We Interrupt This Winter for an Important Announcement

Summer is good. Yes, I know what you’re saying. Yes, I realize that I have chosen to go from Northern Winter to Southern Winter and back without so much as a heat wave in between. Yes, I have forsaken summer with my eyes wide open. I do not regret it, I have not second-guessed it, and I have no misgivings about it.

However, and that’s a very big ‘however’, do not confuse my forsaking summer with my having some sort of misbegotten ill will towards warm weather and sunshine. Quite the opposite is true, as a matter of fact. So, when one of my close friends decided to celebrate his wedding in the British Virgin Islands, did I resist out of some oddly philosophical rejection of physical comfort? Heck no. I went armed to the BVI with flip flops, sunblock, good reading material, a healthy liver, and a severe need to make the most of the glorious climate and beautiful surroundings for the entirety of my brief stay.

While there, staying at a remote and exceptionally beautiful resort, despite the array of activities available to me and the enthusiasm with which my friends pursued them, I stuck to my guns and did absolutely nothing. OK, well, not nothing exactly. I did go to the gym, I did start and make good headway in a new book, I did conduct a ritualistic baptismal in the Caribbean Sea every day, I did nap on a chaise, I did stroll back and forth for multiple meals, and I did conduct an oddly long and detailed observation of the feeding habits of the native pelicans. Who knew that pelicans could be so interesting?

So, without further or due, here’s a top 10 list. The top 10 best things about vacationing on a tropical island with your friends (a/k/a “life’s good when” …):

10. It’s hot, and the best way to stay cool is to move slowly, very slowly;

9. It’s hot, and the best way to dress is by wearing only loose, light and exceptionally comfortable clothes;

8. It rains every day for ten minutes in the morning, just enough to cool off the sand;

7. The fresh local fish is good for you and tastes impossibly good when prepared with the locally-grown fruit;

6. The old local rum is good for you and tastes impossibly good when mixed with the locally-grown fruit;

5. One has to slow down a lot and pay close attention in order to observe that the rays lay along the soft, sandy bottom of the bay in the shadow cast by the pelicans;

4. The only ice around is in the drinks and never, ever under foot;

3. The difficulty in deciding which is better: the gentle lapping of the waves on the beach as my friends say their wedding vows or the relaxed West Indian lilt of the minister performing the service;

2. Bare feet are not only appropriate footwear for most activities but are acceptable attire under nearly all circumstances;

And the Number One best thing about vacationing on a tropical island with your friends (a/k/a “life’s good when” …)

1. The color of the water in the coral reef-protected bay is precisely half-way between the color of the blue sky and the color of the green palm fronds whose shade cools the beach edge.

In all seriousness, I do miss experiencing summer. Despite all of my musings about the joys of winter, losing summer is a very real sacrifice for me. If nothing else, this recent trip made that clear. Maybe I’ll stop in Tahiti on my way to New Zealand next year. Hmmm, now there’s an idea.