Palm Trees and Latin Beats

I came the closest I have come in a long while to visiting a tropical island this past weekend. I had been to this place once before, but in October instead of August. My, what a difference 2 months can make!! I went with a group of friends to attend a salsa festival at a camp site on a small island off the Fukuoka coast called Nokonoshima. My first trip last year was full of flowers blooming and grassy fields high atop the bluffs in the middle of the island. This time I stuck to the beaches....sandy beaches with palm trees, a shanty like bar and lots of vendors making everything from traditional Japanese food to tacos and jerk chicken! Oh and to wash things down, an assortment of brightly colored fruity concoctions both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety, you know the ones with the little paper umbrella's sticking out of them? Oh yes and Mexican beer!! Mmmm.

Right and then there was the whole reason for going: the music. I don't know the exact number, but I would say 15 to 20 different dance groups and bands from all over the world performed. Of course hearing trumpets screaming out over the driving latin rythm's re-awakened old feelings to pick up my horn and show them who's really boss...but unfortunately they were definitely in charge! I don't play as much as I should anymore. It shows. But I really enjoyed the music!! Then there was the bbq with friends, a group of 10-15, we grilled beef Japanese style, along with yaki-onigiri (grilled rice balls) and veggies. After a late dinner we talked until our food had digested and headed for the surprisingly warm and surprisingly OILY water. There was a floating dock with a diving tower, rope swings, and a slide that made for 2 hours of fun in the water!! I haven't had so much fun swimming since high school. We slept in a massive cabin that had no furnishings, but luckily I brought along 2 airbeds and laid sideways we managed to get about 6 people a bit of back support.

It was a full weekend, beginning for me on Friday after a business meeting and not arriving back home until late Sunday night. It was well worth the sleepy Monday though, I have not had such a unique weekend in quite a while. Something about swimming off the coast of a small Japanese island, while listening to a latin band from South America play...that well although not a normal match, put me quite at ease! No street fights, no men hitting on me early in the morning, no large bundles of cloth pulled up my rear, no exchange disasters....although those all were experiences that also made my time here memorable, it was nice to replace controversy with palm trees and pleasant music for once!