Grenada
and its Grenadines
The
island of Carriacou was our first official stop in Grenada. This island is a
shortish hop from Union in the southern SVG and still a slightly longer hop on
south to mainland Grenada. We asked our
tour guide, Simon, how these islands were divided between Grenada and SVG – he
had no explanation just said it was politics way, way back. Both territories were most recently under
British control before their independence, but the clustering of these islands
don’t lend themselves to any clear grouping.
For sure there must have been some reason that Petite Saint Vincent is
SVG while its close neighbors of Petite Martinique and Carriacou are part of
Grenada. However, for our purpose –
Tyrell Bay on Carriacou made a great place to check in and once more change our
courtesy flag. (This is flag number 16 – it should be 17 but we never got one
for Montserrat – also four of the islands we visited are under the French flag!)
The harbor in this tiny island is protected and busy – finding a spot to safely
anchor is a challenge, but on our second try we managed. After watching others – wander about and make
repeated tries, we feel lucky it only took two attempts. Sections of the harbor are covered with
weeds, there is a small wreck and a couple shallow reef areas plus a channel
that needs to be clear for the ferries!
Altogether, as more and more boats arrive on their passage south,
anchoring is interesting. We are
wondering what space will be available in the harbors on Grenada???
Yet
again, we are just about the only non-sail boat. We did see a power cat come in and there are
a few fishing “fast” boats, but most of our neighbors are monohull sailboats or
catamarans.
Carriacou
is home to a flourishing boat building tradition. There are boats under
construction using the time-tested techniques – hand plaining wooden planks. We saw many colorful finished boats and three
in the works. One was a fat hull wooden
boat hoping to be launched this fall to join the tourist trade. Another was a
racing sailboat but probably not going to make the races this August. Our tour
with Simon covered just about every point of interest on this island, winding
along the steep, narrow, and curvy roads from our start in Tyrell Bay up and
over the rainforest to the Windward side and back again though the “big” city
of Hillsbourgh. Along the way we had views of the barrier reef that protects
this island and offers some of the best diving in the area. Steve had to check it out with the Lumba
Divers since the protected marine park was a short run from our anchorage. All
in all, Carriacou is a pleasant cruiser friendly stop.
On
to Grenada proper – our first stop was off St George and Grand Anse beach.
Although very handy to town and the historic Carenage – this open anchorage is
also subject to the ocean swells and as a result rolls rather a lot. After a
couple of rolly nights we moved on over to the south side in the slightly more
comfortable Prickly Bay. This is a very
popular and expansive spot. Many mooring
balls are located here but there is also ample room to anchor. However, a further move around to the next
bay or so east is rumored to provide a little more protection and even calmer
waters. Prickly Bay is also a convenient
place from which to see the island.
Buses stop at the docks here and it is a shortish ride into the shops
along the Grand Anse Bay or into the old town.
(it is shorter if one gets on the bus going in the correct direction -;
)
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| St George Fishmarket |
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| view of Prickly Bay |
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| one of the more "interesting" boats in the harbour |
We
took advantage of our time here to do several tours. Our first was a whole day “Cutty” island tour
with our guide Mr. Cutty. Although Grenada is not huge – the roads must wind up
and around the hills making covering even a relatively short distance an adventure
of some duration. Nevertheless, Mr Cutty packed our day with stops to see the
local Mona monkeys, views of the rainforest, a nutmeg processing plant, a
chocolate factory and a rum distillery with time out for lunch and lots of
stops to pick local fruits.
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| friendly guys |
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| OK I am crazy for chocolate |
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| sorting nutmegs |
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| of yes, a waterfall to cool off at the end of the day |
Another
fun adventure took us at night to see the loggerhead turtle nesting grounds on
the far end of the island. We were at
the end of their egg laying season so only saw one female on her nest but were
able to see a dozen new hatchlings making for the water. The mama was huge and
mostly unconcerned about her audience even letting folks touch her leathery
shell, but the babies were amazingly small with gigantic oversized flippers. Watching the waves roll them back and forth
as they tried to get afloat, it was easy to understand why so few make it to
adulthood. Although a late night for us cruisers, it was well worth the hours
in the van to see these awesome turtles both big and small.
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| briefing |
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| Mama |
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| red light strolling or stumbling? |
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| tiny baby with big flippers |
No
trip to Grenada is complete with out attending a “Hash.” So, we joined the
group – conveniently via a Shademan Taxi – for a typical Saturday afternoon
event. Hashers are fondly called “drinkers
with a running problem”. However, one
does not have to run the course marked out through the “bush” as walking or
even just waiting back at the start are all permissible with plenty of beer and
eats available. Since the overnight and morning rain made for a super mudslide
route, I opted to walk closer to the road rather than on the trail, but Steve
joined the throng and returned damp, muddy and thirsty. In the spirit of crazy
fun this weekly event is enjoyed by cruisers, local expats and many, many local
Grenadians.
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| briefing before the "fun" |
One
of the big reasons we hung around Grenada was to get new foam and have our
salon cushions recovered. Many, many trips to shore with cushions stacked in
the dink kept Steve and Larry of Nabela’s Upholstery Shop busy. All the cushions were delivered several days
before we got the cat’s papers and were set to make the final jump to Trinidad.
Yes,
Teddy got a ride in the dink to visit the local vet for his paperwork to be
legal in Trinidad. Being a rabies free
country, Trini has a stringent process for admitting pets. We had Teddy tested back
in Puerto Rico to get a Rabies Titer which proves he is free of rabies, but there
are also a number of other “treatments” he needed with in 10 days of traveling
to Trinidad. After receiving the permit
approval from Trinidad, we spent three hours at the vet office on a Sunday
afternoon with Dr. Amanda to get the proper forms filled out. This was then hand carried on Monday morning
to the Minister who signed off and it was couriered back for us so we could
have it in hand for our departure. Teddy even got a few mats shaved off by the
skilled Dr. Amanda and he hardly woke from his nap in the “cat carrier bag”
during the whole process. A big thanks to Joel who provided taxi service as
well during the thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon. Although he was good in the
car and dink, Teddy appreciated not getting rained on.
When
we weren’t working on the chores, cushions and travel arrangements, we managed
to meet up with friends for dominoes or other fun. It is easy to see why many
cruisers spend months in the bays of Grenada – there is always something to do –
broadcast daily on the morning net. On to Trinidad…..
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| a deal everyday |
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| sampling and advising on beer choices |
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| view of Prickly Bay from St George's University Club restaurant |
