I retired soon after dinner last night as the 5a wake-up and 2 hour time change took its toll. I woke up at 5a again, whether by rote or by the sounds of birds chirping outside my window, I’m not sure. I laid there for the longest time listening, it was like sleeping in an aviary: birds calling and swooping and chattering. I finally got up at 6a and made my way downstairs for a sneaky cup of coffee from the drinks table and sat on the porch to greet the day.

It was an absolutely perfect Sunday morning- quiet, sunny, glorious temperature. I admired the view and the awakening town for an hour or so before Colin joined me for a wee chat. He mentioned that come Monday there’d be lots of traffic as people came in to work or shop so I nipped down to town to have a quick boo and take some photos before the town center became a parking lot.

Breakfast at 8a, then I headed up (key word) out of town to do the Heart Shaped Waterfall hike. The start is about a mile from town up the steep road that connects the valley with the rest of the island. The hike is well marked and had some info signs on its history and endangered endemic plants. Sadly it’s not the season for water to be flowing in the falls so I’m not quite sure how the “heart shaped” applies but the sheer rock face was very impressive. And, unbeknownst to me, it was a Post Box hike, and I didn’t bring my logbook. :-(. I’ll just take photos of the stamps instead, I guess,

I returned about 11:45a, then had a good lunch of leftovers from last night’s meal that Marlene set aside for me. After lunch I headed back into town for another looksee and got 1/2 way to the harbor when I decided to pop into the Consulate Hotel. It’s more of a museum now, packed to the rafters with antiques, paintings and books, with just 2 full-time residents. The owner, Hazel, blames the government/new airport whereas my hosts think perhaps she’s been inflexible with the changing times (ie. no website). Anyhoo, I popped my head in for a look and Peter, one of the residents, leapt up to give me a guided tour. Interesting old guy who’s living there while his farm up island is being renovated, he’s turned into a jack-of-all-trades doing the hotel’s baking, repairs, built a new bar, etc. He’s sailed around the world, sailed from Cape Town to HLE ~5x (1200 miles), worked a few years at IBM near NYC, was an Oxford professor, had bookstores in South Africa, and has lived here 15 years.

Chatting in the lounge after to him and Hazel a couple came in who were buying a large mirror from the hotel. It wouldn’t fit in their car, could Peter take it to their house in his truck. As it was in the village above Jamestown Hazel sent me too so I could have a look. It turns out he’s the chief medical officer on island and their late 1700’s home was the one perched on the edge of the cliff that I could see from my B&B’s porch. They gave us tea which we had on their veranda overlooking the fort and harbor far below.

Marlene cooked me a special Sunday dinner of the famous Saint fish cakes. Made mostly of flaked tuna, a little potato and spices it’s served in a savory tomato and onion gravy. Unfortunately I ate alone; they served me and had their own dinner in the kitchen so I had BBC News and the Argentine win over France in the World Cup for company