The Book Boat!

On Thursday, August 13 the ship Logos Hope arrived here in Grenada for about a 10-day visit. We had never heard of this ship, but we read about it in the local newspaper and decided to check it out. This non-profit organization has been sailing the world since 1970, and can house about 600 volunteers from 70 countries. They promote education, aid relief, social awareness, and a personal relationship with God in the ports & countries where they travel. They offer books for sale at very affordable prices... many of them religious books and text books. They had quite a selection of cook books and children's books, as well as some games. They also had a pretty large variety of christian music available. It very much reminded me of a christian book store... only floating! There really aren't any big book stores here in Grenada. Although there are lots of places where you can "swap" books, it's hard to find a nice variety of books for sale all in one place. At one point during their stay, the ship had to move from the pier to find calmer seas. (Hurricane Bill did not affect us, but it made the seas a bit choppy along the shore lines.) They must have still had trouble when they tried to come back in the next morning because they ended up docked at the shipping dock in the Carenage... which is where our Windjammer ships used to dock. If you have some time, it's worth a visit to their website (click on their name above)... they even have a few webcams aboard the ship so you can see the view! And there's an interesting video tour of the ship on their site as well.

Nothing much going on lately. As I mentioned, Hurricane Bill did not really affect us... except there was one day that was absolutely stifling hot with no breeze to be found! (I'm told that's because the hurricanes suck the moisture up and away from us as they pass by.) We're watching another weather development that's off the coast of Africa and may become another hurricane. Apparently, this one is beginning lower than usual and causes Grenadians to hold their breath as they wait for it to turn north.

Our hash last Saturday actually should have been called a "mud slide"! It rained quite a bit earlier in the day... and looked like it might rain on us during the hash. (I think many of us would have welcomed the rain, thinking maybe it would wash some of the mud off!) I slid off a boulder in the stream and ended up to my thighs in water... then managed to go through the rest of the trail with squishy, muddy boots. YUK! (It was fun though, seeing all the first-timer hashers at the end of this one!)

I'm still working on painting my stone wall in the master bedroom. The stones are finished, but I'm slowly adding some greenery (and lizards) to make it look more realistic. Watch for another blog entry in the next day or two & I'll post some photos of it!
Until then...

Carnival 2009

Well... between the raindrops (and huge downpours) this week, Grenada's Carnival parade finally made an appearance on Saturday! Scott & I met friends at the Tropicana on Tuesday thinking that the rain would pass in time for the start of the parade at 1:00. Unfortunately, the downpours continued... at least until word got out that the parade would be postponed until Saturday. In the meantime, we met a great couple who is also living here... Chris & Beryl (from the UK). Turns out that Chris is "Hogan of Grenada" who reports on the weather at the Grenada link on the Caribbean Hurricane Network.

So we went back yesterday to do it all over again (fully loaded with my camera backpack)! Although it rained a bit in the morning, the rest of the day turned out to be just beautiful! The streets were buzzing with spectators... and some very, VERY loud music! (Of course, we came prepared with our ear plugs!)

The photos posted here came from our new friend. (Thanks for sending them to me, Chris!)

Here's a little slide show with some highlights...

Bert's Place - Hermitage

I've been wanting to take another drive up to Pearl's airstrip, and we finally had the time to do that last Sunday. (I had taken a photo of a young family there on my last trip & wanted to give them a print as a keepsake.) It was a holiday weekend (Emancipation Day), so there wasn't much else to do anyway.

On the way back we took a different route that brought us past a new restaurant we came across while hashing a few months ago. There looked to be some activity, so we pulled into the parking lot & asked if they were open. (There was a small gathering of people hanging around... left over from a party the night before.) Bert, the owner greeted us with a friendly smile... as though we were old friends! Although he is closed on Sundays, he was more than happy to show us around. Of course, we ended up at the bar in his banquet room, where he brought out his own "home brew" (a blended rum) and we had our own little tasting party, meanwhile passing time with conversation about how he got started with this venture. By the time we left, we had our own bottles of his "brew" to bring home with us!

Our hash last weekend was at Grand Etang Park. There is a lake there and the trail basically took us all around the lake. Most of the path though was a big mud bog... at some times I felt it was like quicksand! There are a few "resident" mona monkeys that hang out at the entrance, so we were able to get some photos of them. They are not pets, and pretty much come & go as they please. Sometimes there's a guy hanging around with them asking for money if you photograph them. He was not around today... probably because the tourists are not here this time of year. I watched the monkey travel across the top of the fence. When he came to a girl that was sitting on the fence in his way, he just "bounced" off the top of her head to pass around her! It happened so fast, she didn't see it coming! It was funny!

