Valentines Day in Grenada

We didn't really have any plans for Valentine's Day - no romantic sunset cruise or serenading by a Reggae band:) But we had a great day - and hope everyone at home did too.

We started out with a quiet breakfast on our deck, then headed out to explore L'Anse Aux Epines and a couple of other areas we hadn't seen before. We also thought we would visit Mt.Hartman, a protected area that is home to the exlusive Grenada Dove.

We didn't find the way to Mt.Hartman - we figure if we stop looking, we'll stumble across it eventually! But we did find our way to L'Anse - there were some very luxurious homes there - we figure if we win the lottery one day we could buy one and move here lol.

We headed out to the point and had stunning views of Prickly Bay, and also had a chance to check out the lighthouse - so far it is the only one we have found here.

From the lighthouse, we headed into Grand Anse to pick up a few groceries. Barry also wanted to stop at the South St.George Police Station - and met a few of the Royal Grenadian Police officers stationed there. He had a chance to ask them questions about their service and their police force before getting a picture in front of the station. You can't take a picture without permission!

After that, it started to rain - and it was the end of the day so we headed back to Woburn. We ate in - I made Shepherd's Pie and Brownies with ice cream for dinner - which you all know Barry really likes - and was a nice treat for Valentines Day. Even better - I actually won two hands of crib! Our game tally is B 8 - P 5.

How to spend a quiet Sunday in Grenada!

Sunday, many things are closed as Grenadians are encouraged to spend the day with their families. We decided to head to Magazine Beach (aka BBC Beach - not sure why) - and have another beach day. One reason for choosing this beach was we had heard that the Aquarium Restaurant had a great BBQ including local music and usually hosted a good mix of visitors and locals.



View to the left of our beach chairs...



...and the view to the right!

We enjoyed the sunshine and there were lots of local families there - they brought their BBQs and picnics, plus footballs and cricket bats.

local kids - these little boys ran up and down the beach for hours!



Later, we headed over to the BBQ - and by the time we got in - our late lunch turned into an early supper. Which was okay - we enjoyed the view from the beachside tables - and the food was quite good - not quite as good as I expected from all the reviews - but it was good. The best thing was dessert - fresh coconut cake!! I think the next blog I start might be "Desserts I have known and loved!"

We sat and enjoyed the Reggae band until they were finished (yes - Barry listened to more than 1/2 song of Reggae) - and then headed back to Woburn. It is amazing how doing nothing can really tire you out!

A series of fortunate coincidences...

Saturday, we planned to go to Gouyave again as they have a farmers' market - and unlike St.George's teeming with cruise ship tourists - the one in Gouyave is quieter. We woke up to a tropical rain storm, which didn't deter us - and set out to Gouyave - taking a different way than we had before.

Little did we know that we would find our way to several places we were hoping to visit during our trip - the Grand Etang Rainforest & Lake and the Spice Basket Cultural Centre. While the weather meant we didn't visit the rainforest (that will be this week), we did stop at the Cultural Centre on our way to Gouyave.

The Cultural Centre is brand new - and is set up very well, although the theatre for cultural performances is not finished. From what the staff said, the museum operator doesn't seem to have set hours yet. We browsed the gift shop and grounds (some beautiful flowers) and then had lunch on the deck. I had grilled fish (marlin) with rice & peas, vegies and salad with nutmeg dressing. Barry had the grilled chicken (nice thigh/drum and back piece) plus potato salad and salad - which started out as a vegetarian lunch - due to a slight miscommunication with our server Abigal.

 

We also shared a bowl of locally made pistachio ice cream -and managed to get the top-secret recipe for the nutmeg dressing). It was an unexpected find - and a great way to spend some time before heading off to Gouyave and the market - where we stopped in to see Lester again - who gave us some great oranges and grapefruit - fresh off the tree that morning. They were very good - sweet - Barry said it was the best orange he ever had!

Fish Friday!

I was waiting for Friday to come having heard so much about Gouyave's Fish Friday event. We wanted to make sure we got there early so that we could find a parking place and figure out our way around. We arrived about 4:30 - but had forgotten one important thing - we were still on Canadian time - and had forgotten about Grenadian time...

...which meant that if they said it started at 5pm - it really wouldn't get started until 6 or 7 pm. So we toured around Gouyave for a while, checked out the Catholic Church with the octagonal bell tower, plus some of the shops on the side streets.

We finally made it back over to St.Dominic and St.Francis Streets, where the vendors were set up. There was a bit of everything there - fry bake, baked bake, lobster, shrimp, fried jack (small fish deep fried whole - very bony - didn't try one - really don't like picking my way through fish bones - mom would probably like them), fish roti, shrimp skewers, fried breadfruit, plaintains in every shape and form.

The list went on and on. I couldn't try everything - so tried the shrimp skewers, fish cakes, breadfruit and a cornbread dish that I have to find the name for.

For a small community, it was well done - some of the vendors even had rubber gloves and hairnets! Barry didn't eat any fish, but he did find a new favorite from a vendor who was making ice cream - soursop ice cream. To me it tasted like really fresh peach ice cream, so I was surprised that Barry liked it so much. He has taken to asking everywhere we go if they have it - even if it isn't on the menu! He even chose it over chocolate at the Spice Basket Cultural centre!

