Campo life and technical hitches

Busy week in the mountains, what with work, gardening and book marketing. The book is now the best rated book about the Caribbean on Amazon.com, you can see it here, but I am always trying to think of new ways to get it out there. It has now been reviewed by onlinebookclub, but they haven’t published the review yet on line. The man who did the review took the time out to write to me and said:

" I just finished reviewing your book for onlinebookclub.com and I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the book.
Your book give one of the best set of insights into the Latin American mindset that I have read." 

So I am anxiously waiting for the review to appear!

I have also just been video interviewed for www.stayhungrybefoolish.com/ this morning, and that will appear in a couple of weeks.

On line interviews or conversations are always difficult, as not only is there the concern about the quality of the connection, if the electricity goes off then so does the internet. So I have to explain all of the different scenarios when we start, i.e. if I disappear, just wait until I have chance to plug my usb internet stick in, or pray the fast internet returns. But the main problem I have is one of background noise. I can do little to stop the cocks crowing, or the dogs barking, but I try and ask the people to be quiet. That is apparently impossible. Dominicans are unable to stop talking or making noise for more than 10 seconds. When it is a conversation with no video I manage with violent hand gestures telling them to shut up, but as today was a video interview that wasn't possible.

Chivirico had decided to do the washing and refused to use the washing machine, and seemed unable to stop singing while he did it.

He also used a whole gallon of bleach, and I daren't go and look at the washing line.

Husband was talking on the phone – well, shouting down the phone as is unable to speak normally on the telephone, and Hector was mopping. He mopped silently for a change but as he had no idea the video was on I am sure he will appear in shot more than once, and if you see the video I am sure you will be able to work out when he is making me lift my feet up to mop under and around me.

The weather continues with sunny days and stormy afternoons and evenings. The storms are amazing, and as we are high up we are actually in the clouds. This picture was taken in daylight.

I am still winning the corn wars, and have even managed to get butternut squash to grow. I have never had it and no idea what to do with it, but it will make a lovely change from Dominican auyama or pumpkin.

Unfortunately as well as the vegetables growing, the weeds are too, and to be honest I have no idea where to start, as there are so many. Lurking within them are yuca plants, Dominican peas and Hector's corn.

The usual curved balls continue to plague us. We have a car which is on loan, which husband took to the car wash a couple of days ago. The car wash man is called Jimmy, a Haitian who is desperate for a foreign girlfriend. Husband promised to find him one (he was joking) and so as a thank you Jimmy not only washed the car and valeted the inside, he also washed the engine, with a high pressure hose. All the electric bits now don’t work, including the computer, so the car is in hospital waiting to be fixed. Who would think about washing an engine? Hey ho.

In the meantime, Chivirico is here for the rest of the summer. We have loads of mangoes, so I decided he could make mango toffee. To stop the flies I told him to cover the toffee up with a fly screen while he was working. I didn't mean he should cover himself up too!

And the toffee wouldn't set - so he is not impressed with me at the minute.