I've been thinking about my next project, which is to paint a wall to look like stones. I came up with this idea because I couldn't decide what color I should paint this wall. Because it's visible from the large room, it would have to be a color that coordinates somewhat. I came up with the stone wall idea because I could still paint the bedroom whatever color I want... without it clashing with the living room. Anyway, we bought a few different shades of paint on Tuesday and I started painting on Wednesday. Three days later the wall is now covered with stones! I still have more detail work to do on the rocks, then I also want to make it look like there's some green stuff growing between some of them. But Carnival is starting here this weekend, so I think I'll take a few days off. Actually, I'm quite surprised at how nice it looks! But poor Scott "shudders" every time I have another wild idea about decorating! (Here's a photo after the second day of painting.)

We both have a busy day scheduled for tomorrow. Scott is helping to set the trail for the hash, so he'll be gone most of the day. And I'm taking a friend with me to Grenville to look at fabric. (That's about an hour drive each way.) On another note... we had a coffee "catastrophe" yesterday afternoon, and our glass carafe broke! I won't even get into THAT story!

Happy Anniversary!

Well, I can't believe it's been a full year since our arrival here in Grenada! Where has the time gone? I suppose I can conclude that it doesn't matter WHERE you live for time to pass by quickly! So for those of you who think we have gone to the "end of the earth" to just sit in our cushy hammock to watch the fruit grow... think again! (Actually, I don't think I've been in that hammock since Easter!) The other morning I noticed this huge bug hanging above me as I walked out to the carport!

Speaking of fruit... it's the time of year for mangoes! Although I hear they're coming in a little late this year, we've just begun getting some good ripe ones off our tree. Unfortunately, it appears that the avocado trees will not be bearing any fruit this year! Although we had wheelbarrows full of them last year, for some reason there's not one single avocado on either of our two trees this year! We have a number of banana trees with bunches on them, but they seem to take quite awhile to ripen. Scott's begun to harvest guava, and last week someone gave us a passion fruit vine that we planted behind the house. So we'll be looking forward to adding passion fruit to our own special blend of juice!

Nearly 5 years after Hurricane Ivan ripped off many of the historic church roofs, we happened to notice they've begun replacing the roof on the catholic church in St. George's. There currently are 3 very visible churches in the town that still have not been repaired since the storm. This will be a welcome addition to the landscape when it's completed!

The past few weeks have been extremely busy for us... mainly because I was working on a photography job for a local event. I photographed 80+ dancers and 4 groups for my neighbor's dance studio. The images were used on the program for their big end of year show. At the same time, we had Windjammer friends visiting from Boston... and another couple of friends were preparing to leave Grenada for good. I also photographed their teenage son on the beach before they left. (He'll be finishing his final year of school back in Montana.)

While I've been doing all this running around, Scott's continuing to work on his shutter project. He may be at a roadblock at the moment because he doesn't have all the hinges necessary to mount them... he bought everything the store had and is now waiting for them to get another shipment. (This may take awhile!)

Last week I took the local bus to town, to meet a friend for lunch. (My driver's license had expired the day before and Scott needed the car later in the day.) Grenada actually has a pretty good public transit system, which makes it very easy to get around. Their "buses" are actually vans that can hold up to 16 passengers... plus the driver. (No seatbelts required, so they can always squeeze in a few more!) It's a 5-min walk for me to catch the bus at the St. Paul's police station, where the buses pass by frequently... no schedule, really. On this day, I hadn't even made it to the top of the hill (where the bus stops)... They must have seen me heading there, so the bus was backing down the hill to pick me up! This ride would take me into St. George's, to a fairly large bus terminal. I then took a different bus to Grand Anse, where I met my friend. The cost is $2.50 EC per ride (less than $1 US), and I never had to wait! So it really didn't take me much longer to go there by bus than it would have if I had driven myself. They don't run on Sundays or holidays, so we often given people a lift if we see them walking along the main roads when we're out & about. (Kinda reminds you of the days when you could actually hitchhike safely back in the states!)

The last time I wrote, I talked about all the dogs in the neighborhood. The other day I was in the kitchen & heard the water running in the slop sink out in the carport. When I looked out the window I was shocked at what I saw! ... There was Scott, lathering up & hosing down the neighbor's fluffy dog in the sink! (Of course, I had to get a picture!) The dog is now spending most of her time with him these days... only going home to get fed! She's still not allowed to be up on our veranda, but I've noticed she's sleeping at the top of the driveway at night. She's a little too yappy for me... as she protects her "new" second home!

For those of you interested, I finally got the cortisone shot in my wrist & it's helped a great deal! (Wasn't nearly as painful as I anticipated!) I've got a new pair of pinking shears, so I'm ready to get back to sewing again! I'm also looking forward to getting back to some basic exercising (like pushups)... something I haven't been able to do for a few years because of a shoulder injury, then this wrist problem.

Still no plans to head home for a visit... but I'm working on that!

Barking Dogs, Fire Ants, and Wormy Things

Ok... you may have already guessed what these three things have in common. They are things we find annoying down here. (Sometimes making us crazy!)

