Great to be back in Grenada

It was really great to be back in Grenada, and, because both Mike and I needed some time to recover from the recent trauma, we settled into a routine of not doing a lot for the next three weeks! We took a bus or a slow walk to the shops, finalised contractors to undertake repair work, spent time doing the odd job or just reading, relaxing or chatting to each other whilst on board, occasional swimming, visiting the bars around Prickly Bay for sundowners, catching up with Steve and Gill when they arrived from Islands north and going to “Hashes”.

Now, I am sure that 13 years ago I mentioned hashes – but I have a feeling it was more in passing than in detail – so I will now tell you a bit more about them.

Hash House Harrier roots go back to the old English schoolboy game of “Hares and Hounds,” where players, called “hounds,” chased others, called “hares,” who had left a trail of paper scraps along their cross-country route. The Hash members who set the shredded paper trails to this day are still known as Hares and a group of Hashers is a “Kennel”

The Hash House Harriers [or HHH or H3] as we know it today was founded in Malaya [as it was then known] and the “Hash House” part came from the nickname for the Club where a number of the local harriers lived and ate. Apparently, due to its relatively poor food – often based around corned beef – the dining room was commonly referred to as the “Hash House.”

The idea of hashing was to promote non-competitive physical fitness, persuade older members they weren’t as old as they felt, get rid of weekend hangovers [the hashes were run on a Monday] and to acquire a good thirst and satisfy it with beer – which is probably why the slogan became “Drinkers with a Running Problem” – and Mike and I are proud owners of T-shirts proclaiming exactly that!

WWII interrupted hashing activities but it resumed post war and began to spread worldwide.  From research on the internet, I have been able to find out that in May of this year it is estimated that there were between 1325 and 1350 active hash kennels, running in 136 countries. Some only have a few hashes each year, some run monthly but, the extremely enthusiastic Grenada HHH runs every Saturday, whatever the weather and conditions, and incorporates all the rituals.

During this three-week “quiet” period, we were also eagerly awaiting the arrival of Chris and John who joined us on 16^th May.

Because we were having some work done on the boat, we were alongside Spice Island Marine dock for a few days following their arrival which curtailed some of the things we could do but Chris, John and I managed to get out and about during the day, without Mike, and we all made the most of the three nights of dock confinement…..

…..on two of them joined by Steve and Gill and Hugh and Claudia.

On leaving the dock on 19^th May we sailed round to Woburn Bay and anchored between Hog Island and Clarkes Court.

The yellow line is from Prickly Bay to north of Hog island and the pink one from Port Louis to Prickly. Put them together [more or less ] and you get the idea of the Hog Island to Port St Louis leg. Not the longest of “voyages” they have done with us but probably the one with the most wind and waves against and the biggest rolls!

The following day dawned bright and sunny, perfect for a dinghy pub crawl!

We went first to what we thought was “Taffy’s Bar” but was actually “Island View”. We found out later that Taffy’s is upstairs – but this bar certainly lived up to its name….

… even if it was a little rustic on the inside.

Next stop was “Nimrods”….

…..where we chanced upon a practice session.

Nimrods holds a weekly Jam Session which we have still not managed to get to. It is unlikely that Mike would join in but he would enjoy the music.

Our lunch stop was the “Little Dipper”, a small restaurant perched at the edge of the road, once again – a fabulous view.

What turned out to be our final stop was “Whisper Cove Marina”. Unfortunately for much of the rest of the summer this marina was partially closed due to some local issues around maintenance but on the day we went it was fully functioning and a lovely place.

We had thought that we could also go to a bar at “Benji Bay” but, when chatting with people in Whisper Cove it turned out that the bar at Benji Bay only opens once a month for a full moon party. So, we were forced to have another drink in the comfort of Whisper Cove!

It was great fun and was supposed to be followed by another fun day at the weekly Hog Island Sunday BBQ. Well, I guess overall it was fun and started out very well with the sun shining on us as we got to the island…

…and Rogers Bar.

Then the heavens opened, Fortunately, as we had bagged the seats in the photo above, we remained mainly dry whilst watching waterfalls flowing from gaps in the ceiling behind us and laughing with people as they tried to squeeze under the shelter.

Some people just went swimming which, as it was still very warm, was a good thing to do and, on leaving we recognised we were going to get wet and went for it – managing to keep laughing. Its always better to be going back to the boat in the rain than away from it – that way lies dry clothes!

The following day was also wet and we achieved the not so good thing I mentioned above – we got a soaking going away from the boat to “Clarkes Court Marina” and the “Cruisers Galley” bar where we spent the morning drinking coffees, then beers and doing puzzles and reading…

….  followed by lunch and then “Mexican Train” on O&P.

