A Trip to Hog Island

A neighbor of ours... who also does the hashes... works for the electric company here and invited us to join her department on an outing to Hog Island. So last Saturday morning we gave them a lift (Roslyn, her young daughter, and her mother Janice) to the Woburn jetty, where we would meet with the rest of the group for a water taxi ride to the island. (Apparently, Hog Island has been sold for development and will probably become a private island, restricting access to the locals in the future.)

Although it had been raining off & on all morning, we were all hoping the weather would clear to give us a good beach day. Unfortunately, it didn't appear that would happen as it began to rain again while we waited at the jetty. When the water taxi arrived, we gathered ourselves and proceeded to board for the quick trip to the island... less than 5 minutes! For some of the children, it was their first water taxi ride and they were a bit fearful! The boat had to make about 5 or 6 trips back and forth to get everyone over there... along with all the food for the day. And the weather improved! We only had one or 2 very light showers the rest of the day!

The first thing they did was to set up the food and drink area, and light the grill for the chicken. Meanwhile, everyone settled into playing games or exploring. We taught one couple how to play our dice game, and later in the day we got out the beach bocci balls. The young boys were playing cricket on the beach, and the smaller children played in the sand. We just hung out chatting and watching all the activities.

Soon enough, lunch was ready... chicken BBQ, rice & peas, and a salad (similar to potato salad, but with more vegetables and maybe some green bananas?). It was all very good. After lunch, Scott & I took a walk along the top of the island on the new road that was started. Along the way, we could see the markers for the lots for sale. I didn't notice any construction going on, but we didn't make it all the way to the other end... which is closer to the bridge they built recently.

When we got back to the beach, we saw that a few of the guys had just come back with some fish they caught... caribbean lobster, lambi, and a couple of fish (but I'm not sure what kind). They had a big pot of water on a charcoal fire, which would soon become what they called "fish water" (a fish soup with dumplings). It had very good flavor... but I was never a big fan of dumplings.

By 5:00 (or 5:30) we were ready to head back home. So we said good-bye to our new friends, thanked them for including us, and boarded the third boat back to the jetty. All in all, we really lucked out with the weather, so it was another great day in paradise!

(Click for more photos of the trip!)

Sunday at Sandy Island

Recently, the former owner of our Grenada home (Leslie Ann) invited us to join her, along with her daughters & some friends for an outing to Sandy Island... a small island off the northeast coast of Grenada. (Wanna buy it? Click on the link!) It would be about a 1-1/2 to 2 hour drive to get up there, then the only way to get over to the island is by boat. So last Sunday morning, we met up with them at 6:30 am and our 3-vehicle "caravan" headed across the island. Our provisions included pre-made saltfish (for breakfast), and food for making beef and rotis for lunch. We brought along salad and iced tea (very "American"!). Everyone was to chip in money to pay for a water taxi to carry us over to the island from Levera Beach.

Upon our arrival at the beach, we unloaded the cars & hauled everything out to the beach to wait for the water taxi. There is no dock or jetty to make it easy for getting into a boat here, so we had to be very careful in loading. The sea was a bit choppy, which made it quite tricky getting into the small wooden boat. And we discovered that he couldn't fit all 10 of us in at one time... so he'd have to make 2 trips. Scott & I ended up in with the first load to go across. (Although a little nervous about the ride, I figured "What the heck... they don't seem to be too worried about it! Why should I?") After about a 10-15 minute ride (which was smoother than I anticipated), the little boat coasted in to shore where the driver helped us out as we stepped carefully onto a rocky bottom just beyond the sandy beach. We unloaded the supplies, then carried everything a short distance to another spot along the beach... and waited for the rest to arrive. At this point, the 5 of us were the only ones on the island!

