St. Lucia 2012

 Monday 30 January – Saturday 4 February

We had a decent motor sail up from Bequia to St. Lucia. The short distance between Bequia & St Vincent the winds were as predicted 20 – 25 with gusts up to 30 so we were double reefed on main & genoa sails, seas 6-8 feet with a lot of 10 footers thrown in. We were not pounding into the waves as they were 20° off the bow but still lots of water & spray over the boat. Couldn't keep our sunglasses clean. Once in the lee of St. Vincent the waves were knocked down, winds stayed pretty steady with a few fluky dulls or gusts. Approaching the north end of St. Vincent the waves began to increase again but they were only 4-6 footers making the 30 miles in open water up to St. Lucia a little better. Not the smoothest sail but not that rough, we made good timing so went all the way up to Rodney Bay on the north end of St Lucia and were anchored in Rodney Bay by 4. Steve had read an article in practical sailor about equalizing AGM batteries so he decided we should go into the marina for a couple of days so we could hook up to shore power and do a full equalization of the batteries. Tuesday morning after listening to the cruisers net we go into the marina. We had announced our arrival, during the nets they have a section for boats arriving and leaving, and afterward friends Maria & Maurice from Cattiva, whom we had met down in Trinidad and again in Grenada called us and said they were here in the anchorage also. They were leaving the next day to head back to Trinidad for Carnival so we made plans to meet for lunch at 1. Lunch lasted till 4:30, so we got back to the boat put the dinghy in the water and went over to the grocery store. Even though we are in the marina it is easier & shorter to go to the grocery store by dinghy instead of taxi or bus. Just have time to go to the one store, picking up a few things then back to the boat as the sun is setting. That evening Steve gets everything ready to do the equalization, as he plans to do it overnight , getting up every hour to check that all is okay. Shut everything down at midnight, and start the process. Left a lantern on and had flashlights close by, Steve set his watch and went to bed, getting up every hour through the night to ensure the batteries are not overheating or voltages too high. All went well.   Wednesday morning out on the dock we run in to Horst & Shariffa from Sunbourne again, they are here awaiting guests arrival the following day so we make plans to meet for dinner later. There is a ladies luncheon that afternoon over at the lovely Bay Gardens Beach Resort that I attend. A big group of lady cruisers just getting a little time off the boats away from the men. After lunch we can swim in the nice pool but it clouded up & rained a little so I just put my feet in and still felt cold but a lot of the others went in swimming. Back to the marina and relax a little after the drinks from lunch. Go to dinner that night with Shariffa & Horst, they have some fabulous restaurants on St. Lucia and the ones by the marina are pretty good and VERY convenient so we eat at one close by the marina. Thursday we leave the dock around noon, go back out and anchor and have lunch. I had a pedicure and foot massage appointment that afternoon so took the dinghy back in. I made it into the lagoon and heading toward the marina the engine dies ! It did sputter & die so my first thought was something to do with the fuel, so 1^st thing I check is the plug connecting the gas can to the motor but it's connected. Mean while the winds are blowing 20 knots so I am drifting, luckily towards shore and I wind up against the dock of a beautiful home. Also had an anchor in the dinghy so if I had been drifting out to sea I would have thrown that out. Open the gas can and see its empty ! Call Steve on the hand held VFH radio I was carrying with me, I knew we had some gas in the internal tank but I did not know how to switch it over. Steve could not believe we were out of gas since we had just filled it in Bequia but I assured him the tank was empty and he told me how to switch over tanks – just a little lever on the side. We will check the gas can a lot more frequently from now on you can bet on that. Still make it in time for my foot massage & pedicure. Later back on the boat fill up the gas tank from the extra tank on board. Friday we had made arrangements to go up to the rain forest to finally do a zip line. One thing we have learned that if you want to do any kind of island excursion to call and make sure there is NOT a cruise ship in town as then the places you might be going to get too crowded. So we are being picked up at 8:20, as I am getting out of the dinghy at the dinghy dock it floats away from the dock and I loose my footing and into the water I go !! Steve pulls me out but I am soaked from the chest down, with not enough time to go back to the boat to change. As we go around front to the parking / pick up area I am trying to stand in the sun thinking maybe I can dry out a little. Then I see a little gift shop store & tell Steve I am going to look in there to see if they have a pair of shorts I can buy. I was worried that they would not let me in since I was still dripping but they were very sympathetic and said I could try them on and gave me a roll of paper towels to dry off with. I wound up buying a pair of $20 men’s swim shorts since I did not want to spend $50 for the ladies shorts. Not the most fashionable outfit I have ever worn but they were dry & got me through the day. A group of 6 in our van for the 45 minute ride up to the rain forest, where we joined 3 others. They split us into 2 groups 4 & 5 and told us about how crazy busy it was the day before when the cruise ship was in. After gearing up, an explanation and practice run we take the 40 minute tram ride up 1200 feet. As we go higher into the different levels of the rain forest our two guides are giving us insights about the different trees and plants. Moving into higher grounds you go from silence to sounds of birds. Off at the top, and a short hike down to the 1^st platform, The group of 5 goes 1^st then our group of 4 each group with 2 guides. One at a time we get hooked on and go flying through the trees, from platform to platform. This one is in a U formation so the distance and slope between platforms is not very long or steep. Just a fun ride through the tops of the trees. They do have a more extreme version, and this same company has sites on different islands through out the Caribbean so maybe next time. After the last platform a little hike back up to the tram station for the ride back down. Seeing the island through a bird's eye view is breathtaking. Complementary rum punch at the gift shop and back in the taxi for the ride back to the marina. So what started as not such a good day turned out to be a wonderful time. Weather is looking good so we will be heading up to Martinique Saturday morning.

link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/StLucia2?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPjkhcj8-YvTQQ&feat=directlink

