MY BEACHY HIDEAWAY IN THE RAINFOREST

Being that I am an admitted Beach Bum and being that I prefer the white sands of the Caribbean, I have restyled my little abode from a rather dark Mexican Hacienda look to a breezy Caribbean beach cottage look.  Because I can't be in the Caribbean at a fabulous beach ALL of the time, I wanted to bring the beach to me.

There are a few projects yet to be done, and I think I will always have to live with the terracotta tile floors (unless you can lay wood floors overtop, but there are pesky accent tiles here and there that stick up above the others so I foresee an issue) but for the most part, it's all done.

Here are the before pics:

Looking towards the entrance and kitchen area.

Looking to living area from entrance/kitchen.  

Note the windows on the far wall.

The bed in the middle that hangs from the ceiling.

The curtains behind the bed have no window.

Fireplace and TV cabinet.

Yes it is a studio suite.  I love it as I feel snug as a bug here and it takes me no time at all to clean it.

Unfortunately, I never got a photo of the rest of the wall that the TV is on as it had the strangest adobe style open closet, only about three feet wide.  Also painted dark blue, same as the fireplace.

Now here it is today, with cabinets I designed and the landlord built, new windows, and a whole lot more! (Click on pictures to enlarge and see details)

Fireplace, white now with new tiled hearth - installed today.  

I used some shells and beach glass from the Caribbean in with smashed

travertine tiles to make a mosaic that looks like the beach with large

sand colored tiles in front to look like ... sand of course.

Note the nice new BIG windows.

Also note I haven't finished whitewashing the wood

of the couch - put my back out in the middle of doing it and haven't

had time to finish since my back got better. A new couch is in the future anyway.

New built-ins that I designed. On the far left is the

washer and dryer cupboard, then my closet, then a

shoe cubpoard, then a glass door nick-nack cupboard with

drawers underneath, then storage, then the TV with more

drawers.  LOVE THIS.  It has totally changed my life in this place.

The bed pre-headboard whitewash and pre BVI pic above.

Bed post-whitewash and pic.

And here are some details close up:

 

  

And yet, as beachy as indoors may be, there is NO denying it - I live in a rainforest. As you can see as soon as you step outside.

I love my little place.

I still need to take care of this though:

That's the bathroom vanity.  Ugh.  And the kitchen counters have the same tiles.  I need to change these... next year, hopefully.  I also want to hang a small crystal pendant light over the coffee table in place of the ugly iron-work chandelier that is there presently, but I haven't been able to find just the right one yet.

What do you think of my place?  Have you tried to bring the beach to your house?  If so, share how... I'd love to hear it.

IS IT JUST ME... OR DO YOU TOO FIND INCOMPETENCE EVERYWHERE?

I decided I was fed up with the back and forth phone calls about the missing travel insurance policy and the "we can't refund your money until we find the policy" nonsense.  SO ... I did what worked so well for me once before.

My friend, when reading the story (linked to in above paragraph) of how I got AA to find my daughter's lost luggage PRONTO, commented that I sure was one "can-do broad".  I liked that.  I decided it was time to bring out the "can-do broad" in me once again.

I start searching online for the name of someone in authority in either sales or customer relations at Allianz in the Ontario office.  It takes a long time, like well over an hour.  It is information that is really buried  but I end up finding a woman on Linked In who is the head of Customer Service in Ontario.  I can't see any contact information for her as she is not connected to me in any way and there is only a first name and a last initial.  So I Google her name with the initial and ALLIANZ, and I find a link back to Linked In with her whole name.  I still can't see any contact info but... the personal email of the agent I have been talking to was his first name - dot - his last name and then @alianz-assistance.ca  I had seen online another person's email at the company and it was his first and last name with the same ending so I start an email to her and type in her name etc and hope it works. I detail everything that has occurred to this point, ask her to intervene for a resolution, and hit send.  Heading off to bed (at close to 4am) I hope I wake to good news.

I do... it worked!!!! And she has replied to say she has some people looking into it. Actually what I wake to is a phone call from Shawn, the agent, to say that they are going to refund me the money.  THEN I go check my email and see she wrote to me three hours ago (time difference) to say that she has some people looking into it.  WOW.  So it worked.  Go to the top and you get speedy results.  I am ecstatic.

