May You Never Have Sand In Your Mud

In January 2006, when our visitors Dave and Jan from Alberta left CanKata to catch their flight, they yelled back to us, “May you never have sand in your mud!”  That phrase has become CanKata’s signature toast.

It started in the Caribbean at Tintamarre Island, St. Martin.  We had taken Dave and Jan ashore for some beachcombing and exploring, and decided to check out the state of the mud baths that Tintamarre is famous for.  It had just rained, and to our delight the mud holes had a top layer of soft, creamy mud that was the best we have ever seen.  Dave, Jan and I smoothed it all over us, being careful not to dig too deep because then we would hit sand.  Darrel didn’t catch on right away and had a much rougher mud bath than the three of us.  We were soothed; Darrel was sanded.  He did my back for me, and I got a feel of what his bath was like -- ouch!

So that evening, during happy hour, it only seemed natural for Jan to toast us with “May you never have sand in your mud.”  At that, Darrel finished his drink with one gulp.