Bequia

Friday 13 January – Monday 30 January

We are anchored on the north side of Admiralty Bay almost in the exact same location as we were back in July when we were heading south. It is SOOOO nice to be in a calm anchorage. NO rolling back & forth, just a little when the ferry goes by. Christmas winds are still with us so plenty of breeze to keep us & the boat cool. All the restaurants are open and the streets are full of fruit & veggie vendors, and what a marvelous selection they have. It feels like a different island “in season” then it did in the summer “off season”. It is fun to get off the boat and just walk around “town” picking up the veggies we will need for that nights dinner or checking on the specials of the different restaurants to see if anything appeals. Living on a boat we just go to town to walk :). Several boats we knew from Grenada are already here and we get together with them again. Later the following week we see Sunbourne ,whom we had met down in Trinidad, come into the anchorage. The next day we go by and say HI and visit. Steve & I wanted to take an Island tour, and even though Shariffa & Horst have been to Bequia several times and done an Island tour they are up to going on another with us. Linda & John from Cool Cat had done one and recommended a taxi driver so we found him and booked an outing for Friday morning. Bequia is a beautiful island and it is always fun seeing the different areas away from where we anchor. The highlight of the tour is the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary, where Mr King takes care of Hawksbill turtles. He dedicates his time taking care of baby and young turtles until they can fend for themselves out in open waters. A few injured ones that can not fend for themselves he keeps there. It is a really wonderful set up to help increase the turtle population. Back to town for a late lunch enjoying the view of our boats out in the anchorage. Nothing had broken or had to be fixed in a while so we knew it was just a matter of time. On Thursday our dinghy motor started acting up !! Steve tried to fix with no luck. Friday we got a ride in with Sunbourne for the island tour, then that afternoon Steve cleaned the carburetor AGAIN but it still kept stalling out. We found the # for the local outboard motor specialist Kerry and called him, he says he can make it out in an hour. He had been working on another boat, when he finished that guy dropped him off at our boat. We all asked how he was going to get back to shore and he just patted our dinghy and smiled – confidant that he could fix it – and he did. Steve learned a new thing to check if the outboard acts up, seems the float valve was letting too much fuel in and flooding it so just a tiny adjustment and shes working fine again. On Sunday Steve's computer was locked up and he was trying to do everything he could to get it started to no avail. He gets on the VHF radio to call around to see if there is a place that works on computers on Bequia thinking he would need to bring it in to get fixed on Monday. After many attempts he was finally able to restore to the last back up the week before so just missed a little of info that he was able to go back in and recreate. Then the generator water pump belt broke, which would not be such a big deal as we have plenty of spare belts. But the problem was caused by the generators alternator bearings being shot and seizing up the alternator so it would not turn the belt. So now a little problem is a big problem. Run into town for a late lunch stopping by Sunbourne on the way back to tell them of our new problem. They point out a boat behind them and say to go talk to him as he has a shop and is known as Mr Fix It. We stop by and Steve explains our problem thinking it can not be rebuilt but he says he can fix it and tells Steve where his shop is and to bring it by in the morning. So by Monday morning 2 of the 3 problems have been resolved and we are hoping the 3^rd one gets fixed as fast. Mr Fix It orders some bearings from St. Vincent and they arrive on the Tuesday morning ferry as we are boarding for a day trip over to St. Vincent, Mr Fix It is there getting his package with our bearings to re build the alternator. So Steve & I head out on the hour ferry ride over to the main island of the Grenadines St. Vincent. As soon as you walk off , no actually one taxi driver was walking on to the ferry asking if you needed a ride. We must have said no 50 times in the first 30 minutes we were there. We just wanted to walk around the town of Kingstown and see what the “big” city was like compared to the little towns on the smaller islands. Turns out to be just a lot more of the same, fruit & veggie stands & markets every where. We later asked who eats all this stuff, looked like way too much for that size town. We were told that when the locals get off work they go by all the different stands and pick up what they need, we still think a lot must go bad before it can be bought. We did find Steve a new cup, he has a favorite that had broken and rather then use a different one he just kept gluing that one back together. Now I got to throw it away :). After walking around town and having lunch we did find a taxi driver who took us up to the fort which gives the most stunning view of Kingstown and the harbour. Part of the OLD fort is still used as a woman’s prison, the guide did say their part has been updated compared to the old section we saw. Then we went to the Botanical Gardens and walked around the beautiful grounds, then up to Belmont Lookout overlooking the Mesopotamia Valley, known for its fertile soil where many of the wonderful crops grown on St. Vincent come from, another stunning view. Back in the taxi and back to the ferry dock to catch the 4 pm ride back to Bequia. A couple of days later walking down main street we run into Jan & Larry from Sea Bear whom we had met in Grenada. They are also here for the music festival and meet up later for pizza at Mac's. Thursday and Friday afternoon the boats keep pouring into the harbour, luckily it has plenty of room and the north side where we are is not as crowded. Friday night we made arrangements to meet Jan & Larry at 8 pm to take a taxi down to De Reef on lower bay where the festival is being held. Bands started around 9, first 2 were not very good BUT the following acts were great and we had a good time dancing and listening to music until 2 am. Saturday they had 2 events, the afternoon show over in Friendship Bay (east side) at the beautiful Bequia Beach Hotel, and another evening event at De Reef. We had Terrance our helpful taxi guy drop us off about 1 at the Bequia Beach Hotel and the music was already playing. We found a spot on the grass in the shade and spread out our towels and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon listening to music. We wore bathing suits as the event was right on the beach but it was pretty rough, the waves crashing on shore – not too many people went swimming. Jan & I did manage a little dip in the hotel pool. In addition to selling alcohol drinks, the Mount Gay Rum ladies were there roaming the crowd pouring shots – as many as you wanted. They also had a table set up in case you wanted a little ice or juice to go with your rum. Had to pace ourselves as we still had the concert to go to later in the evening. Back to the boats around 4:30 and told Terrance to pick us up at 8:30 giving us a little time to clean up and get ready for the night. We knew Saturday night was the bigger event but were very surprised when we had to be dropped off down the street as it was already getting crowded and the music was playing. The main room was already almost wall to wall people. Where the night before they had tables & chairs set along the outskirts tonight all tables & chairs were removed and put on the beach. Both nights they also had a huge screen outside visible to a large area for people to see. Steve & I were lucky and grabbed 2 chairs outside in the 3^rd row, later moved up to the front row right in front of the screen & behind the stage. So we were able to watch the bands on stage and also the backstage area where the musicians came off stage and watch all the people coming in, many decked out all dressed up. Later heard 600 people were there, It was another fun night. We left a little earlier and were back to the boat by 1:15. Sunday we were to be picked up at noon, in the dinghy on the way in Steve remembers we need to check out ! As we plan to leave Monday morning. We did not think that customs would be open but as we walk by they are, so Steve goes back to the boat to get our papers and I go meet Jan & Larry to take the taxi back to De Reef for the final days concert. We joined another couple who had already gotten a good table (tables & chairs back inside) and enjoyed another fun afternoon listening to music. Steve & I left early around 4 since we had to go back and get the boat ready to leave early the next morning. Bequia is a great little island, plenty of good restaurants to choose from, great fruits & veggies available, decent shopping (provisioning) , good anchorage, and friendly people, we are glad we got to spend more time here getting to know the island a little better. Next Stop St. Lucia

link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Bequia?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPmiua_UouHm3wE&feat=directlink

Up Island

Tuesday 3 January – Friday 13 January

Our early morning departure from Grenada is delayed slightly by the morning rain, but by 8 the clouds have moved past and we once again leave Prickly Bay.  Motor sailing into the winds and waves which as we travel up the west coast of Grenada are not too bad. As we near the north end of the Island the waves increase, giving us warning it will be a bouncy ride. As we clear the lee of Grenada and get the full force of the waves, they slow the boat to a crawl, just 3 knots. At that speed we're looking at 6 hours to get to Union Island, so we unfurl the jib and alter course to fill it. Now we're doing 7 knots under sail and motor, and not bashing so much into the waves, but its still a rough ride up to Union island, and we'll have to tack our way up. It doesn't look like we'll make it to Clifton where we have to clear customs, so we change plans and go to Chatham Bay to rest in a nice quiet peaceful anchorage overnight before going to clear in. Wednesday we take our time in the morning going over to check out a ship wreck on the rocks that was not here 2 months ago when we were here. It is always very unnerving to see something like this. We did not go ashore to ask about what happened but one of the mooring balls top ring was broken so it is very likely that the boat broke off the mooring and crashed onto the rocks on shore. We leave Chatham Bay and go around the south end of the island to Clifton Harbour and go into town to clear into the Grenadines. Walk around a little, pick up a few vegetables and have lunch on shore before leaving and head over to the Tobago Cays. The anchorages in the Tobago cays are a lot more crowded than during the summer when we were heading south but it is still a beautiful anchorage. The 5 little uninhabited islands are part of a protected marine park and the water is just beautiful. We enjoy 3 days here just hanging out looking out over turquoise water surrounding us and swimming with the turtles again. Very calming and peaceful watching boats come and go. By Saturday late morning when we left the place was almost empty as all the charter boats were gone, back to turn in their boats and the next weeks visitors had not arrived yet. A short sail over to Canouan, lunch on board then a walk around part of the Island, still not much here but we are in season now so more boats every where. On our way south we would be lucky to see another boat out sailing but now we see boats of all shapes & sizes going in every direction. The anchorage in Canouan becomes rolly with the north winds & waves, so our 1^st afternoon & night there is not very comfortable. It is one thing to have to hold on to hand holds under way but when we are at anchor we prefer not to have to hold on while walking around the boat. The next morning we find another spot to anchor tucked up in the north corner of the bay in front of the mooring field close to shore where we are blocked from most of the swells. Tuesday we sail over to the island of Mustique, where moorings when available are required so we pick one up. This island is privately owned and they maintain their moorings very well, we still dive to check it and just to swim in the beautiful water. We had heard that this anchorage can get rolly, and we can attest to that fact as it was by far the most rolly anchorage we have ever been in. We are here for 3 days, they set it up so you pay for one expensive nights mooring then get 2 nights “free”. The island has about 90 holiday homes for the rich & famous that can also be rented out for between $20,000.00 and $100,000.00 a WEEK , but that price includes a car and of course a full staff which for some of the homes is more than how many guests it can accommodate. There are also 2 hotels on the island that have slightly better rates, and the small village for the 250 locals plus between 800 – 1000 workers from St Vincent or one of the other Grenadine islands. Beautiful beaches and landscaping make it a unique experience. They have some nice walking trails and all the poisonous Manchineel trees are painted with a red warning stripe- a sure sign you are on an island that caters to the rich. We go into Basil's Bar for the popular Wednesday night BBQ buffet with live music. Over priced but a fun evening of dining and dancing. After 3 days of rocking on the mooring we are glad to be leaving and heading over to Bequia. We are under way by 10 just before the rain moves over the island. We have a great sail over to Bequia with the wind and waves just aft of the beam for most of the trip, a reef in both sails doing 9 – 10 knots. Turning east for the last leg of the trip into the bay the island acts as a shelter so the waves we head into are small. We are anchored by noon in the calm waters of Admiralty Bay in Bequia. We will hang out here in Bequia until the end of the month to attend the Mount Gay Music Fest.