When everyone was together, the first thing we did was set up a little "sitting" area under the palm trees. They laid out palm fronds on the ground to try make a softer area to sit. Then we had our saltfish breakfast. Afterward, we had a chance to explore and check out the damaged plantation house. (It looked like the house might have been damaged from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.) Some of us then tried to take a walk all the way around the island... but it got very rocky, so 3 of us tried to find a short cut back, while the others continued on. (The short cut was right through a bunch of cacti and some scratchy shrubs! Not easy when you're wearing flip-flops!)

Back at our "base camp" everyone was settling in for a day of relaxation! We brought a dice game along with us & taught them how to play, while Leslie Ann and the men got a fire going in a coal pot for making the roti. One of the guys got some coconuts out of a tree nearby and cut them open for the milk inside.

Eventually, we all had our lunch. Then while some took naps or lounged on the beach, the rest of us took a swim. The water here was so clear it was amazing! I don't think I've ever seen such clear "blue" water!

By 4:00, our water taxi had returned to take us back to the mainland. It was another adventure for us... with many new "firsts" to add to our list of things we've done! The company we were with matched the wonderful weather of the day... just perfectly!

(More photos from Sandy Island)

Finally - A New Bed!

One of the Scott's projects has been to make bed frames for 2 mattresses... our old mattress from home (which we'll use for a guest bed), and one of those "sleep number" mattresses that we purchased just before we left the states (still in its original box). In PA, we were sleeping on a bed frame that I bought at a yard sale more than 30 years ago! We figured it was time to move on to something a little nicer. Last week, Scott finished our bed frame & we finally opened the box containing our new mattress! It's taken a few nights of adjusting the air level, but we both agreed that we seem to be sleeping much better!

So now there's still two more big projects that need to be done before we'll start on repairing the kitchen cabinets... building a dining room table, and installation of my washer & dryer. In the meantime... I just keep painting!

Here's a photo of us with our friend, Rusty (in the front)... and Joanne after dinner last week at the Lazy Lagoon. (Both are former Windjammer crew members.) Joanne was working on Mandalay on our first Windjammer cruise, and was visiting Rusty, who lives & works here in Grenada. It was fun catching up!

Next time I'll tell you about our day trip with the previous owner of our house!

Workshop is in Operation!

(Scott's blog this time.)

With the exception of the electronic repair equipment, most of the workshop is set up now. Over the last few months, I’ve been able to turn out a few projects… to include shelving, 2 beds, and dozens & dozens of little fix-up jobs around the house and yard!

When we arrived here in July, the contractor had just completed pouring the floor and doing a very rough plastering job on the inside of the walls. They also installed the glass

block windows and a usable set of temporary doors. The electrician upgraded the electrical service for the house… at the same time he installed a separate electrical service for the shop and for the apartment (not shown).

One small area at a time, I would paint the wall, set up shelving, and unpack boxes. After I had found enough tools, I began to build workbenches and install electrical fixtures. (The plumber had also installed an area for a bathroom and slop sink, which I haven’t done anything with yet.)

For security reasons, and appearance, I fabricated a single entrance door and an 8 foot wide sliding door. Most of the hardware for the doors was purchased in the US because I didn’t know what was available here in Grenada. The wood was purchased at a local lumber yard, and it’s what they call “pitch pine”, which is a very heavy, sappy wood. I purposely left small cracks between the boards to provide both ventilation and a more rustic look. I like to buy 16 foot lengths of wood to minimize waste. (Also the longer lengths seem to tie down and haul better than the shorter 8-12 foot lengths.) I haul everything on the top of our 2-door Suzuki Escudo. (Down here that’s referred to as a “van”… not a small SUV. What we call vans, they call “buses”. And what we call buses, they refer to as “coasters”… but that’s another story!)

After the workshop was more secure, I began setting up most of the other stuff. For a time, I had to do all my welding with my gas welding equipment, which can be very slow and time-consuming. The next thing to do was work on the transformer assembly that we use to convert the Grenadian 210 volt (no neutral) electricity to American 120 volt and American 230 volt (with neutral). I accomplished this by using two rather large (boat-anchor!) transformers, and wiring them in such a way to produce the voltage for my predominantly-American tools and machinery. We will also use this Americanized voltage to power our energy-saving laundry equipment (also brought with us from the US).

