It's Saturday, and it doesn't feel like it, which is nice. I'm still planning on working on my quest, but perhaps not doing a completely full day as I need to get supplies on my way home. Bread, eggs, cheese, beer. A few veg. Supplies.
I decided I would head in the opposite direction of Speightstown - along the coastal road toward Bridgetown, but not head into the 'big city' - as it were. I'll aim to do that next week now that I'm more comfortable with the driving and roads, but I want to get a sense of the road heading south. I'll drive until I see somewhere I see something to sketch.
The coastal road is all right. A few potholes here and there and a few buses. I get passed by a car (a truck) for the first time because I'm going slow enough to try to scope out the scenery. I feel bad for getting passed (I'm probably going 35), trying to drive on Island time!
I slow down for a few commercial huts with some interest but keep going; I'm really not far from Holetown, where I do groceries. I pull up one side road where there is potential - I park in a vacant grass lot where two men are repairing some car parts. I ask them if it's ok to park there - if it's private. One man tells me it's private, but - what am I doing, where am I going - maybe he will let me park. I say I'm just looking around, want to walk around, and ask if there's a better place to park. He suggests the church down the road. "Church won't bother'ye'fer'parkin'," he tells me. I drive down to the church lot but decide to continue - nothing is really grabbing me in this area, though there is a nice beach with lots of sailboats out front.
Another few minutes down the road, and I scope a spot - my eyes have adapted to the street life. I pull a sharp left up a narrow, steep road and pull into a parking lot. I eventually learn this is a parking lot for a mid-sized whole foods type store (which appears closed to me, as it is entirely shuttered up, and the lot is 90% empty… but, good for me). Across from the organic grocery is a proper little 'fish cutter' joint - it's a retrofitted garage - painted in rasta colours, with Christmas lights hanging, hand-painted signs, locals AND tourists hanging out front, and really charming. The organic grocery is two stories and can provide me with a bit of shade along the side… it's about a 1.5-meter gap of shade… for now.
I immediately start sketching - I know the shade will minimize, and I also want to capture the two gentlemen waiting on food before they leave.
As I work, a few people come through the store. I guess I'm standing in the entry path - it's a very strange setup for a store, but… I only care about the shade. Most of the customers seem to be British, though there are 3-4 locals who come through. At one point, the owner or manager comes out and asks me if I want the Wifi - seeing me on the iPad - I thank him and say it's ok, I have data, but I am just doing a sketch and don't need Wifi.
Eventually, I'm left with 12" of shade… then 6" of shade… I'm about 3/4 done the sketch, only the colouring left to do, and I'm getting uncomfortable, so I'm able to move to the "front" (side) of the building, where there is a porch, another 2 feet of shade, and although the angle on the Fish Hut is slightly different, all I need to see are the colours.
A small salamander runs around my feet here. I zip up my backpack so they don't climb inside. They did try to walk up the straps at one point. I'm trying to be careful to not step on Sally and stomp my feet here and there to keep them away. I think I'm blocking a crack in their house, so I move away from it and finish working.
I'm absolutely sweltering, dripping sweat, dehydrated, I've been in the shade as much as possible, and I'm exhausted. I grab my bag and head across the street to the shop. The owner - I learn his name is I-Wayne, is sitting chilling out front with a few other people, including someone working with him. He has noticed what I've been doing.
"Y'been drawing… let's see"
I show him the iPad. He loves it and shows his employee, who is impressed. "Y'nailed it, y'got the spot'mon." They start pointing at various details, including I-Wayne who is cooking in the back of the shop.
I tell them I need to order some food. Before I do, some customers sitting under the umbrella - British - wave at me and ask to see the sketch. One of them has been there the entire time and is in the drawing. I head over and show them the iPad. This guy absolutely loves it (he appears thinner in the sketch) - he laughs at himself in the picture and points to his friend, saying, "You didn't show up in time."
I inquire, "UK?" "Yup," the more talkative one (drawn in the sketch) answers. "Southern UK?" I take a stab at his accent. "From the North… easy now," he says. "Ah fuck I'm sorry…"
I tell them I watch a ton of Taskmaster (the greatest TV show ever) and try to distinguish UK accents and learn about new ones, and it's just impossible. Some of the ones from "The North" are really hard to distinguish. As I talk to these gents more, I pick up more of the Northern accent.
