Well I’m not sure what happened last night but the dogs (watch dogs) were barking probably because of the weird noise being made by a kite. They both kept me awake from about 3AM until daylight. I didn’t realize that it was a kite at the time but in the daylight, standing outside it was easier to identify.
Easter is coming, which in Grenada and many of the other islands means that everyone will be making kites for the kite contests. The kites are judged not only on how they fly but on how much noise they make. The one on the other side of the bay that is keeping me awake should get good points for noise. No one is out flying it at 3AM but once it is in the air, rather than bring it down, the kite is secured to a branch of a tree overnight or until the owner can get out and practice some more.
Rick did some plumbing maintenance today while I helped when required but I really just watched for the majority of the time.
In the afternoon we both settled down for a siesta until the phone rang. We settled down again until a visitor knocked on the hull. Eventually we gave up and moved on to happy hour followed by dinner.
Sometime last night around 9PM the kite was killed, shot down or otherwise removed. The dogs all stopped barking and life was good. We had a wonderful night’s sleep. Rick who hears nothing would have slept well anyway but I appreciated the peace.
We ate breakfast while listening to the cruisers net and then got ready to leave. We went by dinghy passed Hog Island where we stopped to say hello to Ed on Prism. Dorothy had gone to town. The last time we saw Prism was in Bonaire, prior to that we had spent quite a bit of time with them in Venezuela and prior to that in Grenada. While we have been just hanging around in the Caribbean they have circumnavigated and returned to Grenada. It sounds as though they are now ready to hang in and just lime in the Caribbean for a while.
After talking to Ed for a while we left and continued on through the reef to Mount Hartman Bay. There we left the dinghy and hiked up and down a few hills through L’anse Aux Epine to the Prickley Bay area where my now favourite Grenadian hairdresser has her salon.
It took us 45 minutes from the time we left our boat until we arrived at the salon. We were a little early so I had time to cool down in the air conditioning.
The return trip took us a little longer because we walked a different way back in order to avoid one particular never ending steep hill that I refuse to climb. We were back however in time for lunch.
Rick wanted to climb the mast and replace the cable for the VHF antenna but when I commented that it would be a hot afternoon up there, he agreed that we would do it early one morning, just not tomorrow because we already have plans.
There was a large party with a live band at Hog Island this afternoon. We watched many dinghies head over that way but we decided to avoid the sand today. We had enough sand over the weekend.
We received a personal invitation from Jonathon (Island Water World) to come to his once a month book swap even though we didn’t need paper books. The entrance fee is donated to a charity and we wanted to go into town anyway.
It was 9AM when we went by dinghy across the bay to the rickety old dock where we secure the boat when we want to take the Woburn bus into town. We arrived near Island Water World early enough to change and get on a Grand Anse bus which took us to our bank and the Grand Anse Mall. After a little shopping we got back on the bus and stopped at Foodland for a little price comparison and then walked a little further to the book swap.
The book swap is a popular event and we were able to catch up with many of our cruiser friends from other bays.
On our way back to the boat we decided to have lunch at the Island View Restaurant just next to the dinghy dock. I think it was one of the very worst meals that we have ever had on any island. The stewed chicken was nothing but backs and necks with absolutely no eatable meat. The rice and vegetables were molded using instant mashed potatoes as glue. It’s too bad because the restaurant is nice looking, clean and has a lovely view. We won’t be going back.
The dinghy ride back to the boat was a wet and rough ride but fun. Rick drove
very fast to stay up on top of the waves rather than diving into them which
happens if we travelled slowly.
We and everyone else on Grenada received a text message on our cell phones identifying that because of the water shortage all use of water for gardens, car washing, or any other use requiring a hose is now prohibited until further notice.
It was burger night and we knew it was going to be a busy one because there was some great entertainment planned for the evening. Gylfi, who usually performs solo, had the rest of his group with him, Fred who also plays amazing guitar and Janice from New Jersey who is a jazz and blues singer but has fun with any type of music. They entertained non-stop from 6PM until 8:30PM. When they needed to take a break, Bob turned on the Karaoke. The clubhouse was so busy that Bob had to bring tables and chairs from outside and still it was standing room only.
The kite is back!! I heard it last night but the roar of the wind and waves muffled the noise from the kite enough that it didn’t keep me awake. It sounds like an animal in pain moaning all night long.
This morning Rick was all prepped for his climb up the mast. The wind was howling and funnelling through the bay at near 25 knots but being tied to the dock we were sitting steady in the water (no roll).
I lost count of how many times he had to go up and down the mast but Rick said it was six times and I believe him. The mast head had to be completely removed before we could start to replace the VHF cable. The existing cable seems to be working fine but Rick noticed last year while replacing the rigging that the wire looked as if it was stripped a little. The replacement cable was one of the items we shipped from home in the barrels.
Rick attached a pull string to the old cable to pull it out the top of the mast but first in order to get the string into the bottom of the mast he had to drill a new hole and fish the existing wire from the conduit in the side of the mast to the new access hole in the back of the mast. His job at the bottom should have been complete, he was to feed the cable back in through the top of the mast and I was to pull it out through the new access hole. This was easier said than done and the cause of a few of the trips up and down the mast but eventually we had a system that was working and the cable (even the extra four feet) was pulled through the mast.
This was almost an all day job and Rick stayed up the mast through the heat of the noonday sun. I was standing waiting on the foredeck either to get more tools or run below and pull more cable when the phone rang. It was Sherwin and he was explaining that he had the spear gun in his hand and was racing to put it on the Amelia (ferry from Carriacou) before it left dock.
There is a long convoluted story associated with this spear gun and the transporting of it from a few other islands to its final destination to a fisherman in Grenada.
It
had taken a long time to make this trip and this was the final leg of the
journey. Rick and I had to be in town to meet the Amelia when it arrived and
take procession of the spear gun. It is illegal for foreigners to use a spear
gun in Grenada, I’m not sure about possession but although it was well wrapped,
it was very obviously still a four foot spear gun. We walked through the
downtown on our way to the bus station carrying this thing after getting it off
the ferry. We walked past at least half a dozen policemen and each time I held
my breath hoping they wouldn’t stop us and confiscate it. They didn’t even blink
as we walked by.
We slipped it under a few rows of seats on the bus with the help of the conductor. As soon as we reached our boat I sent an email off to Ann and Steve (Receta) who initiated the spear gun saga for their fisherman friends Dwight and Stevie. Then I called Dwight and Stevie to let them know that we had a parcel for them from Receta that they could pick up Saturday morning.
It was the regular Friday shopping trip into town. We had a major list this week because on Monday we are leaving the boat and will be house sitting for some friends on the north end of the island. The north end of the island is only 30 miles away from where we are located on the south coast however it is a drive along many very narrow roads, through rain forest, up and down mountains and some roads have major construction underway, as well there are many round-abouts to deal with and driving in Grenada is on the left hand side of the road. The 30 mile drive will take us a couple of hours so I would prefer not to have to come back down to the south end of the island for groceries.
I know that similar to Carriacou, the basic groceries will all be available in the village nearby but seeing as we will have a beautiful huge kitchen, I would like to cook with a little more than just the basics.
When we finished our shopping and returned to the boat I realized that we had a problem. Even after removing Rick’s two ice cube trays from the evaporator (freezer) there still wasn’t enough room for the leg of lamb, ground beef, fish, two bags of chicken pieces, sausages, pork chops and shrimps.
Bob at the marina came to our rescue and let us put the chicken in his freezer which left us with room for everything else and even one ice cube tray.
