And the heavens opened

I didn't think working on a Sunday would be quite as painful as normal, as this time I'd been switched to work with J. But lordy lord, was I wrong. It was the most despicable weather I have seen in my 5 weeks living here. Rain, rain and more rain.

I knew it was coming, as I sat eating my granola (American way of saying honeyed muesli) and yoghurt, watching the clouds devour every inch of the sky. If I'd been smart, I would have taken the annoying sucking sounds of my old man neighbour skinning (and sucking) bamboo as a warning sign that this day would indeed suck.

The boss wasn't around, not entirely surprisingly since anyone with half a brain was indoors as they say "fucking or sleeping" (glad to know my options are plentiful), so we were given our daily tasks as normal and expected to carry them out. Which we did... in time.

We had one lot of customers come - a cruise ship ride for J and 4 locals for me. Well, by locals I mean people living here. I didn't expect a tip, nor did I receive one. Most probably because just 100m into the ride my young horse decided to throw a tantrum and complete bonkers-out. It sensed the herd of non-working horses nearby and of course at that time that decided to gallop away, and he got all excited, jumping around and rearing up.

This did nothing to instil confidence in the 2 women already very nervous on their first ride, and the man with his young cousin. In fact, the young boy liked the excitement but I could tell the man was a little more dubious. Either way, no one came off, the one horse that bolted slowed and turned back quickly, and we were on our way again. I thought for one moment I would have had to dismount and change horses, but I pushed him on and he calmed down.

At that stage in the day, the weather wasn't yet raining horribly, just sprinkling, but it was windy. And the clouds were out, making views of the nearby islands impossible. It's always hard, too, when you have people that live on the island, to tell them things they probably already know. Our rides are really tailored to tourists, so when you have locals you really just have to have nice conversation.

And then I had the task of putting them in the right order - the young boy first, but then the scared girls in the middle and the older cousin at the back that probably wanted to be close to the young boy. Much more than meets the eye with being a horse guide. Most people probably don't even realise what goes through our heads!

As the rain fell around midday, J and I looked at the now murky water and thought it a perfect time to swim. Well, he was a bit uncertain... but I was keen, pulling off my t-shirt... and then he was keen haha.... amazingly, my white sports bra was thick enuf it wasn't see-through in the water. Was fun, though, going crazy in the rain. Afterwards, pretty much assigned myself lunch, as there was not much I could do without catching fever.

Had some people book a one-hour ride, then cancel, then another couple booking a two-hour ride (why????) then not show up... so I was on alert for the afternoon, praying they wouldn't turn up. Seriously... who books a ride on a day like today?? Ridiculous.

So obviously I made no tips today - the first time for me. No surprising, but still a bit of a bummer. This week I made a killing, though, so all good. Got a sympathy tip from J, who got a decent amount from his cruise ship ride - unusual - so maybe my freaky horse cost me some extra moolah. Oh well, off to the glue factory for you, m'dear.

At the end of the day - oh, how I longed for the end - the boss was there and congratulated us on getting everything done in the shitty weather. No problem. At all. Brrrrr. I rejected a lift from R and stayed around talking about the crazy hurricane weather of the island, how it'd changed in the last few decades and "Old Years" (what they call New Years Eve)... was quite interesting except that I was slowing starting to freeze still in my wet t-shirt. Seriously the first time I've properly been cold on the island. Was actually visualising sitting in front of a fire.

Came home and made myself entirely too much stir fry - in fact, I ate it all, as I always do. What was I saying about losing weight on this island?? Well, not much else to concentrate on really, is there? Can't shelter under trees like I did today thinking all kinds of sad things about not being with my love, now can I? Time to get crackin', let's get some of this weight off. Just the same, it's also easy to eat my way through the depression. Now where was that packet of M&Ms???