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)