Although it was Friday night which is fish and chips in the clubhouse we ate Mahi Mahi onboard. While we were sitting in the cockpit, Mary (Avalon V) came by and asked if we would come up to the clubhouse for a while after dinner. She and George were leaving tomorrow to sail north back to Canada. She felt it was unlikely they would return this time (they did go home and come back after a few years) so this would probably be our last time together in the Caribbean.
We had a nice time with them and Gary from Windstar (another Canadian) who spends a lot f time in Carriacou.
We were up and dressed earlier than usual. We had company coming this morning
and originally we expected them to arrive at about 7:30AM but true to “Grenada
Maybe Time” (GMT) traditions, they arrived at 8:30AM. Our company was Stevie and
Dwight, the fishermen who were the recipients of the spear gun.
We had a nice visit with them and shortly after they left, Claire, the laundry lady called. She was on her way to deliver our clean laundry.
It was almost 11 AM when we changed and went by dinghy to the other side of the bay to get a local bus into town. We changed buses and went out to the Trade Centre where Grensave was hosting a fundraising International Food Fair.
As soon as the opening speeches were finished we were able to purchase food at any of the many booths that had been set up. We started first at the Austrian table having an apple strudel that had to be at least 3 inches thick. We followed that up with a Mandarin cream cake.
Then we moved on to the French table where I had a sugar and lime crepe while Rick chose a bowl of fruit covered in chocolate from the chocolate fountain. We couldn’t leave this booth without next trying their quiche which was excellent.
Our next stop was the British booth where I tried a glass of Pimms which although I had never heard of it before, it is quite popular with a lot of the British expats.
I could not steer Rick away from the Chinese table where they had a set menu for lunch. Instead of sharing this time I purchased a plate for each of us. This was a mistake as I found the food a little too spicy and Rick couldn’t finish both his and mine. We couldn’t eat much more but still we kept looking around.
I bought a large bag of not yet ripe Mangos at a Grenada table. We would have loved to taste the food at the Venezuelan table and the Cuban table but instead I settled for a handmade Mojito by a Cuban man who spoke very little English.
We stayed and talked with a few friends before leaving then walked to the Spiceland Mall where we bought a new pair of shorts for Rick at the men’s clothing store and an a few things at the grocery store.
We hadn’t walked out of the parking lot when a bus drove in looking for passengers. We climbed aboard and stayed on until the bus terminal. When we changed buses to go to Woburn, we ended up with the same driver who had brought us into town in the morning.
As soon as we were back on the boat I started boiling potatoes and eggs to make a potato salad for the potluck dinner tonight. Just before going to the club house I marinated the last two yellow fin tuna steaks for the barbecue.
There were a good number of people tonight for the potluck. This was probably due to the fact that the bay was not as rough this evening as it has been lately.
After our Sunday morning breakfast, Rick went up on deck and polished the stainless steel on the bowsprit. Down below, I packed clothes and dry goods for our couple of weeks house sitting in Sauteurs. Everything I could think of including the far-lookers (binoculars) are ready to load into the car early tomorrow morning. The only thing that I haven’t packed is the food in the refrigerator/freezer. We have our nice new cooler ready to be filled at the last minute.
After lunch, we both took time to have a shower and then went to the clubhouse and played dominos all afternoon.
We set the alarm for 5:30AM which was probably overkill but Malcolm and Margot were to check in at the airport and then come and get us prior to going through security. They had to be there very early because they were on standby for an upgrade to first class. What they didn’t count on was the amount of paperwork they had to fill in for an American visa waiver for United Kingdom citizens. Instead of picking us up at a little after 6M it was a little after 7AM when Malcolm drove up. We quickly hopped into the car with him and drove back to the airport. They went through security and we drove off to tackle the Grenadian roads.
On the way back to the boat Rick pulled over to the side of the Maurice Bishop Highway and I crossed the street to purchase a bag of New York bagels from a deli we had heard about but had not visited. It was quite nice and the bagels looked great however the toaster was broken so if you wanted the bagel heated they could grill it. Yes, they sell cream cheese but they are out of it right now. This is definitely a Grenadian style bagel place.
Back at the boat it took quite a while to load up the car with all of the food and clothing. All of the freezer items went into our brand new cooler which we then filled with ice. The last thing I had to do before leaving was to defrost and clean the fridge.
It was about 9:45 AM when we drove away from the marina and headed north on the east side of the island. It was a lovely drive. Rush hour traffic was over. Although rush hour traffic volumes don’t compare with North American volumes there is a big difference in the style of roads. The two lane roads here would be classed as a single one way street back home. Cars seem to pull over as close to the side of the mountains or cliffs to park but when the road is barely wide enough for one car each way this makes it tricky for novice drivers like us. There is also proper horn and hand etiquette involved with driving here. Two little toots on the horn means the car behind would like to pass. It is then proper to slow down a little, stick your hand out and wave him by if it is clear. This is regardless of the fact that there are so many bends and hills in the road that it is impossible to see more than a couple of car lengths ahead. As the car passes, he will give one little toot as a thank you. There is a faster couple of toots that are used when you pass friends standing at the side of the road and want to say hello or good morning. Rick needed more horn practice. His thank you toots where much too heavy and long, so on the next stretch of road where there were no cars in sight he started with single short toots and the progressed to double toots. He had it perfected in less than a mile.
We were initially going to stop in Grenville on our way north but when we arrived it was almost as bad as trying to drive in St. George’s. There were crowds of people, many one way streets and round-a-bouts with cars parked everywhere. By the time we could relax and not concentrate on getting down a street without mashing (Grenadian term) the car, we were out of town.
We
continued past the old airport where the bullet ridden Russian planes from the
intervention still sit near the tarmac and made our way to Belmont Estates. Plan
B was to have lunch there. We drove up the driveway and quickly realized we were
in the middle of the estate with no parking area in site. One or the workers
directed us out and across the street where we could park in the shade of some
trees.
We had been to Belmont Estates many years ago but there have been quite a few changes since then. One major change was that they have milking goats and actually make goat cheese. We met Kirl, the milk maid who was very informative. We learned that our friend Christine who owns the deli in Carriacou gets her goat cheese here. The milk processing room was restricted to employees only but Kirl took us in.
While
there, my phone rang and it was our friend Pam who will be our neighbour for the
next couple of weeks. I let her know that we had made it as far as the Belmont
Estates where we would have lunch before continuing on. To our surprise, she was
on her way to the Belmont Estates where she runs a small craft shop. After
having a lovely lunch we dropped in for a visit with Pam, before heading out
again.
It was a beautiful drive from Belmont to Sauteurs. We passed the chocolate factory on our way but since the chocolate is available everywhere now, we didn’t stop.
Sauteurs is a Fishing Town in the Saint Patrick Parish, Grenada and is the sixth largest in Grenada, with a population of about 1,300. It is the largest city in the north of Grenada and it is the capital of Saint Patrick Parish, Grenada.
Here, the last remaining Carib
Natives in Grenada jumped off a 40-meter-tall cliff later named Caribs' Leap to
their deaths in 1651 rather than face domination by the conquering French.
Thus
the town was named Sauteurs, which is French for "jumpers".
Rick found the house “Huakina” (Huakina means “open doors”) no problem at all. Samantha, the maid was ironing under the upper deck where it is very breezy and cool. We introduced ourselves and she offered to show us where things were if we couldn’t remember.
Rick lugged all of the bags up into the kitchen and our bedroom as I tried to keep up with him in putting things away.
When we felt organized enough, the two of us settled down on the sofas in the living area where the ocean breeze funnels through the house, we quickly settled in for an afternoon siesta.
Pam and Chas who are old friends from the sailing yacht, Night Owl have given
up sailing and built a beautiful guest house very close to Huakina.