Vendor making fry bake  - similar to bannock - Barry says like a deep fried thick pancake!

We took a break from wandering around and made our way back to the 'Homestead Bar, Restaurant, and Apartment' which since Hurricane Ivan has only been 'Homestead Bar and Restaurant' - we found this little place on St.Peter's Street and as they had burgers on the menu, that's where Barry had supper after I enjoyed my fish.

Barry and Lester Peters

Lester Peters and his wife own the place - Lester was born and raised in Grenada, but went to England to work when England needed workers and Grenadians didn't need a Visa to work there. After 25 years working for the railway in England, Lester and his wife (who is a nurse) returned to Grenada. He was pleased to meet us as he has a cousin who lives in Calgary, and has been to the Rocky Mountains. Lester makes a great hamburger - and compared to the 'tourist' places in Grand Anse and St.George, it was quite cheap. He also keeps his Coke in a freezer that doesn't actually freeze anything, but keeps it ice cold! I also discovered a new favorite drink - while we were learing about cricket and chatting about custard & apple pie, some history of Grenada and Lester's days of being somewhat of a local football and cricket champion, I also leaned Lester likes a Shandy. I asked for one  - and was pleasantly surprised when he poured me one that was made with Sorrel - very similar to Cream Soda - which you can also make a Shandy with. Who knew? About 9pm we decided we better head down Island to Woburn - about 20 minutes - as we had a full day planned for Saturday - including the farmers' market in St.George.

The Homestead Bar - I love the bright colors!

I knew it wouldn't take a whole week...

for us to visit a cocoa plantation.  Barry was anxious to do his research and finally be able to back up his claim that chocolate is one of the food groups. He was a bit mistaken  - cocoa is a fruit - not a vegie!

We travelled up island to the Belmont Plantation - and had a great tour. We started inside, where the farmers bring in bags and buckets of the cocoa seeds every other Wednesday. In the fields, they pick the pods and with their machetes, cut the top off and pull out the string of seeds, as Barry is demonstating below.

After each farmer puts his harvest into a flat to drain, the beans are weighed and then he is paid. Then the beans are put into pens - similar to a compost bin with removal sides. The beans are aged there for 7 days and every two days, they are turned, as our tour guide shows below.

After 7 days, the beans are taken to drying racks outside. Once there, the staff walks on the beans every 1/2 hour throughout the day - and at night - if the weather is bad, they are covered. The beans stay on the drying rack for a week until they are dry and brown.  I had a chance to 'walk on the beans' - and it was pretty cool!

 

Once the beans are dry, they are send to chocolate companies, who process the beans. The beans from this plantation go to the Grenada Chocolate Company (incredible Nutmeg Truffle!!), Lindt in Switzerland, and a company in the US. I think Rancho Vignola needs to check this out!

Beans used to be polished before being exported, but they no longer are. On special occassions, a demonstration of 'dancing on the beans' is given - which is actually dancing on the beans. After our tour, we enjoyed a cup of cocoa tea (even Barry!) which turns out to be Grenadian hot chocolate. They use a special chocolate ball - which I have a supply of now to bring home so you all can taste it!

We also checked out the goat dairy, turtle pen, parrots and plant nursery while we were there. Lu is the gardener - and knew so much about the plants. It was amazing to see plants we can only grow indoors growing outdoors - and growing so big!

We ended our tour with a visit to the Grenada Chocolate Company - and in support of local farmers, had to force ourselves to enjoy a few chocolate treats!



Beach Bums - for a day anyways!

After getting the car on Tuesday and figuring out the road and the layout of Grenada, we decided that Wednesday should be our first official beach day.

We have visited two other beaches for a walk about - Grand Anse on Sunday and Hope beach on Tuesday. Grand Anse is on the Caribbean, and Hope is on the Atlantic.



Morne Rouge looking to the left

For our first official beach day, we decided to try Magazine and Morne Rouge. Magazine was nice, but a steep drop off from the beach to the ocean - and lots of coral close to the beach. We are going back there on Sunday for the traditional BBQ at the Aquarium.


Morne Rouge Beach - looking to the right

We both decided that we loved Morne Rouge - it is in a sheltered bay - so very calm and gradually gets deeper - the best part - I think there might have beeen 25 people on the whole beach! We rented beach chairs - but will rent them from a different place next time - there is a beach bar where you get the chairs for nothing if you purchase any drink - even coke!

