One of the great advantages of having small children is that one can do things which, without them, would be quite impossible. What would a stranger walking along this beach at Long Bay in Jamaica have thought if I had been busy constructing this grand castle without Elizabeth there as an excuse?
Jamaica has some terrific beaches - this in Boston Bay on the island's east coast - and their sands are perfect for castle building. One of the things that surprised me was that the coastline had a small tidal range so there was plenty of time to build a castle before the exciting bit - when the tide came in and the waves attacked it.
I love beaches but the best ones are tropical, with coral sand, gentle breezes, palm trees, and water as warm as soup. To these I would add having a child along, not only so I can make castles but also so we can wander together along the high tide mark discovering the things that have been washed up. On one of these Jamaican beaches we found hundreds of small balls, about the size of a ping-pong ball but heavier: they were for roll-on deodorants and had probably escaped from a wrecked container.
This is Boston Bay again, during the grandmothers' visit, with the beginnings of another castle. Jamaica had it's tough side but, looking at these pictures, I wish I were back on those beaches except, now, it would have to be with our youngest grand-daughter to provide the excuses.
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