link to pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/UpIsland?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLPX4avclandlgE&feat=directlink

Grenada Once Again

Tuesday 13 December – Tuesday 3 January 2012

Once back in the cleaner water of Grenada, Steve went in to check on the bottom paint job. He really wanted to do it in Trinidad before we left BUT the water in that area was just too dirty to think about going in. The paint on the keel was already peeling off !!!! NOT GOOD. Steve sent an email to Peaks, the yard where we had the work done, and told them of the problem and that we were already up in Grenada. He suggested that we have Spice Island Marina take care of the repair here in Grenada and received an immediate response saying YES to talk to the owner of Spice Island and they (Peaks) would cover the cost. So where we were not thrilled about having to be hauled out again, we were very happy that Peaks owned up to being responsible for the cost. Steve thinks that since the keel had to be sanded down and primed, that either the primer paint was bad OR the timing of applying the primer and the anti fouling paint was wrong. In the end the yard here in Grenada did an excellent job of re-sanding the keel and re-painting. They also found a problem with the rudder that was missed down in Trinidad and could have been cause for a major problem if it was not addressed. So we were very grateful of having that problem fixed as well.

We have spent the most time in Grenada than any other place since leaving Texas almost two years ago, so it is with mixed feelings that we prepare to leave (again). After 4 months, Grenada feels like home BUT it is time to move on again. We enjoyed coming back seeing old friends and meeting new, spending the Christmas & New Years Holiday with people we knew while missing family back home. The weather this time of year has been great. Grenada is at the end of its wet season, still get daily showers but they are not as long or intense as during the summer, and the humidity has been much lower. The trade winds are back so it actually feels cool at night out in the anchorage. Walks around the Island are so pleasant with flowers in bloom and only having to carry one small bottle of water without fear of dehydration. Swimming in the bay still comfortable and refreshing. The new year 2012 will be a time for more exploring, of some familiar Islands where we stopped briefly on the way down and some new ones we missed. The adventure continues :) starting with the Grenadines as we leave Grenada on Tuesday January 3.

Just a few pictures:   https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Grenada2?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMSK8qSt4rOumQE&feat=directlink

Trinidad

Thursday 17 November – Monday 12 December

Warning this is a long update with a lot of pictures :)

