Jan. 29
Yachts at anchor, while a fisherman sets his nets in the small bay off the hotel
We had breakfast at the hotel, you get one complimentary breakfast with each stay. First order of business was to take the bus into St. Georges to pick up some things and get a new sim card for my digicel phone. The digicel office is right on the main road so I got my new card and signed up for their international calling plan, 120 minutes to US & Canada for 24 EC ($9).
After a quick stop at the supermarket we wandered over to the open air market to find my spice goddess; she was at her stall in the usual place and we caught up on the past couple years. She always tells Kim she is going to take me away from her someday; she has been building a house on Carriacou for the past two years and if she ever finishes it she just might. She left Kim in charge of her stall and took me around to get the fruits and sauces we were looking for. We bought a spice gift basket and she threw in an assortment of other stuff including a large calabash bowl of spices, a bottle of vanilla and a wrap around skirt for Kim.
With my "Spice Goddess" Theresa
We grabbed a bus back to the hotel to drop off our bags and headed for the beach. I was able to negotiate a good deal on some chairs for the week, which is the best thing to do if you are staying on the island and plan to go to the beach often. We ran into Bob, the jewelry crafter, and Janice our favorite rum shack operator. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around on the beach with some occasional swimming and cold beers mixed in.
We decided to go to the Creole shack in St. Georges, but since we arrived after 7:00 there wasn’t much choice for side dishes left, better to get here by 6:00 for a good meal. After dinner we took the bus to the roundabout and walked to Umbrellas for a couple nightcaps there. Back at the hotel we sat out on the balcony and listened to the waves before calling it a night.
Jan 30
The view from the hotel balcony
Kim thought she saw a local breakfast place yesterday so we went in search of it in the morning; by the time it became clear she must have been mistaken we had walked all the way to the marina so decided to have breakfast there. The yacht races start today, part of the Grenada Sailing Week festivities and the marina was all geared up for the parties.
After breakfast we headed for the beach, where we would spend the day baking in the hot sun, seeking occasional refuge under the palapa that we requested they place our chairs under. There weren’t any ships in port so the beach was quite and only a few of the beach boys were around. The yachts were racing directly off the beach with one of the turning marks in front of where we were sitting.
Some of the yacht racing action
We had a light lunch from one of the food shacks; chicken & chips and fish & chips. I met up with an old friend and we spent the later part of the afternoon drinking the strong rum (160 proof) and trying to stay out of the sun.
I took a little nap after we came back to the room and then we went to the roundabout for dinner. There are an assortment of food trucks and stands; you can also buy beers and mixed drinks from some of the vendors. I had goat waters and a hamburger, Kim went for the jerk chicken. Still burnt out from the sun and the rum we made it an early night.