Today we got up early Had breakfast on the terraceAnd my Mother and sister and I decided to take the ferry to Princes Island To hit the beach for some sunAs today was promised to be a scorcher The ferry trip was about an hour longHowever the minute my Mum felt the roll of the boat in the waterShe decided against goingSo she headed back to the hotel My sister and I had a lovely boat rideWe sat on the sideWith our legs dangling above the water And drank freshly squeezed orange juiceWe arrived on the island at about 11amWhere we quickly located the nearest beach Two sun loungers And an umbrella I parked myself there with my book and my drink of lemonadeHappy as a pig in.....My sister went in swimming I just paddled as I feel the cold too much in water It was a lovely day And as it started to get really crowded and hotWe decided to head back
We arrived back at our port at about 4pmAnd started making our way back to the hotelWe were walking up one of the many hillsWhen a man walked by with a shoe shine kitAs he passed me One if his brushes fell out and on to the ground I did what anyone would have doneAnd picked it upAs the man didn't seem to notice it had fallen I called his attentionHe turned around And when he saw I had the brushHe put his hand to his heart and bowed in gratitudeThen he shook mine and my sisters handAnd asked is where we were fromWe told himThen he wanted to know if we were lostWe said we weren'tThat we were heading back to our hotelIt was at this point that we looked at each otherAnd started to feel a little uneasyHe persisted asking us And then looked at my sisters trainers mans said he would clean them He told us to follow himAnd he walked on ahead of us We followed but crossed the road when we could Again he followed us And would not listen when we refused his offers We practically had to shout at him to get him to listenEventually we got away from himAnd thinking about itHe probably dropped the brush on purpose In order to engage usBut it's just that they can be so persistent That it's really uncomfortableThere is an awful lot of poverty hereAnd I gues people do what they have to do to make a buckI suppose they think that because we are tourists That we have a lot of money to spare And maybe some people doBut I sure don't
The poverty is very much in your face here Walking around the city last nightThere were whole families who had set up camp at the side of the streetI mean little children and babiesIt's really heart breaking My mother was especially upset by thisAnd was giving the families moneyBut then it's hard to know if that is the right thing to doAnd then there is the question if these people are exploiting their children to pull on our heart strings It seems to be a city divided in to the very richAnd the very poor Everywhere you turn There are people trying to sell you anything from bottles of water to packets of tissuesI guess they have to make money some how
In other news I am managing my meds a lot betterAnd taking my methadone during the day And tablets at nightThat seems to be working So we'll go with thatJust heading out for dinner now Happy Friday to you allAnd see you on the next post....
