Daytripper

Little Thatch

I've got a new term for our Caribbean Lexicon - "Billionaire Days". Bit like "Queen for the Day" - but with more toys.

Believe me when I say that our lives on a day to day basis, are  fairly normal, humdrum and even maybe a tad 'suburban', though I do struggle a little bit with that one - as there really is nothing faintly suburban about this place. However, our daily routine is much the same as Johannesburg - just with lots of  housework, terrible roads, no shops, trillions of yachts and heartbreaking scenery all around one.

And then sometimes, just to make up for it all, we have these 'killer' days - where you just have to pinch yourself to see if it's real.  This past Sunday was such a day. We were invited to have lunch on 'Little Thatch' - a private island, just down the drag. So off we went, black eyes and all, joining the local party at the 'Jolly Roger' dock to be picked up by the island 'rib' (rubber ducky) loading up with the ubiquitous cooler boxes full of wine and Caprisuns - and then zooming off to paradise.  Half of the excitment is all the logistics and all that boaty-nautical stuff which I'm beginning to love. It's deeply glam.

As much as our Wickedly Good Day a few weeks ago on Joost & the Willie T  represets how the world views Caribbean rackety living, so Little Thatch was kind of how I vaquely imagined our lives would be on Tortola. Ha ha ha. This beautiful little house on a white stretch of palm-lined beach etc etc. Anyway we dont live like that, but we do get to play occasionaly like that and have a perfect day, without all the fuss of having to actually be a billionnaire.

I'm starting to learn a few rules here: Never ask people what they do for a living - many reply with a blank look. Never assume that people are employees - they tend to own the place. I could go on, but I wont -  I'll reserve this for dinner parties in Johannesburg, where I'm back in 10 days time.

I'm so looking forward to some shopping and friends, but rather dreading the 20 hours flight.  I guess it will all seem like Pluto again and places like Little Thatch,  a mirage.  I also wont be hopping into my G5, like some others we know. That will be me in Economy Class with my iPod on max, feverishly wondering how I can make my first million, which should be just enough to buy a little pondok-with -a -view on Tortola.