2 Oceans, 3 Parrots and I
On Wednesday I moved up to Two Oceans, into the Wells’ house in Belaire, a village on the hilltop overlooking Bayaleau Point, Windward & the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Hillsborough & the Caribbean Sea to the west. This is a bit of a stop-over before I move, just over the hill, to Michael & Becca’s Belaire Garden Cottage.
The view from here is stunning – to the west is the Caribbean Sea and technically to the east as well, but where does one sea end and the next ocean begin? Seeing the beauty of Carriacou from this vantage is mesmerizing… watching the rain storms move in from the west, with the sun behind and pass over C’cou is quite a sight.
Sunday morning, the 10th, I was also treated to a good rain storm… I could see the clouds growing closer and as they approached the wind picked quite a bit. When the storm arrived, Carriacou disappeared in the clouds that surrounded and blew past the house. I can only imagine what it must have been like when the 2 recent hurricanes came through. Whew!
This is typically getting into the dry season, but the weather (or is it the climate) has been strange according to locals – with more rain showers than normal. Having the extra rainfall on this rather dry, desert island is good for people… and the mosquitoes. Going into my 4th week on C’cou the rain showers seem to be diminishing and the grass turning browner, but at least folks’ rainwater cisterns are mostly full.
Being on top of Belaire also means I’m off the main bus routes and the nearly 2 mile walk into town can be hot & sticky. Still, the bus service on C’cou is outstanding. The fare, EC$3.50 is about US$1.30 and if one asks the drivers to drop you ‘up top of Belaire’ they’re generally happy to do so. The buses and drivers are really amazing; they’re pretty much the lifeline on C’cou – picking up packages and dropping them off where needed… even pre-schoolers are picked up from home and taken into the schools.
The first night up here, I heard some familiar loud squawks and in the morning, I was greeted at breakfast by 3 large parrots that flew around the house and paused on the roof and deck railing to request a handout. They seem to prefer nuts I’m learning.
While not indigenous to the island they are wild and free. I’ve learned that there was a lady raising parrots in the nearby village of Craigston, and while she is gone, the parrots remain …not only these three but several others elsewhere on C’cou.
I’ve also learned that the three that are in this neighborhood are a bit of an anomaly. Parrots typically mate for live and the red male is about 50 now and has taken up with a second wife, with the divorced wife following the pair around. The current wife doesn’t seem to be all that friendly toward the first wife, who trails after the pair when they come in to join me me at breakfast.
Beyond the morning parrot squawks, the Wells’ Two Ocean house is extremely quiet and peaceful. One can hear the wind & distant rumble of the seas against Carriacou’s barrier reef to the east, occasional voices float up from Belaire, sometimes a dog barking and the local goats… but no cars or traffic, just the natural sounds of Two Oceans.
