The two reasons for this carefree attitude are:
1- Dominic and Gus are in the
process of building and installing our Day Tank!
2- We have met many cruisers and have enjoyed get-togethers
and much camaraderie!
….And we played while we wait for our Day Tank to be
completed!
We went shopping in Carriacou for food. We found a little
stand with fresh fruits and vegetables. They also did a barbeque on the weekend
for $4!
We went snorkeling with Les – our friend on S/V “Golightly”.
We went to a beautiful cove with a white sandy beach and even some shade. It
was the perfect snorkeling area for me because it was shallow and I didn’t get
“creeped out” because I could stand. And I got brave enough to go to about 15
foot depths – the deeper out the more you see – but I’m not as adventurous as
many other snorkelers! I like the baby steps! And all in all, it was a
wonderful day of snorkeling. We returned many times during our stay here.
We met a really nice couple Jen & John from S/V Aeeshia.
Living in Bermuda – they too, decided to go for the dream of cruising in
retirement, and they are having a ball. While here in Carriacou, they had their
two grandchildren with them, Ethan (14) and his sister Rhianna (10). They were so polite and well mannered, and
such a pleasure to meet. We had an evening of “sundowners” on their boat and it
was a glorious sunset.
We enjoyed a Thai Curry with Les one evening. It was
delicious! Les is a professional chef who has run quite a few restaurants prior
to casting off the lines to cruise indefinitely. It has been a pleasure to get to know him,
and because he was ex-merchant navy, he and Cap have much in common.
We enjoyed a Thai Curry with Les one evening. It was
delicious! Les is a professional chef who has run quite a few restaurants prior
to casting off the lines to cruise indefinitely. It has been a pleasure to get to know him,
and because he was ex-merchant navy, he and Cap have much in common.
There is a lot of snorkeling here and we’ve since been to
some other areas exploring too. The weather has been great and the wind keeps
things cool aboard. “When we get hot we just dive off the back of our swim
platform and enjoy a dip in the 83 degree crystal clear water! Ahhh!
We learned of a local cruiser net on VHF ch 66i – well it’s actually for
Grenada – but covers Carriacou too and we listen at 7:30 most mornings to find
out the latest cruiser information. Then, as in many ports, VHF 68 is what the
cruisers use to talk to each other and organize plans for the next day or so. I
overheard (yes – many people listen in on conversations!) some recently arrived
sailboaters talking about taking a 3 hour trek to one of the nearby mountain
peaks. I wanted to join them, because I
knew Cap wouldn’t want to go – but I did.
And so Doug from S/V Banjo called me back to say he’d be glad to have me
join the group and he would be by before 9 am to pick me up. Yeah! ….My first
big trek!
Chris Doyle - who writes cruising guides for the area - had a map and directions to this hilltop peak
called Chapeau Carre. It was the second highest peak on the island – 945 feet!
I prepared by looking on my friends blogs to see what they all wore for this
type of trek! Shorts and tank tops with sneaks, Tevas or Keen shoes seemed to
be the normal hiking attire.
I packed a backpack with a towel, insect repellent,
sunscreen, antiseptic lotion packets, bandaids, Swiss Army Knife, flashlight,
antibacterial hand wash, two bottles of frozen water, money, one energy bar and
one pack of cheese crackers, an linen hankie, chapstick and of course a copy of
the map and directions.
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| My friend with my backpack! |
I’d never done this before – but I was prepared!
No one else brought a backpack!
I thought when Chris Doyle had said the trail took 2-3 hours
– that he meant one way – but I found out that was total time! Cap was enjoying
the idea of an entire day to himself…..haha
I donned my hat and climbed aboard Banjo’s dinghy and off we
went to town and the start of the trek. It was already 85 degrees and as we
left the water and went inland, the wind started to die down. Hot! |
| I stayed with the cow! |
That hike was sheer torture for me! – did I tell you I don’t
normally exercise? For some reason I thought it would be easy. Ha! I started
huffing and puffing after the first turn – and that was on the street! Then the
road totally disappeared and a rock road continued for a short way. By this
time I was starting to sweat and getting short of breath! I was constantly wiping
my face and neck with my hankie (is that hiking gear?!). I was at the end of the pack – the last walker!
Then the rocky road turned to just a dirt path and grass. We passed some goats
in the field and then some cows tied to a tree on a long line. The group was
kind enough to wait up for me as I continued to lag behind. Then I’d catch up –
they had all had their rest – so we continued on without me getting a break… Oh
well – I’ve got to die somehow! One of the women in the group took pity on me
and offered to carry my backpack. I think she was 20 – whatever – but I wasn’t
quitting!
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| View of Tyrrel Bay from our walk |
There were incredible views at every turn and so much nature
to experience. Once we neared the trees of the heavily wooded part – the
mosquitoes were horrendous. “I brought bug spay – if anyone wants any”, I
panted. Well- I was now everybody’s best
friend! So sppph- sppph and everyone was
covered and ready for the last part of the climb to the top. – Except me- I
knew my limits. My face was purple, my clothes were soaked and I was gasping
like a three-pack-a day smoker- despite the fact that I’ve never smoked! So I didn’t do the entire hill – I got to
about 750ft and that seemed good enough! I waited in the field with the cows
until the group made it to the top and back down again.
I joined the group
every day as they organized different hikes through the island. That first one
was the worst – but I did find that any time I had a long climb up a steep
hill, I would gasp for breath and have to rest several times. The group was
very kind to me and kept encouraging me that with time and repeated hikes my
body would get used to it and I would improve my stamina.