That done, it is now time to select some seats with more leg room on the longer legs of my flights to and from the Dominican Republic.  I pull up my flight itinerary on American Airlines website and... hellooo... what is this now?  My flights home have changed.  Now instead of Miami to LA then home, I fly from Miami to Dallas.  Excuse me?  Especially seeing how this means I fly out of Miami two hours earlier than the previous plan, did no one think this might be information important for me to have?

So I call AA.  The woman on the other end tells me that it is the responsibility of the sales company - in this case Flight Hub - to let me know.  AA sends an alert of changes to the company I bought tickets from and they then are to contact me and alert me.  I know she is telling me the truth because that is how it has always worked.  That is how it worked on the flights I had to cancel already (because the changes did not work for me).  As it happens, these changes I can live with - I no longer have a long lay over waiting for the flight to Vancouver so I am getting in four hours earlier.  But that is not the point.   She is rather surprised that I have not received notification and so takes all my information so that if there are any more changes, they can contact me directly.

I then call Flight Hub, ready to tear a strip off of them as the changes were made over TWO WEEKS ago.  Again, had I not wanted to upgrade my seats, I would have had NO idea that this had occurred.

The woman on the other end tells me they never got the alert from AA, thus they had no idea the flights had changed.

Sigh.  Typical blame game... NO ONE is responsible.  Right.

Whatever.  I now have my new itinerary printed out.  I will be checking AA's site daily to see if there are any more changes as I don't trust anyone now.

Yesterday I purchased additional travel insurance through my union's provider to pad out what I already had with them.

I don't have trip cancellation insurance now, which I thought I had before.  I also don't have baggage loss insurance... just what I get with the credit card for charging the trip with them.

It is astounding to me how much incompetence there is everywhere.  Astounding.

NEXT TRIP: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Travel fever has hit again and hit hard.

I worked on a tv series this past summer for almost 5 months.  It was a great show, and I loved that we were in one location the entire time, mostly indoors.  But what that meant was, I never saw much of the great summer we had this year in Vancouver as I was indoors in dark studios 14 hours a day (except for the 45 min lunch break where I'd step out into blinding sunshine and stumble my way to the catering truck with the rest of the crew who were shading their eyes and grasping for sunglasses). I don't even think I went to the beach once.  Maybe once right before the show started... I can't really recall.  The show itself was really challenging for me, being that it was 75% CGI (computer generated) so lots of green screen work.  Shooting on a green screen stage is very different from practical sets and so that challenge, coupled with a big cast and SO MUCH CONTINUITY to follow (injuries galore - along with bandages and braces, a couple of props that appeared in many scenes but kept changing either their ownership [a magic ring] or their physical appearance [a rope weapon that sometimes had a weight on the end and sometimes didn't]) wore me right out.  The physical fatigue of 14 hour work days plus a two hour commute was matched only by the mental fatigue of keeping up with and keeping track of all the many many MANY details over 13 episodes of a linear storyline.  Basically a 13 hour movie!!

SO.... in September I decided I deserved a trip somewhere warm when it was all over - to get the summer I never had and to get some much needed R&R.  I wanted to go for a month but preferred to keep it to $2000 or so on the flight and accommodations.  Quite the challenge.  After looking at Mexico, the BVI and the Bahamas and ruling all out because of the cost, I turned to the Dominican Republic - somewhere that has been on my radar due to wishful searches for real estate in the Caribbean and discovering that you can get a lovely condo there for a shockingly low price.  I had, during said searches, decided that a discovery trip to the DR should be in my future to see if it was somewhere I could live for 6 months of the year, come retirement time.  I suddenly recalled this in my search for a budget conscious trip, and VOILA...

The condos I had found that I liked were in a small town on the north coast called Sosua.  I knew nothing of the place but eventually decided that was where I would stay so I could take a look at the real estate.  A quick search online revealed that the town has a lovely beach, many restaurants, and is popular with North Americans for both travel and relocation.  It is a short 20 minute cab ride from Puerto Plata and the international airport there, which was perfect,  so I booked my flight(s).

Flights to the DR from Vancouver are surprisingly cheap.  All in I paid $760.  What I really liked was that it took just one connection (instead of the usual two to the Caribbean) flying from Vancouver to Newark to Puerto Plata.

