Living like a Grenadian

On April 30th we left Carriacou for St. George’s, Grenada. It was a fantastic 5 hour sail with consistent 15-20 knots winds on the port beam. Upon arrival, we picked up a mooring outside of the harbor since our slip at Port Louis Marina wasn’t available until the next day. Andrew cooked up some fish in sauce from our leftover lobster and we enjoyed a fabulous sunset.

The next day, we motored into the marina and checked in to a skinny slip inside the main dock. Good location, tight turn for the Billy! After tying up, I made my way to the swimming pool with a fancy drink while Andrew says he cleaned up the boat (but probably napped a bit too)! Our location is right by the main road to town so we hear horns all day & night (which I think they use to say hello to each and every passing car). Otherwise, we are down below and insulated from the noise but more subject to the heat!! That evening was pretty calm though and I got a cool picture of the boats reflecting in the still water of the marina.

The next day, Andrew and I walked to Island Water World for various supplies. On the way back, we bought mangos from Mango Man, whose stand is across from the entrance to the marina. Later that day, I got 5 bags of leftover provisions from a group that I had met at the pool and were cleaning out their charter boat. I went to share some of the extra pasta, meats & frozen items with Mango Man, but he wasn’t at his stand when I went to deliver so I got to know some of the neighbors looking for him.

Later that day, we cleaned the dinghy bottom, which meant hoisting about 400 lbs onto the dock and flipping it over to scrub the green stuff growing on the bottom with paint scrappers. After that, two young men came to test our refrigerator, since it seemed to be running perpetually and draining the battery. They were good natured young fellas that had just finished refrigeration school and were anxious to learn and get experience. They also had no idea what they were doing and were kinda amusing to watch as they discussed how to go about things.

That evening, Edwin & Karen (on s/v Frog’s Leap) visited us on the boat for sundowners and we went out to dinner afterward at Umbrella’s. The ride over on the public bus was entertaining as the driver bumped and swerved along the windy roads at what seemed like 80 miles an hour, while blaring Caribbean music so you couldn’t hear the person next to you talk, even though we were nearly sitting on top of one another. Anytime someone in the back needed to get out, half the bus had to unload to let them out and file back in again. We had no idea where we were going or where to get out but fortunately, the kindly Grenadians let us know what to do and we arrived safely at the festive and friendly beach bar & restaurant and ordered some very tasty burgers and fish tacos. We split a taxi back!!

The next day was topside dinghy cleaning, some okay chicken roti from the local bakery and otherwise preparing for me to fly to Boston to visit the kids and grandkids. After all, it was our third granddaughter 1st birthday and I wanted to be there!

I returned on May 8th and got right back into being Grenadian. I walked to St. George’s to get a Grenada Yacht Club burgee for the CYC collection and then to town to buy Andrew a new pillow. It was quite a walk, so halfway there, I hopped on the bus. I asked the driver if he knew a store in town where I could buy a pillow and a few of the ladies on board said “all of them”! Sure enough, almost every store had the same collection of cheaply made knick knacks and paraphernalia, except for plain white pillows. I had to stop in a few of them before I found what I wanted. 

The next day, we met Eric & Arliss, on s/v Corroboree, who had just completed a six year circumnavigation! I was fun to chat with them and hear about what they had done on a 35 foot boat with a free standing mast!!

On May 11th, we motor-sailed around the south end of Grenada to Prickly Bay. We picked up a mooring off of the marina and started preparations for our upcoming sail to Trinidad. That Friday, we had dinner at the marina restaurant where the evenings entertainment was a young boy playing guitar and singing with his mothers band. I couldn’t really tell if he was any good (because I think his microphone may have been off) but he was very expressive and totally enjoying himself!

That Saturday, Andrew’s phone crashed during an upgrade and we had to find a tech store. We took the dinghy to Budget Marine, where the cabbies hangout, and met Alfred. Alfred took us to the place we had found online called Global Tech. It was difficult to find because it’s located in a container in the parking lot of a strip mall. Unfortunately, the guy who worked on Apple phones wasn’t on island but would return the following Wednesday. They offered to take Andrew’s phone and have the guy look at it (for $180 EC) when he returned. No thanks! Alfred said he ‘had a guy’ so we called and determined that he could see us on Monday, so we made a date with Alfred on Monday.

Sunday was Mother’s Day! I made breakfast (banana/ mango pancakes & bacon), scrubbed the bottom of the big boat, and lubricated the zippers and snaps all around. For my reward, I got to talk to my kids and grandkids and went out to dinner at Spice Affair, a good (but expensive) Indian place within walking distance of the marina.

On Monday, Alfred took us to Mobile Tech, his friend’s place and after about an hour or so, the proprietor was able to download the appropriate firmware and we paid him $120 EC for the fix. We asked Alfred to take us to a good local lunch spot for takeout so he turned up this pitted dirt road passed a dilapidated sign that read “Dexter’s Restaurant”. Didn’t look like it would amount to much but we arrived  at a tidy white house behind the blue porched restaurant with a view. Inside were these two wonderful ladies working away at preparing our lunch. Andrew and I shared the pork ribs with the sides of the day (potato salad, green salad, plantains & rice). It was very flavorful and a great deal for $20 EC (about $7 US dollars). 

Tuesday we met up with Alfred again (well actually his brother at first)! Andrew’s apps hadn’t downloaded so we had to go back to Mobile Tech but while we were waiting we met Amy from Heritage Farms. She was selling really nice looking frozen meats & fish including New York strip, sock eye salmon and more.  Amy told us the story of how she and her husband (a Grenadian) wanted to raise cattle on the island but when the land deal didn’t go through, they started importing meats from the U.S. I’m hoping to pick up an order from her tomorrow as we continue to prep for our overnight sail to Trinidad. We’ll let you know when we get there!!