19 Mar, Mon

Mon, 19 Mar .... got up and worked on my photos, and then headed to meet with Christie, at the RMP. ... she was coming down the stairs as i was going up.... she said she was just leaving and that i could join her. the Mayor was coming to meet with the people about the road .. and more specifically about the new public bathrooms, which i was witnessing while i waiting for a taxi yesterday .... it seems there is no communication here, and he decided to put the bathrooms right in the center of the 'round-about' at the entrance to the village ... unconcerned about the hazards associated with children running across the street to get to the bathrooms from the beach .... and the first impression of tourists .... there was also no forethought about exactly 'where' the structure should go ... they 'stole' 12 ft of beach and narrowed the roadway, when it just as easily could have been moved 12ft further from the beach ........ oh, it went on and on ... it was an unorganized mess, the people of the village weren't happy, but unfortunately they don't have a 'village council' so there was no agreement even on the part of the residents and business owners ... and the only thing on the Mayor's agenda was to vent his anger because someone put something on a blog about his intention to build a Marina for the Yachts, which he says isn't true ... it was all about him, ... and how it made him look. ...and i mean he was angry ... you could tell he was 'hot' about the whole thing!...... i hope he doesn't come after me because of my blog now ! :) then someone handed their cell phone to him and he said that some lady offered some of her land that was right on the beach; to use for the bathrooms. so now, all that work and money, and cement in the middle of the road ... for nothing .... and since it's a 3ft tall cement pad, they can't use it for a road, or even make a 'green space' out of it ... crazy ! there was also concern that no one is overseeing the quality of the work that is being done on the road construction, and the new sewer holding tanks are leaking; and bulging at the sides ... and their solution is to put some sealer on them ... it is a real mess ! ...i wonder what will happen next ... stay tuned ... island drama ! i will meet Christie tomorrow morning to decide where i can be of help for them. she mentioned making some recycle containers for people to put recycle plastic in ..... sounds familiar, huh? before i left i remembered there is a guy that comes to the village on Tues and has gallons of fresh 100% orange juice .. i remembered this from last year and i asked Christie and Nic if they would get me a gallon when he came by ... they said they would ... i left them money ... i got something to eat and came home and worked on my blog ... always trying to get caught up ! ...then laid down for a little nap ... i heard something running across my roof ... i looked out the window and saw a monkey on my porch railing. Axel had said there was a monkey around ... someone's escaped pet, coz i guess they are not native to this island. i grabbed my camera and he leaped to the trees ... i walked out on the porch to see if i could find him ... it was so comical ... i was bobbing and weaving to try to see around the trees and leaves .. and i could see him ... doing the same thing ... he'd move, then peek through the trees ... then move again, peek ... i was doing the same thing ... it was quite funny ... at one point he came out on a palm branch and was quite close ... he was larger than i thought ... i wondered if he was going to charge me ... but i saw he was just trying to get to the papayas in the tree between us ... you can see the unripe papayas, about tennis ball size, in the foreground of the photo ... then he tore it open and began eating it ... he is a White-Faced (or White-Throated) Capuchin, ... a medium sized monkey, ... info i've read said it has a tail that is often carried coiled up ... but i sure don't see a tail on this one, .... supposedly an intelligent animal using tools as weapons and for getting food. can live to be 50yrs old .... poor little one ... all alone on this island :( i walked to The SunDowner again and visited with Ron and Patricia ... they invited me to dinner on Sat night to celebrate Patricia's birthday. ...watched the sun setting over Half Moon Bay ... also met a pretty lady, Gracie, from Italy. ...she had a Pina Colada that was too sweet for her, so she gave it to me ... they are really good there :) while we were sitting at the bar, i started talking with a pilot from Houston and his son ... i was ready to leave, but he enticed me to stay by ordering me a Monkey LaLa ... hummm ... they are really really good :) ...interesting guy that's been a lot of interesting places. it was time for me to get something to eat; and they invited me to go to dinner with them... we went to the Ceviche place that i went to the other night ... that is some great Ceviche ... and we split a bottle of wine .... then time to call it a night