I decided to try Airbnb for accommodations, as I have had friends who have gone that route and had nothing but good things to report, not the least being the great prices.  After some searching, I ended up settling on a lovely place right in the center of Sosua owned by a couple from Sweden.  They have three suites with separate entries off of a large porch overlooking the main street and, bonus!! - there is a bakery downstairs.  The couple live at the rear of the building.  There were glowing reviews from previous guests so I booked it at $730 for the month!  A bargain.

My room in Sosua

Looking towards the entrance to my room in Sosua

My lovely bathroom in Sosua

Next I will post on how so many things have gone awry with this trip already, and I haven't even left my house!

UNEVENTFUL DAY

Up at 6am - another very short night.

I sat out on my balcony for a while reading a Dick Frances book I picked up at the Allemanda at their book swap shelf. Really good read!

My morning view

I've started to pack. Lawd my bag is so heavy already and I haven't put half of my clothes or any toiletries in there yet. Not good!!!!

I head down to the beach to spend some time reading on the sand.  I sit in direct sunlight for the first time and it is HOT!  I usually sit in the shade of a sea grape tree.

Another gorgeous day at the beach

I walk down to SAVVY for the chicken roti again but this time ask them for a bigger version of the small side salad I had last time - the nutmeg dressing is to die for.  After lunch I relax on a big circular lounger for a bit right outside the restaurant on the sand.  Heaven.

Lunch view at the SAVVY

I get back to my lounge chair at the Allemanda just in time for huge clouds to roll down off of the mountain and then rain!!

Here comes the clouds

And here is the rain

I wait it out in the lobby and then head over to the mall for some drinks then back to my hotel.

A rather uneventful day other than chatting with the couple on the beach again, Amy and John, and they offer to give me a lift to the friendship table dinner at Le Phare Bleu tomorrow night.  I was telling them about it and they want to go. It will be nice to finally go to dinner with someone.  It should be fun, and a nice way to end the trip.

Still full from lunch, I don't go out for dinner - rather I read and munch on some gingersnaps.

I found out from the front desk that my neighbours are Venezuelan. They are noisy again tonight, despite the manager asking them to keep it down.  I don't get to turn off the light till after 11.

OFF OF THE BOAT INTO A HOTEL

I wake at 7:30 but doze in and out for an hour. Today I leave the boat as the 'by sea' part of the trip is over, and I am trying to sort out in my head what to do about tipping Alessandra. I have $600 set aside for it but there's no way I am leaving that much so I decide to message a friend who used to do charters and is well versed in this business. He messages me back and says to leave $50 - $100 or nothing at all. He also suggests to talk to Rick, which I do.

Come to find out, this was not a 'crewed' charter, just captain only. I was expected to pitch in and fend for myself and no tip at all is expected. I am rather stunned and Rick says that it was stated as such in the initial contest post. This is news to me. The prize was described as a 'share the sail' charter and to me, that means I am not the only guest, there will be others that I won't know aboard who are also guests. This was to be the case but the only other guests, a couple, backed out a couple of weeks before the sail. Other than that, that this was not a proper crewed charter was never explained to me. And although it is good to know, it is rather too late and I am somewhat embarrassed as I must have seemed like a lazy, entitled idiot the entire time.

I decide to leave Alessandra $100 US because she did all of the dishes the entire trip and, I now realize, cooked more than her fair share of the dinners. It doesn't help me feel less embarrassed about the whole thing though and I really wish it had been made clear what the expectations were right from the start.

I get all packed up and the eat some of the coconut bread for breakfast. Alessandra is still in bed as she is not feeling well today. Rick is at his computer editing the footage we shot of the girl who sang the other night.

