4 October 2008 - Saturday

Grenada Hash House Harriers

We've heard about this group that meets every other Saturday for something called a "hash"... which is really a hike. Today was their 600th hash, so we decided to finally catch up with them at 2:30 today & see what it's all about!

First I have to tell you that last night we woke to some strong thunderstorms & heavy rain beginning around 3 am. At 10:00 this morning, it was STILL raining hard. I have no idea how much rain we actually got, but it was the most I've seen in one stretch since arriving here! On our drive to the hash, we noticed a number of landslides along the way, and one car looked like it had been submerged in an overflow across the road. Although it finally stopped by now, we are surely going to get muddy today!

We were prepared for the mud... extra set of clothes (and shoes), and camera in underwater housing (in case it rains again!). I wore my high-topped hiking boots... which are not that comfortable, but I was told it would only be about an hour hike so I could handle that.

At the beginning, we had to sign in (then sign out when we get back)... indicating that we were "virgins"... first-timers. There were quite a few virgins on this one, I guess because this was their 600th hash. They have different people who lay out the trails each time, so the guys who set this one were acknowledged. In preparation for these hashes, they usually need to cut the brush back to create the trail to follow. Sometimes I hear these guys get a bit over-enthusiastic in creating a challenging trail. Today we heard there were 3 trails for: walkers, runners, and ironmen. (We're doing the "walkers" trail... we're not nuts!)

I'm including a link to the photos I took: Webshots Album
I've captioned most of them, and there are a couple very short video clips to really give you an idea of what the environment was like. Overall, we had a good time, although it took us about 1-1/2 hours to finish! (Sometimes the trail got bottled up when people had to go single file to get through an area.) We're looking forward to doing it again since it's really great exercise! (At least it's a way to work off the alcoholic beverages consumed during the event!)

Upon returning home, the first order is to clean up the mud off our boots and get the clothes in the laundry! Then after a shower (and some medical attention to relieve the blisters on my heels), I'm sitting here posting the photos. In a few minutes, my head will be meeting the pillow for hopefully a restful and QUIET night of recuperation!