Wednesday 5/1/11
Went to Rituals for coffee and a blueberry muffin, $12 EC, both were very nice. I took my morning walk down to the Happy Day Bar at the end of the road. Sat by the dingy dock and talked with Trendy, watching the morning boat traffic go by. The bar is temporarily closed at the moment due to some back rent issues. After going back to the room for a shower, I took the bus for Castries. Walked around the market and got some more cocoa and turmeric root for me and a bag of bay leaves for my neighbor. I had a chicken roti $ 10EC, at one of the food stands. Still haven’t gotten my full curry fix but I will work on it. After returning I walked down to the Bay Garden Resort and spent the rest of the afternoon in and around the pool. Took a walk down the beach, the swell has subsided, and stopped at a food stand where a woman was cooking pig tail soup. The soup was $ 10 EC and was a delicious mix of pig tails, lentils, and dumplings. I ate every last bit of the thick rich broth. Nick and I met Dan at H20 along with Dave and Michelle who just arrived from England. They will be chartering Great Escape around the Caribbean this season. I plan to book a day with them for the Heineken Regatta in St. Maarten. We dinigied over to Skyelark, which is anchored in the lagoon. Adam left a couple days earlier to return to the Canaries on Big Spirit. Will was still aboard, he will be joining another yacht on Saturday. Will made a nice lasagna with a minced beef filling and some steamed veggies. I brought some chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert. We returned to the strip in Rodney Bay and closed out the night at Ceasers.
Thursday 6/1/11
Trendy stopped by to say good bye to Nick and I as we were packing to leave for Soufriere. Mike has decided to join us, but he will be staying at the Home Hotel. It is a true guest house with a common living room and kitchen facilities. It is owned and run by Marie who is 92 years old. The rooms are $50 EC a night and would be fine for someone on a tight budget . We got a cab to Soufriere for $ 70 US. We had too much luggage to schlep around on the buses. The ride was very relaxing and scenic. We saw a different side of Tomas’ destruction including a landslide where a home was lost. There is still a lot of work to be done. We checked in to the Downtown Hotel, $70 US per night, and settled in. Mike and I went to the Waterfront Creole Restaurant. Boomer, who I met last year joined us. We each had a chicken roti with a side of salad and a Piton; the bill with tax and service charge was $ 47 EC. Mike and I walked down to the beach in front of the Hummingbird for a swim. We could feel the stress leaving as we soaked in the waves. There were about a dozen yachts anchored in the bay and we sat on the porch of the dive shop watching the sunset, with Petite Piton in the background. We were sharing a flask of rum with a local water taxi driver and just loving life. I was almost seduced by the nightlife in Rodney Bay and was actually thinking of skipping Grenada this year and spending the time before our next charter there. But thank God for Soufriere, it has reminded me of how much I love the slower paced version of the Caribbean. We met up with Nick at Sandys for a drink. Later we stopped at Big Bamboo for a snack. I had the fish fingers and fries. The fish, maha, was lightly breaded and cooked perfectly served with a tartar sauce which I spiced up with some hot sauce. Nick had the chicken wings with fries and it settled a craving he had for some familiar food. After a full day and some beers along the water front we were ready a good nights sleep.
