Sailing on Aloisius

This past weekend we had a chance to go sailing with our friends, Barb & Dave. They recently acquired their sailboat (of which I'm not very good at remembering details, other than the name of it!), and have been spending most of their weekends aboard since. Since our only experience on sailboats has been on Windjammer's tall ships, we consider ourselves complete "boobs" when it comes to assistance in getting us from point A to point B! So although we are happy to help with the work required aboard, most times we're probably just in the way. (But it was really fun to have the chance to learn a little about it!)

Our plan was to sail around the southwestern tip of the island, up along the west coast to a place called Flamingo Bay... where the snorkeling is considered to be quite good. This was actually the first time Scott & I have been on a small sailboat, so when the wind really got us going, I was a bit nervous about how much the boat was leaning (heeling) to the side. Of course, I had visions of the mast falling over and landing in the sea... but I'm sure that really wasn't about to happen! As long as Barb & Dave were still looking calm... no worries, mon! (They even entrusted each of us with the wheel for awhile!)

It took us a few hours to get there, and since we didn't really get going till around noon it turned out that we only had time enough to take a quick dip in the water & have a bite to eat. We came upon a few little rain showers during the day, but nothing that didn't pass by quickly. They wanted to get the boat back before dark... easier to see the markers in the shallow waters to the bay, so after cooling off in the water we headed back.

It was such a beautiful day for sailing! We were so happy they invited us along with them... especially since we hadn't been away from the house much in the past few weeks. We noticed how much drier the land is in the southern part of the island. And it's a lot hotter! We are getting near the end of the dry season, and the grass is really brown down there. (We still get a few rain showers here at the house, so things are a bit greener because of that.) The cruise ships have stopped for the summer, and next month begins the hurricane season... hopefully, it will be a quiet one.

(The photo to the right is a house that's built into the side of a hill... with that fancy boat out front, I guess you could call it the "bat cave" with the "bat mobile"!)

France 5 - Echappees Belles

Last Saturday was another hash day. Our neighbor didn't go this week, so we had room to give others a lift. We stopped by the designated place for hashers to catch a ride & picked up a couple of cruisers from Canada (Vancouver)... Eileen & Peter. Then we continued north along the west coast to Clozier, noticing along the way that it looked like we would get some rain on this hash. Sure enough, it rained a little just when we arrived... but there had been quite a hard rain shower earlier. So this makes the trail very muddy... and the rivers high & fast! The notes we received for this hash said to "bring cameras" because the views are fantastic. Usually I take my little point-n-shoot, in its own waterproof housing for these things. But today I was in the mood to haul out my SLR, and carried it in a small backpack to protect it from getting wet if necessary. It's a good thing I had the backpack... because between the rain and the treacherous crossings on the trail, there wasn't much opportunity for me to actually take any photos! Very soon after we started out, Scott & I split up... he & Peter took a path that would take them across a river, and because I had my camera Eileen & I went in a different direction (at the suggestion of the guy who set the trail). I don't think it really mattered though because we still ended up crossing a "river" where the water was up to my knees!

Earlier we had noticed a man with a large video camera (protected from the rain). Someone mentioned they thought he was German, but they didn't know why he was filming the hash. Throughout the trail, we would occasionally come across him and his assistants. (Apparently they knew the shortcuts to get ahead of us!) At one point, after climbing up a very long steep hill, we found him filming us as we reached the top. They asked us a few questions as to how often we come to the hashes. Anyway, I was tired (& out of breath) from climbing the hill, so I was grateful for the little chat we were having. They told us they were filming a documentary about life in Grenada for France 5 TV. When they found out I was a photographer living here, they asked if they could call me later to schedule a time for an interview... probably Monday. They asked if I might be available Sunday, but I had already scheduled to go out photographing with a local guy who wants to learn more about photography. They seemed excited about that but unsure of their schedule. I told them they were welcome to come along. They took my number & said they'd call either late Saturday night or Sunday morning. (I wasn't holding my breath!)

Well, they called me Monday morning, and we made arrangements to meet on the beach at lunch. I was to bring my camera gear. Scott & I met them at a restaurant where we ordered some lunch, then they wired me with a mic and we went out on the beach to film (while we waited for the food to arrive). Basically, they just had me walk along the beach photographing (anything), then out onto a jetty where we stopped and they filmed the interview. The camera guy didn't speak much English, but he had a French assistant who lives here and could translate everything. So he would tell her what he wanted me to do, then she would relay that to me. It was pretty cool! The show is scheduled to air in France on June 13, but it can also be viewed on line. (Click on the title above to go to their website!) But REMEMBER... it's all in French! When we finished our lunch, we exchanged emails... then Scott & I went to get our groceries!

My Sunday afternoon with the local amateur photographer was a lot of fun as well! He took me to a beautiful waterfall at Mt. Carmel. He had a friend with him (not a girlfriend, he says)... so we used her as a model. We're planning to get together again soon. I have some ideas on where I want to go next time.