Our strategy for beating the heat today is pretty simple -- stay in the shade and do as little as possible. Our only ambition for the whole day is to have a fully foraged dinner. We planned to make curried conch with white rice and a coconut cream pie for dessert. Luckily, we already had some conch meat in the freezer, and we planned to return to the coconut grove to chunk old dried coconuts into the trees until a cream pie fell out.

We waited as long as possible to begin the foraging expedition, but the sun was still beaming down on us as we hiked the short distance through the cactus and prickly trees to the coconut grove. Along the way, we spotted a couple of big tropical lizards, about as long as your arm with brightly colored tails. By the time we reached the palm trees and scouted a suitable fruit, I was already sweating profusely. I made a few tentative throws to warm up the pitching arm, and then let loose with a few fastballs. For some reason, my aim wasn't as true as it had been a few days earlier. After exhausting the supply of ammo, we moved on to the next grove and repeated the same act. By then, I was red in the face and thoroughly discouraged. I decided to use the direct approach instead and just climb one of the palm trees the way I had seen natives do it on numerous Tarzan movies. I kicked off my sandals (the natives, I reasoned, were always barefoot) and hopped up on the nearest suitably slanted tree.

Turns out, the natives are a lot younger than me, and they're, well, coordinated. I ended up laying in the sand on my back, looking up at the blinding sun. Kathy appeared above me holding one of the brown, dried coconuts I had earlier used as ammo. I thought she had rushed over to check if I was okay after my nasty fall, but instead she shook the coconut until it sloshed and said, "Hey, I think this one'll do just fine!"

For the next 15 minutes I used a machete to chop open the tough husk. Sure enough, the coconut was snow white and sweet as sugar. Delicious. I was totally pooped, however, and we hiked back, keeping to the shade as much as possible.

The curried conch was fantastic that night, but the hit of the evening was the coconut cream pie made with freshly captured coconut and piled high with sweet meringue. Just as we finished the dishes and went up to bed, a rain shower rolled in from the Caribbean -- the first rain we'd had in days. Afterward, the air was cool and fresh and, although the breeze was still weak, it was at least blowing once again from the correct direction. We crossed our fingers, thanked the anonymous virgin, and fell fast asleep.