They
invited us over for dinner tonight around 6PM. We can see their house from
“ours” but there is a large deep valley separating the two buildings. I wasn’t
sure how long it would take us to hike down and up the hill to their place so I
called Pam to let her know we were leaving. If we didn’t show up within 30
minutes we were probably lost.
By the time we put on our shoes, locked the main door and stepped outside to walk down the driveway, Chas was standing there waiting to show us the way. There was no need to walk up or down any hills the network of driveways took us to their house in less than 5 minutes.
Pam and Chas have appropriately named their house “Tree Tops” (http://www.treetopsgrenada.com/index.html)
and it is on top of a hill with a view to die for. They built and decorated it
themselves. They already have very loyal guests who return for long term stays
each year. We met one of these couples (Emmy and Ken) who are from King City,
Ontario.
Chas made his famous British chips (French fries) and Pam prepared beer battered Mahi Mahi for dinner. It was served in true British style with Malt vinegar and tartar sauce.
After dinner their friend Phillip arrived. He had driven Emmy and Ken home from his place, Petite Anse (http://www.petiteanse.com/) where they had gone for dinner. Emmy and Ken said goodnight but Phil joined us for a couple of drinks. Eventually, Rick and I had to say our goodnights and walk the path back home.
We awoke at daylight and could hear that the surf had settled down to a
gentle but constant roar. Rick made coffee and I toasted the bagels we purchased
yesterday. Breakfast was served on the blue terrace where we watched a couple of
small fishing boats make their way to Grenada possibly coming from Carriacou.
There were a couple of mocking birds in the nearby trees that kept us
entertained and teased the cats.
It took us a while to figure out why the terraces were named blue and green, I wanted to call them the north and south terrace but one faces the sea (blue) and the other faces the forest (green) so they are named very appropriately.
After breakfast we went for a walk through the garden where some plants looked not bad but many have been greatly affected by the drought. Danville the gardener is using grey water from the washing machine to water the plants during the drought. The rest of the garden has an irrigation system that uses the grey water from the sink drains in the house.
Rick began bonding with the two cats Triton and Tikki who seem to follow us everywhere when we are outside. They are outdoor cats responsible for guarding the house from geckos’, mice and any other unwanted guests.
At 9AM Chas called and said he was on his way over to show Rick how to
maintain the correct chemical levels in the Jacuzzi.
I didn’t even take time to visit with him. I was on a mission.
I am having company for dinner tomorrow and I need some chicken broth for the carrot soup recipe. So, I cooked some chicken in a pot (mainly for the broth) and made Rick’s favourite chicken and Boursin cheese recipe. It is a large kitchen and the stove is amazing. It has five gas burners, and a gas/electric grill (which I don’t use), two ovens and a separate broiler compartment. I had to keep cooking.
I made a huge pot of spaghetti sauce which some of it I froze but I also made a large pan of lasagna. The lasagna is not for tomorrow it is just a meal I want to have available in the freezer.
I have a new recipe for farmer’s bread. I have never tried it before and there is a portion of the recipe that must be prepared the day before you plan to cook it. When I finished with the first portion of the bread, it was time to get ready to go to town for Tuesday night at Mahe’s Rum Shop.
We
drove Emmy and Ken while Chas and Pam drove the other two guests she had staying
with them. I am learning that Mahe runs more than a Rum shop from his little
building. This is where I am to order nice whole chickens, fresh eggs, and wine.
The empty beer case must be returned on a Tuesday because the Carib truck only
drives to Sauteurs once a week and that is on Wednesdays. The routine is that
you drop the empty case off on Tuesday and pick up a full one on Wednesday
(everything is at wholesale prices).
We had a nice get together and then within the hour we all returned home again.
Rick was now ready to start preparing one of his specialties, carrot soup. This will be served tomorrow.
We had a light breakfast and I was already working in the kitchen when
Samantha, the maid and Danville the gardener arrived at 8AM. Samantha works
three days a week and Danville normally works everyday but because of the water
shortage he is coming only three days a week as well. They started into their
duties immediately.
I was kneading the bread and trying not to make a huge mess in the kitchen. This farmer’s bread recipe has quite a few steps in the process of making it. While it was set aside to rise for a couple more hours, I made the pastry for a huge deep dish apple pie. I hadn’t planned on it being deep dish but I couldn’t find any other pie pan. Rick peeled potatoes for me and I prepared as much of the salad ingredients as I could. Pam was driving to St George’s to take a couple of her guests to the airport and was going to try and pick up some cucumber and lettuce for me. She was able to get the cucumber but the lettuce was a different story. Rick saved the day by picking some young lettuce leaves from the garden, Pam provided some lovely tomatoes from her garden, the mangos that I purchased last Saturday were perfectly ripe so I had enough ingredients to make a tossed salad.
I had to work with the bread dough some more and then it was ready to rest
for a while and by that time, so was I.
For lunch, Rick and I had warmed up the chicken and rice left over from last night’s dinner.
Finally it was time to put the bread into the oven. It was perfect timing because Samantha very politely told me she needed to clean the kitchen. She cleaned away while the bread was baking and Rick and I were relaxing and reading.
As soon as the bread was finished, Rick poured a glass of wine for me and a beer for him and we headed to the Jacuzzi. It was a perfect way to finish the afternoon and relax before our guests arrived.
At 6PM, Pam, Chas, Emmy and Ken arrived and shortly afterward Dushane
arrived. Chas brought champagne and we celebrated Pam and Chas’s anniversary as
well as Dushane’s even though Dushane’s wife was off island this week.
While everyone was nibbling the appetizers (on the blue terrace), I put the leg of lamb in the oven and everything seemed to go well with the meal which was later served on the green terrace (it is protected from the strong ocean winds). When the soup course was finished (the bread was a hit), I had Chas carve the meat, Rick mash the potatoes and I tossed the salad.
It was a fun evening and when everyone left, we turned on the dishwasher and went to bed.
We awoke to a beautiful day and since we had no commitments, we began with a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs on the blue terrace.
Chas came by early in the morning to borrow something from the workshop. When
we told him that we were going for a walk and in which direction he said it was
a perfect choice and told us how to find a small protected beach in that area.
It was a lovely walk but I was becoming concerned because it was continually downhill into a valley with the mountains rising up in front of us and no sign of the road turning toward the sea. Eventually we decided that we had walked far enough in that direction and turned around and headed back to where we had seen a turn-off. The uphill walk wasn’t all that bad until after we took the turn-off. Now we were really climbing high however knowing that the walk back would be all downhill made it fun. We ended up high on a hilltop where an old stone building had once stood. There was a commanding view of the sea and the land. In fact we could see the sea on both sides of the northern tip of the island. We could see Treetops and Huakina on the top of the next hill over. The beach that we were supposed to have found was visible but it was so far down that I had no interest in finding it today.
The sun was becoming very hot so we made our way down hill until we came back
to the paved road and then to the palm treed drive towards our house.
It was almost lunch time but we still had time for a nice relaxing Jacuzzi before food.
After a short siesta, I made macaroni salad and marinated some pork chops for dinner. It was time to enjoy the lovely barbecue on the green terrace. Wouldn’t you know it, the winds were down at dinner time so Rick barbecued on the green terrace but we chose to eat on the blue terrace overlooking the sea. All of these options can make life complicated but we are adapting.
Pam took both Rick and I into town (Sauteurs) in the morning to show us
around. We stopped at one of the supermarkets, the gas station, Marketing Board,
post office, bank, bakery and of course Mahe’s. The real shopping day in town is
on Saturday when the local market is full of ladies selling their produce,
however there was quite a good selection on Friday.