We SLOWLY leave Prickly Bay at 8 PM Wednesday night. Even though we knew where the boats between us and the “exit” were after checking it out in the daylight, once it was DARK it sure looked different ! I am on the bow with flashlights to light up the few boats we need to pass, holding on as we start to ride the swells coming in. Get the anchor secured and back into the cockpit to set the sails. Wind is blowing 20 + knots so the genoa (head sail) is triple reefed and double reefed in the main sail, and still making 8 + knots of speed with 6 ft. waves on the beam. We have a great ride down to Trinidad hitting a top speed of 14 knots riding down a wave. We are docked at Crews Inn Marina in Chaguaramas Bay (sha-ger-rah-mus) by 9 Thursday morning. Checking into customs & immigration, located right next to the marina, takes a while. NO problems just slow, duplicate info. on different forms that have several copies with carbon paper to use so you have to be sure to press hard to go through to all the copies. Then it has to be looked over, separated, and stamped so about 2 hours later we are cleared in. Lunch on board, free water here so boat gets a good scrubbing. They have a cruisers net on the VHF radio here also, but we could not hear all of it as we were approaching the bay with the hills between us. But we see another boat we know (Fox Sea) in the marina so we get caught up from them. Tonight happens to be a cruisers pot luck here at our marina, so after a look around to see what is nearby, and a swim in the pool we get ready to see what we can do for dinner. Just as it time to go out we have a huge downpour, so we dine on board and call it an early night. Friday we hear on the cruisers net about a recovered lost dinghy MINUS the 15 hp engine out in the nearby anchorage. This is a huge problem here if you do not raise your dinghy up out of the water at night the chance of it getting stolen is very good. They do not really want the dinghy just the outboard motor (15 HP +), so if they don't sink the dinghy someone might find it. This owner does not have the means to raise the hard bottom dinghy so is looking to trade for a soft / inflatable dinghy that he can lift onto his boat. Steve thinks this might be an opportunity for us as we are in the market for a hard bottom dink. So he calls the guy to set up a meeting time, he is on the hard in one of the yards so comes by to look at our dinghy and is working on a way to get out to the boat that recovered his so we can look at it. (He had lent his dinghy to a friend out in the anchorage the night it was stolen). Friday afternoon we visit a couple of the boat yards to get info. on getting hauled out in a weeks time, visiting the chandleries and shops & restaurants along the way to see what is available. Chaguaramas Bay is part of a national park in the far northeast corner of the island. No real development EXCEPT the boat yards and related facilities, with a few restaurants scattered amongst the boat yards and a couple of small grocery stores. A great place for boat work but pretty isolated from town. Once back at our boat we talk to our neighbor who is also getting hauled out and has the same boat as ours. He informs us that Peaks travel lift is big enough so you do not need to remove the backstay or forestay, which is a big hassle, so easy decision now, we will go to Peaks to get hauled out. Saturday we put the dinghy in the water to go back over to finalize the dates and contract with the boatyard. Then go by another boatyard to pick up Alex, the guy with the hard bottom dinghy to trade. In Trinidad boaters are NOT allowed to sell things to each other, but we are allowed to barter or trade, that is why we are thinking about trading our dinghy for this other one. Pick up Alex then go out into the anchorage looking for the boat that found his dinghy. Tow it back to the boatyard dinghy dock, where we transfer our motor to it so we can take it for a spin to see how it does. The dinghy is not in as good a shape as we had hoped and it is smaller then ours so we are thinking that now it might not be such a good trade. With our small 5 hp engine this heavier dinghy goes even slower then ours. Back to the dinghy dock and Steve talks to another boater that has an 8 hp outboard motor to trade but his is much older then ours so again not such a good deal for us. So after all that we decide to keep our dinghy & motor for now until we get back up to duty-free St. Marten where the price is much lower. Saturday afternoon as we get ready for Sean's visit we have a huge thunderstorm. By the time Sean's plane lands at 10 the rain has long stopped but many streets remain flooded and or blocked by rocks & mud from landslides but the taxi driver gets Sean to the marina. We stay up late talking, catching up and feeding Sean. Steve going through all the things he had ordered and had Sean carry down with him.
Sunday we are up at 6 AM as Steve & Sean will be meeting up with Island Hikers to explore the Yarra River. Make them lunch & snacks to bring with them, back packs with a change of clothes and a dry bag and they are off the boat by 6:30 to catch a taxi / bus into downtown Port of Spain to meet up with Island Hikers to head north to Maracas Bay and the river. This is a non-profit club where members organize and lead trips through the jungle, and invite non-members to participate. Most people travel up by private car, but they've arranged a minivan for people without transportation. The trip up is uneventful for Steve, but Sean gets a little excited at the sheer drop offs to the rocks below on the coast road, and the casual way of driving. After a brief stop at Maracas bay to rendezvous with the other vehicles, they travel another 10 miles or so to the head of the “trail”, which is really not marked at all. The leaders have machetes, and hack their way through the jungle, marking the trail with broken branches pointing the way for those following. Occasionally Steve & Sean get off the trail and have to search around to find it again. About an hour into the hike, it starts raining hard. But the rain forest canopy is so dense it stays dry on the ground for a long time. Eventually it trickles down, and then the path turns to very slippery mud that makes going up or down steep slopes very treacherous, so they start grabbing anything they can to help keep their footing. Unfortunately one of the things Sean grabs has small splinter like thorns that break off and imbed themselves in his hand. Eventually they come to the river and begin wading down it, quickly discovering that its much easier to float than wade since the bottom is a mix of loose gravel, large rocks and sunken tree limbs that are invisible in the brown muddy water and make unsure footing. They said they looked like two drunks stumbling down the shallows. The highlight of the river was supposed to be a gorge that you float through, but when the group got there several went ahead to reconnoiter, and decided the risk of a sudden water rise with all the rain that had fallen was too great, and led the group on a detour around through the jungle. Steve & Sean were disappointed, but still had a good time and were glad they did it. I was glad I did not go, as the footing along the trail and river would not have been good for my bad knee. Meanwhile back at the marina I had a massage, manicure & pedicure. After the hike, Steve & Sean had a long wait in the minivan while the rest of the passengers finished the hike and cleaned up. The driver kept them entertained with a monster sound system he installed in the van, one of those where you can hear and feel the base a quarter mile away. When everyone got loaded up, the driver asked if everyone had all there gear, but with the music Steve though he said something about beer, and replied that he'd kill for one about now. The driver's eyes lit up, and he promised that would be the first stop of three on the way back. After 20 minutes of driving, he pulled over at a roadside grocery, and Steve got out to get a couple of beers for himself and Sean. To his surprise, the driver followed him in and got one for himself. Then they discussed the subject of drink/drive laws in various countries as the driver cradled his beer between his legs and guided the van through the hairpin turns along the coast road. They pulled into Maracas beach for the second stop, to get food at the numerous roadside stands there. Steve & Sean decide to try “Shark & Bake”, a Trini specialty. It consists of a piece of deep fried dough in a flat elliptical shape that they put a piece of breaded deep fried shark on. The rest is up to you – there's a long salad bar style table of toppings like lettuce, tomato, onions, cole slaw, and about a dozen sauces – garlic, cilantro, habanero etc. While they much on the sandwiches with another beer, they enjoy the beach scenery of young girls in bikinis. One outrageously dressed one in fishnet stockings, boots and hot pants turns out to be a guy, that Sean promptly names the “Trini Tranny”. It is 7 pm before they get back, quick showers and dinner at the restaurant here at our marina. It has been 2 long days especially for Sean, I think we manage to get to bed before midnight.
Monday we let Sean sleep in as Steve & I go visit Jesse with Members Only to arrange some tours during Sean's visit. Jesse and his company Members Only provide many wonderful services to the cruising community. From airport runs, scheduled market trips, to assorted day trips around the island. He and his wife Sharon Rose do a fabulous job coordinating group and individual requests to get you around the island to see whatever it is you want to see. We spend the rest of the day doing a few boat things, hauled dinghy on deck to clean & dry out to re-patch our little leak, cloudy day so Steve installed the new controller box for the solar panels that Sean brought down with him.
We give Sean the good news that on Tuesday we will be picked up at 4:30 AM, Sean is less a morning person than I am so the “WTF I am on vacation” look he gives us is priceless. We get all our “stuff” ready Monday night and get a few hours sleep before getting up to meet the taxi to take us to the ferry dock to catch the 6 AM ferry over to Tobago for a days outing. We have opted for this way to see Tobago with Sean as it would be too long of a trip to take our boat for 2 days during Sean's week visit. You have to check in for the ferry an hour before, and much to Steve & my surprise we have to go through security scanners like at the airport. Steve has his backpack with his Leatherman in it and I have my fanny pack with a small 3” Swiss army knife, both considered knives and NOT allowed on board ! They do have a way to check Steve's backpack so he goes to do that, the guy did not want to since it is clearly a carry on piece so Steve had to explain our “knives” all over again. The first of many laughs we will have during the day. The ferry ride over is 2 ½ hours and we are in calm seas, many passengers going over to work (delivery trucks) so they quickly find a spot to sprawl out and go to sleep. A decent food service area and a bar (for return trip) the seats are in dire need of re- upholstery but for the most part pretty comfortable, some with tables. We arrive in the main port town of Scarborough, claim our checked backpack and meet up with Annie our “tour guide” for the day. Bless her heart, she was a substitute for the person Jesse usually uses. Very sweet but she has to be the worst tour guide any of us had ever dealt with. She was in her 60's and grew up on Tobago and spent most of her life there, but just about any question we would ask she would say “well I don't really know”. There were 2 waterfalls we read about in the guide books and were along our route. When we first asked she told us the waterfalls had dried up and were gone due to an earthquake. Well we just looked at each other trying not to laugh out loud, Sean looking at her in disbelief asking seriously ! We drove by a road that WE recognized as leading to one of the water falls so we asked her to pull over so we could ask. Yes the Rainbow waterfall was up that road, Annie had never heard of this one and she use to work up this way. The road was not paved and did have some potholes so Annie went up the road at a snails pace. Annie complained about the condition of the road, stopping to ask everyone she saw if the waterfall was up this road while eating some kind of mystery subway sandwich that she somehow managed not to hit Sean in the face with as she waved her arm around while talking. We should have let Sean out of the car to run ahead to see what was up there, would have been much faster, but we were committed to see it to the end. We did find the McKenna home and restaurant that is the entrance to the falls as it lies on his property BUT no one was home so no guide to take us up. PAINFULLY slow back down the road, this time asking Annie to turn the A/C on since we had NO air flowing through the windows going so slow. Glad to have shown Annie part of her island she did not know about. Next down the road a ways to Roxborough and the Argyle Waterfall. Annie was vaguely familiar with this place. WHY when we told her we were interested in seeing waterfalls she did not mention this one would be along the way and a good place to stop no one could guess. We get there and we go in, pay our small entrance fee and meet up with a guide, Annie stays behind to wait with the car. It is an easy path down to the falls and the guide points out some wildlife and different plants along the way. The trail up to the higher tiers of the falls are not so easy so I stay down below and Steve & Sean climb up. It is beautiful up above and they get to take a massaging shower under the waterfall. As they are climbing back down on the cliff right above the pool where the guide & I have been waiting, they decide to see about jumping down ! As they are looking down to see if it is possible I look at the guide and ask can they do that. He says yes BUT they have to be sure to jump out to miss the rocks sticking out !! I am not convinced as other locals are asking “are they going to jump” ? The guide shaking his head yes as he shrugs, I ask again are you SURE they can do this. We try to yell up to tell them where the better spot is and to tell the to jump OUT so they do not hit the rocks below. They jump and manage not to hit, though Steve comes close (see video). Back down and change into dry clothes, it is 1:30 in the afternoon and we are getting hungry. The park only has snacks so we ask Annie where is a good place to get some good local food. She tells us there is no place up here !!! Again we ask seriously !!! No place to eat up here, well none that she knows about. Looking at the map, she is talking about driving further to loop around the island with no clue as to where we could get food along the way. We are on a limited time schedule that she is aware of, we need to be back to the Ferry by 4- 4:30 to catch the 5 pm ferry back to Trinidad. The route she has in mind looks like it would take too long so we decide to head back the way we came and go down past Scarborough to the beaches by Pigeon Point to see if we can find something to eat before we have to leave. Taking the long way thru town we finally get to Pigeon Point and the 1st place we stop at does not have any curried crab & dumplings a reported best Tobago dish that Steve & Sean wanted to try. Drive a little further and find some small local kiosks set up along a beach. I find some baked chicken and Steve & Sean try the curried crab. They are NOT impressed and it is quite the sight watching them trying to dig out the crab meat with a little plastic spork after cracking the shell with their teeth. Who knew we were supposed to bring our own crab cracking utensils. If not for the messy curry we could have used Steve's leather-man or my Swiss army knife. Back to the ferry terminal say goodby to Annie and go check in, Steve asks where he can check his bag. The lady at the counter looks at him like he is crazy and just points us to the door, there is NO security line to go through on the way back to Trini. I guess people only get knifed on the way over not on the way back ???? We get better seats and buy a bottle of rum & mixers to share on the way back as we play cards and laugh about the events of the day. Sean can say he has been to Trinidad AND Tobago, with Tobago being a once in a lifetime experience we all hope.
Wednesday we have a 9 AM pick up at the marina for a Taste of Trini Tour with Jesse James of Members Only and our group of 12, including Jesse. What a fabulous day this winds up to be, driving around the island stopping at many local places for a taste of some local dishes. This is the list of the different foods we tasted (I did not taste a few); #1 Saltfish buljol; #2 Smoke herring; #3 Coconut bake; #4 Doubles; #5 Buttered cassava; #6 Pelau; #7 Pommerac; #8 Portugals; #9 Chiquitos; #10 Saheena; #11 Aloo pie; #12 Baiganee; #13 Kachourie; #14 Dhal puri roti; #15 Sada roti; #16 Buss-up-shut (a.k.a. paratha roti); #17 Curry chicken; #18 Curry gizzard; #19 Curry goat; #20 Stew beef; #21 Curry mango; #22 Curry pumpkin. #23 Fried aloo; #24 Baigan chokha; #25 Pineapple chow; #26 Phulourie; #27 Pommecythere; #28 Sweet bread; #29 Cassava pone; #30 Red coconut tart; #31 Trini-style Chinese pork; #32 Curry duck; #33 Cocoa bean pulp straight from the pod; #34 Jelly coconut; # 35 Kurma; #36 Barfi; #37 Geera pork; #38 Grilled fish; #39 Green fig salad; #40 Fried sweet potato; #41 Pastelle; #42 Barbecued pigtail; #43 Peanut and other flavours of homemade ice cream; #44 Goolab jamoon. So we got to taste a lot of different foods as well see parts of the island that are off the typical tourist path, accompanied by Jesse’s lively informative commentary of Island history before being dropped back off at 8 PM.
