It’s official. Island Girl turns 10 today!

One decade of island life under my belt. Where does the time go?

Life is still amusingly absurd here on my little rock in the sun. The same ridiculous things happen that make you shake your head and remind yourself where you are. Even if I’m not blogging about it anymore.

Although I’m not writing new, hilarious (in my mind anyway) summaries of what life on a Caribbean island is like for a transplant from the U.S., I couldn’t let this milestone pass by without at least acknowledging it.

After all, I’ve survived ten years of:

• paying exhorbitant shipping fees to a freight forwarder to enjoy the delights of Amazon Prime shopping (that takes 2+ weeks to get here)
• being sent away from various and sundry government offices because I don’t have the correct paperwork, copies of the correct paperwork, or something else they thought up on the spot that would justify sending me away
• banking at the local bank where the phrase “customer service” simply doesn’t exist (no, we don’t have envelopes for the large sum of cash you just withdrew…oh and that will be $20 since you came in and a cashier assisted you…have a nice day)
• dealing with slow internet and even slower customer service from my ISP
• wandering the grocery store aisles wondering when (if) they’ll ever have fresh vegetables again

But, of course, it isn’t all bad. If it were, nobody would last here more than six months. I’ve also enjoyed ten years of:

• incredible kitesurfing at one of the best spots in the world (no joke)
• the ability to wear shorts and flip flops 365 days of the year
• freedom and time to be creative
• more rosé and prosecco pool days than I can remember
• the most genuine, lovely, and wonderful island girlfriends anyone could ask for…I am blessed and grateful to surround myself with a unique tribe of women and I love them all so much

Loads of people come and go on a tropical island. Many only stay a few years. But some end up staying longer, whether planned or not. I am definitively in the “not” category. Honestly, I never imagined I’d still be here 10 years later, but here I am.

I’ve lived here 3x longer than I lived in Seattle. Aside from Wisconsin, where I grew up, this is the longest I’ve been in any one place. As Island Boy said this morning over coffee…”You’re finally putting down roots.”

I laughed, but I guess he’s right. One husband, two dogs, one cat, and a house and garden I love suggest this is true.

Cheers to settling down, and living a life I love.

xo,
Island Girl Liz