Carnival, the Afternoon

First, I apologize for my two-month hiatus with the blog.  For the most part, we have spent our time at the dock working on the boat, so nothing exciting to tell.  Now we are anchored out in Mt. Hartman Bay finishing up projects.  I will write about a few of the highlights of the past two months. 

In August, I last wrote of my early morning trip to J'Ouvert or Dirty Mas where revelers splash paint and oil on you as you pass through the throngs.  I'd gone with my Australian friend, Maggie, as Dave didn't want to soil his clothes. : ) 

Carnival Band

Dave joined me in the afternoon for the Pageant Mas, which is geared for families.  It is much more subdued than the early morning Dirty Mas.  The main participants are women in feathery costumes, children looking cute as ever, and men -- the Short Knees -- in colorful costumes.  The adult leader of this children's group directed them to dance beautifully reminding them that this is not Dirty Mas so no dirty dancing!  Most of the children complied though a few were having a hard time keeping their hips from gyrating. 



Wee Devil

Bright colors

This looked heavy!

She had greenish contact lenses giving her an ethereal look

Here, a DJ spins tunes from the back of a flat bead truck.

Fantastic costume!

Short knee men sprinkling baby powder on the crowd.





Young and...



old.



Large and...

tall and...



small.
 



And just plain wild

We were all impressed with the amazing costumes.  We thought about going back the next night for the full bore carnival festivities, but none of us were particularly thrilled about reveling with the sweaty masses in the streets.  Happy to see the beautiful costumes in daylight.