When we finished in town and were on our way back to the house, Pam decided to drive and show us where we should have walked yesterday to find the little hidden beach. It was easy to find by car and we had almost made it to the correct fork in the road yesterday, if we had continued downhill for about 10 minutes more we would have found it and eventually the dirt road and finally the path to the beach. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to take this walk again.
Back at the house Samantha and Danville were working away. I made tuna sandwiches for lunch using a couple of bakes that I had purchased from the bakery in town. After lunch Rick settled down with his book in the living area and I cuddled into the hammock chair which is becoming one of my favourite spots.
I
wasn’t making dinner tonight. We were meeting Pam, Chas, Emmy and Ken at Mahe’s
for drinks and then driving to River Sallee for a local barbecue Swayzee’s. This
is the area of Grenada with the sulphur springs. As we drove through villages we
could see that the rum shops were getting busy with their Friday night crowds.
When we reached our destination there were a few people already there but as
we later learned many more would arrive. We were initially outnumbered by
the locals who were very friendly. We have heard a phrase in the north end of
the island a few times now which is new to us. When we meet someone and
introduce ourselves the response is “Thank you, you’re welcome”. This confused
me at first but by the second time I realized that they are thanking us for
giving our names and welcoming us to their village, bar or where ever we happen
to be. I like it!
Later a large group of tourists arrived and we learned that they are students who are writing a thesis on tourism in northern Grenada. They were here last year as well.
Our whole gang chose the barbecued ribs for dinner. The chicken also looked very good but there was so much meat in each foil wrapped package of ribs, no one could eat any more. The DJ who was also the bartender was playing some great music and the nice thing was that he had the volume adjusted so that although it was loud, it was not so loud that we couldn’t talk.
The local’s, Pam included, could not sit still while their favourite songs were playing, they just had to dance.
Although we were enjoying the evening it was time for us to leave. We said
our good-byes and slowly drove back to Sauteurs in the dark. We only made one
wrong turn and Rick
realized it immediately. I asked some young boys by the road for directions and
they pointed back the way we had come. What was really interesting was when we
came to a crossroad and began to turn right, a lady sitting on the curb called
out “where you going”? We yelled back “Sauteurs”. The response was “alright” a
proper Grenadian response for most things but it also indicated that we were
headed in the right direction.
It was 9:30PM when we arrived at the house and Rick was gung-ho for another Jacuzzi. It is extremely nice especially in the dark. The sky was totally clear of clouds and although filled with stars, Orion always stands out brighter than the others and at this time of the year is directly overhead.
It was Saturday and we had no plans or commitments today so we went for
another walk. This time we took a path that runs between “Treetops” and “Huakina”
toward Sauteurs.
The path would be referred to as a road in Carriacou so it was easy downhill walking. The land is so dry right now and with all of the leaves on the ground made it seem like a fall day as we shuffled through them. The only difference was the temperature. The further we walked downhill the hotter it got.
The path reached the road by Petite Anse which we thought would be a good place to stop for lunch on our way back.
We continued walking downhill but now we were on a concrete road. After a few twists and turns in the road we arrived at the beach. We were wearing our bathing suits under our shorts and although the sea was reasonably flat, the surf was large and strong. It seemed a better idea to walk the beach rather than go for a dip. There are a lot of old stone mills in the Sauteurs area. In fact, there is one near the house. On the beach however we came across an old kiln. It is a nice sandy beach and like many of the beaches in Grenada, there were no people. We had it to ourselves.
On our drives to town we have passed the ice cream hut a few times so we knew
it wasn’t too far a walk. When we arrived at the hut, the owner’s son was there
doing his homework and watching the store. We asked for some ice cream but it
hadn’t arrived yet. He yelled across the road to his dad that he needed ice
cream and a few minutes later, his younger
brother came with a variety of small individual tubs of ice cream in a bag. They
put them on the counter and we made our choice.
Rick didn’t want to walk in the sand anymore so eating our ice cream we strolled back down the road in the direction we had come. Now it was a continual uphill walk. If we lived on an island I would want my house in a valley so that when returning home the walk would always be downhill. We took our time and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves by the path and Petite Anse. When we crossed the road and looked way down the driveway of Petite Anse, we realized that their buildings are at sea level so if we walked down, we would have to repeat the climb back up the hill knowing that in addition to that climb there is a bigger hill to climb on the path back to the house. We both laughed and agreed that lunch back at the house seemed very appealing, we would have lunch at Petite Anse another day when we were driving.
It
was a long hot climb back up the path and as soon as we got to the house,
(remember we are wearing our bathing suits) we dropped our shorts had a quick
outdoor shower to remove the sand and immediately headed into the Jacuzzi.
When we finally went in the house, there was a text message from Pam that the rugby game (England against Scotland) was on and we were invited to join them in watching it on TV. We initially passed but after a little rest we got ready and walked over to Pam and Chas’s place by half-time. Emmy, Ken and Phillip were there, all very involved with the game. It was a good game and fun to watch also it was the first rugby game I have seen, but we left as soon as it was over.
I had a chicken thawing in the sink and as soon as we returned, Rick turned on the barbecue and I prepared beer-butt chicken. It’s the first time I have made it. While the chicken was roasting in the barbecue we both read for a while. When it was almost done, Rick went to the garden and picked some green onions for the salad I was making and then I fried a couple of sweet plantains.
After dinner we talked about going for another Jacuzzi but our eyelids were having a problem staying open so we went to bed early.
We
got off to a very slow start to the day. After reading for a while, checking the
news, there was still no breakfast. Finally I mentioned (hinted) to Rick that
although it was Sunday, I could make breakfast if he didn’t want to. He just
about jumped up from the sofa in shock having not realized that it was Sunday.
Things then started to happen.
After a nice breakfast of poached eggs (made by Rick), I prepared some dough for baguettes and started cooking a butternut squash soup. We were having the gang (Pam, Chas, Emmy and Ken) for dinner and because I made the lasagna earlier in the week, this was a very easy dinner to prepare. The lasagna was already out of the freezer, thawing.
In the afternoon we sat around and read for a while until Rick put a movie in
the DVD player. It was a long movie and somewhere in the middle I had a short
siesta and yet didn’t miss a thing.
A little after 5:30PM we heard someone calling us and found it was a man named Livingston standing at the bottom of the steps. Had we found the small secluded beach the other day, we would have found Livingston there with his carvings. It was nice that he found us instead. He was carrying a planter that he had carved and I immediately purchased it from him. I’m not sure what I will do with it but it was too nice not to buy. It is a little heavy to transport home with us so I will probably give it as a gift.
The gang arrived just as Livingston was leaving. Dinner was served on the green terrace and it was a very pleasant evening.
We awoke to a cloudy sky that looked a little promising but when I checked
the forecast, the chance of scattered rain was 20% and that would produce trace
amount of precipitation. (Don’t count on it)
We were just about to eat breakfast when Danville, the gardener arrived. He brought us a nice bunch of freshly picked rock fig bananas. Rock figs are lovely tiny sweet bananas. Any bananas right now are a treat to have because the lack of rain is causing the banana plants to break and fall over without producing any fruit, but rock figs are especially a nice treat.
Danville and Rick seem to have bonded. It was only 7:45AM when Danville gave Rick the Bananas and since he doesn’t start work until 8AM, Rick asked him if he slept in the garden last night. Danville quickly joked back to Rick that he had.
Samantha arrived right on time and before we had finished eating, the bed was stripped of sheets and the laundry was on its way to the washing machine.
