Tuesday March 8 - Ile a Vache: Christmas in March

By around 1 pm we can see Ile a Vache in the distance around the point, by 2:30 we are at anchor less that 100 yards from the beach at Kakock village.

The whole village turns out to watch and help carry all of the cargo in 6 or 8 boat loads from the boat to shore, then from shore to the library, where it is now all securely stowed for distribution. By 6 pm we are done, the library/storehouse is full, we head back to the boat to clean up the mess. Samuel, Karma & Federique come with us, help clean the decks, carry a few last minute items ashore, then we set about drinking the beer that we have so carefully guarded and stored and chilled for this occasion. 

Blue Moon, Yinling Black & Tan, Newcastle Brown Ale plus a few Red Stripes and Coors are mixed in with the full case of Haitian Prestige that Samuel brings us. We stick with beer and don’t venture into the Rum Zone, leaving that for another night to celebrate more fully. As the fridge has been reduced to cold water that isn’t draining because one of the more than a dozen bags of ice we packed into it in Rum Cay has luckily plugged the drain hole (I consider this lucky because otherwise all of the very cold water would have drained out leaving us no way to cool the beer.)

Ken helps me cut up almost all of our remaining fresh vegetables and I make a huge pan of veggie curry, along with a big pot of brown rice and feed all seven of us. Samuel runs the little store and restaurant that was started with a micro loan. Every one enjoys the curry and I get compliments on my very Haitian style of cooking. I am sure we will be rewarded many fold with fresh fish, lobster, conch and other local dishes in the weeks to come.

Disco music from the village, invited to go with promises of Rum, music and girls, but we are way too tired to even think of it, Most of the music seems to be in Spanish, the DJ or music must be from the Dominican Republic. There is this curious loud slapping sound every few minutes. We are told that is a form of dominoes or a board game played with loud slapping down of the tiles.