St Thomas and Dominica

Here are a few of us enjoying dinner our first night in Puerto Rico

My dinner tonight was a Puerto Rican favourite. Spanish people love pork. Pictured is side of fried pork chops with a yellow corn tamale stuffed with crabmeat. On every table you sit down to eat in PR, they have a number of tasty condiments you can add to your meat ie chili sauce, minced cilantro with chili.

My favourite island of all was St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. We loved it. Beautiful, balmy weather. Spectacular homes - with all the amenities we have here ie. well-stocked supermarkets, malls, good schools.

Des mentioned that it would be great to move here one day. Of course, my imagination just began to wander. I started picturing sending Brandon off to school in the morning in his blue and khaki uniform as I went back to the kitchen to check on my coconut drops in the oven, Weekend limes on the beach...the way life was meant to be lived.

At the beach

Here is a typical "Sunday meal" served in St. Thomas. Oven baked BBQ chicken, side of macaroni and cheese- using the yellow American cheese, not the baked pie we are accustomed to, peas and rice, sweet potato pie and a medley of sweet peas, corn and carrots.

Here is Dominica. A tiny, unspoilt island with lots of vegetation, volcanoes, and over 300 rivers. Here I am at the entrance of one of the Caribbean's most lush rainforest. It smells just like the BioDome's rainforest.

Apparently people here live on average, longer than most people in the world. A simple life, little pollution due to the lack of factories and companies combined with a diet rich in seafood is responsible for this. An example of the simplicity of people's lives - microwaves were introduced only 3-4 years ago in Dominica.

Waterfalls in the rainforest and the Emerald Pool. The water was freezing cold !!

Going up to the rainforest in the mountains we encountered a roadside display and samples of all the fruits and vegeatbles grown on plantations in Dominica. Best of all, everything was free! There were juicy pineapples, tangy cocoa, starchy (and very sweet) bananas. The bananas taste totally different from the bananas we get in supermarkets here. A native described the planting of bananas as taking care of a pregnant woman. Not one single pesticide is used or any fertilizer to force the plant to grow any faster. They are nurtured for the full growth period.

Here is a Dominican delicacy. Roasted breadfruit with peppery shredded saltfish. Yum!