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Showing posts from 2016

In Aruba, a shopping haven ... for the ladies

I came upon this scene in Aruba, but it’s a universal phenomenon. The women shop and the men look for a place to sit. This would be a good entry for a funny parody account on Instagram called “Shopping With Their Ladies: The Miserable Men of Instagram.” A couple of years ago, a mall in Shanghai introduced “husband rest cabins”, spaces with comfortable leather chairs and video games where husbands could relax while their wives shop to their heart’s content. It wasn’t quite so fancy in Aruba.

In Grand Cayman, Niki goes for the African-style canerows, and the result is spectacular

The young lady was set up in the shade under the sea grapes on Seven-Mile Beach out from Georgetown, Grand Cayman. She had a nice, friendly smile and she'd braid your hair if you wanted her to. Niki did, and she went for the canerows, a traditional African style my very un-African wife decided she wanted because, well, she'd never had her hair done that way and we were on vacation, so why not? It didn't take very long, 20 minutes or so, and it didn't cost very much, $10, maybe $15, and it was fun. I thought the results were spectacular. Niki liked the "do" so much, she continued to wear it that way for awhile after we got back home.

The Mirror Man of Cartegena does a brisk business in souvenir mirrors, hand-painted while you wait

Our guide led us down a narrow street in Cartegena where we encountered a man sitting on the pavement painting local scenes on little rectangle mirrors. He promised to demonstrate his technique by finishing a mirror in "two minutes, uh, maybe 20 seconds." He worked rapidly and a steady hand, working mostly with his fingers but adding a few fine brush strokes near the end. Everyone seemed mesmerized. I don't think anyone was timing him. When he finished he drew applause from the tour group. The guide translated the deal for him: one mirror for $7, or two for $10. The bargain hunters in our group knew a deal when they saw one. I don't think anyone bought just one mirror. Ours grace the wall in the foyer, a reminder of our trip to Colombia. I wondered if our guide gets a cut, or if the painter is his brother-in-law.