We've already spent hours just sitting on our patio here -- the place is surrounded by fruit trees and is a popular hangout spot for lizards, cool bugs, and a fantastic variety of birds. The Antillean Crested Hummingbird we first spotted at the complete opposite end of the island, with its brilliant green forehead, particularly enjoys the noni fruit tree just outside the kitchen; little green lizards scamper all over the railings and floor tiles; Tropical Mockingbirds fight off Lesser Antillean Saltators for access to the guava tree out front; and two Lesser Antillean Bullfinches (a male and female we've named Bonnie and Clyde) routinely fly brazenly onto the table or into the kitchen checking for crumbs.
Aside from all the birdsong, we're also serenaded by a non-stop cacophony of chickens, goats, dogs, insects, and the occasional cow. There's a hammock and hooks to hang it on. The mosquitos haven't been too noticeable despite the netting over the beds, and the breeze coming up the hills from the water is helpful when the sun is strong. So we lounged around until lunchtime.
After a brief walk to check out a nearby lunch option (closed, try again tomorrow), we drove out to a food truck serving funny but tasty sandwiches -- wide, flat, bready buns filled with savoury protein, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese, smushed in a panini press and served with fries.
From there, it was an afternoon that will sound familiar: drove over to the municipal beach in Sainte-Anne, swam around, dried off in the shade, drove to the middle of town, and got some ice cream (coconut ice cream / exotic fruit sorbet). The only difference was our new swim goggles, with which we saw multiple big red starfish, a West Indian sea egg (urchin), and some little translucent fish swimming around in the reeds.
For dinner, B cooked duck with rice, and we used a little jar of sweet Antillean carrot sauce we'd bought from a traiteur on our first day.
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