The fire ants are everywhere (outside). They're so small it's easy to overlook them... and by the time you realize they're there, it's too late! Yesterday I was working in the yard weeding my garden. I was wearing gardening gloves (in case there are slimy things down there I don't want to touch!), protecting my hands from thorns, etc. Then I noticed stinging on my ankles... immediately followed by more stinging on my wrist and arms. ANTS! A friend & I decided the other day that their game plan is for all of them to get into position covering whatever available skin they can get to... then it's "1, 2, 3... BITE!" Because once you feel that first bite, you're already covered. So first I was standing on an ant hill, so I moved. Then I was pulling weeds from an area that disturbed them... now they're on the weeds that I'm holding in my hands! THEN I went further up the hill to transplant a few things and I had to sit on the ground because it was so steep. You guessed it! I found myself sitting on them! And now they were all over me! At that point, I determined that I was finished with yard work for the day! [Today I cleaned the house.]

Now on to the barking dogs: Most households down here have at least one dog. There are 10 dogs among the 4 houses closest to us (2 houses beside us, and 2 across the street). Unfortunately, the dogs are left to run loose around the neighborhood... and no one gets them spayed or neutered. They are covered with fleas & ticks, and many of them have numerous cuts & scrapes from fighting. We don't have a fence up so they run through our property, do their business, and even hang out (with Scott) outside his shop below. All but one are pothounds... 3 females & 7 males. (The one female looks like a lhasa apso?) Now, you can just imagine what it's like around here when the "ladies" go into heat!

The female from across the street is in heat now, and for the past week this "pile" of dogs goes rumbling up & down the street below our bedroom during the night. This starts around 2:30-3:00 am and continues for a few hours... with incessant barking the whole time! So we haven't been getting much sleep. Finally Scott mentioned to the neighbor that we may have to take some drastic action if he doesn't do something about this. So for the past 2 nights he's kept the female dog in his basement at night... and we've finally gotten some decent sleep because that's solved the problem for now. Scott thanked him for that the next day... then asked him if he could do something about the thunder that rumbled through during a bad storm as well! (First he looked puzzled, then just smiled!)

I find it upsetting to see so many dogs on the loose that are not well cared for. One morning we noticed one of the (white) male dogs had a "pink" shoulder and could not use one leg. The pink was actually from an injury where he was bleeding. His leg had a pretty bad cut at the joint, and his eye was injured as well. Although he could barely walk (for days), no one seemed to care. In a few months, we'll have 2 more litters of puppies (the other female pothound is pregnant too). This will just add to the insanity! (PHOTOS show the injured white dog, the tan female dog, and the "fluffy" dog... guarding Scott's shop!)

And finally, about the "wormy things"... I've found photos of them on line listed as millipedes, but the locals call them congarees. They are black, 4-5 inches long, and slow-moving (so easy to kill). They seem to appear out of nowhere! Scott has been going outside first thing in the morning and going around killing as many as he finds... one morning he reported killing 45! Occasionally we see them in the house, but not very often. Mostly they're outside on the fruit trees, but we find them on the veranda, the driveway, and in the garden as well. When you touch them, they curl up (like a sausage). I hate killing them... because I hate killing things that crunch! Scott's my hero!

Well, that's all for now... I'll let you know if I think of anything else "annoying"! Just thought you might want to hear that it's not all a bed of roses down here! (But it sure comes close!)

Rainy Sunday

(Sorry for the delay on publishing this one... I just realized I had started this a few weeks ago, but forgot to post it!)

Today was a dreary, rainy, windy day here in Grenada! We had planned to go out to visit friends, but ended up lounging around the house all day. It was actually quite cool!

Yesterday we attended another hash... this one a twilight hash under the full moon. I was really looking forward to this one because it was going to be in the city of St. George's, and I'm scoping out areas in town to do some photography. We started at the new marina at Port Louis. The trail this time even included a brief "ferry" ride in a small boat to get across the lagoon to the streets in town. The views were spectacular (as usual)! They called this one the Hash of 1000 steps, as there are a LOT of steps to maneuver as you weave through the streets in town. (By the way... the tunnel in the photo is in town. It's one way for vehicles, but pedestrians use it as well. Notice the maximum height?) For fun, they also asked that everyone wear an ugly tie... since we were in the city!

Last weekend I attended a Dance Festival with my neighbors. (One of them teaches ballet and had her group in this show.) It was interesting to see all the different dance troups. I believe 3 or 4 of them were from Grenada, but there were also groups from Trinidad, Cuba, St. Vincent, and Martinique. I thought it was a very good show... just a little long though because it started a bit late.

This past Monday was another holiday (Whit Monday), so the stores were all closed. We were out on Sunday getting groceries and we saw a truck with sofas in the back... arranged for the families to sit in while being transported to a beach for the day I suppose.

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"!)