner with one.
Glad to hear you've made good friends who are helping you to get acclimated.
Very funny, keep up the great stories. If I was writing this blog, my entry would be... "I live in a tent, my tent broke, I'm hungry. I had a beer. Everything is cool. The End" That's it. :)
Jilly, I'm so excited for you. What a great opportunity. I'm so glad you're keeping this blog, and I look forward to reading more over the next couple of months!
--Smoore
oh jilly. yes, i was cackling.. i am actually reading your sharing in my team meeting today. yup, no joke... and yes the epitomy of a quilombo or a 'gran lio'. keep writing, and i love you.
sounds like a lot of craziness going on in such a quiet little place. mostly created by the jilli chilli banilli :) keep up the good work. mucha suerte y arriba mujer!
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