Rick went out to the car and brought in the detailed Island map so that we
could plan a road trip today. I really didn’t have to do a thing Rick had
a route already planned in his mind. There are only two roads that cross the
island from east to west one is the road from Gouyave to Grenville and the other
is from St George’s to Grenville. We were going to Grenville but Rick was
determined to find another pass through the mountains. We drove around the
northern tip of the island and headed south to Duquesne where we turned toward
the interior of the island rather than following the coast. Just after a town
called Union I was to look for a turn off. We took the first fork to the left
and drove by the banana station and found eventually
that we were heading back to Sauteurs. He turned the car around and this time we
took the other fork and drove by the nutmeg station. The paved road turned into
a goat pass and as we drove by a house, we asked a lady if we could get to
Grenville on this road. She directed us back to Sauteurs or Gouyave any
direction other than the way we were headed. She told us this road would only go
up into the mountains. When we hit the fork in the road again people standing
there recognised us and waved. This was our third or fourth time in the same
area.
The decision was made, we would circle back to Sauteurs and drive down the east side of the island. We still somehow ended up on some very narrow mountain passes through plantations. The workers waved to us on our way up and again when we turned around and drove back down. It was becoming very enjoyable ending up in these very remote places. In fact, Grenville as a destination was gradually fading, if we found ourselves there that would be nice but meanwhile we decided to enjoy the scenery of where ever we happened to end up.
We found a very picturesque road that ran along Antoine Bay. Lake Antoine and
the River Rum Distillery signs were on this route but we had been to this 200
year old rum factory years ago and chose not to visit it again besides the rum
tastes terrible.
We eventually found ourselves in the town of Tivoli and the La Potarie where the Grenville buses seem to congregate. We drove by all of the parked buses toward Artiste Point. Some young men sitting by the side of the road tried to tell us we were going the wrong way. This road would end at the beach; the other road would take us to Grenville. The beach sounded good to us so we told them we would see them on our way back.
When we finally happened to arrive in Grenville we drove along the one-way streets looking for a parking spot. We realized later, after we found a spot that we had driven right by a good size parking lot on the beach.
We walked through town, stopping first at the vegetable market where we
purchased a few things. It was not market day in fact it was so slow we saw a
veggie lady asleep on her produce. We then made our way to the new fish market.
There was a
man there buying a huge whole yellow fin tuna. He explained to us that it was
for his restaurant/bakery “Hotter than the rest”. I asked him if he was serving
tuna today and no but they were serving kingfish (another of my favourites).
We next went onto the beach and watched a few fishing boats come and go. One boat was being beached right where we were standing. Rick even helped pull the boat ashore because it was a heavy one. There were dive tanks and a man in a wet suit so we asked if they had any lobster. They did but none the size that interested us.
The man at the fish market had explained (sort of) where his restaurant was
located. Of course, we couldn’t find it. We started asking people on the street
and gradually made our way to the right area of town, surprise; we found it
right where the man said it was located.
The name of the restaurant/bakery was very appropriate. It was hotter inside this building than any I have ever walked into. We had a cold drink and walked back to a restaurant that we had eaten in many years ago called the “Melting Pot”. There we were guaranteed good local food and a nice ocean breeze.
On our way to the restaurant, we passed a man selling homemade kites. I asked him for a high flying, noisy kite and he picked one for me. It needed a tail so I asked him if he would add a mile long tail and set it aside for me to pick up after lunch.
When we finished lunch and had the kite, we walked back to the car and left Grenville to make our way back to Sauteurs. The way back was easy but once there, I wanted one more little side trip to Helvellyn Pottery studio and Levera Beach. The pottery studio we found but we again found ourselves on a goat path up on the hills rather than down by the beach. When we turned around and started our return trip home, a lady walking down the road waved (everyone waves) and said “ride please”. We stopped for her and she told us that she was just going to the junction. Well the junction was quite a distance! Rick asked her how often she walked this distance and it was three times a week.
We waved and said hello to Mahe as we drove by his rum shop. It was 2:30PM when we arrived back at the house. Danville had left for the day and Samantha was almost finished.
Rick and I relaxed in the Jacuzzi with a glass of wine. Later, while I started dinner, he walked to Chas and Pam’s house to pick up some tomatoes. Pam wouldn’t let me buy tomatoes the other day because her garden is overflowing with them. Her tomatoes also taste better than any we could purchase so we are eating a lot of tomatoes lately.
Dinner was left over lasagna and salad. After dinner we watched a DVD, read and went to bed early.
I had great plans to get my new kite in the air. The north side of the blue
terrace was my chosen location. There the wind was very strong and would lift
the kite up and away from the house. I asked Rick to hold the mile long tail
until it was airborne and all went well until it started climbing and suddenly
dove down into top of the Tamarind tree. Half the tail was wrapped around the
branches but we rescued the kite. I initially hoped that once the kite left the
tree the tail remnants would release and fall down to the ground. No such
luck. I continued to try and get the kite in the air but all other locations
around the house blocked the wind. Finally Rick abandoned me and the kite flying
attempts and went to clean the florescent green plastic tail from the tree. He
used a very long pole with a plastic light bulb changing thing on the end. He
was able to remove some of the tail with it but the very top of the tree was
still too high. Next, he got the ladder and I was recruited to hold it on the
driveway slope to ensure it and he didn’t tumble. Even with the ladder and the
long pole it was still a reach but with perseverance, Rick saved the day and
cleaned the tree of all tail pieces.
I have been banned from kite flying again this season and will again donate my kite to some little kid who knows how to fly it properly.
Chas arrived with a huge half of a pumpkin. I was to make a big batch of pumpkin soup for dinner and hopefully there will be leftovers that Pam can freeze.
After cleaning and roasting the pumpkin, the soup itself didn’t take long to make.
We drove down our driveway and up Pam’s driveway with the large pot of soup
on the floor of the car. It is a very short distance but the pot was too heavy
to carry that far. Poor Rick was instructed to drive very slowly over the bumps
in order to keep the soup in the pot. He did a good job, not one drip escaped.
When we arrived at Chas and Pam’s the lovely aroma of baked ham was everywhere. Emmy had prepared fresh bruschetta served on Pam’s homemade bread for appetizers. The dinner was the soup, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin (it really was a large pumpkin) and the ham. It was a wonderful meal and evening. Eventually, we had to leave but we thought Rick should not be driving even though we wouldn’t be on a roadway. The driveways were tricky enough. We left the car, to be picked up in the morning and walked back to the house.
Since we are currently staying in the Parish of St Patrick, the day will be
celebrated but the big party will be held this Saturday at the restaurant in
Petite Anse Resort.
Samantha and Danville were hard at work when we got ready to leave. We thought we were joining our friends at Petite Anse for lunch today and that Pam and Chas would be joining us as well. As it turned out, Pam and Chas had an emergency in the house. They found a water leak caused by someone putting a screw in the wall and the pipe (plastic plumbing in the Caribbean). The problem was found in a crawl space which was really a blessing but they didn’t think so at the time. While looking everywhere for the leak, they found the beginnings of a termite infestation which they were able to take care of before it caused any major damage.
We donned our green shirts and went to Petite Anse by ourselves. There we
talked with Annie and Phillip, the owners (and regulars at Mahe’s) while we
waited for our friends. As time passed we were becoming concerned so I decided
to call them. They were still sitting at home in Fort Judy (at the South end of
the island), I had the date wrong. We are having lunch with them tomorrow.
Oh well, these things happen as we age. If we were on the boat I could pass it off as Cruiseheimers.
We stayed and had a nice lunch, just the two of us.
As we were getting into the car to leave, Livingston appeared (he’s everywhere) and called us over. He had a lot of his carvings that were still wet with a stain he had applied. He asked that we take some pictures for him.
When we returned to the house, Danville had finished for the day and it was almost time for Samantha to leave.