Thursday is Thanksgiving and the cruisers have organized a Turkey pot luck dinner. Zanzibar the restaurant at Peaks boatyard as agreed to cook the turkeys and everyone brings a dish to share. Steve goes over early to help carve the turkeys. It turns out to be a lovely event with plenty of delicious food held under a huge mango tree in the picnic area of the boatyard.
Friday we get picked up by Jesse again as a group of 8 of us head off to see the Asa Wright Nature Center and the Caroni Swamp. Since Jesse is driving we get to stop for doubles for breakfast along the way. Taking some of the same roads and a few different ones we get quizzed on the island facts he talked about the other day and learn more about this part of the island. The nature center is on 200 acres up 1200 feet in the mountains. A beautiful estate from 1907 now housing a museum, and restaurant with a veranda overlooking the property where you can watch all kinds of birds flying around. They do have some overnight lodging for those wanting to explore more of the trails and night critters common to the area. We go on a short guided tour hearing about and seeing some birds, flowers and trees in this beautiful setting. Have a wonderful buffet lunch then are free to walk around a little and or just watch all the birds from the veranda before heading out to travel down the mountain to the Caroni Swamp. We arrive there by 4 to head out on a guided tour by boat into the swamp. We are here to see the national bird the scarlet ibis as they congregate for the night on one of the small mangrove islands out in the swamp. As we head out our guide stops several times to point out other birds as well as a snake, some tiny climbing crabs and a few other wildlife things living in the swamp. Once out there we see the birds flocking to the island, their bright red color standing out against the sky as the sun is setting. They all go to the same island filling the green branches so they now look like they have red flowers all over. An incredible sight to watch. The scarlet ibis fly high in V formation, next the white herons start flocking in flying just above the water, skimming the surface. As they land on the same island they disappear into the trees as they sleep inside. Back to the boat by 7 PM after a wonderful day.
Saturday we take a short day sail over to the island of Chacachacare (shak-a-shak-are-ee) up till the late 1970's this was a large Leper colony run by Dominican nuns. The island & it's buildings have all been abandoned but the ruins of the buildings can be carefully explored and an active manned light house is a short hike up a road. Steve & Sean hike up for the view, and find several mango trees with lots of fruit at the top. The mangoes aren't ripe yet, but Steve picks a few anyway to make a Thai Green Mango Salad. A lot of boats come over for day trips or to anchor for a few days of quiet. We head back by 4:30 and are tied up at the dock by 6, in time for showers, Sean to pack & to get dressed by 7:30 to get picked up for dinner downtown on the way for Sean to catch his overnight flight back to the states. We go to an Indian restaurant called Apsara, and have a great meal to end a great weeks visit with Sean.
Sunday we sleep late after staying up very late watching TV when we got home from dinner. Do Laundry and get the boat ready to get hauled out on Monday.
Monday we are across the way and into the lift slip ready to go by 8. Get hauled out and pressure washed then moved over to our spot and put on stands and the keel rested on blocks. Discuss that the keel needs to be heavily sanded down and primed before it gets painted, the rest of the bottom just a light sanding, and decide to have the sides waxed before they paint. As we checked the bottom Steve noticed that one of the bow thruster props was missing. We had an incident where a rope got caught in it, and Steve checked it shortly afterward, but sometime, somewhere after that it came loose and spun off. So he goes to visit several of the local shops that might have one to no avail. They tell him to check with another shop, so he comes back and calls. They do not have one in stock but can order it and should be able to get it to us before we go back in the water. Go down to the shop to pay for it so there is no delay in the order then we go to the hotel to check in and drop our things off. You can, and most people do, stay on their boats while on the hard in the boatyards. Down here in Trinidad if you are staying on board you also rent an air cooled AC unit to put in one of your hatches to keep things cool and the humidity down. They could not get us an A/C until Thursday and since we would only be there till Friday that was not going to be much good. So with the heat & humidity not to mention mosquito’s if you have to leave hatches open we (I) decided the hotel would be a better option. Not by much, the hotel had lovely grounds and a nice swimming pool and curbside appeal but the rooms were a bit run down. The first room we checked into was very basic, just a bed, no tables or chairs. Strike 1. But it did have an ironing board, so we borrowed a couple of melamine chairs from outside the room and made a makeshift table to put Steve's computer on. They did have WiFi service as advertised, but it was too weak to connect from the room. Strike 2. Then a couple of maintenance guys showed up at the door asking if they could do some testing of our bathroom because there was a leak in the ceiling of the room below. We left them pouring buckets of colored water into the bathtub to try to find the leak. When we came back about 8 that night, tired, hot and sweaty, Steve went in to take a shower, and discovered we had no way to turn the shower on, and no plug for the bathtub. Evidently it was the shower/tub diverter valve that was leaking, and their solution was to just remove it. Steve tried to call housekeeping or the front desk, and found the phone wasn't working. So hot sweaty and grumpy he redressed and went to the front desk to complain. The result was moving us into a suite that actually had a few sticks of furniture at the same price as the other room. We had plenty of hot water for showers and A/C so not too bad for just a few days. A nice little walk back & forth every day, with the boat yard fenced in, the entrance was down the road a little ways. Boat yards are interesting places a lot of coming and going and a lot of work being done, I am amazed at how many people spend weeks and months (some years) living on their boat in the boatyard. But if you need a lot of work done this would be the place to do it as this area has just about any yacht service you could need with knowledgeable people in the trade. They start work on our boat right away, start the polishing that afternoon. Tuesday they finish polishing and sanded and painted the bottom. Wednesday no work on the boat so we go to The Falls Mall in town walking around in the A/C looking at the beautiful Christmas decorations. No hardware store so Steve is disappointed. We know it is almost December but somehow when it is 90° with 100 % humidity it is easy to forget. Wednesday night is a cruisers pot luck dinner at Peaks boatyard that we attend. Thursday they finish the 2nd coat of paint and are done except the 2 spots where the keel is resting on blocks. We still do not have the prop for the bow thruster. Steve has been calling the guy several times to check on the status of where it is and if it has cleared customs but no definite answer as to when it will be here. Steve explains how much harder it will be to put on once we are in the water and Ian assures him he is “working it” to get it to us. We are scheduled to go in at 3 on Friday, and while we are away from the boat the neighbor tells us they came by to see if we could be ready to go earlier. We have still not received the bow thruster prop so the last thing we want to do is go earlier. They come and get the neighbor and tell us we will be next. Steve tells them they still have to sand and prime the 2 spots on the keel, they say they will just paint those 2 spots when we are in the lift. Steve says NO WAY, if it is not sanded and primed it will just peel. So a few more heads are consulted and it is decided they will leave us in the travel lift overnight. Keel gets sanded and primed and Steve finishes the painting. In the meantime Steve is on the phone several times with Ian asking where is my prop PLEASE get it to me tonight. Having checked out of the hotel, we are staying on the boat floating in air on the slings of the travel lift. At 10 PM we get a call from Ian and he is entering the boat yard to deliver the prop! Steve gets 2 coats of paint on it and gets it installed very glad to be doing so on land and not underwater. Saturday morning we are back in the water by 9 and back across to Crews Inn marina. Even though we were only in the yard 5 days with limited open windows, dust & dirt still got inside and outside topside was dirty and full of little rust spots from metal floating around the yard and landing on the boat. We spend the rest of that day, and Sunday and part of Monday giving the boat a total scrub down inside & out.
They have several routine shopping trips that they do weekly for the cruisers, we have not been on any so we sign up for several this week. With $1 US = to $6 TT you can get some good deals on things here, and it is a good place to stock up. Not that we have a lot of room to put things to really stock up, it is always an adventure seeing what is available. Tuesday we go to True Value (supermarket) located at Long Circular Mall, so you get to go to both places. Then a stop at Malabar Meats a specialty shop, selling meats & cheeses and other hard to find items. Wednesday we go to Price Mart a big box store like Sams. Some good deals if you can buy huge packages of things. We manage to find a few more things. Thursday they have put together a trip down to Charlotte Street downtown Port of Spain. A very interesting place, all kinds of strange little shops selling anything you can think of with street vendors set up in front, on the street, selling more things you don't need. A bit overwhelming for our taste, I would rather pay 2X as much than have to rummage through all the clutter trying to find what it is you are looking for. But it is a scene to be seen. This is NOT a tourist area, so none of the hassle of vendors trying to sell you souvenirs. Shop keepers very nice asking if they can help you find something. Some GREAT fabric stores, a lot of cruisers come down here to buy fabric then make or have someone make what they need. IF we were going to be here longer OR had more time we could shop for material to redo our salon cushions which will be our next big project on our to-do list. Thursday evening we get to attend another pot luck dinner held here at our marina and we have a big group show up as the weather is beautiful. Friday evening is a charity event put on by YSATT (Yacht Services Association of Trinidad & Tobago). YSATT is a non-profit organization helping the yachting community, individuals and business, deal with the government and maintaining fair standards. A small entry fee gets you in and you buy chits to buy food the local business have donated, all going to help the poor have a little better Christmas. Another fun event where we get to meet more fellow cruisers and sample more Trini food. Saturday morning we are up bright and early to catch the 6:30 AM ride into town to go to the town market. Where they sell fruits, veggies, fish, and any & all parts of beef, pork, and poultry. Again NOT a tourist destination so no pressure to buy this or that. Just one of those places you have to see and experience as the locals do. Saturday evening we go to see the Silver Stars Steel Orchestra T&T's champion steel band. The steel pan being the only instrument invented in the 20th century and right here in Trinidad & Tobago. This band was started 60 years ago by a group of high school kids, and many of its members are high school kids today. They are truly a gifted group of young & old musicians and it is unbelievable all the different sounds they get from the different types of steel drums. All the different steel bands have their own “pan yards” where they practice and perform. We were told it is an outside venue so were thinking out in a field but it is an open partially covered courtyard with adjoining buildings. Towards the back (where we got a table) the acoustics were not the best but once you went up front to the dance floor no distortion and to watch them play was just fabulous. What we saw was just part of the band, maybe 25 pans or so. We're told for the competitions they field up to 140 pans! After their 2nd break a well known Trini singer Denyse Plummer got up to sing. She was great but VERY LOUD, and unfortunately since we came with a group it was time for us to leave before the grand finale. We have a great time experiencing one of Trini's legendary steel pan acts. Sunday we get to experience a different Trini holiday event. We go to see the Lydians Christmas in the Cocoa concert. This takes place at Queen's Hall a very nice preforming arts theater. The Lydian's are one of T&T's best musical organizations and this performance combines some traditional Christmas songs along with non traditional as well as Parang music from Argentina. Another great experience of Trini culture. We have only been here 3 ½ weeks and it is easy to see how this country can get into your blood, it is a very intoxicating culture and we will miss it. 
Monday what we thought would be an easy morning to get ready to head back north to Grenada, turns out to be hectic and unusual. First Steve has the VHF radio off as he is listening to Chris Parker's weather report verifying the weather still looks good for our passage. All of a sudden I hear a lot of voices on the boat next to us and look out and see (white) smoke billowing up from their deck. I yell to Steve that there is a fire on the boat next to us. We get up on deck prepared to move out of the slip, but see that the marina's crew already has the fire under control. It was a frayed wire in the 220 volt system supplying power to the air conditioning that shorted out and ignited foul weather gear stored in a deck locker. Very messy, but not too damaging to the boat. BUT another 10 minutes or so and it would have been terribly serious. A little while later I hear Steve talking to 2 people from the cockpit. Due to the accents of the people I thought it was another couple we had met and were getting ready to leave that day also. I was surprised when Steve called me up top to see a very young German couple Michael 19 years, and Stefanie 18 years old. They are desperately looking for a way out of Trinidad. They flew here a week ago to meet up with another German boater to be crew on his boat. Even though they met him a few times back in Germany things have gone really bad since they arrived and it is not working out. It sounds like an awful situation, so we agree to give them a ride to Grenada. This entails them going to collect all their belongings, then they and their captain meeting us in immigration to sign them off that boat and onto ours. It takes a while but finally gets done, we are away from the marina by 12:30 starting to head for Scotland Bay, realizing we forgot to fuel up so turn around quick stop at fuel dock then continue on to Scotland Bay.
Scotland Bay is a nice little anchorage around the corner from Chaguaramas where we will just anchor and rest a little while before heading out in the evening for our overnight passage to Grenada. We go say hi to 2 other boats we know that came in a little while after us with the same plan to stage there and rest up for the passage. We have dinner and get under way a little after 7. We have current pushing us out but not much wind and it is on the nose so motor sailing to start. The almost full moon starts to rise at 8 and by 8:30 we have plenty of light to see the calm seas. The wind has picked up and at a better angle so we turn the motor off and are sailing 8 + knots with 1-2 ft. seas. A sweet ride all the way to Grenada, except for the little bit we were asked to alter course to go behind a seismic vessel out doing surveys trailing 5 miles of cables. We had to turn west and go down wind, the change of direction causing a sloppy motion for the boat, waking Steve up a few minutes before his shift was to start. We watch the sun rise as we approach and enter Prickly Bay and are anchored by 7. We get a short rain shower to rinse the salt off the boat just in time to listen to the cruisers net and say Hi we are back in Grenada. Michael & Stefanie are still catching up on sleep after helping with watches, when they wake they go for a swim and then start to look online for a place to stay. We have no room or need for crew so they will be getting off Ocean Star here to try to find another boat to crew on. They are a very sweet young couple with a lot of enthusiasm towards their adventure and we wish them all the best. We will spend Christmas here in Grenada before moving on.
Happy Holidays to all, we miss and love you all very much.

