A hammock by the beach

Yesterday I ventured out to Bones’ Sports Bar, right here in Cloud9 with wooden benches that face the water and a whole host of outdoor games to keep the young and old busy with their ice cold beer: swings, pole tennis, darts, badminton, table tennis, hoop football… you name it! It’s got that element of tacky that we sometimes cringe at in western ghetto-ised tourist locations but somehow, fits right into the local colourfulness and knowing the sweet owner personally makes all the difference. Bones has got these wooden tables and stools propped in the white sand for you to indulge in some food and drink while you’re there, and best of all, two great hammocks (the comfy type) hanging from the shade of 4 palm trees.  So there I went yesterday with a beer in hand, at a rather unspeakably early hour of the morning (well they say it can cure the hangover from the night before) to just look out onto the horizon and be lazy. Reality check: could this truly become my life (at least for 6 months a year)? Honestly, I cannot think of much more to ask for… a place that is warm and beautiful, natural and inviting, where I can offer massage and yoga classes, help out at the local school, bathe in the ocean at my doorstep when I wake up, watch one of the starriest skies on earth every night… where I can actually go to bed at 8 or 9PM and wake up at 6 or 7AM naturally and without alarms… well cause that’s the rhythm out here and it’s cool…things just revolve around the natural daylight hours (well, until you start going out to 9Bar until 5 am and get trashed, but that’s not that often!) Well, the jury is out. Yes…yes I can.

But hey, let’s not kid ourselves here. Nothing and nowhere is perfect and somehow when things become routine they sometimes loose their charm and attraction. Which is why most people out here come and go juggling jobs overseas during the rainy season and coming back during the hot dry season. They get their fix of city life, concrete and glass, culture, music and rush hour traffic to then come back to the respite of the very slow island life with enough of the modern comforts to keep you sane and still connected (namely a computer, internet connection and a few good hard drives)  I have decided this is the way for me. I knew some time ago but had not quite figured out exactly how it was going to work out or where. Now I have a much better idea. The challenge is to actually engage in work I can do year-round via my computer and internet so I can actually be here for 6 months a year. So we’ll see how I get on with that when I hit Miami this winter. And yes, I have been looking at a few properties so that’s all moving along nicely too. Fingers crossed!