Sail Grenada
A month has passed since we arrived back in Grenada and what have we been doing?
The first thought that came to mind was... not a lot, we have slipped into the
Carribbean way of life at last and learnt how to take it easy. In part this is
how it has to be as the heat and humidity slow you down a lot. But, consultation
with the diary tells a different story. Jim has been busy with boat maintenance
and improvement; Rosie's Birthday and our Wedding Anniversary have encouraged us
to eat out; the friends made at and around the yacht club have given us the
opportunity to entertain onboard "Avalon", and visit other boats. (Jim and
Rosemary report a great deal of socialising - which is important as these
seafaring people seem to keep meeting up in the most unlikely places and can
sometimes help each other). Click for map of Grenada Local people have been
great. Not only are the staff at the Yacht Club really helpful, but everywhere
we have travelled on the island we have met with friendly people, keen to chat,
interested in what we are doing and what we think of their country, of which
they are justifiably proud. Carnival in early August was a fun 3 day event with
colourful and noisy processions - not nearly as large or sophisticated as
Carnival in the Canary Islands earlier in the year, but we enjoyed joining in
and dancing in the street. A visit to the Marryshaw Folk Theatre to see a
production called "Full Moon" was a treat - well acted and full of laughs. Our
sightseeing has included the walking tour of St Georges, on a Sunday, when there
is virtually no traffic - the fort (originally French, then British, now Police
Headquarters), the Parliament/High Court building, Museum. Further afield,
having been offered a share in a hired jeep, we went on a tour of the south end
of the island. We took in a tour of a rum distillery, which was pretty amazing,
though it is no longer used for crushing cane, just for distilling rum from
imported molasses. We were forced to sample a few types of rum and had a lovely
swim at La Sargesse beach - the water was really warm until you swam out a way.
We have also swum at Grand Anse (tourist area) and Morne Rouge beaches. Our
walks have taken us through cocoa and nutmeg plantations to the Seven Sisters
Waterfall where we cooled off in the pool underneath. Nutmegs - the red part
inside the outer husk is Mace (also used as a spice), and the nutmeg itself is
inside the mace. Our latest was a strenuous hike through the National Park from
Grand Etang to Concord Falls. This was a ridge walk for part of the way with
views across the rainforest to the coast on either side of the island. The first
part was along a narrow mountain ridge (fortunately foliage hid the precipices)
up to Mt Qua Qua (2,400ft) from where we had super views of east and west coasts
plus the crater lake. After that it was clamber and slither down, in part in the
stream clay bed, then criss-crossing the river as it got larger. We had the
company of a small female dog all the way and I was wondering about the
possibility of her being the ship's dog when we met a couple of young lads, one
with a dog. The one without asked if he could have "ours" so there she went! I
was quite sad as we had enjoyed her company and had shared our pies and bananas
with her en route. During the 5 hour hike through dense forest our main delights
were to see hummingbirds, a small frog, various colourful flowers including
orchids, and evidence of armadillos! At the end, following our swim in the pool
under the falls, we chatted to and walked with the security guards who were
going off duty - they pointed out the breadfruit, avocado, guava and nutmeg
trees, all laden with fruit. After football the main topic of conversation is
the weather. Tropical Storm "Chantal" passed north of us and fizzled out. At the
moment "Erin" is gathering strength so we need to keep an eye on that. We have
had some torrential rain, and managed to almost fill our water tanks once we got
organised with stuffing a towel in the scuppers and just letting water run off
the deck into the tank opening. Cockroaches have been added to the list of pests
on board, but my magic mix of boric acid and condensed milk has aided their
demise! Apart from insects, the wildlife at hand is a real pleasure. During the
early morning walk to the shower, the green herons can be seen perched on
mooring lines over the sea with tiny silvery fish in beaks, the bigger blue
heron stalks disdainfully away, whilst the red crabs scuttle nervously down
their shoreside holes.
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