Our day tank project dragged out and it seemed it would
never get competed. Gus was a popular mechanic and had several jobs going at
the same time. We felt lucky to have him return daily to spend a few minutes
here and there. But time was running out
for us. Our son Anthony had tickets to
fly into Trinidad on August 30th and that date was swiftly approaching!
So what did we do?
We commissioned more projects! We met Alan – an electrical
engineer who was glad to help us install two huge solar panels on our pilot
house roof. This was a terrific way to
cut our generator time down. Those panels are terrific and he installed them in
2 days! One successful project
completed!
 |
| Sheep roam the boatyard! |
We attended all the events for the Carriacou Regatta – which
was so much fun. They were raising money for the Carriacou Childrens Fund –
which helps with school supplies and needs for children. They had a garage sale
and auction one night, and an awards party at the end. The sailing races were
each day over a four day weekend. Many
of our sailing boat friends joined the race. On the Saturday we all headed up
to the big town of Hillsborough to see the sloops race and join all the
festivities. There was music blasting out and lots of food and drink and
dancing – “Liming” they call it. 
It was great fun! |
| Cap & I with Paul of "Distant Shores" |
We also had diners at many local places and especially loved
going to Lucky’s for her Saturday barbeque. Gus came to the marina to finish
the last of the day tank project and then we took him and his lovely girlfriend
Jo out to dinner at a local pizza place they knew in Windward– way on the other
side of the island! It was a fun evening and we look forward to returning to
Carriacou and visiting them again in the future. |
| Islands on the way to Petite Martiinque |
With our boat hull freshly painted and back in the water,
and all our friends moved on to Grenada, we knew it was time for us to leave
too. It was hard to leave – we’d been there six weeks and really felt a part of
the community. But we needed to get to Trini and we wanted to test our boat out
and see how it ran with the Racor valves fixed now and a new tank made for day
trips. So we cast off and went north to Petite Martiniqe for fuel and then
returned to Carriacou for the night with plans to leave for Grenada the next
morning.
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| Calm seas - Grenada in the distance |
The weather was perfect! Seas were calm and wind was at five
knots! We had a beautiful smooth trip the entire way and it was wonderful! We
arrived in Prickly Bay and anchored right behind S/V Out of Africa. John immediately got in his dingy after we
anchored to welcome us and invite us over for drinks on his boat and then to
the marina for a dinner! All our Carriacou friends were there and we had a
fabulous evening – so good that no one wanted to leave and go to dinner – there
were plenty of appetizers and we just kept talking late into the evening.
The next day was an excursion to the large IGA supermarket.
Our friends Tammy and Jim from S/V Sweet Chariot went with us on a bus and off
we went. It was so exciting to be in a
big supermarket after 6 weeks of a small convenience store and a little wooden
vegetable stand! It took me a while to get over the excitement and focus on
what to buy! There was also a mall attached that we scoped out before the
market. Then we flagged a bus down and
headed back to the boat with all our loot!
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| A pleasant start... |
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| Shredded paper to mark the trail |
Saturday was the Hash! It was time to hike again! In Grenada
they have a chapter of the “Hash House Harriers” which they say is “a running
group with a drinking problem or a drinking group with a running problem!” What
it means is there’s fun to be had. How
it works is there is a person called the “Hare” who marks a trail a few days
ahead with piles of shredded paper placed every 10 feet or so to keep you on
the trail. Then to make it spicy, they can make “false trails” that lead off
and then stop with a big “X”. Then you have to turn back and get on the right
trail. You can ask the people ahead of you if you’re going the right way.
There’s lingo they speak to communicate. At the end of the trail everybody
parties with food and drink and talking – and if you’re at the beach –
swimming. Its all great fun and camaraderie.
But once again I got the trail that just kept going UP and UP! Then down – then
back UP again! I thought the 5 miles was mostly uphill and very hard for me – I
could never seem to catch my breath. In
fact – this one nearly broke me, and made me wonder if I had exercise induced
asthma, because I was wheezing to beat the band! I had to sit down and rest.
I’d already lost all my friends way ahead of me and found myself walking with a local
guy who was walking his dog and some college kids who had stopped for a beer
along the way! When the college kids saw me red faced and gasping, they got
worried –well I am 63 and probably old enough to be their grandmother! So they
treated me with respect and kindness and vowed to stay with me and help me get
through. They were Angels and so friendly and kind! I did make it to the end –
but it damn near killed me again! Still – I’m going to keep at it until I can
do it with ease someday!
When the students and I arrived at the beach starting/ending point, Jim was waiting for me and handed me a beer and guided me over to Tammy and John and Jo, who were relaxing on the beach after arriving back a half hour before me! It was nice to be able to relax and be able to breathe normally again. I had a bathing suit with me and I was so hot from all the hiking that I wanted to get wet badly – but I didn’t think I had the strength to pull on that bathing suit over my sweaty, sticky body! So I just hung out with the cruisers and unwound! Sadly, we left Grenada the next day and headed for Trinidad – where they don’t have a Hasher Group – too bad……..I’ll just have to lounge in the pool instead!
When the students and I arrived at the beach starting/ending point, Jim was waiting for me and handed me a beer and guided me over to Tammy and John and Jo, who were relaxing on the beach after arriving back a half hour before me! It was nice to be able to relax and be able to breathe normally again. I had a bathing suit with me and I was so hot from all the hiking that I wanted to get wet badly – but I didn’t think I had the strength to pull on that bathing suit over my sweaty, sticky body! So I just hung out with the cruisers and unwound! Sadly, we left Grenada the next day and headed for Trinidad – where they don’t have a Hasher Group – too bad……..I’ll just have to lounge in the pool instead!
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| Another hill! |
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| Feeling hot and old! |
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| The ending spot! |
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| These were my Angels! |
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| A beautiful vista |