Fortunately, this was the last day of rain and the following day we made our way to the west coast to spend three nights in “Port Louis Marina”.

Now, knowing that Chris and John like to be able to just walk off the boat instead of having to brave the dinghy we had booked the marina as a treat for them – its biggest draw being the swimming pool. This is what we found!

To say I was upset is an understatement. Had we been advised there was no pool we would have gone to a different marina but for a marina with a pool Port Louis was our favourite choice due to its proximity to St. George – the capital of Grenada.

Anyway – we made the best of what we had. We went into St George…..

……. caught a bus to lovely Grande Anse Beach [which had been one of the places Chris, John and I had visited when Mike was busy with boat things] ….

…… and walked up and down to the beach over the hill from the marina, which on “Google Map” is called “Nameless Beach”!

One night we decided to eat at “Patricks” which is opposite the entrance to the marina and which gets a good write up.

I think Bizarre sums it up rather well – enough said!

A very unexpected event occurred whilst we were at the marina. In the nicely appointed grounds are, amongst many other plants, some special cactus who’s flowers only bloom one night of the year and we were lucky enough to be there.

From Port Louis we sailed back to Prickly Bay and remained there for the rest of Chris and John’s holiday. Actually, we remained there for the rest of our stay in Grenada but more about that later – for now back to the holiday fun.

That day was really hot and sunny and, as we hadn’t had a pool to swim in, we decided it was an ideal time to go ashore for a swim, a BBQ picnic and a game of Boules.

We actually went to this beach three times during their stay. It was, and remained, our favourite sundowner spot whilst at anchor in Prickly Bay.

So, next day was a Saturday and time for John to join in the Hash shenanigans.

I forgot to say above that Hashes are held in different places every week so it is a great opportunity to see the island both on the bus going to it and on the hash itself. We were very pleased about the location of this hash because it was near to where “Patrick” [aka “Shademan”] the driver lives and he suggested a stop off at a rum shack he knows…..

…. which, incidentally, we ended up going to three times in total. Result.

With only a couple of days left we lazed around, went for brunch at the West Indies Brewery, chatted, played more Boules and Mexican Train and, on their final day went for lunch in St. George.

It wasn’t exactly the holiday I had hoped for them – with the work on the boat needing doing, the couple of days of heavy rain and the lack of the marina pool – but I think they got a nice taste of the Caribbean and, although Chris really dislikes long haul flights, Mike and I really hope they will come and join us again somewhere different in a few years’ time [2025?].

So, once again on our own – as Steve and Gill had also departed the week previously for a visit back to Carriacou – Mike and I took advantage of a few events that took place over the next couple of weeks.

A friend of ours who we met on a hash organised a Roti ‘n Lime time on Hog Island. Now “Lime” does not refer to the fruit or a drink. Limin’ is what you do in the Caribbean – usually with friends – but it can be done on your own. It basically hanging around, not doing a lot, relaxing, maybe drinking and often, but not always, smoking.

So, not being able to get to Hog Island by dinghy we decided to walk there. It was a really great walk….

On reaching the beach we found that the Rotis were being served at the “Fish Camp” and drinks from the shack

Although the rotis were very good and, as I said, the walk lovely, the highlight of the day was watching two guys preparing urchins for “sea egg sauce”.

Mostly, around the world, urchin roe is eaten as it comes but in the Caribbean it is processed further to a thick “sauce”.

They take the roe from urchins…

…. squeeze it and hang it up to drip and dry….

….before cooking it in a pot over a wood fire.

Unfortunately it takes quite a long time for the full process and we did not see or taste the finished product. I understand that it is very strongly fishy and salty and is best mixed with a creamy base to make, for example, a pasta sauce.

We went to a “Lionfish” night. An Ecodive operator on the island organised a week-long conservation event focussing on trying to reduce the very invasive lionfish and promote the use of it as food. It is extremely good eating and it is a shame that it is so time consuming to prepare. If only a commercial company could invent a machine to do it. The week’s events, which we couldn’t take part in as we don’t scuba dive, culminated in a party at the West Indies Brewery – which we are perfectly qualified for!

There was a demonstration on how to prepare lionfish safely…

…. lionfish and chips or lionfish tacos to eat and music to help the proceedings along.

We went, one week, on the free Wednesday bus to “Meet and Meat”. The bus is provided by the owner of a wonderful butcher/deli shop based at “Phare Bleu Marina”.

As well as buying some delicious goodies we enjoyed coffee on the beach…..

… and a drink by the pool. We considered swimming but then….

We also heard that “Sea Safety Service” based at Clarkes Court Marina were going to give a life raft demonstration as part of a kind of employment promotion day for Grenadian students about to leave school to which cruisers were also invited [for the demonstration – not the job opportunities!]

