Hectar is the chef at the beach club at Melrose. This time of year they are only open on Friday and Saturday. I was able to trade some photos of the beach club for food yesterday and today, and man was it good food. Hectar has been here three years from Honduras, and is a magician in the kitchen. He whipped me up a couple of breakfast burritos this morning, and tonight was a buffet. So I have figured out how to trade photos for room and board, hair cuts and occasional meals. If I could just figure out how to trade for gas, groceries, clothes and electronic equipment I would be all set.
Daufuskie Island has many personalities. There is the Gullah influence, and the bare remnants of plantation life. Three resorts have been built, two of which went into bankruptcy six to seven years ago. Both have been bought out by people who are trying very hard to overcome the result of years of neglect to the infrastructure. The entire island is either beach or deep water right along the edge - no buffer marshes to speak of. There are amazing houses on the ocean and along parts of the channels. Then there are other places on the edges of the island that are of various ages and quality of construction. But once you get off the edges of the island, there are places that construction was begun and have been left go, there are older hovels, there are many buildings that have caved in and everything in between. Here are a couple along one of the dirt roads I followed to its end today.
Then at the far end of the island from the resorts, here is one of the houses on the river, along with a plywood cut-out of a man waving to boats passing on the river with swimming trunks and a tee-shirt stapled on.
Just around the corner from this is one of the Islands bars. Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp own a place out here, and they are said to frequent this particular establishment. It is named "Marsh Side Momma's."
In some areas of the island the spanish moss is so thick it looks like it is impenetrable. Vines that are bigger around than my thigh grow up into the trees, all tangled and gnarled. And of course the live oaks themselves are a pretty gnarly tree, so it makes for a surreal scene. If I had more time here I would try to photograph it in the right light so the moss showed up better in the photos.
Sunset was a bit subdued because of a passing cloud bank, but if you look close at the following picture you can see the plywood man waving away.
I am leaving for the mainland Monday, and have a full day tomorrow with several things the resort would like photographed. I am about 2,500 pictures behind for reviewing and editing. I am supposed to shoot sunrise at Haig point and then interview an elderly Gullah woman tomorrow morning. The hour is late, so Happy Sunday All !!
To all of you that sent birthday wishes today, thank you. There were a few hundred, and I apologize I cannot respond to each individually right now. But know that I look at them all, all are appreciated and I will respond to each over the next few days. 52 times around the sun - I should be exhausted, but feel like I am just getting started. I am sure that the rest of my life will be the best of my life. Ciao for now.
David
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