Dantigua

I set the alarm for 6:30, with the intention of getting up and going for a run. The alarm does indeed go off at 6:30 but I stay in bed for another hour. It is then another hour before I'm ready to go off for a run. My plan is to do about 10km, but this ultimately becomes 16km, as I skirt around the whole of St John's. I eventually take a left that takes me to town and I slow down to a walk to take in the town atmosphere. It's still morning so Market Street is really busy and very vibrant. Two cruise ships are docked and the town is full of pasty-faced Americans looking really grumpy. The locals are so much happier than them! They view you with trepidation at first but are happy to return a greeting. I find my way to Perry Bay road familiar surroundings and I begin the last 3km to Zeus's. It has been very hot and there are a lot of hills on the last 3 km and I am feeling the efforts when I get back in. I take an hour to cool down, have a shower and get changed and then j...

There is a forecast of rain today so I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do. I have a plan for tomorrow for definite but today is going to need some thinking about. I decide to get out as soon as I can and hike Mount Obama formerly known as Boggy Peak by the locals and named after some famous guy who probably came here once. Rain is forecast for midday so I reckon I can get up and down before that turns up. The track to the trailhead is very much off-road and there's no way you are coming down here with your rental Mercedes. It's two and a half km to the trailhead and it takes a good 15 minutes to get there. I could have run there quicker if I parked on the on the road but the track eventually opens out to a parking area The trail itself is not too difficult but it looks like it's not too well trodden. The start of it is not particularly visible and covered with long grass. In fact, if you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't really find the trail by acci...

The early night has had the obvious effect and I awake at 3:00. From then on it's patches of sleep, social media catch up and map studies before I eventually get up at 8:30 with a plan for the day. Of course it has every potential for change. The main effort will be Shirley Heights later in the day for the live event. Before I can go anywhere I have to deal with slightly flat tyres at the front and rear driver side. The back one had looked a little deflated last night but today it is down a lot more. Zeus doesn't have a pump but tells me the way the nearest garage is and it is somewhere I know. I'm so local!! The guy with the air pump has a small mechanics hut set to the side of the fuel pumps. I asked him if he has the facility put to pump tyres. He points at the compressed air tube coiled up on the floor and says "help yourself man". This I gratefully do, thank him for his trouble and then I'm on my way to stop number one. I have spied Eden Beach on Google m...

APOLOGY- I'm having issues loading pictures to this post. I'll attempt to rectify ASAP. I'm awakened quite early by torrential rain rattling on the roof and windows. Night time rain is a bit of a feature here which is great if it keeps it away from the days! Once it has stopped I fall asleep again and eventually get up at 7:30. A lot to do before vacating the apartment. I drop Zeus a line asking how much extra he wants for the extended rental of the car plus the lift to the airport. He only asks for US$20; it's next to nothing but he's a cash kind of guy, so this means I need to go into town to the casino ATM which is the only one that dispenses US dollars. The rest of the day is planned for a visit to fort James and then back to Dickenson's Bay for some lunch and to get the boat out to the Kon-Tiki bar. Then get to the back to the apartment by 2:30 to pick Zeus up and go to the airport. Happy with my plan. I get up and scramble four eggs for breakfast, before t...