Burning tires in paradise

We spent our weekend working downwind of a neighbor's burning. Here the common practice is to throw a tire in the mix of burning brush to support combustion. So house, laundry and our lungs were filled with burning tire smoke for two solid days. I had a two day sinus headache. And that doesn't even compare to the environmental impact of this practice. Who cares about global warming and air pollution? Throw another tire on! Never mind that 85 % of a tire is carbon--making them another source of greenhouse gas emissions. Never mind that burning tires emits serious levels of carcinogens and mutagenic material into the air. According the EPA, our neighborhood should have been evacuated or we should all have worn respirators this weekend.

Mr. Wizard has fought this battle more than once. He has argued vehemently with hired workers that they are never to burn tires on our land, and he has met consistent incredulity. "But that is what we do here..." He has to repeat the mantra frequently: no tire burning, no tire burning, no tire burning...

Here on the Nature Island, not only do we have the inevitable pollution of a refinery imminent, but we have the ongoing and time honored practices of tire burning, noise pollution, and general littering to cope with. There is a disconnect here between the goal of preserving the island and all things natural, and the reality of entitled destruction. Sometimes it seems to me that the island is honored only as long as an eco tourist with dollars is listening.

Please, Dominica, don't just pour your energy into developing a tourist "product". Pour your energy into education and environmental protection. Into changing the prevalent destructive practices. Into saving this green jewel before it is too late.

And stop the refinery. There is no such thing as a non-polluting refinery, Friends. A frequent argument for the refinery is that it will bring jobs. But it will also cause jobs to be lost! When the resident whale pod moves on because of polluted waters, whale watching will die here. When the reefs are destroyed, the dive industry will die. When the air is full of refinery belched emissions, the entire tourist industry may die. When the first environmental "accident" occurs and there is a spill, the fishing industry will be seriously impacted.

livingdominica: who is so hoping that the neighbor is done burning. cough, cough, wheeze...

My least favorite present was from DOWASCO

DOWASCO is our water company. And yet again, we have no water service.

The sound of the jackhammer is filling the air, but the workers say they have not figured out the problem yet. We are in our second? third? day without water. It seems like a lifetime, since we are also feeling unwell at Chez Miller. And additionally, we have a new, leaky puppy who requires lots of attention and mopping up.

That means lots of water hauling. And the laundry is piling high.

Oddly enough, I heard the Minister over the utilities pontificate last night on TV about how DOWASCO is poised to provide service to the entire island. How will that happen if we do not have consistent water to the areas already served? Oh well, it was a lovely speech. But they all are, these speeches extolling the grandeur yet to come.

I think I'll go back to bed. My misery index is up. I am sure the power will go out next just to complete this picture of tropical bliss.

livingdominica: I should have written Santa asking for consistent utility service.

Another Real Estate Saga

This is another real estate story, so you can skip it if you are tired of listening to the endless moaning. I would certainly skip it if I could.

We had located a small piece of land up high, barely wide enough to support a cottage. We figured we might be able to afford it and a banana shack to live in. But hey, we thought, at least we would have something in case the issues with the government grind on endlessly. (We have noticed more and more lately that we are not getting younger.) We arranged to have a survey done of the land, because every inch of width mattered on such a narrow lot. Plus, the land had not been surveyed since the 1980s.

We figured we had solved our problems, and we began planning a modest little cottage to build on the land. Meanwhile, the survey was begun. I even had the audacity to begin to feel a little happy again. Foolish me. The gods are not done with us yet.

A little note about surveys on Dominica: points of survey on this island are frequently marked with beer bottles placed upside down in the earth, sticks, and trees. Yes, gentle readers, my future home was hanging on the possibility of finding a beer bottle. After two weeks of trying to find any point of the prior survey, the poor survey guy threw up his hands in despair. All the beer bottles were missing, and the trees were indicated in Kweyol names, which none of the five or six native Dominicans consulted could figure out. (Kweyol is the local linguistic amalgamation of French, English, African and Carib.)

In addition to the missing beer bottles and unknown trees, the neighbor to the South insisted the line was definitely further North. The Northern neighbor claims, "No, No, the line is further South." The narrow lot was shrinking before our eyes. The strong smell of endless boundary disputes began to hang in the air. I hope by now you have tears streaming down your face, I certainly did. I crawled back into bed, under the covers for a few days.

Did I mention that the Realtor on the island who showed us this property does not return our calls?

So, we are back to square one. Actually, it feels like the reset point is into the negative numbers. We have to crawl up in order to reach zero. The only glimmer of hope I see in this, is that one day I can write a book. I am thinking, "The Definitive Guide to Dominica Real Estate Nightmares".

livingdominica: I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried...

Rumors, Pilgrims, and Saints

We heard a rumor yesterday, and it was about us. Dominica is a gossipy little place, like a small town, so I would like to clarify something for the record. We have not received money from the government for Wit's End, nor have we requested any monetary compensation. We have requested to have our land replaced with a piece of similar size and amenities. So if you hear how "the government is going to give them a lot of money", please correct the rumor. We don't even want money. We just want to have a place to put a house and have an organic farm like we intended up at Byack. Besides, nothing could compensate for the heartache this situation has caused. We just want to get on with life.

I did hear a funny story from our neighbor up by Wit's End. Some tourists came up and asked for him by name after reading the blog. After hearing this, I wonder if I should promote Wit's End as a pilgrimage spot? We could build a little shrine and ask for donations. Or turn my shack into the shrine! (I would be more likely to get rich from this than from asking the government for money, I think.) There must be a patron saint for landslides...

By the way, a saintly person has responded to the request for a washing machine for Life Goes On and has offered to make a generous donation toward the purchase. I am so touched and excited by this gift. Not only will this gift help Mr. Rasta, but many others in the future will benefit also. Illness always means a lot of laundry, in my experience.

livingdominica: just hoping for some land so we can build our house and garden...

Wit's End Landslide Update

News Flash from up by Wit's End...The Prime Minister visited!

(For those of you arriving late to this party, my beloved husband, Mr. Wizard, and I bought almost five acres of magnificent mountaintop on Dominica, which we aptly named Wit's End. About half of our land has already been lost in landslides following road excavation below our land coupled with Hurricane Dean. Proper stabilization has still not been started, although one life has already been lost and homes are threatened.)

Our nearest neighbor at Wit's End, David, is an elderly gentleman from Britain who is now living with suitcases packed in case his house begins to slide. He has lived in his brand new home less than a month, and the landslide has now progressed to just beneath his house. He reported today that the Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, and Minister of Agriculture all visited up by us. He mentioned to the officials, the lovely American couple who bought next door (That would be the Wizard and I) and the P.M. said he was aware of us.

We have an appointment for Friday with the Minister of Public Works.

livingdominica: My shack is still standing, though.