Tinkerblue

Bacardi, Beaches and Broke

We just finished an 8 day cruise that was successful (we hit target) and expensive (I've spent my paycheque before we get paid!).

We had two long sea days at the beginning of the cruise and then our first port was San Juan, Puerto Rico.     About 6 of us thought about going to the Bacardi Distillery but we were worried about timing... last time I went with Jorge, Victoria and Karl we cut it very close and only just made all aboard.  This week we had a general emergency drill meaning ouldn't get off ship until 11am, back on board was 230pm so it was a no go.  

 

After boat drill Trudy and I decided to check out the ferry schedule and fares for next time. Only we couldn't wait for next time. The ferry was leaving in 5 mins  and cost 50c.  We went.  

 

Ferry ride from Old San Juan to Catano took about 10 mins 50c each way

Taxi from ferry terminal to Bacardi 10 minutes $3.00 per person each way 

 

 

Barcardi tour - 1 hour, $12.00 includes a souvenir glass and one drink.  There is an option for a 2 hour tour that includes a mixology class and three drinks for $35.00. We might have done that except for the timing.

 

The tour is the same as I took last time with Victoria, Jorge and Karl expect Trudy and I didn't have to cut it short we actually stayed until the end and we even had time to browse the gift shop. I passed on the $85.00 bottle of limited reserve rum with personalized engraving on the bottle and I also passed on the very cute rum barrel.

 

Antigua was our next stop, the only time we stop there.  Antigua has 365 beaches. One for every day of the year. We only had time to visit one.  Trudy, Lavinia and I spent the day at Jolly Beach.  

 

 

 

When I think of Caribbean beaches, this is what I imagine.  Glaringly bright sun, blue blue green water and white sand.  Thank heavens for cloud cover.

 

A good few hours were spent doing nothing but floating in the water, laying in the sun to soak up some vitamin D, laying under the beach umbrella to avoid looking like a lobster, reading a few pages of my book, or just people watching.

(my toes are not sunburnt, I accidently had the vivid colour setting on my camera turned on!)

 

This photo makes me laugh...the tanned Romanian, Lavinina between the lily white South African and Australian!

 

I wish we stopped in Antigua more than once. It was a beautiful, relaxing day.

 

Our third stop of the cruise was St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Again we only stop here once. When I was on Liberty last year we stopped here every other week, I very much like St Thomas... beaches, shopping, skyride, ice bar, resorts, lots to do.

 

With so much to do, what did I do? Ummmm....spent money. Lots of it.  Mainly on speakers for Shaun, but I'm going to use them until I take them home!  He'll just have to wait patiently.  I did also get some jewelery and a headphones for me. And drooled over a very pretty diamond palm tree necklace but that stayed in the store.

 

Last stop for this cruise was Nassau, in the Bahamas.  It's not my first time in Nassau and it won't be my last. Nassau is on our itinerary quite a few time. Unfortunately it's not really a place that interests me much, and there's always rumours of tourists being mugged etc etc.  We just had a quick bite to eat, tried to find some fast internet and then went back to the ship for a nap.

Ensensada

 

We are in Ensenada, Mexico twice a week.  Every Tuesday and Friday.  Ensenada is not the prettiest Mexican town I've ever been to, but it's not the worst.  It's about 100km from the US border.  A lot of Californians come here to buy cheap booze and prescription medicines.  

 

 

 

In three months I have done very little in Ensenada.  It's a port that hasn't interested me much, which is probably not very fair.  I haven't really given it much of a chance.  Usually I use Ensenada days to sleep in or do my laundry.  When I do get off the ship I usually do the same thing every time...

1 - Find a coffee shop, not even a local coffee shop, I usually head straight for Starbucks and their free internet.  

 

 

2 - Go for a pedicure. So far I've been for two.  At $20.00 for an hour long pedicure it's cheap and I love the calf massage - almost sends me to sleep everytime. I do miss having a bloom pedicure. I must remember to book one when I get home.  

 

 

3 - Get a massage.  I'm not sure why but I'm finding this contract way more stressful than the 6 months I spent on Liberty.    The tension I'm holding in my neck and shoulders is unbelievable. I want to go for a massage everyweek. 

 

 

4 - Eat fish tacos. Ensenada is apparently famous for it's fish tacos.  I've been told they are even better if they are eaten at a street stall.  The street stall aspect doesn't worry me, I've eaten more than enough meals from street stands in Mexico.  But I do like to sit and relax to eat my meal so I usually eat my tacos at this hole in the wall... $6.00 for a beer and 3 tacos. I'm happy with that.