link to pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Trinidad?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPWP8cr0mbGx_QE&feat=directlink

Hanging out in Grenada

End of September – middle of November (summary)

WOW !!!! Time really does fly by when you are having fun and living in paradise. As I have mentioned before Grenada is a hurricane season hang out for a LOT of boaters. Each bay and or marina becomes like your neighborhood where you hang out most of the time with occasional visits and or moves to the other bays or marinas for social outings. There are also social outings inland where groups of people go from their various different “home base”. So you are always meeting new people and running into different friends at the many different events. We finally got our arch put on the boat, Nick at Technick in Spice Land Marina did a fabulous job, and we now have solar panels to help keep the batteries topped off. With Hurricane season being over many boats are moving on and many boaters who had their boats on the hard for the season are returning. Some staying awhile and some moving out as soon as they are in the water. So while some friends are moving on we are still meeting new ones or seeing old ones just returning. It is easy to see why Grenada is such a popular place, we have grown very fond of it here and it feels like home. But just like back home in the states you do not always see everything there is to see in your home town or state. So while we did see and do a lot of things, there are some things we missed, but we will be returning again so maybe next time. We got a practice run in leaving last week when several friends from Texas flew in and rented a catamaran for the week. Laura & Rick, Diane & Gary, Terry & Mike, & Paula and Tom we had a great time visiting with you. We sailed up to Carriacou and did 2 dives with them on Monday 11/7. The reefs around there were some of the healthiest reefs we have seen in a long time. No recent hurricane damage like so many of the others we have seen. They wanted to go up to Tobago Cays in the Grenadines which requires checking in & out of the 2 different countries. Since we just renewed our visas for Grenada and would be leaving soon we did not want to go through the process and pay the $ twice, so we stayed a night at Petite Martinique (part of Grenada) and then over to Petit St Vincent and to Chatham Bay on Union Island – both in the Grenadines BUT isolated anchorages that you can spend a night at without checking into the country. Meeting back in Carriacou on Friday for 2 more dives. Spending a couple of nights dinning on board their spacious cat that could easily seat all 10 of us, and dinning ashore a couple of nights with friends Judy & Gordon in Carriacou we had a great week. Reminding us how much fun it is to move around and explore different Islands and anchorages. So now after 3 ½ months we will be leaving Grenada again, temporarily to head down to Trinidad where Sean will come to visit for Thanksgiving.

