Catching Up

Well, we are still at the same anchorage as the last time we blogged. A little bit of lazy and a lot of liking the anchorage, even though we did have to put out a stern anchor to counteract the roll one night. The anchorage is close to St George's, to Grand Anse (the really pretty beach) and to good grocery shopping plus we are not crowded so overall we are happy. Some people who moved around to Clarke's Court Bay and to Hog Island have been bugging us to move around but we are happy. As well, we are spending a fair amount of time with Sue and Maurice (Strider), a couple from Ontario - actually Caledon but registered in Toronto. She is actually from New Zealand but has been a Canadian for a long time, although she still has the accent. We have been on a couple of treks with them I will tell you about now.

The first was a visit to Fort Matthew and Fort Frederick. They sit on a hill overlooking St George's. One of them (Fort F) has been restored and is really well maintained but doesn't have much there except clean grounds and a great view. We did find out there that the 4 forts around St George's were all at one time connected by underground tunnels which is actually amazing as the fort that is actually in St George's is about 3 miles away and at sea level and Fts. Matthew and frederick are 800 feet above sea level. We walked up to the other forts by the way - about a 3-4 mile walk uphill and of course we always do these things in the middle of the day. With the humidex, the temperature that day was the equivalent of 39 degrees C.

Anyway, the other fort is the story.

It was originally built in 1851, with both the British and French contributing of course. As recently as 1984 it was used as an asylum (used to call them insane asylums) and during the American invasion/supporting action/student rescue depending on who you are talking to that occurred in the late 1970's when there was a political revolution (Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was assassinated) the Americans apparently bombed the fort "by mistake" after they arrived in 1983.

Anyway, the buildings and grounds are not well maintained and there are not signs or notices telling you what anything is or was - we found out about the history on the internet - but you can tell that construction took place at 2 distinct times, the first obviously the original as it is stones and old mortar and the more recent additions for the asylum that are of newer materials.

It was actually kind of neat to guess what each of the buildings and rooms were intended for. Maurice and I were close - we said it had been a fort and then a prison because of all the steel doors and bars on all the windows. As an aside - from up there you have a clear view of the present prison that houses about 300 male and 12 female prisoners. There are farm buildings and gardens and a big sports field. The prison apparently supplies food to the general hospital, old folks homes and a home for the blind. NOTE TO OUR GOVERNMENT - when they sentence a person to 20 years, they do 20 years!!!!!!! Actually the people responsible for killing Maurice Bishop are due to get out in 2 years after serving their full terms. Bishop was very popular so there is some talk they won't last long on the streets but who knows.

Regarding the fort, in spite of the fact that it was not maintained or looked after, we all agreed that it is probably the most fascinating fort/bunch of buildings that we have seen throughout all the islands.

Yesterday we (Strider and us) took a bus and went to St Margaret Falls, in the middle of the island out towards Grenville. After the usual hair-raising ride on an overloaded bus/van we got off on the top of the hill fairly close to the access to the falls. When I say fairly close I mean about a mile but it is all downhill. We first wanted to walk down to Grand Etang lake, which is a freshwater lake in the middle of the island that supplies all the water for South Grenada. It is actually quite small by our standards, about the size of 4 football fields, and is pretty murky although we were able to see some fish, including some goldfish that were probably 12-15" long. While we were there a tour bus came loaded with islanders (not sure which island but..) and it seemed kind of funny to hear them talking like tourists - you know, "oooh look at the fish" etc etc but I guess I was guilty of pre-judging.

So, off to the falls which of course is reached but walking about a mile down a very steep, sometimes overgrown and sometimes slippery trail. prior to that, however, on the path leading to the trail we passed a very neat vegetable/fruit farm nestled in a hollow. As we walked by, Maurice and I were "attacked" by a puppy about 8 inches long that wasn't long out of it's mother but was really attention-starved. As the same time Cheryl and Sue were "attacked" but a man who apparently worked or owned the farm. I would guess worked because he seemed a little slow but he attached himself to the ladies in a most helpful way. He got them fruit from the trees, explained about the plants that were around, warned them to be careful at the waterfall of both breaking a leg and of any strangers that were down there. He seemed almost as attention-starved as the puppy!! On the way out he actually washed Cheryl's and Sue's feet to get rid of the mud that they got off the trail.

After a steep downhill trek we got to the falls, actually two of them, one above the other. There were a suprising number of people down there, maybe 25, and we had met about 12-15 coming up the trail. It looked like there had been some kind of cookout or picnic, possibly a church do as I saw a couple of t-shirts with religious sayings on them. Maurice and I went into the upper pool while Sue and Cheryl sat down by the lower one. After all the others left it was quite peaceful and relaxing there. Well worth the walk down but of course if you had asked me after we got back up it might have been a different story. We were able to catch a relatively empty bus back to St George's where the dinghy was 'parked' and were back on the boat about 4:30, tired but happy. This time our Grenada time has been well spent and we have learned and seen lots. Not done yet though!!!!

Right now it is Sunday and we are sitting in the Spicland Mall food area waiting for the rain to stop so we can go back to the boat. It has been a very rainy day but hey - it is the rainy season!!

The Arrival of Our Newest Family Member

Our newest family member arrived on July 4th. She makes a total of 8 grandchildren for Griff and me. Mom and babe are home and doing well. We are really looking forward to getting back and seeing the new and the "old".