 

 

 

5 - Eat Chinese.  Yep I know, why eat Chinese in Mexico when there's lots of good Mexican food?Because it's close to the ship, cheap and has fast internet.

 

 

6 - Shop.  I haven't really done all that much shopping here either.  I have a lot of souvenirs from previous trips to Mexico. Silver jewelry, pottery, art work, a tea set, wooden boxes, little animals with bobbly heads, Kahlua, Tequila and quite a few other things.  And really there's not much different here. One local shop lady tried getting me to go into her store by telling me..."come on in, we have cheap crap, like made in China only it's made in Mexico".  Really? That's  your selling tatic? Not very inviting.  There are two stores I like to look in.

Bazar Casa Ramirez:  I bought my little star shaped light here, and some gifts for friends at home.

 

 

Cafe, Cafe: Good coffee and iron animals.  I bought a blue and green fish. As a gift. But I think I'm gonna keep him for myself.  Barb, I think you'd like the geckos.

 

 

So that's it.  13 weeks, 26 days in Ensenada and that's all I've done.  Maybe it's time to branch out and give Ensenada a chance.   I'm half way through my contract, I have 13 weeks left.  That's another 26 visits to Ensenada.  Well 20, because I'll be port manning for 6 of those days.  So what to do?  Maybe kayaking, a visit to the winery, a day at the beach, a trip to La Bufadora (the blowhole)... we'll see...

 

 

 

LLoyds of Avalon Salt Water Taffy - Catalina Island

 

I'm a chocolate girl.  I normally dislike hard lollies (candy) like toffee etc, and chewy lollies - bleh.  But every Monday I walk past Lloyds of Avalon.  They are famous for their toffee apples (candy apples), peanut brittle and fudge.  They've been around since the 1930's.  So they must be good.  

 

 

I went inside fully intending to buy some ooey, gooey, chocolatey goodness.

 

 

Or maybe a peanut butter cup...

 

 

But instead I went with something I wouldn't normally choose...

 

 

Salt Water Taffy

 

 

There are hundreds of flavours to choose from.  Okay so not quite a hundred, but lots.

 

 

Guess what? I actually kind of liked it.  I tried the lemon, amaretto, chocolate, chocolate mint and vanilla chocolate swirl.  The lemon was my favourite, no surprise there as it's the one flavour I like almost as much as chocolate. 

 

 

I don't think I need to eat anymore. I still prefer chocolate.  Do you like salt water taffy? Let me know, maybe I'll send you some! Next time I want to try the frozen Mexican spiced cocoa.  It sounds good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local Artists - Creek Clayworks in Roberts Creek

Back in October 2012 I grabbed a map and my wallet and visited some of the local artists that were participating in the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl. The art crawl is an annual three day event that allows visitors access to artists and studios along the coast from Langdale to Lund including some that are not always open to the public.

 

One of the places I stopped at in Roberts Creek was Creek Clayworks. In a cute little workshop in the woods.

 

The potters behind Creek Clayworks are Elaine Futterman and Mike Allegretti. Their work contains no lead and is dishwasher, microwave and oven safe.  I knew I was in trouble the minute I saw all the blues and greens.  I was good I didn't buy anything. Not during the Art Crawl anyway.

 

Pretty blues:

Cool greens:

Not yet glazed:

Elaine Futterman at work:

You can buy from the studio year round, and I think you can sometimes find them at the Sechelt Farmer's Market on Saturdays from April to September.

You know how I said I was good and didn't buy anything during the Art Crawl in October?  That didn't last.  Can you guess which piece I bought as a Christmas present to myself during their Annual Creek Clayworks Christmas Sale back in December?

Local Artists - Sa Boothroyd - Changing the Guard

This is an old and a long story....

20 years ago Jo and I lived in London.  One Christmas my parents came to visit and do the touristy thing. I had to work so they took Jo with them to watch the Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace.  It was Christmas, and it was cold. Two things Jo does not like.

Changing the Guard is an iconic London attraction. Off went the three of them to Buckingham Palace.  They arrived early to get a good viewing spot.  They had quite the wait in the cold.  Jo bores easily. By the time Changing the Guard started, Jo had had enough.   Not sure what she was expecting, but the actual ceremony did not meet expectations.  She saw it once, and does not need to see it again.  She did however keep my parents and those around them highly entertained.  I wish I had been there.

When I met them after work, my Mum and Dad could not wait to tell me Jo's running commentary throughout the ceremony.  They saw and did a bunch of stuff in the three weeks they were in London, but I think listening to Jo at Changing of Guards was the highlight of their trip! 20 years later my Mum still tells the story.