I started using the last of my flour to make a couple more loaves of bread. While the bread was rising I made macaroni pie and marinated some chicken legs for Rick to barbecue tonight.
There was a still lot of time to relax and read before dinner.
After a nice breakfast on the blue terrace Rick gave the barbecue a good cleaning and then we went down on the grass to cut his hair. Here is the perfect location for haircutting. We are able to place a chair out of the wind and on level ground.
When the haircut was finished we both had an outdoor shower to rinse off any
loose pieces of hair and then relaxed in the Jacuzzi for a while.
Eventually we got changed and went to town for a few things. While there, our friends Bill and Huguette and their daughter Cathy called to say they were almost here. We quickly finished our shopping and headed back towards the house and Petite Anse Restaurant where we really were to meet them today (not yesterday).
Pam and Chas are good friends with Cathy but haven’t seen her in years so after a nice lunch together they followed us up to Treetops for a little visit.
Afterward, we returned to the house and read for a while. Having had a large lunch we weren’t very hungry for a large dinner so it was a leftover night.
In the evening we went for another Jacuzzi under the stars before going to bed.
We were just finishing our breakfast when Samantha and Danville arrived but we were ready to go soon after as we wanted to explore more of Grenada’s north.
Our first destination was Bathway Beach (pronounced Batway). We checked the
map and somehow managed to drive directly through River Sallee to Bathway
without getting lost. On the way we picked up a young man, Donny. He was on his
way to Bathway to hustle Mangos. I think it was going to be a slow day for him
because there was only one other couple at the beach and neither of us were
buying his mangos.
Next we drove to Levera Beach where the Leather Back turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. This time we had the beach to ourselves and after strolling in the sand for a while we climbed back in the car and went in search of an eating place called Aggies. Well, we never found it and afterwards learned we were looking in the wrong area. It was before Bathway not after it.
It was still a little too early for lunch so to kill time we drove to Grenville where we knew we would find a place to eat.
As we were sitting in traffic on the crowded one-way street, a fire engine with sirens blaring appeared a few vehicles behind us. Traffic was at a standstill and with nowhere to pull over it took a while but eventually someone got the cars moving by directing the traffic and pedestrians.
We had a nice chicken lunch. I’m not supposed to admit that we ate in KFC but
it happened to be another of those places where you could sit in an area with a
good breeze so we chose it.
We left Grenville and made our way to Belmont Estates. Pam was in the Craft Shop today so we thought we would visit her and look around a little more. I ended up purchasing a couple of painted stone paper weights. There was much more I would have liked to have purchased but, with Rick’s help, I restrained myself.
We returned to the house and again Samantha was just finishing her work. Although our day hadn’t been what you would call exhausting we felt that a Jacuzzi would be just the thing to help us relax.
We left for Mahe’s a little early in the afternoon so that we would have time to check out “Carib’s Leap” before 5PM when we were to meet Pam, Chas and the gang.
Carib’s Leap which is also referred to as Carib’s hill is a tall cliff over
the water just behind Mahe’s Rum shop. In 1651 the Caribs leaped from this cliff
to avoid being enslaved by the French who were in power in Grenada at that time.
When we arrived at the hill we could see the location but couldn’t get to it. The actual hill was fenced off and closed to the public while restoration was taking place. It was still worth the walk because we got to see a lovely Roman Catholic Church on the way.
We were the first at Mahe’s as usual, but everyone arrived soon after us.
I didn’t have to cook tonight; Chas had prepared a scrumptious chicken and ham pie for dinner. Emmy, still working on using up the huge pumpkin, made pumpkin pie for dessert. Pam went crazy for the pumpkin pie and had two pieces. She said that she had never liked pumpkin pie before this.
We had another lovely evening with Pam and Chas but it was time to return to our place and even though it was quite late, Rick wanted another Jacuzzi.
Oh dear, I slept late and would have slept later except Rick who was already up decided that no one should sleep after 7:30AM.
My coffee was ready and he wanted breakfast, fried egg sandwiches. No problem.
Breakfast was finished, it was now 8:30AM Rick asked if I was ready to wash the car? NO! I asked him for another half hour and I would then be ready to start washing the car.
The use of water to wash cars and watering of gardens using a hose is still banned on the island because of the major drought we are having but everyone on this island keeps their cars sparkling clean. So cars are now washed using a pail of water. It works. Evidently most people hire someone to wash their cars but I thought it would be a fun thing to do in the heat of the morning sun.
I had planned on having a Jacuzzi after the car wash but Rick had just added
chemicals to the water so we had to wait a few hours. The next best alternative
to the Jacuzzi when I have been awakened before my time is a good book and the
hammock chair in the strong winds on the blue deck. The book is a prop, the wind
rocks me to sleep in this chair.
Eventually, I was given the OK to use the Jacuzzi. As we were relaxing and soaking in the bubbly water, I could hear a voice calling in the distance. It was Livingston wanting to show us more of his wood carvings he was selling. I thanked him but let him know that we weren’t interested today. Back to the Jacuzzi as this will be our last chance to use it for a while. After lunch and a siesta, I popped popcorn and we watched a movie.
The movie was almost over when we started to hear sirens. This is a very remote area so the sound of sirens seemed strange until we looked out from the green terrace and realized there was a forest fire not far away. Soon we could hear the bamboo exploding in the heat. It sounded like shot guns and was an indication of how hot the fire was.
The prevailing winds would force the fire away from us but with everything so dry if they don’t get it under control quickly it will spread.
Just before 7PM we were dressed in green and ready to party at Petite Anse. We were a little early as the party officially starts at 7:30PM but there aren’t a huge number of parking and we wanted to ensure we had a good one.
The party was a huge success. Phillip played Irish music (some sounded a little Scottish) until after dinner when the band arrived.
The dinner served was a smoked salmon salad, followed by homemade Steak and Guinness pie with a variety of vegetables and dessert was a whisky fruit cake with whipped cream.
We had a very enjoyable evening and met people who were friends of friends or relatives of our friends in Carriacou.
We left around 10:30PM when the band was still playing and everyone was dancing but we were ready for bed.
This is our last evening in the house. Tomorrow we return to the boat for a few dates but only a few. We have been asked to come back next week. Twist my arm!
In the morning I was awaked by the sound of sirens at 5:30AM. The fire was still burning but in the dark I wasn’t able to see it which is good because flames would be visible but smoke wouldn’t.
Now, it’s too bad we waited until yesterday to wash the car (using only half a pail to wash and another half to rinse) because this morning at 6:15AM we finally had a wonderful rain shower. It only lasted about 15 minutes but it was a good heavy downpour. The trees and plants were almost perking up as it ended and I’m sure the fire fighters appreciated it as well. If we had washed the car a week ago it may have brought rain sooner.
Almost immediately after the rain stopped we could smell the tropical soil. I went on the terrace to look at the grass plants and trees to see what effect the rain had on them. During my walk around the terrace I came across a good size dark hairy tarantula resting on the railing and enjoying the water. I have no idea where he lives, the guard cats didn’t seem bothered by him and he looks well fed so I just left him alone.
I packed our bags and had my last hot water shower for a while and then before we knew it, we were ready to leave.
The car was packed so we drove over to have a last visit with Pam and Chas. While we were there, Emmy and Ken came to say good-bye to us. We were all saying our good-byes and it was so silly because we are coming back this Thursday to stay another week. Margot and Malcolm are returning from the United States tonight and then leaving again on Thursday to visit with friends in Carriacou for a while.