I ordered a fish cutter (fried fish sandwich, catch of the day today is marlin) and coconut water and ask if I could join the Brits while I waited. Although I've been trying to meet as many locals as possible, I realize that tourism - and British tourism - is a huge part of island life. I also already like these guys - partly because they've been sitting at a charming little fish hut without much fuss for the past 2 hours.
The talkative one - Anthony - is an accountant - from Yorkshire. He tells me they came to Barbados last winter - stayed nearby, found I-Wayne's shop, loved it - and when they booked their trip this winter, made *sure* the place they were staying was within close range to I-Wayne's. Their plan for the next 10 days was to hang around the shop, maybe rent a car for a day and tour around the island a bit, go to dinner with their wives, but - otherwise, hang out in front of I-Wayne's. I found this quite charming.
We talked for about an hour or so about finding authentic places like this versus going to fabricated experiences that cost a lot of money and were "5 stars" or "Instagram worthy" but - in our opinions - not real.
Anthony wants to buy a digital picture of the sketch. I obviously can't get him a print right away. I tell him I haven't done many digital sales - I briefly start explaining what NFTs are and how bloody insane and stupid and counterintuitive they are - and these two gents are thankfully old enough and could give less of a shit about Instagram or digital life that they have no clue what I'm talking about - so I stop my rant and say I'll get you a digital file - sell you something - and you can print. Then I start explaining the best ways to print, but Anthony has travelled enough and done this before that it sounds like he has a printer in Yorkshire who can do quality printing.
We get into a conversation about shopping, prices, etc. They find most things here expensive, except the Banks beer. I find it mixed in terms of high vs low prices. Some things are expensive (Chips are $12-13 a bag), some things are quite similar (~$10 for marinated chicken drumsticks, enough for 2 meals), and other things are less expensive ($1.25 for a bottle of quality beer.)
We talk about sports - they will watch some cricket this week. "This league we're going to - It's not bad sport," the less talkative one says. I ask about cricket in the UK - "it's like your second sport, right?" We talk about a variety of sports issues - financing teams, salary caps, etc. I bring up Ryan Renoylds buying the Wrexham soccer club, and they like it - it brings attention to it. The clubs these guys support are owned by either the San Fransico 49ers NFL team or "the Arabs" (I believe specifically the Saudis) - we don't get into that too much, they don't seem overly against it, or have prejudice - perhaps just generally nonplussed about England's newfound stature (or lack thereof) in the world. After about 30 minutes, I pop around the corner to see about my food… I-Wayne has completely forgotten me and hops up to make my sandwich.
Eventually, the Brits need to leave - they have to return to their villa, meet their wives, clean up a bit, then head back to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I will not be surprised if I see them out front of the shop in the next week or so. They pay the bill, then hop on a yellow bus headed south. Good for them for using public transit!
I-Wayne brings me my fish cutter (fried Marlin on a salt bun with some toppings - absolutely delicious - and finished off with his homemade coconut water). I-Wayne sits down with me and tells me he's studied with some of the best artists from Barbados but has been running the shop for years. I can tell he has a good aesthetic sense - with the way the shop looks and the hand-painted sign. He shows me that he was featured in a foodie magazine with a posh chef on the cover who runs a 5-star restaurant down the road. I-Wayne and his shop - The Golden Anchor - have a 1/4 page write-up about having some of the best authentic fish sandwiches on the island.
His associate tells me about the breadfruit' chips,' which are thinly sliced breadfruit, fried in oil and served warm - better than potato chips, they say. I may have to return to try some.
Eventually, I'm ready to head off, and I decide that will be it for sketching for the day. I'm pleased with the sketch; it's mid-afternoon, it's really hot today, I'm tired, and it's, in fact, a Saturday. I do a quick walk up the hill to check out some of the buildings, then return to Holetown to get some groceries. I did make the mistake of doing this on a Saturday because I had to wait 25 minutes in line for the cash.
While driving home, I spot a monkey beside the road. I stop, roll down the window and greet them. "Hello, Monkey, how are you?" They are startled by the window, let alone me talking - run up a tree, then hop off and across the road, up some more trees, and into the bushes and up a cliff. Fair move.
