Goings On
Wednesday, July 5
The Lagoon, St. George's, Grenada
I think we have a record here, for the longest time we have spent at anchor in one place so far on this trip! We are still in St. George's, and since Eira and Dreamweaver arrived late last week, joining Amanzi and Crossroads as friends we see just about every day, we have been too busy socializing to pay proper attention to the blog. We are way behind, yet we have had lots of adventures to report.
Friday night a bunch of us hopped on the local bus for a hair-raising ride in a packed-to-the-roof local bus (19 people in a mini-van) up to the town of Guoyave, one of the major fishing ports in Grenada. The town holds a fish fry every Friday night, and people come from all around to hear music and eat the locally-caught and cooked food from vendors that line the street.
We arrived in town before most stands had begun setting up, and I began to worry that we, five tourists in a tiny fishing village, would continue to stand out like fools until we hopped a bus back to St. George. But we found a local bar to while away an hour or two, and before we knew it, the owner/bartender was our new best friend, bringing us over free shots of the local rum (the strong stuff from our tour earlier in the week) and recommending which stalls we should visit for dinner.
It helps a great deal that Dean and I have befriended a number of cruisers from friendlier places than Boston. Our Canadian and southern friends have a great deal of practice talking to strangers, and they make a point of doing it wherever we go. Dean and I just enjoy the benefits without ever having to take the risk one would never take in Massachusetts--of striking up a conversation with somebody just because he or she happens to be standing nearby. It's a crazy concept, this friendliness, but it works.
By the time we left the bar and made our way back to the fish fry, things were looking a lot more festive. We sampled fish cakes and casseroles, soups, "oil down," which is a local staple, and kebabs. The food was excellent, and for the most part, it was very cheap. My favorite was the fish cake, deep fried, of course, for the equivalent of 40 cents. If you got one with hot sauce on a still-warm biscuit, the price was about $1 U.S.
On Saturday Dean and I, brace yourselves, went running (sort of), but that's a story that Dean has told in the previous blog.
Sunday was a beach day. We cannot swim off the boat in the lagoon (too murky and a bit polluted), so we dinghy around the corner to a gorgeous, white sand beach. A whole crew of cruisers went, as usual, and the water was so refreshing we all vowed to make the trip every day for a restorative swim. We haven't been back since.
Monday we did go swimming, but in a freshwater pool at the base of a waterfall in the rainforest. The one thing about hiking in the rainforest during the rainy season is that you are bound to be caught in the...rain! However, having risked our lives once again by taking a local bus to the top of the island, up steep, winding roads, we couldn't let a few downpours stop us, so we slopped along the trail, hiding under trees when the rain got serious, and continuing on when it slowed to a drizzle. The views when the clouds lifted were spectacular and lush, all farmland and canopy and steep mountain valleys. We enjoyed the hike, but by the time we reached the waterfalls there was no need to swim. We were all soaked through. The air was cool enough and humid enough that I felt like I was back in New Hampshire on a June day. Except the water in the falls was merely cool, not painfully cold.
On the way back to the street from the falls, we ran across a local we had met a week earlier at the lecture we attended. It's strange and wonderful to be in a new country long enough that we are beginning to recognize--and be recognized by--the people who live here. We will be sad to leave this place, but excited to head to Trinidad, our southernmost destination, to meet up with our next set of visitors, and, if we are all lucky, show them as good a time as we are having now.
The Lagoon, St. George's, Grenada
I think we have a record here, for the longest time we have spent at anchor in one place so far on this trip! We are still in St. George's, and since Eira and Dreamweaver arrived late last week, joining Amanzi and Crossroads as friends we see just about every day, we have been too busy socializing to pay proper attention to the blog. We are way behind, yet we have had lots of adventures to report.
Friday night a bunch of us hopped on the local bus for a hair-raising ride in a packed-to-the-roof local bus (19 people in a mini-van) up to the town of Guoyave, one of the major fishing ports in Grenada. The town holds a fish fry every Friday night, and people come from all around to hear music and eat the locally-caught and cooked food from vendors that line the street.
We arrived in town before most stands had begun setting up, and I began to worry that we, five tourists in a tiny fishing village, would continue to stand out like fools until we hopped a bus back to St. George. But we found a local bar to while away an hour or two, and before we knew it, the owner/bartender was our new best friend, bringing us over free shots of the local rum (the strong stuff from our tour earlier in the week) and recommending which stalls we should visit for dinner.
It helps a great deal that Dean and I have befriended a number of cruisers from friendlier places than Boston. Our Canadian and southern friends have a great deal of practice talking to strangers, and they make a point of doing it wherever we go. Dean and I just enjoy the benefits without ever having to take the risk one would never take in Massachusetts--of striking up a conversation with somebody just because he or she happens to be standing nearby. It's a crazy concept, this friendliness, but it works.
By the time we left the bar and made our way back to the fish fry, things were looking a lot more festive. We sampled fish cakes and casseroles, soups, "oil down," which is a local staple, and kebabs. The food was excellent, and for the most part, it was very cheap. My favorite was the fish cake, deep fried, of course, for the equivalent of 40 cents. If you got one with hot sauce on a still-warm biscuit, the price was about $1 U.S.
On Saturday Dean and I, brace yourselves, went running (sort of), but that's a story that Dean has told in the previous blog.
Sunday was a beach day. We cannot swim off the boat in the lagoon (too murky and a bit polluted), so we dinghy around the corner to a gorgeous, white sand beach. A whole crew of cruisers went, as usual, and the water was so refreshing we all vowed to make the trip every day for a restorative swim. We haven't been back since.
Monday we did go swimming, but in a freshwater pool at the base of a waterfall in the rainforest. The one thing about hiking in the rainforest during the rainy season is that you are bound to be caught in the...rain! However, having risked our lives once again by taking a local bus to the top of the island, up steep, winding roads, we couldn't let a few downpours stop us, so we slopped along the trail, hiding under trees when the rain got serious, and continuing on when it slowed to a drizzle. The views when the clouds lifted were spectacular and lush, all farmland and canopy and steep mountain valleys. We enjoyed the hike, but by the time we reached the waterfalls there was no need to swim. We were all soaked through. The air was cool enough and humid enough that I felt like I was back in New Hampshire on a June day. Except the water in the falls was merely cool, not painfully cold.
On the way back to the street from the falls, we ran across a local we had met a week earlier at the lecture we attended. It's strange and wonderful to be in a new country long enough that we are beginning to recognize--and be recognized by--the people who live here. We will be sad to leave this place, but excited to head to Trinidad, our southernmost destination, to meet up with our next set of visitors, and, if we are all lucky, show them as good a time as we are having now.
posted by S/V Delilah | 4:43 PM
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