you may have to copy & paste link ?? looks different this time so not sure how it will come out on blog.

link to pictures;
https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/HangingOutInGrenada?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOycjs-ryoGBBw&feat=directlink

How Steve plays while Alice is away

Thursday, Sept 1 — Took Alice in the dinghy to shore to catch a pre-booked taxi to the airport. We get to the parking lot and no taxi, but the boatyard security guard told us he’d gone to pick up another fare to the airport from the nearby medical college, and would be “right back”. In the islands that can mean anything from a few minutes to a few hours, and after 15 minutes Alice starts getting a bit panicky, calling the taxi on the cellphone from hell that isn’t cooperating. He eventually shows up 20 minutes late, loads up Alice and her luggage, and I wave goodbye. Back to the boat, check the weather on the Internet to see what might be headed our way from Africa. Spend the rest of the day cleaning the hull, various boat projects, Spanish lessons and a little R&R.
 Friday, Sept 2 — Decide to go into St. Georges for some free Jazz at the National Museum. To get there, I dinghy into De Big Fish, a local bar/restaurant, leave my dinghy locked up to their dinghy dock, and walk about ¼ mile to the main road to pick up a bus to St. Georges. Buses in Grenada are a cheap way of getting about. Alice hasn’t described these "buses" in the blog yet, and they’re not like buses most Americans or Europeans would think of so I’ll give it a try.


To start with, they are 12-16 passenger minibuses (vans), not ‘big’ buses. Their capacity is dependent on the size of the people riding, and the determination of the driver and conductor to have a “full” load. Most buses are privately owned, only loosely controlled by the government, embellished with a name, and sometimes with slogans, front, rear, or both. They are colorful and intriguing, And can be rather amusing at times.  Some of the ones I've seen include: Humble they self - Too much ah dem - Nothing yet - My enemy is not necessary - Final Assassin - Scare dem - Bite dem - Celebrate - Take that and push it, Love yourself.     OK, I think you get the idea.  They come in every color under the rainbow, and quite often in rainbow colors.  They do have route numbers, and an abbreviated list of stops on their route on their windshields. But I have yet to find a map that actually shows the routes, information it seems is to be transmitted by word of mouth (You take the #1 bus to this roundabout, then switch to the #2 bus that’s going to this place, make sure you don’t get the #2 to the other place, and so on). And even if they did have a printed route, that would only be a guideline as to how they might wish to travel should they be so inclined. They do not have a timetable. They may or may not stop at a "bus stop". They can sort of be identified by License plate number plate, If it starts with an ‘H’, then it’s a bus or a taxi. (A bus must have a conductor, so if the driver is alone, it is a taxi. Taxis cost more. A lot more.)   So you’re probably getting a bit confused as to how you actually catch a bus in Grenada, what with the confusion of bus styles, names, routes and capriciousness of the operators. You don’t. The bus catches you. All you really need to do is walk down any major road, and you will soon hear a series of short beeps from a horn behind you. That’s a bus, announcing that it sees you, is coming up behind you, and wants to know if you want to get on. It’s amazing the amount of information that can be transmitted in a series of simple toots. This is where the conductor, aka doorman/fare collector comes into play. He’ll be watching you like a hawk watches a rabbit. The slightest twitch, nod or recognition of the buses existence will bring it to an instant halt, on the road’s shoulder if it exists and is convenient, or otherwise in the middle of traffic. The conductor will slide open the door, leap out and wave you in, then jump in behind you and close the door. Where you sit is generally up to you. Most people sit as close as possible to the door, so if the bus is more than half full, you’ll find yourself squeezing past knees, poking your butt in their faces, and trying to cram yourself into a space about ¼ the size of an economy seat on the cheapest airlines. If you’re lucky, you can get a window seat where you’ll have fresh air flow to dry the sweat that erupted all over your body as you entered the van. If you’re real lucky, you might find yourself grinding hips with someone attractive. But forget any attempt at conversation, the noise from the open windows and the van’s engine revving will make that nearly impossible, if the reggae music blaring from the speakers gives it any chance at all.   So now you’re in.  How do you get off?  Be aware of your surroundings.  If you’ve been down the route before and can recognize where you are, just knock (gently) on the roof. Somehow your knock will be heard by the conductor or driver, and you’ll be let off at the next convenient stopping place. If not, talk to the conductor before you get in, or if possible underway. They’re very friendly and patient, and will generally get you where you want to go. As you get out, you pay the conductor 2.50$EC (about 90 cents US).  It’s a flat rate whether you go 1 block or 10 miles.  Or, if you don’t have exact change, pay him enroute, so he doesn’t have to waste time making change when you exit. For double the fare, you can usually get the bus to drop you off at your final destination, if it’s not too far from the main roads, he’s not too busy, and is favorably inclined.


OK, so I made it into St. Georges and to the National Museum (remember how I started this story?) The jazz was in a medium sized room on the second floor, and reminded me very much of the clubs in New York’s Greenwich Village in the ‘70s — jazz, poetry readings, guest performers. They served beer and light snacks from coolers outside the doors. I had a delightful time. The crew from Promise showed up about halfway through, and we went for a Chinese/Grenadian meal a few blocks away afterwards. The menu was extensive, filled with mostly Schezwan dishes with a Grenadian twist, but it was all in “Chinglish”, a literal translation from Chinese into English, and made for very amusing reading. The food was first rate and delicious.  It was moderately late, around 8 or 9 PM, and I was a little concerned about getting a bus back. As I said they have no timetable, but usually start disappearing around this time. But I got lucky and got picked one up right as I left Promise at their dinghy on the quay. The bus was filled with 18-22 year old males, all friends of the driver or conductor, a little tanked up, and looking for excitement. We drove about ½ mile to the bus station, where they all piled out while the driver proceeded to slowly make his way through the station to the exit. When we got there, they all piled in again, but there was an ongoing altercation with another group of young males. Shouting ensued, and they all piled out again to confront the other group. While they were shouting and shoving at each other, the conductor quietly got back in, closed the door, and the driver made another round of the station. This time when we reached the same spot, most of the same group got in again, but with several females. Then we left the station, picked up and dropped off several more people, then pulled to the side of the road near a food stand, where the driver handed some money to the conductor, and he got out to buy some food. We left there and then went to Ace Hardware, which was closed, but the female security guard came out (along with a very large German Sheppard) and picked up the food from the van (delivery service? Wife? Daughter?) Then we proceeded on another mile or so, and I got off for the uneventful walk back to the marina and dinghy to the boat.


Saturday, Sept. 3 — They’ve been announcing the 700th Hash House Harriers run on the morning Cruisers VHF radio net and FB for the past couple of weeks, today’s the day, and I’ve decided to participate, along with hundreds of others. For those unfamiliar with the Hash House Harriers (HHH), they are a group of mostly runners who like to run cross country through fields, forests, streams, and here in Grenada, jungle. They’re world-wide, I first encountered them in Singapore and Thailand, and beer drinking is an integral part of their activities. For more info, Wikipedia has a pretty good writeup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers). For a run, called a hash, a trail is marked with bits of paper, chalk, string, whatever makes sense for the environmental conditions. Then at the starting signal the runners take off with the objective of being the first to finish the trail, or at least not to be the last. It’s not really a race, although there is obviously a certain degree of competitiveness. To help keep that in check, the trail is often laid with forks, dead ends, circles and long unmarked gaps. That way the front runners have to slow down to find the right path, allowing the slower ones to catch up. There are no prizes or scoring, the reward at the end of the trail is knowing you did it, and of course beer, which is consumed in large quantities. Before we started, a call was put out for anyone with new shoes to step forward, or be pushed forward by the crowd. Several were, and they were required to remove one of their shoes and drink a beer from it.   For this historic 700th hash, three trails were laid — one for runners, which was longest and included some cliff climbing with ropes, one for walkers, which was a climb up a stream and steep hill through the jungle; and a “namby pamby” one that was shortest and stayed on roads. I don’t know how many people turned out, but it was a big crowd, too big to count, and even included the Prime Minister of Grenada. Dave and Coleen from Promise were there, and we hooked up together and went with the walking group, which was easily several hundred. We set off at a moderate pace which quickly came to a grinding halt as the first obstacle, a stream was encountered and people slowed down to pick their way across the rocks or find a path through the jungle on the banks. We were in the middle of the group, and finding the trail was not a problem as all we could see was a continuous line of people slowly shuffling their way up the hill. The trail was muddy, and became increasingly slippery as more and more people tore up the trail and the hill became steeper. About half way up the hill, on the steepest part I started to get that peculiar sensation where you feel like you’re back on the boat and the ground is moving in waves beneath your feet.  A little distracting as you’re trying to get purchase with your feet while clinging to rocks, branches, roots, anything you can find to help you. At the top of the hill, we came out onto a paved road, and had an easy downhill stroll for a mile or so back to the start, which was in an open field next to the beach. There was a beer tent, several barbecues selling BBQ chicken and chips, a band and a pretty good party ensued. When most of the participants had made it back, all the “virgins” i.e. first time hashers were rounded up, read a Loss of Virginity proclamation, and sprayed with beer as an initiation rite.
 https://picasaweb.google.com/110539492624695125497/Hash700?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOz3s-a22vvG9AE&feat=directlink


