Mem arrives early to chat, at 6:15 a.m. We had agreed to go out together on Saturday, to Banda Abou, Westpunt, Santa Martha, Lagun, etc. However, on Saturday, a lady is coming to talk to Mama Irma to hear old stories from her past. Mem wants to be there to share her stories, too and maybe add information. Last time I was here, I went to a storytelling morning in Otrobanda, organised by Wintertuin. There were very old people there telling stories, and all those stories have been published in a collection called Otrobanda, kurá di kuenta. Wonderful stories about the old days. Mem is also interested in history. ‘Look,’ says Mem, ‘there’s a “sloké” walking by.’ I look up the name of the bird in Michelle Pors-da Costa Gomez’s book. I bought it once when I was here and when Jan and I went on a birdwatching trip with her. She promised us at the meeting point at Centrum Supermakrt Piscadera that we would see at least 30 different species of birds that Saturday. I couldn’t believe it, but… we even saw more…. she knew all the best spots for birdwatching. I didn’t see the sloké then, but here it is, walking across the porch. We call it a crested quail. It’s a female, with brown cheeks and a smaller crest (than the male). She walks perkily across the porch. Can they fly?
I go for a swim at Daaibooi and there is also a beautiful bird, the garsa blou chikí, the little blue heron, picking crabs out of the sand.
Back home, Zaire drops by. We agree to go swimming again on Saturday.
At 1 p.m., Thelma brings me some green beans. Mmmmm.
Swimming, but first I remove a few branches from Carmen’s garden that are blocking the view of the ocean from the heavenly bed. Will come back tomorrow and saw away a bigger branch
A barking neighbour’s dog lets its owners know that I’m in the garden.
Nice swim. Afterwards, I try a cocktail at Koraal: mangotini, delicious drink.
Home at 7 p.m., tidy up my blog. Bram has installed a plug-in so I can write the website in another language. Papiamento? I’ll start with English.
Bed at 9.30 p.m.