 A couple of years back I was in small local gift store in Maple Ridge - The Little Cricket Gallery. I was looking for a gift to send to, I don't actually remember who. One of the first things I saw was this piece of artwork...

 

 

It made me a laugh out loud.  I bought it one the spot without even thinking about it.  I don't remember who I was shopping for, I'm guessing whoever it was never actually received a gift, Jo got this instead.

Fast forward to the summer of 2012, I was hanging out in Gibsons for the day with Andrea and her boys, and I walked past a small gift shop that had a the same artwork as a woodblock in the window.  Turns out the window I was looking in was the artist's gallery - Sa Boothroyd.  I didn't buy it at the time.  But it kept bugging me, so I had to go back a month or two later and buy it.  I sent it home to Mum and Dad as part of their Christmas gift.

 

 

Jo thought it was hilarious. Mum thought I should have sent it to Jo instead.  Mum didn't realise I'd already sent it to Jo years ago.

 

Without realising it I had already bought a couple other pieces of Sa's work from Fresh from the Coast in Sechelt to send to other friends as gifts. A bike tea towel, a never enough shoes trivet and a cat magnet. At least I'm consistent!

 

Related articles

Local Artists - D'Arcy Margesson of WM Terracotta Pottery

Local Artists - D'Arcy Margesson of WM Terracotta Pottery

Can you believe I've lived on the Sunshine Coast for 10 months now? That 10 months has flown by. One of my favourite things to do on a Saturday morning in the summer was go to the Sechelt Farmer's Market.  I'd buy some fruit and veggies and bread for the week, but I also bought a small fortune of hand crafted products to give as Christmas gifts.  And yes, I start my Christmas shopping in the summer. Get over it.

One of the first items I bought was actually for myself and not a gift for someone else! So what did I buy? Well remember earlier I said I'd like a set of bowls in this lovely blue? Well I didn't buy a set of bowls in the blue.

 

 

I did however buy a pie dish in green. I know, I know, my kitchen doesn't match. I don't even have a kitchen of my own right now.  All my kitchen goodies are in boxes that I can't get to in a storage locker. I wanted to bake a pie. I needed a pie dish. If I'm going to buy a new pie dish, then it's going to be pretty.

Apples, peaches, plums, blackberries, blueberries, stawberries, pumpkins, lemons.

 

It's made by D'Arcy Margesson of WM Terracotta Pottery in Gibsons. He has quite the range of beautifully crafted dishes. Everything from the pie dishes to serving trays, soup bowls, mugs, teapots and casserole dishes. It's all hand thrown and decorated.  

I love that on the bottom of the pie dish is a recipe for Foolpoof Pie Dough. It includes 1/4 cup of cold vodka.  I'll have to try this recipe some time.

 

The pie I made? Blackberry Balsamic Pie.

D'Arcy Margesson

WM Terracotta Pottery

639 Bay Road

Gibsons BC V0N 1V8

604-886-6670

[email protected]

Also available at Fresh from the Coast 

5721 Cowrie Street

Sechlet BC 

604-741-0760

Related articles

Local Artists - Sa Boothroyd - Changing the Guard

Copper Sky Cafe and Gallery

Michelle came to visit on the Labour Day long weekend. Instead of me cooking breakfast, we decide to grab something on the way to Skookumchuk Narrows. We had no idea where we were going to stop, we just hit the highway and hoped for the best.

 

We passed quite a few places - fancy resort restaurants, pubs, cand cafes before finally settling on Copper Sky Cafe and Gallery in Madeira Park.

 

Love this sign - it's an old fridge door

 

It was a beautiful, sunny day so we decided to sit outside and enjoy.  Breakfast was a choice of eggs  and toast, omlettes, french toast, fried egg sandwiches, homemade granola and a selection of baked goods. I order a banana butterscotch muffin, Michelle went with 2 eggs and toast and jam in her coffee.

 

Inside the gallery

 

While we were were waiting for the hot food, I took a quick look in the gallery side. There was a lot of art that I wouldn't mind having in my non existant house. Photos by Andy Cotton in particular. I could do a big chunk of my Christmas shopping here.  But the only thing I bought was my breakfast.

 

 

The cafe made us laugh. Or more to the point the staff made us laugh. It was like granny was in the kitchen and she was in a foul mood.  She was yelling at the staff, but nobody seemed to mind. It was like a scene out of a movie. You know the scene in a diner, with the gruff cook but good food.

 

 

My muffin was a little dry, nothing some butter didn't fix. Michelle ate all her breakfast so I'm assuming it was good. 