It was really very interesting as we haven’t seen a life raft inflating before……

…… and hope we never have to see and use one in practice.

One day we decided to venture out by bus to the town of Grenville on the west coast. Once a fishing village, we were quite surprised to find how big it was and enjoyed our walk through the town to the fish quay at its north end.

One of the hashes we attended was at the north east of the island – quite a long drive away. Patrick – [you remember, the hash driver] also organises Leatherback Turtle watching evenings during the egg laying season. This takes place on just one beach which happened to be close to the hash so we suggested to him that he organise a “two for one” trip and we managed to get a full bus load of people for the hash followed by the turtles.

Because of the rules imposed at the nesting site, no light other than red torches are allowed and no flash photography. It was therefore hard to get decent photographs but I hope the following give you an indication of the amazing process we witnessed.

She built her nest too close to the sea so the researchers collected her eggs as she was laying them and moved them further up the beach, As, following covering her eggs, she never returns to the nest she doesn’t know that they aren’t where she laid them

Whilst on the subject of wildlife here are a few other photographs I took of flora and fauna which we chanced on during our walks etc…..

…..and some local fruits we enjoyed

I said above that we spent most of our time at anchor in Prickly Bay’…

…. and here you see it as a Tropical Wave was passing.

Without going into lots of technical detail, which I would have to filch from a more informed source, I will give my understanding of a Tropical Wave to those of you who probably watch the weather far less than I do! It is a kind of elongated area of relatively low pressure which moves from east to west across the Caribbean. As a wave moves across it brings behind it widespread rain and/or thunderstorms which can be severe. There is also usually a wind change from E or NE to SE. These waves can lead to the formation of Tropical Cyclones and, if the conditions are right, into named Storms and potentially Hurricanes.

Official Hurricane season in the Caribbean starts on 1^st June and, as we didn’t leave Grenada until 20^th July, we were there for the first seven weeks of it. Four named storms formed during this period and two of these, Tropical Storms Bret and Cindy, both developed east of the Caribbean in June, a first for any June on record. Cindy impacted far to the north and west of the Lesser Antilles [aka Leeward and Windward Islands] but Bret got relatively close to us passing across St Lucia.

St Vincent, the Grenadines and Carriacou lie between Grenada and St. Lucia and therefore we, on the south of Grenada, were approx. 120nm [as the crow flies] south of the storm centre but we still felt its passing.

Fortunately, Steve and Gill had returned safely from Carriacou before this storm and joined us for one of the two other things I would like to share with you. Along with Steve and Gill and several other cruisers we went, one Sunday late afternoon/early evening, to a place called the “Jab Jab Village”

“Jab Jab” is a traditional part of J’ouvert [break day] which takes place early – approx. 2am until 10am -on the first morning of the annual Carnival festivities. Revellers come out to the street, cover themselves in either oil, mud or grease and wear cattle horns to portray in a satirical way the evil of slavery.

For around four of five Sundays in advance of Carnival some of those who want to participate come to the village to practice for the carnival event – or, more likely, just to party. Because we were there early we didn’t see much of the partying but did enjoy viewing the property….

…. and its produce,,,

… eating “oil down” which is Grenada’s National Dish made of chicken, and sometimes pigtails, cooked together in a large pot with dumplings, vegetables, coconut water or milk and seasoning…..

…. watching some jab jab preparations…

….and generally soaking up the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, we left Grenada before Carnival but at least got a different taste of it than last time we were there when we joined the evening parade.

Finally, I want to tell you about something which I took part in called “Keep Grenada Swimming”. For a couple of hours every Saturday morning [from November to July] on Grande Anse beach a group of volunteers teach children how to swim. These volunteers are mainly local young adults who themselves learnt to swim with this scheme. However, there is a special week in July when 17 sites operate each offering three separate one-hour lessons. For this they needed extra volunteers and were keen for cruisers to join in – so I did.

For five consecutive mornings I joined Alex – who also manages the Grenada lifeguards – at one of the Grande Anse sites. Most of those who signed up came every day and so from the figures on the photo below….

…. those numbers can probably be multiplied by four [to allow for some non-attendance] to give an approximate number of hours of lessons that were given. Brilliant.

In fact, that wasn’t the end of it because a “summer camp” contacted the organiser on the day the initiative finished asking if they could bring thirty more girls to learn to swim so on the following Monday I went along to a different site and helped out again – just for an hour this time.

Overall it was a fabulous experience and it was great to give something back to the island people.

So, it might have been a slow start following my return from the UK but the pace certainly increased as we packed lots of enjoyable fun filled days and evenings into our three month stay in wonderful Grenada and had the relatively rare pleasure of holiday time with Chris and John.