In the meantime we are still anchored outside of St Georges and still doing the social thing. We ended up organizing a trip up to an "Oildown" up towards Westerhall. We went last year and put pictures up on the web so will just put a couple of people pictures this time. Actually when we first started talking to people about it we were just going to ask the people who went to the Chinese dinner with us (total 12). To make a long story short - we ended up with 45 people plus there were a lot more locals there this time so it was quite the occasion for "limin".
We went with Cutty (the local taxi/tour guru) down to his house and got a whole passel of mangoes, pineapples, bananas and some breadfruit. Griff also got a whole bunch of red ant bites when he walked through a colony of them in his modified crocs while getting the fruit. Cutty's back yard is like a jungle on a very steep slope but it has a huge amount of fruit of various kinds back there. Not like Canada for sure.

Anyway, the main purpose of this blog was to show off the new Granddaughter so enjoy!!!!

Chinese Food in Grenada

As mentioned in our last blog we went out for Chinese food on Friday evening. The evening was organized by Peter on Joule. We went with the usual group plus Roy and Michelle from Bonanza(CDN). That made 12 for supper. We all headed over to the Carenage, the part of the harbour closest to St. Georges proper, in our dinghies. The restaurant is called Flag Restaurant. It was opened before and then closed when the owners went back to China. Now their children have returned and reopened the restaurant.

We were seated at a round table for 12 which had a large (about 5' across) glass lazy susan in the middle. Each couple ordered one dish and then we shared. The lazy susan made it easy to move the dishes around the table.

The dishes were delicious. I found some of them very spicy especially when I bit into one of the dried peppers in one of the dishes. None of the dishes would show up on the typical Canadian/Chinese menu.

Duck Soup with Gingo

Volcano Chicken

Shredded Pork with Mushrooms that grow on the tea tree

Some of the other dishes were a Schezuan Pork, Dried Ginger Beef, Beef Soup, and Shredded Potatoes that were crisply fried.

Waiter, Hostess and Cook

The evening ended with a birthday cake for Sue on Strider. It is her birthday on Sunday. The cake was banana and then we all got icecream. Sue also received a special dish of icecream and a sandalwood fan.

We dinghied back to the boat, mouths on fire while the outside was cool because it was raining. It was a good night with lots of fun and laughter.

Canada Day - Social Butterflies in Grenada

ATTENTION!! For those who commented on our threat to not put pictures in, don't worry - just practicing my guilt tripping. I probably wouldn't read our blog if we didn't have pictures!!!

The reason for the title is it seems that lately we have been out and about constantly. Although since we started sailing we have made friends and had people over and been over to other boats, we have definitely not been as "into" the social scene as a lot of the cruisers are. For many it seems that one of the main reasons for being out here is for the social scene in the marinas or at the "Happy Hours". Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this - for other people - but Cheryl and I tend to want to stay on the boat at night and much of our enjoyment comes from the exploration and discoveries we make on the islands about the people or the environment or the history. Okay, enough of a lead-in. On to the here and now.

It seems that since we have been at our present anchorage, just outside St Georges harbour off Ross Point, that we have gotten involved a lot more in the social scene. I think a good part of this is because in this anchorage it is mostly boat to boat stuff and the gatherings are for actual events- although there is visiting back and forth. So, since we have been here we have done the sundowners thing with Tito and Roberta (USA) on Alleluia and had them over for supper. Then we went for snackies on Sue and Maurice's (CDN) boat Strider, with another couple, Peter and Nany (Australian) from Joule. We also did the island tour which we told you. about on the last blog. Then we went to Clarkes Court Bay for fish and chips night last Friday with 4 other couples and met other friends there. Then on to Canada Day.

Clarkes Court Bay is down on the south end just past Prickly Bay so we took a taxi that was shared with 4 other couples, Sue and Maurice (Strider - CDN), Bill and Leona (Voyageur C - CDN), Peter and Nany (Joule - Aussie) and Dave and Michelle (Daniel Storey - US). We left about 3:30 because there are a couple who received a grant to track the seabirds of the Caribbean and they were putting on a presentation. Cheryl and I of course dressed up to the nines because there was a prize of 2 free burger night dinners for the couple most representative of the "Red and White" theme. I will let the picture tell the story but in case you can't tell, that is a 5" X 3" Canadian flag I am using as a cape. No disrespect to the flag because I made sure I didn't sit on it - apparently required protocol.

The Group

When we arrived it turned out that although there was lots of red and white apparel, the only other person who really "dressed up" was a British lady. Cool!!

Bill and Leona (CDN)

Maurice and Sue Strider (CDN)

Nany and Peter (Aussie)

The presentation was quite good. This couple sail aboard an old wooden schooner that they sailed over from the UK on. Enroute they snapped the main mast off about halfway up so now they sail with an intact mizzen and a 1/2 main. We had seen them in the Grenadines - Mustique and the Tobago Cays. The boat is definitely not going to win any prizes for beauty but it does the job.

After the presentation and before the meal they announced the winners of the "Red and White" theme and - you guessed it - we won, which was kind of fun. People who didn't know about us through meeting us before or from the Coconut Telegraph would certainly remember us from the competition!!!

The Winners

The Marina had also brought in an islander who plays Pan and he was fantastic so we listened to him until it was time to get the taxi back to St Georges and then to the boat. We got back about 8:30 so didn't go past our bedtimes - even had time to watch our Stargate SG1 session.

Next social butterflying - Friday night a bunch of us are going to a new Chinese restaurant that is supposed to be good. We had thought about moving up the coast to another bay where the gentleman is doing our table but decided that since we really like the handiness of our location and the cleanliness of the water etc etc, we will stay here for a few more days. Ted (our carpenter) says the woodwork is done for our table so now it is just a matter of putting on 5/6 coats of varnish. Looking forward to our new cockpit table. And looking forward to telling you about our further butterflying in the next blog.