Most of the rest of the day we spent lying around reading and listening to music. After a short nap to recover from this strenuous activity, we decided to drive back to Leverick Bay to use the Internet Cafe there to send some emails and pick up a couple of items at the store. On the drive out, Kathy noticed some trees growing along the beach that looked like lime trees. We stopped the jeep and she got out to pick one of the small green fruits. The skin on the fruit was smooth like an apple, so it was obvious it wasn't a lime. Kathy took a small bite of it, and I licked the juice. Whatever it was, it tasted delicious, kind of a cross between a peach and a mango. It was a little green though, so Kathy threw it out after just a couple of bites.

By the time we reached Leverick Bay, neither of us had said anything for a while. I looked at Kathy and asked, "Is your throat burning as bad as mine?" She said, yes and that her tongue also felt like it was on fire. We ran to the store and bought something to drink, but it didn't help. So we got what we needed from the store and quickly drove back to the Pink House. I poured a couple glasses of wine and offered one to Kathy, who was sitting on the floor reading a book on local flora and fauna (clearly something we should have done BEFORE eating the local fruit). When I offered her the wine, Kathy's face was white and her eyes wide. She said, "I can't believe I've poisoned us!"

The Manchineel Apple tree is notorious in the islands. It is so toxic, just touching its leaves causes a rash like poison oak. Cows that stand under the trees during a rainstorm have been known to lose their hair. Christopher Columbus, who re-discovered the Virgin Islands during his second voyage to the New World, lost one of his men after he ate a whole Manchineel apple. Slaves used to mix the fruit with mashed potatoes they served to their masters. The result was fatal. After reading the third account of the deadly apples, Kathy took the wine glass and said, "I haven't even worn all my new clothes yet -- I can't die right now."

The effect of the Eden Apples gradually wore away. We made pork fried rice in the wok using a leftover pork chop from the night before and then moved the telescope to the front porch to watch the stars and finish the bottle of wine. Gradually, our throats stopped burning and the swelling went down, but when I asked Kathy if she was ready for bed yet, she said, "No. If I'm going to die, I want to be awake for it."