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J'Ouvert

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 Yup, after all that hype, the first carnival parade has finally come and gone.

It was quite an ordeal. On previous occasions, it has been more like a train wreck of alcoholic shenannigans, but because of our full Christmas schedule, Mr. B didn't get his nap time in. So this morning at 1am, there was lots of coffee, a pot full of salad, and baggy eyes as we headed toward the festivities. Since so many people come and go, we have lost many in our circle of friends, so j'ouvert is a changing experience.

This year, there was glow-in-the-dark paint, glow-sticks, and glowing batons for our troupe. It was very pretty to see the river of multi-colored glowing 'toys' in the dark as we made our way to town. Don't worry, I took lots of pictures. Including one of tourists who just stepped off a boat this morning. . . Looks like fun? You betcha.

One fun thing about j'ouvert, is that if you didn't know about Caribbean dancing at the beginning--four hours later when you get to town, you know a thing or two. Today was no exception, I picked up a few moves (yes, I dare say so myself) and put some strain on my hip and knee ( probably collateral ligament and some other tendon?) from all that hip-swinging. No kidding!

Aside: I also learned that the extra jiggle in your dance move comes from the extra jiggle in your butt (as in--gravity does the jiggling for you, you just emphatically step--and what people see is a swing with an extra jiggle).

My friends and I also ate delicious sweet fluffy johnny cakes from one of my favorite vendors. What a day! I topped it off with a nap, and I'm back on schedule!


Images from top: Us at 4 am; Us at 8 am when we reached town; Us at 11am at the wet-down (note: we are still dancing)

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