Day 27: The Mango Inn Cures Moon Sickness

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.” ~ Dean Martin

Dear Asher,

The effects of the moon on large bodies of water are well known and since you are a water baby, we wonder if the moon has some effect on you as well. It seems as though you have more difficulty getting to sleep and staying asleep the three nights surrounding the full moon. This phenomenon has been long observed with the etymological origins of the term Lunatic, meaning “moon sick,” dating back to the 13^th century. After a rough night, you were early to rise and when you only managed to get thirty minutes of sleep during your morning nap, we knew we had to find a way to keep you happy. We strapped you in the Stokke and headed for the shady jungle at Mango Inn. The vegetation at Mango Inn is so lush that it is several degrees cooler just steps in from the street. You loved touching all of the leaves and watching the energetic dog run back and forth. The pool was looking very tempting but the signs made it very clear it was for “hotel guests only.” However, we also knew the power of your extreme cuteness so we approached the owner and politely asked if we could side-step that rule. You flashed your two little pearly whites right on cue and the owner was putty in your tiny hands. Pool entry granted.

We returned to our hostel to get a swim diaper, the jolly jumper and your floatie and while I made a three day helping of rice, beans and stir-fry vegetables, your mom tried every trick in the book to help you to sleep. We took turns rocking you while we were-wolfed down some lunch then made our way back to Mango Inn with gear in tow. We are currently paying $100 a week for our room and the Mango Inn charges $100 per day for their deluxe cabins, so we had to laugh thinking about this disheveled trio traipsing in with a massive floatie in one arm and a jolly jumper in the other, past a small lot of hotel guests who were as sleek and shiny as their I-Macs. But it takes only one glance at the melter of hearts and that shady jungle warmed with love. Everyone loved watching you play in the pool as much as you loved playing in it and we loved the fact that we did not have to wipe the salt out of your eyes, hide you under the dock for shade, or battle waves at the beach. The water was a few degrees cooler than the ocean and that, combined with the full shade, had us all shivering after an hour of fun. This was the first time we shivered since leaving Canada twenty seven days ago and we LOVED it.

You were going on nine hours with only thirty minutes of sleep so we took you into a hammock tower that overlooks the pool to try our luck at a nap. With all the fun and excitement and a lot of mother’s love and intuition, you fell fast asleep in the hammock surrounded by two-story flowering rhododendrons. As you triumphed over the soon-to-be-full-moon, your mother and I chuckled at our situation; a couple of budget vagabonds, laying in a hammock poolside, in the only true shade on the island. The Mango Inn Bar & Grill also serves up two-for-one wood fired pizzas on Tuesdays and when we asked a patron what day of the week it was, we just had to thank the moon goddess. Asher, you woke up at 4:30pm just in time to watch the pizza being made and you jumped beside our table as we savored each morsel of vegetarian perfection heaping with olives, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli and tomatoes. It wasn’t long before the restaurant filled up and the table of Swiss backpackers could not get enough of you in your jolly jumper as you dazzled them with all of your tricks. Within seconds, they were scrolling through the blog on their smart phones, amazed by all the adventures you have had.

The moon seemed extra large on our walk home, like it was taunting us with its power, and though it was more difficult than usual to get you to sleep, there is something even more powerful than the moon; that’s amore.