Rick wanted to drive down the west side of the island this time. It was a very picturesque drive with fewer hairpin turns than the east side of the island. The construction on the main road was almost finished so that didn’t create a problem and it was Sunday so there were very few cars and buses on the road. We arrive in St George’s about 1PM and went to la Boulangerie Restaurant for lunch and then to the Spiceland Mall for a few groceries.
By 3PM we were back onboard the boat and had finished unpacking. There was time for a nice siesta before we had to take the car to the airport.
We parked the car in the parking lot for Malcolm and Margot to pick up when they arrive. By this time it was almost 6PM but neither of us was hungry. We took a taxi back to the marina and visited with friends in the clubhouse before returning to the boat for the evening.
It was sad to leave Sauteurs but it felt good to be back on the boat. We both slept very soundly until, can you believe it.... a rain shower at about 3:30AM. It was a good one and followed by a few more until daylight.
Rick had been complaining about a sore eye for the last couple of days so we took a taxi and went into town to the eye clinic. We didn’t have an appointment but they squeezed him in. We were there at 9:30AM and out by noon with prescriptions and a follow-up appointment in a couple of days.
We had lunch in town and then returned to the boat. The day was sort of shot so we just had a siesta and shower which brought us right into happy hour at the club house followed by dinner onboard.
While in the club house, Mic from yacht Lilly Maid came in. He had said before that he would like to buy our Dickinson fireplace and he was pleased to see us before we or he left again. We made a deal and Rick committed to removing the fireplace from our boat tomorrow.
Well, it was nice to wake up to a clear sky on fireplace removal day. We had barely finished breakfast when Rick was “on the job”.
The fireplace and chimney was disassembled, and packed for pick-up. Once the chimney was removed and before Rick could create a cover for the hole, a nice little squall went through the bay. A plastic bag was quickly taped over the opening and not a drop of water entered the boat. Meanwhile the radio was busy with calls for help for a large catamaran that was dragging. As it happened, it dragged right into an empty slip at the marina and was secured until the owner returned.
As soon as the rain stopped, I called Mic who rushed over to pick up the fireplace.
It was lunch time but we were skipping lunch and having an early dinner. I put a whole chicken in the oven and prepared some veggies.
The movie Avatar was playing on the big screen in the club house so after lunch I prepared some snacks to take and share for movie night.
It was a very good movie even without the 3-D glasses and there was such a great turnout of cruisers I think movie night might happen on a more regular basis.
Rick had a follow-up appointment this morning with the eye doctor so Keith, the taxi driver drove us into Grand Anse again. We were in and out of the doctor’s office in pretty good time.
We hopped a local bus into St. George’s where our friend Pam had some of her silk paintings on display at an art exhibition in the museum. She was in the courtyard when we arrived and we joined her for a cold drink before going into the museum to view the exhibits. The exhibition was nicely done.
It was lunch time and we found a fairly new Chinese Food Restaurant with a deck overlooking the lagoon. Rick cannot pass up Chinese food and this place was particularly good.
After lunch, we walked through the tunnel to the market for some tomatoes and mangoes before boarding a bus back to the marina. The bus dropped us right at the marina gate.
It was burger night which meant I didn’t have to cook. The pan man was entertaining and we were looking forward to meeting up with Doug and Sandy (Triumph III) who just anchored in Hog Island yesterday. They had been in Carriacou and missed seeing us there.
It was another fun evening and we left just before a congo line began weaving it’s way around the club house as the Pan Man provided the music. We could hear the music and laughter and see the dancing from the boat.
Our three month immigration time stamp in our passport expires this Saturday and since we will be up in Sauteurs we needed to extend with immigration before we headed up island.
We had a quick breakfast, prepared and packed our belongings and left everything on the boat while we had Keith drive us into town again.
It was 9AM when we arrived up the hill at the Immigration office and we were one of the first people there. By 9:30AM our passports had been updated and we were on our way back down the hill towards Grand Anse, this time walking.
We took a local bus to CK’s which is a bulk purchase discount store. There we bought a few items most of which fit into Rick’s backpack and then walked down hill again, this time to Spiceland Mall.
We were killing time more than anything else because we were to meet Margot and Malcolm who were driving down from Sauteurs but we were much too early.
At the grocery store in Spiceland Mall (IGA) we purchased more items knowing that we could transport them in the car once Margot and Malcolm arrive.
We had finished shopping and took our cart to the small food court in the mall. I phone Malcolm just to let him know where we were. Perfect timing, he had just dropped off Margot and she was walking through the main doors and he was on his way to get new rear tires for the car.
Margot picked up a few groceries and she finished just as Malcolm pulled back into the parking lot. He was able to purchase the two tires (here they are tyres) but the shop didn’t have anyone to put them on the rims.
Not to worry, we could take care of that later. We all piled our groceries and ourselves along with the two tires in the car and went to the Aquarium Restaurant for a lovely lunch and relaxed there until it was time for them to check in at the airport. They are flying to Carriacou so a last minute check-in is fine.
We left them at the airport and drove to a nearby tire place. Within about 20 minutes they had the two new tires on the rims, balanced and installed. Grenada price $66EC ($25US) total.
It was then time to return to the boat, load our food and clothing into the car and drive north again.
This time Rick drove right through downtown St George’s. There had been a couple of cruise ships in earlier but it was after 3PM so they were gone and the market area wasn’t bad at all.
It
was a lovely drive up the west coast of the island with rain clouds passing
frequently but not providing much in the way of precipitation. Just before
Gouyave we stopped to watch the fisherman and half the town pull in a huge
fishing net. There were two fishing boats at the other end of the nets and a
couple of swimmers keeping an eye on the edges of the nets. It was a nice time
to stretch our legs and have a break from the driving for a few minutes.
We continued north and found ourselves at the house in less than 1 ½ hours. This was a vast improvement over our previous drive up and down the island. It helps when we don’t get lost and especially when we even know of the short cuts.
I called Pam to let her know we had arrived and we were glad to be back.
Our phone rang while we were heating dinner and it was Sherwin. He was all excited because he now knew who we were house sitting for. He has known Margot and Malcolm for years when they used to anchor their boat “Kiwa” in Tyrrel Bay. So Margot, Malcolm, Tom and Cindy (Havana Good Time) and Roy and Susan were all at Lambi Queen having a little reunion.
We were up early and had finished breakfast by the time Samantha arrived at 8AM. Danville the gardener would not be coming because he was let go and a new gardener has not yet been hired.
Rick told Samantha to go ahead and collect the water from the laundry and he
would water the plants. Rick has always enjoyed playing in a garden so although
he had to lug the water in pails he seemed to be enjoying it.
At 10 AM we went over to Pam and Chas’ house for coffee and discussed the social plans for the week. On our way we passed the house by the old windmill. There was scaffolding and a construction guy working away up on the scaffolding building a two story addition. Rick and I both chuckled because he was wearing a hard hat and was barefoot. Grenada safety standards.!!
Chas and Ken had the first Adirondack chair finished and even stained so I had to sit in it and check it out for comfort. It was perfect.
We returned to the house and had lunch then an afternoon siesta.
In the afternoon I made a large pot of chilli and measured the overnight
ingredients for farmers bread so that when we come home later tonight I can just
add the yeast and water.
We had a nice time at Mahe’s and then drove to River Sallee for the Friday night barbeque. We were joined by Michael and Jack. In fact, we kidded Jack because he sped past us on the way to River Sallee.
We had some great barbecued chicken and then headed back to the house. Rick wanted a Jacuzzi so we sat in the water under the stars and had a relaxing time.
Oh no!!! I awoke at 3AM and suddenly remembered that I hadn’t prepared my overnight bread recipe which needs 12 hours of resting. I jumped out of bed, took care of that but then couldn’t get back to sleep.
