Thursday, September 23, 2010

Brothers on Spice Isle



Smack in the middle of East Caribbean, at Grenada, am enjoying a vacation of a lifetime. It has been a thrill thus far savoring this beautiful Island of peaceful people and diverse vegetation and wildlife. From the beaches to the mountain ranges, my brother and I hiked to the fresh water of the lake formed by the twin waterfalls we swam in or the indelible lake Antoine a mile or so to the ocean, at a depression in the middle of mountain ranges that disappear into that ocean, or even to Grand Etang Lake formed as a back drop the rain forest mountains...this has been a thrill.

If nature was all that I connected with on this trip, after a year travelling to the pacific coast twice, to the south east coast of Miami once, then it would be a wasted trip. This trip however have afforded me an even greater appreciation of the human connection and how small our world is. Here I met our immediate neighbor in Ibadan working on Island as a medical instructor, a friend of a friend that have seen over and over in Houston also is here and we plan to meet tomorrow. The daughter of our host, an uncle to my brother, lives fifteen minutes off my home in Houston...what a coincidence unh? Small world.

What else? Yes my brother..that guy. This has been a journey of discovery and bonding for both of us, Aside for affording us an opportunity to rub minds of pending family issues and make key decisions, it also offered us an opportunity to bond and explore his matrilineal heritage together. Of course, we ran into doubters of our blood relationship, and we occasionally had to fake who was older (yes, he is..by many years..lol). But in all, we have had a good bonding experience together.

For one, my feeling around my elder brother that I never really grew up with (guessed, I longed for that), was one which freed me of the responsibility of leadership and moral precepts that such forces when say holding court in Nigeria with my two sisters, younger cousins or even friends..which invariably always mean I always took the higher road of leadership. This time around, I could be irresponsible and daring (like at  St. Margaret Falls or at Grand Anse beach, St. Georges beach).  and I could cheat him, or play dirty like at the Bathway Beach, St. Andrews. In it all, I stoically enjoyed my little brother role; knowing fully well this would last only about a week or so, and that cascading responsibility that seem never to dodge my footsteps will come all over again.

For now am enjoying myself..three more nights to go; and am already missing Grenada and the joys of brotherly bonding...see complete pictures here.

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