More Goin's On

So here we still are - boat on land, hat in hand (had to do that!) and speaking for me, yearning to be back in the water.

The boat is coming along really well. They had told us probably the end of June or with luck the middle and it looks like the second possibility "may" happen. The wet season has usually started by this time and while it is not like they seem to be getting in Fort Macleod lately, it can still be disruptive. The guys (and us) have really worked hard, however, and yesterday they finished putting the awlgrip on the deck. I think I mentioned before that awlgrip is probably the best paint finish you can put on a boat and they put 3 coats on the deck, prefaced by 3 coats of primer and a coat of West resin so it is going to be a really solid job. The finish goes on in two different "patterns". Where there is foot traffic it is applied as a kind of rough finish for traction and around the stay bases, along the toe rail, around the windlass and anywhere feet don't usually go it is a smooth finish. The topsides (sides of the boat from top to waterline) are also going to be done in 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of smooth awlgrip and that was actually scheduled for today. Whether it will take place or not is the question.

I said the wet season was late but last night it absolutely poured. Rain here doesn't start softly, pick up intensity and then taper off. It is like the Big Kahuna suddenly decides to pour a pot of water on us Caribbean earthlings. It teems and in 5-10 minutes it stops. Last night it did this a bunch of times through the night. We think the roof here must be corrugaged metal and since we are on the top floor and there is of course no need for insulation in the ceiling, it is quite loud. We had company for supper and had an outburst and they were quite surprised by both the quick onset and the volume.

So, we still need to return the deck hardware to its proper places so it will be back into the hatches in awkward positions for us and lots of nutting and bolting but we are going to wait until the topsides are painted so we don't get in the way.

The dinghy is almost completely stripped of paint on the aluminum bottom and back. I wasn't as diligent on the inside as the outside because it is not as crucial that the surface is uniformly paint free on the areas that don't need antifoulling i.e the inside. This weekend we will apply the paint and that will be that.

That is the boat catch-up. Stay tuned for more reflections in Grenada - about to happen.......NOW

I have gotten into the habit of going for a walk in the afternoons to ward off the onset of complete cabin fever craziness. I usually walk to the bank, which is about 1 1/2 miles away down a 3 lane divided road (the driving portion of the road on each side of the centre area is about 1 1/2 lanes wide but they use each side as a 2 lane). It is through a kind of industrial area, although there are schools, a dilapidated unused drive-in theatre, a New York Bagel outlet way off the road in an apartment building and a mish-mash of other things. There is no sidewalk on one side although there are short stretches on the side with the schools. By the way, I go to the bank because we are paying for the dinghy davits and for our rent in cash and we can only draw a certain amount out each time so we are stockpiling some cash to do that. We also will need to turn some EC (Eastern Caribbean) dollars into US dollars for our initial foray into Trinidad/Tobago.

Anyway, back to my walk. This month is Love the Children month in Grenada, which I didn't know before but explains a really neat parade I saw on this industrial road. About 150 children ranging from 5 to about 15 were walking in pairs along one of the stretches of sidewalk. A lot of them had handmade signs saying things like "Love us - We are all your children" or "Children deserve love" etc etc. All the the children that we have seen on all of the islands wear uniforms to school, which I think looks really neat, and it was so cool to see these children with big eyes and big smiles holding up the signs and waving at people, including me. I find most Caribbean natives particularly attractive - I call it handsome, both male and female. There is a lot of grace and regality about the way they carry themselves. In the children it comes out as openness and beauty. After they had passed I found myself smiling for no apparent reason other than feeling good - and not caring if people thought I was having "private conversations" in my head.

A couple of days later, same road, practically the same place, I heard a police siren and up ahead noticed a police car pull out of one of the side streets and block the main 1 1/2 lane thoroughfare. Then I started to hear music. (Honest!!) out of this side street came a procession of men of various ages, again walking two by two and all wearing red t-shirts with writing on them. There appeared to be 170-200 men and in the middle of the procession was a stake truck - like a van with no sides or back - with a band consisting of clarinets saxophones and a guitar, all amplified, and another gentleman with a guitar walking along beside the truck. They were playing old-time gospel music and for all the time that I heard it, it was the same "hymn" but with words that the singer seemed to make up as he went along. All the works were words of praise for God but sung with a strong gospel beat and as the singer sang a line, a lot of the marchers would then sing it back. On the "raise your hands to the Lord" parts, everyone would throw their hands into the air and most were walking to the beat of the music. Actually, some were almost dancing and many were, twisting, turning and clapping.

As they got closer I was able to see that the writing on the t-shirts said Ecclesiastical Passover For Men and in fact at the very back of the procession there were three priests (I assumed by the fancy white robes with gold threaded decorations). The really neat thing about the whole thing was the expressions on the faces of the men. Some were smiling, some were positively beaming, some were more somber but all of them looked content to be in there own skins and not at all embarrassed to be walking down a major thoroughfare in support of their beliefs. They had "Happy" religion. And my feeling was they probably didn't walk door to door trying to convert others. Cool.

Something I must remark on. Both of these parades I just mentioned took place in mid-afternoon (hottest time) on a weekday, unlike home where it is done on a weekend for maximum exposure. To me it indicates that they are doing these things not for others but for themselves. I like that! I must also mention that on both occasions, I was camera-less. Shame on me!

Well, I have once again gotten into "long drawn out" mode so will finish. I must say that although I would much rather be sailing, there are much worse places to be than Grenada to be "on the hard". Next time, if I remember, I will talk a bit about people we have met.