In the morning, I prepared the Chili con Queso which is a cheese dip that is
always a hit. I couldn’t leave the bread dough any longer or it wouldn’t be
ready in time for dinner so I added the rest of the ingredients and kneaded the
dough to let it rise for the second time. This recipe has another resting stage
and another rising period so it takes quite a while.
We went over to Pam and Chas’ house where Emmy and Ken provided snacks of barbecued ribs and wings to hold us over until dinner time.
We all left and drove through town to Herme’s rum shop. Soon all the neighbours began to arrive and we had a fun evening.
We left a little before everyone because Pam who led the way to Herme’s said it took her twice as long as usual to get there because she had to stop and wait for us to catch-up so many times.
Shortly after we arrived back at the house, Pam, Chas, Emmy and Ken arrived in their car. A little while later Phillip (Petite Anse Restaurant and Resort) arrived as well.
I put the chilli on to heat, dished up the chilli con queso and served it with nachos. The bread and chilli seemed to be a hit so all my worry was for naught.
We had our Sunday morning poached eggs and after eating that we were supposed to go to Pam and Chas for Champagne and pancake breakfast at 10AM.
I don’t know where the time went but we were running so late that I called and said we would pass on the pancake breakfast.
We are having company for lunch tomorrow so I was trying to get a head start
of the food preparation again. I put a frozen chicken in the sink to thaw and
began making a cream of broccoli soup. The soup was finished but the chicken was
still partially frozen. I was taking a salad for this evenings dinner at Pam’s
so I washed the veggies and put that together.
It was 12:30PM and we were supposed to head out so the chicken came out of the water and went into the fridge to continue thawing while we were out.
It was St Patrick’s festival today which turned out to be a bit of a dud during the daytime and we weren’t going to be around after dark. We had a fun time at Mahe’s. Pam, Emmy and I walked up the hill to where the craft ladies were selling their wares and we each (Pam and I) bought hats and cell phone holders from the craft ladies.
Back at Mahe’s the goat man walked up the street right on schedule and this time he had a couple of new little kids with him. I played with a little white one for a while.
Eventually we left Mahe’s and returned to Chas and Pam’s place for a dinner
of Tandori chicken. This time there were nine of us.
It was a fun evening but we left returned to the house at 7:30PM. The chicken had finally thawed and I wanted it cooked for tomorrow morning when I planned to make Chicken Pot Pie. So, I quickly threw it in the oven and set the timer. As Rick snored away I kept doing different things to keep myself awake for the next couple of hours.
Finally I fell into bed at 10PM. The oven was off and the chicken was cooling. I set the alarm on the timer for another hour so I could move it into the fridge once it cooled a little. Since the oven was turned off this time I could sleep for an hour and the timer would wake me.
After a wonderful night’s sleep I started preparing the vegetables for the chicken pie before I even made breakfast. In fact when everything was chopped and cooked poor Rick had to remind me that he was hungry. I hadn’t made breakfast yet. By this time, Samantha had arrived and the chicken pie filling was in the fridge cooling so we had a quick bowl of cereal.
Samantha always starts the laundry when she first arrives so that the clothes
have time to line dry and she can fold them before she leaves. So as soon as
Rick finished his cereal, he was out using the laundry water on the garden.
The pie came out of the oven just as the phone rang. Our friends Doug and Sandy (Triumph III) were on the bus and just passing the village of Victoria. It takes the bus about 20 minutes between there and Sauteurs.
We took our time and then drove to the bus terminal where we were to meet them. We waited well over an hour and they still hadn’t arrived. The problem was we left my cell phone back at the house so we couldn’t call to find out where they were. I asked the driver of the last bus that arrived from St George’s if he had any white people on his bus that got off near here. He hadn’t.
While waiting we saw the dive tanks over at the fish market and went to check if they had lobster. They had sacks of lobsters and we purchased two that were 2lbs each. At $10EC ($3.75/3.90US) a pound, I should have bought much more.
Finally Rick went back to the house and got the cell phone. As soon as I
called them we learned that they were just up the hill at the church which they
had been told was a bus terminal. It’s really a bus hangout but at least we knew
where to find them. Then we brought them back to the house, first things first,
they needed a drink after their “ride from hell”. We had lunch and left shortly
afterward to go to Petite Anse where we were greeted like old friends. We stayed
there for a while enjoying the view and having a cool drink. Since we lost so
much time earlier in the day we couldn’t delay too long.
Next we drove to Belmont Estate. Sandy and Doug had never been there so they had a chance to look around while I was trained on how to open and close the Arts and Crafts Co-op store where I would be spending the day tomorrow.
The training didn’t take long but it was 4:30PM by the time we left and made our way to Grenville.
In Grenville we parked the car by the beach and went in search of the correct bus terminal for the Upper Woburn bus. We thought there were only two bus terminals in Grenville but learned that there is another location on the road where the Woburn bus waits.
We found the bus and asked first if he was going to drive fast or slow. He promised that he would not drive fast. Next we asked if he would take them to Nimrod’s in Lower Woburn which would save the trip into St. Georges and a second bus from there. All was agreed to so we said our good-byes and watched them leave.
We made it back to Sauteurs and into the house before dark. Although the day seemed to fly by so quickly, it had been a long day. We were both tired and not very hungry. We had leftovers for dinner, watched a movie and went to bed early.
Today was my first day on the job (http://www.belmontestate.net/).
There was no rush as I didn’t have to open the store until 10AM. It is about a
30 minute drive from the house to the store (at our speed which is considered
slower than others) who does Rick notice driving behind us but Pam and Chas who
are taking Emmy and Ken on an Island tour today. In the past they have kidded us
about the speed we
travel and I thought they might pass us but they stayed behind until the last
fork in the road. We continued to Belmont and they took the other fork which
leads to somewhere we haven’t explored.
I opened the store just before 10AM and then it was a matter of working on my laptop or reading my EBook as I waited for customers to arrive.
Just to pass the time, Rick spent a lot of time talking to Rainbow the green parrot who lives by the front door of the co-op. Rainbow is a very talkative parrot so Rick was trying to teach him to say “Where’s Pam”?
Rick hung in with me all day. I worked on my laptop and we both read our
EBook readers. Finally at 3PM I made the first sale of the day. It was one of
Pam’s silk painted cards.
Closing time was 4PM and when Rick went to get the car and drive it up to the front of the store he had to compete for space with the horse that roams freely on the estate. At this time the horse chose to stand in front of the co-op and nibble on a little green ground covering. I tried to pull her away using the harness but she was quite happy to stay right where she was. Finally Rick got out of the car and gave her a slap on the behind which did the trick.
We met Emmy, Ken, Chas and Pam at Mahe’s where I bought eggs and wine and returned Rick’s case of beer bottles for a refill tomorrow.
Dinner was at Pam’s tonight and Emmy had prepared good Canadian style beef burgers which Ken barbecued along with some fresh pineapple, Pam contributed homemade buns and I brought cream of broccoli soup. It was a fun evening that went quite late but it was our last as a foursome. Chas will be driving Ken and Emmy to the airport at 4AM Thursday morning so tomorrow will be an early night for them.
We
were still eating breakfast when Samantha arrived this morning. She did a major
cleanup in the kitchen today emptying, cleaning and reorganizing all of the
drawers. I waited until she had moved on to a different area of the house before
I started baking peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
The cookies were finished just before noon and then Rick took over. He barbecued potatoes and lobster for lunch.
After lunch we spent a while in the Jacuzzi. Even though it was 2:30PM we couldn’t stay in the sun to long.
After dinner and a movie we went for another Jacuzzi when we didn’t have to worry about the sun.
