Cruzan Rum Tour
Yesterday we toured the Cruzan rum factory. Molasses, yeast, water, heat, time. Well, that’s how it used to be. Now anti-foaming agent and a preservative also. Well, most of what they sell is flavored, so add sugar and flavoring. They have a “special permit ” to dump the liquid waste into the ocean.
If the rum weren’t so tasty the process would drive me to drink.
Grab your gear and let’s go diving
This is the rack out behind “my” dive shop, N2theBlue in Frederiksted. I completed my PADI Advanced Open Water course here this week… yay!
Zion Modern Kitchen
A great cocktail menu led to a great dinner…
Signs of the times
If only the hand rail hadn’t been pulled out of the wall a few years ago…
Our Apartment in Christiansted
Our digs on this trip sit at the rear of a compound. The little lizards seem to be everywhere, but so far not inside, which is as it should be. The old coral wall is awesome for keeping the neighborhood noises out, but also blocks the cross breezes.
The port of Manila
When I was here last year, The city fathers had to adjust traffic flow to relieve congestion at the port. The new regulations were disastrous, and traffic got worse. Containers full of stuff rotted on the docks.
This time, the city fathers have adjusted traffic rules to accommodate delegates to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The new regulations are, so far, disastrous…
Note to the learned and powerful economic planners at APEC: however beneficent your ideas may prove in the long run, in the short term you’ve lowered productivity by an appreciable margin.
Aside: The gray building on the water left foreground is the U.S. Embassy.
This billboard was one of the first things I noticed on arriving in Manila. It’s late, you’ve been flying all day, and so you have to really ask yourself if you just saw an ad for Prettylooks™ with the slogan you thought you saw. Hooray for photographic evidence.
Do real men care that much about their eyebrows? I’m reminded of the line that for me cemented Daniel Craig as a worthy Bond…
“Vodka martini.”
“Yes sir, shaken or stirred?”
“Do I look like I give a damn?”
Last time I stayed in this hotel, I worried about a typhoon veering into me. This time, Manila is safe while Japan gets pounded. We did get a spectacular thunderstorm, however, and on the 30th floor you really feel like you’re right in the middle of it.
The sumptuously decorated lobby of the Sofitel Manila, where we went for after work drinks last evening to celebrate the end of our training session.
Brattleboro Adventure – the Auckland Edition 