Did another 2-tank scuba dive with Drew, Liz, and Qen on the Wreck of the Rhone. It's interesting enough that it's worth doing twice. During the first dive I must confess I was focussed on the technicals of diving, the state of my equipment, how I was breathing, etc. The 2nd time, I was completed relaxed and able to enjoy and appreciate the wreck itself 100%. The visibility was also much better than the first. I saw the big 300 lb grouper who lives in the wreck. Also saw a GIANT lobster -- the biggest I've ever seen -- hiding underneath the wreck. The divemaster was Abby from Blue Water Divers. They came to our boat to pick us up, and dropped us back at the boat. That's one of the coolest things about this place; the whole culture and economy is structured about boating. There is a supply boat called Deliverance that goes from boat to boat and sells you ice, rum, food, and even hauls away your trash. Other vendors come by in rafts to sell crafts and other goods.
After the dive, we returned to Cane Garden Bay for more drinks (what else?). I met famed local musician Quito Rymer at his restaurant Quito's, and bought one of his CDs. Liz managed to
swim back to the boat holding a full glass of painkiller without spilling a drop. Now that's talent!We then set sail for Jost Van Dyke, and the Soggy Dollar Bar. It gets its name from the fact that there is no dock, and so you pretty much have to swim to shore -- resulting in patrons paying for drinks with wet dollar bills. This is also where the famous "Painkiller" drinks were invented. So that's exactly what I did -- swam to shore to the Soggy Dollar bar. That's when tragedy struck. I had been carrying my camera and
cash around in a waterproof container. It works great, provided you make sure the container is closed properly. This time it wasn't, and I opened it to find my camera and money swimming in salt water! Regular water is very bad for electronics, but salt water instantly destroys it. It also rendered the memory card completely unreadable, so I lost about 2 days worth of pictures :(Dinner was at Corsair's (Foxy's was too busy), which turned out to be quite good. I had the lobster at $35/lb (my lobster was 2 lbs). But what is with the music here?? I have been frequently surprised and dismayed at the music played here at the various bars and restaurants. It's sappy duets like Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton "Islands in the Stream", some lame pop or country songs, or other easy listening garbage. In Blackbeard's name, why? With so much good music around, like reggae or other island music genres and good local musicians, why play this crap? We asked the owner Vinnie if he could put on some better music and he said he would. I was pleased when I heard some reggae beats come over the audio system, but my happiness turned to horror when I realized what was playing was just reggae-ized covers of crappy pop songs. It was like Elevator Reggae music!
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