 

 

We'd go back again. Food was good. Price was reasonable. And the entertainment was priceless. 

 

 

Copper Sky Cafe and Gallery

 

 

Sechelt Farmer's Market

 

The Sechelt Farmer's Market is held every Saturday morning. I've been a few times. Like most Farmer's Markets it's a mixture of local produce, and local artisans. Some good, some questionable.

 

 

It's also hit or miss and which stalls will be there. I've been on some Saturdays where every second space was empty.

 

 

I'd love a set of bowls in this blue. It's so pretty.

 

 

This last Saturday it was packed - more stalls than I've seen all summer. Of course it was the last long weekend of the summer, and the weather was beautiful so that may have had something to do with it.

 

 

Picked sea asparagus and sea nettle pesto

 

 

I've bought some great gifts for friends and family over the summer and some tasty treats for myself.

 

 

I like the round chopping boards, they have cute little feet on them. I so need a kitchen.

 

 

The market runs from the beginning of April to the end of September. I'm not sure if I'll get there again before it finishes for the season. I hope so.

 

 

This red pottery is gorgeous. The photo doesn't do it justice. I'll take a set of mugs please.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related articles

Local Artists - D'Arcy Margesson of WM Terracotta Pottery

Local Artists - Gunter Loschinski, Woodspirit Carver

135 sleeps until Christmas. Woops that means I'm late starting my Christmas shopping. Normally I'm pretty much done by now.  

 

I'm back on track now. I started Christmas shopping today. Nothing major. Just some small decorations. One for me and one for you and you and you.

 

 

Anyone who has known me for a while or who has travelled with me knows that I like to buy Christmas decorations from places I visit. Some people buy t-shirts or magnets or stickers or  teaspoons (remember those?) or tea-towels. I buy Christmas decorations. Nothing like buying something that's only used once a year and is totally impractical.

 

This is the one I wanted to buy for Shaun and Kelly!

 

A friend emailed me this article on a couple of Sunshine Coast artists a while back. I filed it away and forgot about it. Once of the artists mentioned was Gunter Loschinski of Woodspirit Carver in Halfmoon Bay.  Today I had to pick up some guests from Rockwater Resort so I decided to stop in at the Woodspirit Carver on the way.

 

 

Like most legends the story of wood spirits vary. Most say that wood spirits live in the forest, and protect those with pure spirit who enter in. If you spot a wood spirit in the trees it is said to be good luck.  Carvers often depict wood spirits as old men. Wood spirits are usually hang over or near doors to prevent evil from entering a home and to bring good luck.

 

Technically these Santas are not wood spirits

 

Gunter Loschinski grew up in Germany, had a career in hospitality and then retired to Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast and learnt to carve.  He uses wood that he finds locally.

 

I really wanted to buy one of the larger ones for Shaun and Kelly for Christmas. It would look right at home near their back door. But they are too heavy to mail, and the wood is not treated so Australian customs would not particularly like the wood spirit. They wouldn't think he was good luck.

 

 

 

 

Places to Fly - Tillamook Cheese Factory

We love cheese. We love to fly.  Tillamook Cheese is in Oregon. Not far from the Tillamook Airport. Perfect. Last year we flew to Tillamook Airport and then rode our bikes to Tillamook Cheese. It's about a 20-30 minute ride. Good exericse. Gotta work off the cheese somehow.

 

This year, Kim, Joanna, Miss M and Kenny were with us and they don't have bikes (yet). So riding was not an option. Luckily the Tillamook Airport has a courtesy car that we borrowed. Actually it's a truck and we couldn't all fit at once. Well Miss M wanted us to sit in the tray and just do one trip, but it's not really legal so we passed on that idea and made two trips.

 

 

Upstairs in the visitors centre is the viewing platform, where you can watch the factory at work. Yes, they are big bricks of cheese.

 

 

Downstairs is the tasting station. We may or may not have stopped at the tasting station first, then gone upstairs to view the factory and then back down to the tasting station. Just saying. My favourite is the Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar. Hubby liked the Pepper Jack.

 

 

Once we were done tasting, we had to buy. Squeeky cheese and a small block to have as appys back at camp. And a brick to bring home. Those bricks below are 5lbs each. We didn't buy them. We thought about it, but we went with smaller versions.

 

Tillamook Cheese doesn't only make cheese. They make ice cream too. And of course we had to taste it. We didn't buy any to take home. No cooler in the plane. Mmmm, now there's an idea.

 

 

And one last look at all that cheesy goodness.

 

The view of Tillamook Cheese Factory and Visitors Centre as we flew back to Nehalem Bay.