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.