Sunday, Sept. 4 — Decided to walk over to Hog Island to check out the anchorage there, and the approach to the island through the reefs. I understood from the Cruiser’s Net there was a path from Secret Harbor to Hog Island through a bird sanctuary, and remembered we’d seen the entrance to the path on our previous walk from Prickly Bay to Secret Harbor. So I set off early morning on a beautiful day with my GPS to log the route and camera to take pictures, found the path and had a pleasant walk down a wide dirt road through mangroves over to the Hog Island bridge. The bridge is closed, it looks like it was the first phase of development for Hog Island and the project ran out of money and was halted. Someone cut the chain link fence for pedestrian access, so I go through and spend an hour walking around Hog Island on an overgrown road dotted with battered lot markers, seeing if there is a way down to Roger’s beach bar, but having no luck. So I go back across the bridge, meet two French speaking men and a woman walking the other way, greet them, and then a few minutes later as I was passing some bushes a guy wearing a knit mask and waving a machete jumps out of the bush and starts waving the machete very close to my head. At first I thought it was some sort of joke or prank, because he’s not saying anything, just waving the machete around my head. That causes me to crouch and duck, and he grabs onto my backpack and starts pulling on it, trying to get it off my back. At that point I suddenly realize I’m being mugged, and fight back. He slashed the right side backstrap from the backpack with the machete, leaving only the left side. He hasn’t hit me with the machete yet, but keeps slashing it within a inch or so of my head, driving me lower. So I dropped to the ground, circled my arms around his feet, and pulled them out from under him, hoping he’d drop the machete or at least make it more of a fair fight. But no luck, we roll around in the dirt and gravel a bit, but he’s still got a firm grip on the machete and is getting even closer to my head. He slashes the left strap, kicks his feet free, and runs off with my backpack. I consider chasing him, but then consider that he hasn’t really hurt me yet, and wonder how desperate he might get with the machete if I tackle him again, and decide to let it go. He was covered head to toe with mask, long sleeved cotton jersey, jeans and leather work boots, and never said a word during the attack. Identification, should he actually be caught, would be impossible.   So first, obviously I check to see what damage has been done, and find only shallow cuts and scrapes on my arms, bloody, but no where near life threatening. So I look around, and find the GPS, camera and water bottle that were in the mesh side pockets of the backpack & fell out during the struggle, and my sunglasses and visor. What he got away with was the backpack with my wallet containing 300-400$EC (75-100$US), all my credit cards, ATM cards and ID, a recently purchased cell phone worth 169$EC with 97$EC prepaid credit, and a Swiss army knife and Leatherman tool. I put a waypoint into the GPS to mark the time (11:45 AM) and location of the mugging.   I’m about a mile from any sort of civilization, and there’s no one around, so I start walking back to Secret Harbor, the first place I can think of where I can find a phone to call the police. The road branches, with one going west, and the other south to Secret Harbor. Shortly after turning onto the south road, I run into a Grenadian guy carrying a machete with two dogs trailing him. I ask if he’s seen anyone running down the road, explaining I’d just been mugged. He’s very sympathetic seeing my bloody arms, but hadn’t seen anyone, so I guess the guy took the other branch, or more likely ran into the mangroves to hide for a while.   When I got to the Secret Harbor Marina, they and the cruisers there were very helpful, calling the police, and getting one of the cruisers who was a doctor to treat my wounds. The police took about 1 ½ hours to arrive, but that was because they had fielded a team of 6 officers with two cars to look for the assailant on their way there, based on my telephoned description. They picked me up and we revisited the crime scene, stopping several times at houses along the road to ask if anyone had seen anything. I used my GPS to pinpoint the location, and they observed the broken branches and trampled grass where he’d been hiding, but there was nothing they could do with it, so we went back to their station to give a report. That took a long time because there were many more demands on their time when we got there, but eventually it got done, and they drove me back to the marina where I’d left the dinghy.


By this time it was around 5 PM, and I hadn’t had anything to eat all day, but plenty of water — I guess adrenaline kills the appetite, but makes you really thirsty. So I wolfed down some leftovers and a couple of beers, then called Alice to give her the news. By then it was dark, but I dove into the water to rinse off the sweat and dirt of the day, and was delighted to find bioluminescence. I had a sparkley cooling off swim, and then got on the Internet to start canceling credit cards and ordering new ones. I was lucky to have Alice in the US where I could get the replacements easily sent
https://picasaweb.google.com/110539492624695125497/HogIsland?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPm97_Wgi6q7Sg&feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/110539492624695125497/ArmedRobbery?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOLPw9697Pa66AE&feat=directlink


Monday, Sept. 5 – Make an announcement about the mugging on the morning VHF Cruisers Net, then take the dinghy in to talk to Nick, the guy who's going to be building an arch for Ocean Star. He was going to call me on Tuesday to come pick him up and bring him to the boat for measurements, but of course now I don't have a phone, so we have to arrange a time. I borrowed his phone while I was there to call the police and give them my cell phone number, which I couldn't remember at the time giving the police report.  The police want me to meet them at the store where I bought the phone. So its back out to the boat in the dinghy, change clothes, lock up and dinghy back to catch a bus to St. Georges. When I walk in the Digicel store I find Dave & Coleen from Promise there to get a phone for Collen. I use their phone to call the police again and tell them I'm here. I'm disappointed to find out the relatively cheap 169$EC quad band phone I bought is no longer available, and the cheapest quad band is now 369$EC. Gets me mad about the mugging all over again. The police get there, and we find out from a technician that no one has used the phone yet, and there is 97$EC credit available yet. We decide to not cancel the number or credit, leaving it as bait for the robber, hoping he'll use it or sell it to someone and we'll be able to track it that way. Then back to the boat for more internet work, and some rest.


Tuesday, Sept. 6 – It rained all morning, so I didn't get Nick for the arch measurements, when it finally stops in the afternoon, he's busy so we postpone to the next day. Worked on the blog


Wednesday, Sept. 7 – Picked up Nick, first we go to another Beneteau 50 in the yard with a very nice arch, we take measurements from it's arch, and then to to Ocean Star. The measurements are close enough that we can basically copy that arch, but Nick has some ideas for improvements


Thursday, Sept. 8 – This bay is very fecund, not to many barnacles, but plenty of other marine growth. I'm having to scrub the bottom every week, and right now the anchor line and propeller look like Chia pets


Friday, Sept. 9 – meet Dave & Colleen from Promise for sundowners and dinner. Sundowners at a beach bar called Umbrellas. I'm constantly amazed at how they seem to know all the bar staff around town, and they know them. We decide to go for Sushi, since Alice isn't with us, and have a great meal with local fish and ingredients.


Sat/Sun Sept 10-11 – Working on boat projects, trying to track down a fresh water system leak and A/C system anomalies. Finally track the fresh water leak to a cracked nylon fitting on the fresh water supply to the watermaker backflush system. Looks like it was overtightened at some point, or something fell on it. I'll start the search for a replacement part, but I suspect I won't have any luck and it might be one more thing Alice has to bring back. Determine the A/C problem is with the generator, something not right there. It runs, but not at full power, and I can't run all three A/C units at the same time like I used to.


Mon Sept 12 – Pete from Enza Marine comes out and finds the problem is a blown capacitor, replaces it and I'm back in business. Good thing too, because it looks like it's going to rain all night.

Meanwhile Alice is back in Texas having a wonderful time visiting family & friends and wondering if her suitcase will be big enough to get all the boat parts and "stuff" she is buying back here to Grenada.