Some of our neighbors who have visited the shop, just stand there wide-eyed looking at the equipment and the backup of material, hardware, and supplies. A secure, brightly-lit, well-equipped, and dry work area is something practically unheard of in Grenada. A few of the neighbor boys have discovered my shop and have since made several cricket bats (with my supervision). I even helped one neighbor install an automobile radio (powered by a motorcycle battery) on his bicycle! Along with the suitcase-sized speaker, we are able to hear him coming from a great distance!

Things left to do include installing piped, compressed air to various parts of the workshop… and of course, setting up the electronic repair bench. I find it very satisfying to be able to complete a job from start to finish, without needing to make several half-hour trips to town (for the miscellaneous screw or dab of paint)!

... Scott

Goodbye to New Friends

In the short time we've been here, we've found some precious new friends. Unfortunately, we said goodbye to two of them today.

We met Debbie back in October... at the Halloween hash. And we became instant friends! She & her fiance, Bill, have been living on their boat for about 5 years. They were here in Grenada waiting for hurricane season to pass. (Many of the boaters stay here for the winter because Grenada is below the hurricane belt.) Although they were planning to head north in early January, their plans were sidetracked due to a family emergency which required Debbie to go back to the states. She'd been gone for 2 months and just returned to Grenada last week. If the weather holds out, they'll be leaving this weekend. So we spent today with them at the beach, and said our goodbyes... for now. They're hoping to make it to Puerto Rico before this year's hurricane season, so we have no idea when we might see them again. (Of course, we'll keep in touch with them via Skype!) Guess I'm getting used to these "long-distance" friendships.

As promised, I'm also including a few photos of our guest bathroom where I painted sea shells on the wall to match the shower curtain. I've never done anything like this before & wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I'm pretty proud of it! (There's also a "before" photo so you can see the tacky contact paper that was on the wall!)

Till next time...

10 March 2009 - Tuesday

Hashing & Painting... Painting & Hashing!

The last of our Windjammer friends have gone back to the states, so we're slowly getting back into our regular routine of working around the house. (We haven't been to the beach for about a week now!)

I've finally made a decision on what to do with my living room walls. I was pretty sure of the method I wanted to use to tackle the project... a color wash... but had trouble pinning down the colors. The room is so big that I'm not going to make all the walls the same color. (But I have yet to decide exactly which walls will get which color!) So I went out & bought a gallon each of 2 different colors and got started on 2 of the smallest wall sections... wanted to see how it would look together. (The photos attached show the walls before I started, and how they turned out.) I was a little worried that it might be too bright, but I brought some fabric with me for furniture cushions & pillows... and I think it's going to be awesome together! (And yea... Scott says it's not as "hideous" as he thought it would be!) Yesterday & today I worked on covering up the white paint that somehow got smeared all over the ceiling boards & beams... it was never cleaned up after the walls were painted white in the first place. Now my neck is stiff, and my wrist is sore, but I'm determined to get an early start on the next wall tomorrow! And thanks to my Mount Joy neighbor, Sandi... I don't have to worry about ruining my last angled paintbrush!!!

We went out on another hash this past Saturday. Part of the trail was actually IN the stream (below the waterfall pictured)! I seriously need to get myself a good walking stick... before I end up breaking my neck on these hikes! The trail took us about 1-1/2 hours, and included a lovely view of a small waterfall. It was a great workout, but between that and all the ladder climbing I've been doing, I'm paying for it now! They're looking for people to help out with planning the trails, so Scott is trying to hook up with some locals to lend a hand for a future hash.

Well, that's all for now! Next time I'll post a few photos of the shells I painted in the guest bathroom.