I've played ten shows already, only seventeen more to go. People really appreciate my show, it feels good. I'm playing the piano as well as I ever have and the voice, after a rough start, has strengthened right up. Lots of Brits, many Canadians, some Americans and on good nights, some native Bajans. I play 4 to 5 sets a night, six nights a week, it's work but I'm rocking ass every night so everything has been great.
My digs are just diggity. They've put me up in a room; actually, a hotel multi-level with five rooms if you include the study. And an open patio. And a bar. It's very, very nice. I stay at the Coral Reef Club where the grounds are a Caribbean wonderland of cultivation and horticulture, with winding pathways to the beach and the most marvelous palms and plants I've ever seen. The flora is so beautiful.
And the fauna is delightful. Outside my doorstep, the little birds, attracted by my 9-grain bread crumbs: Sparrows, doves, little shifty crow-like blackbirds, and some sort of aggressive jay. The hummingbirds flit all around collecting nectar from the flowers. A huge flock of white storks, numbering about five hundred, nesting in the very old trees along the ocean tributaries edges. Have seen no sea birds yet, though I've been to the ocean twice for snorkeling. Not much to tell yet there, I always arrive at the beach late as the swells are coming in and the ocean sand is storming. Ocean currents are so awesome and beautiful, and swimming in them is pure life.
Saw some large black, yellow and red catepillars, a giant frog, and one dog. Have yet to see a monkey or a sea turtle.
Best meal so far, sushi at the Lexy Piano Bar, half price for the players! Still expensive though, food and restaurant prices are through the roof, as are the taxi fares. I spend everything I make. I've stocked my kitchen with fresh fruit, boxes of muesli, and some sardines and mustard, and a loaf of amazing bread, with the 9 grains, for the birds.
The Bajan girls here are dark and beautiful and stylish and sleek. If only there weren't so many equally good-looking men, I might have a snowball's chance in Barbados.
Tonight is the last show of the week before my night off. I'm going to play my ass off. This week, island exploration, some reef snorkeling, some good native meals. Deep sea fishing? Touring and shopping. Surfing? The strip club! Come on, you know I wouldn't let you down.
~ Steve