driving British style

We rented a 2 dr Suzuki 4x4 run about .... not sure what they call it here.  We got tired of being hosed by the taxi drivers  The buses are mini vans and they load them up so people are sitting on knees of other passengers if it is at a busy pick-up location.  The drivers drive them like they stole them. They scare the hell out of you.  Any way I found that I had to really concentrate on remembering to drive in the opposite lane.  There were only a couple of times I had to be reminded by the blaring of horns from the oncoming drivers.  They have a lot of traffic circles here too, which are fun to navigate.   I've used the winshield wipers several times when I am signalling turns.  You se e, they have the windshield wiper blades on the left side of the steering column and the signal light switch and dimmer lights together on the right side of the column. The drivers here will stop anytime and anywhere on the travel portion of the road to talk to someone or to jump out and run into a store or just to park whether there is room or not.  The motoring public therefore have to manoeuver around them.  But you have to toot your horn to let everyone know what you are doing.  If someone comes up behind you and they want to pass they will toot their horn and pass.... whether it is on  blind corner or school zone or whatever - the passee's job is to brake hard to ensure there is no head on collisions.  From what I can tell there are no speed limits or rules of the road except you should not be colliding with each other.  They do have speed bumps stratigically located through out the island.  Some times they have warning signs and sometimes not.  If you were to hit any of these speed bumps with any speed you can get all 4 wheels off the ground. Patti is doing a fabulous job of navigating as I don't have time to read signs or anything else.  So far she hasn't fainted with fright but she has been there to remind me when I stray back to Canadian driving rules. Street signs here are a rare breed.  You never know what road you are on unless you have a map. We some how joined up with a funeral procession in Grenville.  The hearst is equipped with massive speakers on the roof and church music is blaring out of it.  They must do that to make sure the passenger is dead because the music is almost loud enough to wake the dead.  The funeral procession was led by a Police motorcycle escourt.  It didn't help much though because we ended up in a traffic snarl in the downtown core of Grenville.  It was hard to manouver around all the vehicles that were parked (abandoned) in the roadway. It was an experience. All in all it was a good day - we circumvented the Island and got home without any bent metal. (Tuesday Feb 8)

Happy Independence Day Grenada!

From the excitement and all the hoopla on the island, you would think Grenada was celebrating 200 years of independence not 37!

All over, businesses and homes were showing their colors - banners and flags - handmade signs - all sorts of decorations. And the Grenadians didn't stop there - from babies to seniors - everyone was wearing their colors - some from head to toe as you can see in the photos.

The parade was interesting - no floats - just groups - the Royal Grenadian Police, Venezuelan Army and Navy, Girl Scouts, Red Cross, Boy Scouts, Pathfinders, Cadets, Farmers, and school children. The police had the only band - which was very good - and also had a motorcycle patrol.

The guy on the stilts was great - it was really really windy - and the crowd was amazed he didn't loose his balance. Once he had to make his way over to a flag pole - where he hung on while a rainstorm passed over.

As with any country's celebration - we also listened to the dignitaries - in this case, the Governor General and the Prime Minister. And like most politicians, they talked way too long!

We didn't stay until the fireworks - as it had been a long day - and headed back to Woburn from the National Stadium about 5pm. We stopped for supper in Grand Anse - and then it was home to relax and get ready for another day!

We're here!

After 32 hours of travelling - we are here! Our flights were great, we made great time due to a couple of tailwinds, and our luggage even made it through the transfers!!

A bit of a wait in customs - our Caribeean Airline flight arrived about the same time as two British Airways flights - so lots of people. But the customs folks were great - it took us about 3 minutes at the window and we were on our way.

Our host Yvonne picked us up and we arrived at our 'home-away-from-home' in good time. We saw lots of locals out walking and chatting to each other on the road and in their yards - as well as at the 'snackettes' - kind of a roadside concession/neighborhood pub. Yvonne said they were 'limin' ' which is basically visiting with your friends and family. This might be our new favortie saying!

Today, Yvonne took us into Grand Anse - where we walked the beach and took in the last day of the sailing regatta. As it is Sunday, some shops were closed - so not too much shopping - except for a great new 'tropical' shirt for Barry.  We ate lunch at a little concession right beside Esther's Bar. Apparently, the restaurants work with the beach bars - one sells the food, the other the cold drinks. Barry had a burger and fries and I had a traditional fish lunch.



My first Grenada Rum Punch - it needed a little more fruit juice - and it has a secret ingredient - I probably have to go back and see if I can figure out what it is!





Grenada Fish Lunch - Marlin (2 pieces), Macaroni pie, rice and peas, 'provisions' (spinach, pumpkin, plantain), fruit salad (with bread fruit and carrots) and a little green salad. It was very good - couldn't eat it all. $18 EC - which is about $7 Canadian. I hadn't had marlin before - it was  very good - very dense - much like a chicken breast.

After we ate, we headed to Spiceland 'mall' and went grocery shopping at the IGA - that was fun! Some interesting products there, and lots of familar items - my favorite? There were 6 different types of Wheatabix cereal! Barry's favorite - coke and coke zero  - it even states on the label - proudly produced in Grenada!

After that we headed back to Woburn for a cold drink, a nap - and then Barry made dinner. And now, I am going to say goodnight - and try to beat Barry at crib - before heading to bed. Tomorrow is Grenada's Independence Day - and I love a parade!!





Just where is Grenada?

Since we have started telling people we are going to Grenada, there are usually two questions - one is 'where is it', and the second 'why Grenada?'

...only three more sleeps!!

Here is a map showing where Grenada is in the Caribbean - as for the why - it's quiet, lots of beaches, friendly people, safe, good currency exchange and it is warm! What else would you want?!