Keep 'em private!

Woke up to insane itching on my ankle... what happened to my secluded mosquito net of heaven? Seems some demons have infiltrated it once again. I look for you but never find you, you cheeky monkeys.

Started the day with a private ride, 2 advanced riders who didn't particularly want to gallop everywhere, just didn't want a nose-to-tail slow ride. Fine with me! I really do enjoy taking out advanced riders, they are so much more relaxed and don't need so much looking over. Just want to enjoy some time on horseback and some nice runs up the hill.

Bookending my day of 4 rides was another lovely couple from Ireland (really, when do I not meet nice people from Ireland?!) on a two-hour ride that turned out to be the two-hour ride that cancelled on Sunday. I thanked them profusely for cancelling, did not want to ride in that rain!! They had a beer at the end of it all (6pm, so not much else was happening) and thankfully they were around still when I'd finished with the horses so I could say goodbye to them. And bless her, the woman was kinda nervous pulling the money out her pocket as she said bye and hurriedly tipped me.

Had a couple of cruise ship rides, tipping nominal amounts (did I mention how much more I like private rides??) and not really being any more interesting than the ones I'd done before. I'm amazed at how many people come here and have never been on a horse, even the beginner woman I had today that left her husband behind to do this activity which must be so daunting for the first time. Well, her husband was 260 pounds, 30 over our limit, so she really had no choice in the matter!

Speaking of weighty folk, I swear I took some over-weighters on one of my rides. 4 black Americans, all pretty hefty in size, I had trouble thinking which horses to take them. I felt sorry for every hardworking beast. Unsaddled all of them I possibly could afterwards, poor things. This woman got off to take her pants off for the water, and it took all the strength in the world to get her back on. Her thigh was the size of my waist, I swear. Next time I think I'm fat, someone please remind me of this story.

Still working out how much I earn, spend and save here. Trying to log it all this month, see indeed how expensive this island is, and it is proving quite interesting. The grocery store is much more expensive than I first thought, and buying just for me isn't as cheap as I thought. Of course the beer doesn't help - those nights I crave it and get a 6-pack. Of course, it's much cheaper than going out every night clubbing and drinking, but it's my only release over here so I let myself off.

I'm fast turning this experience into a time-wasting exercise where I wait for my boy to sort his life out and then return to him. I no longer see any point dilly-dallying around having this experience when my baby is waiting for me, and we're both crying without the other on the opposite end of the earth. We need to be together, we should be together and dammit if I'm not gonna see us together again!!

I logged onto FB today to get a really sweet message from him, possibly the most amazing one I've ever had, where he told me how much I meant to him and how awesome I was... all things I fully echo back to him, of course. But usually I'm the more vocal one. Not this time. And blessed be. Bring it on. I can't believe how much he has changed me, even people that know me well can't even recognise me sometimes! But this is love, true and true. And I am so glad to finally know it.

I also used my brief lunch break to write the heartbreaking email to the lady that keeps my horse, offering her for sale if she is interested. I would much prefer she go somewhere I know and trust than elsewhere, so I offered a lesser price than I would sell her for and hope that she bites. Not expecting an instant reply so I guess it's just a waiting game until I hear back...

Sick in the air

I know now. AA is not code for American Airlines, it is code for Absolute Ass. They charged me for a second bag (but at least it was all the way to St Maarten and not 2 separate charges) then make me wait in line at the gate again to get assigned a seat. What's the deal? It's not possible to do that task during check-in or just let people seat themselves? Works for EasyJet.

Anyway, so I'm the last to be assigned a seat and after walking the entire length of the plane, I jam myself in next to an unsurprisingly large fellow and his equally large wife, or sister, how am I to know... they're all just so large. On the bright side, it makes me feel quite the slim'un.

After a brief sleep pass-out situation, I wake feeling a bit clammy and start to get anxious. Was something in that mammoth meal making me sick?? Now freaking out on a plane is never a good thing, so before I know it I'm downing a glass of water and stumbling to the toilet, conveniently located right behind me at the back of the cabin. On the floor, head over bowl, all sorts of memories flashing before me, I am just trying to calm myself down and either vomit or not vomit - just make a decision!

With no vomit forthcoming, I try other methods of extraction - successfully - and sit there sweating and almost hyperventilating as the seatbelt sign flashes. Great, another bumpy flight. What is it about the US flight path these days??

The flight was only about 4 hours 20, but I managed to make it feel like an eternity with my little sick stunt, continuing thoughts/worries/fantasies/nightmares about my boy back in Oz and also the fact I lost the nice ribbon belt to my dress in my near-vomit experience. Managed to find it on the way off the plane, though - crisis averted.

I catch a glance at my fellow passenger's itinerary and it seems they're on my next flight, too. My first look at potential customers on the island, and it's pretty grim. Not so much for my worry-sick boyfriend but for me. If they're not fat, they're old, or worse, both. Can't even window shop. Ho hum.