I have, overall, enjoyed this part of my trip. I loved the sailing but not how the boat heeled over - it makes for an uncomfortable time of it; I loved that Rick took me on so many dingy explorations - I really enjoyed them and saw a lot that way; I absolutely fell in love with Union Island, the Tobago Cays, Petit Tabac, and especially Mayreau - truly, truly paradise on earth and I would go back in a heartbeat and, if I could take my family with me, never, ever leave. I am forever grateful to Rick for making those places part of the itinerary. I didn't see any dolphins, which was a big disappointment - but saw loads of flying fish and they were fun to spot! I really liked Alessandra and just wished she had been more social - the one time we sat on the side of the boat and talked for an hour or two was so great and I think we could have had many more chats if she'd shown interest. I was also very grateful for both Rick and Alessandra's gracious acceptance of my instability getting in and out of the dinghy and helping me greatly so that what had been a very big concern to me was almost a non-issue. I was very leery of Lucky the parrot as he bit Alessandra a couple of times, but was shocked when he said - in my voice - 'Where's Rick?' one afternoon after I had said it to him about a dozen times in an hour while Rick was on shore (he said it many many times after that) - I loved how many things Lucky could say and, as long as he was in his cage, found him very amusing.  I was very comfortable in my little cabin and the bed was a lot more comfy than I expected - but I hated the bathroom. The cabinet on the wall had hinges that had broken so it fell down every time I opened it and I was constantly in fear of plugging the toilet - which never happened, thank the Lord. And showering in there was a challenge as you soaked the whole room and there wasn't much space to maneuver - if I lived aboard there would definitely have to be a proper shower.

I am really looking forward to the second half of this trip and I hope the hotel is clean and in good repair. I tried to see where it might be from the water each time we sailed between Grand Anse and Mourne Rouge Beach but I'm not sure if I saw it or not. I'm just trying to recognize buildings I am seeing from pictures on the website but nothing is quite the same. I am thinking that it is not as close to the beach as they make it out to be on the website. We shall see.

Not having my iPhone is horrible!

Just before noon, Rick dinghys me and my bags to Clarke's Court Marina where we wait just a few minutes for Cat Eye, the taxi driver, to show. Rick and I make arrangements to get in touch to go to half price pizza in a couple of days at Prickly Bay and maybe to Gouyave fish fry Friday together later in the week.

Cat Eye arrives and we say our goodbyes for now.  As we drive the 20 minutes from the south end of the island up to Grand Anse - Cat Eye pointing out places of interest along the way, and it strikes me again how different this island is from the BVI.  There are no multi-million dollar villas on the hills here, just a lot of brightly painted shacks and cabins with a few stucco or clapboard houses here and there. There are people walking on the side of the road everywhere, and there are no killer hills.  This really does feel like a third world country. We pass a 'squatters village' that is pretty awful - loads of ramshackle shacks on a steep hillside, crammed together with palm trees and bits of wild jungle growth between - super tiny structures smaller than most people's living rooms back home, the majority are of faded raw plywood but some are painted bright colours.

We pull in to the Siesta Hotel and I check in at the open reception area. I realize at once that I never saw this place from the water as it is not where I thought it was - I thought it was between Grand Anse and Morne Rouge but it isn't - and it is much farther off of the beach than I supposed. Cat Eye drives me up the steep driveway to my building and leaves my bags at the door to my room, which is standing open. I walk inside and the young maid is still in the room, hanging curtains. It is stifling hot inside and ask her about turning on the air-conditioning - something the hotel clerk asked her to do when she radioed up that I had arrived. She apologizes and turns it on and I take a look around. As the entire establishment is almost empty of guests, I have been upgraded from a room to a 'suite'. It is rather sparsely furnished, no decor at all - it is very bare bones. It's not super clean either but the whole place passable and I remind myself that I got it at a very good price.  Then I find a spider in one of the kitchen cupboards! I call the maid to come and remove it, hoping dearly that is the only one I will see in here. I am happy to see that there is a small safe in the bedroom closet for valuables.  The air conditioning unit is in the bedroom and it quickly cools off that room but the rest of the place stays too hot for comfort.

From the living room to the kitchen area

From the kitchen to the living room

Kitchen

Bedroom (note the lovely curtains)

Bathroom which was very clean except for the light fixture

Looking out of the window, the view is great but it's looking like it will definitely be a bit of a walk to the beach as what I thought was a lawn between here and there (when looking at pictures on the web site before booking it) is actually a plot of jungle. The mall is five minutes to the right, the way to the beach about the same to the left, apparently.  The pool looks nice and the restaurant right beside it looks like it will be a good place for some lunch.

View from my little balcony

I head down to the restaurant for a bite of lunch and order the callaloo quiche. Certainly not cheap at $25 EC. I haven't ever had callaloo - I don't even know what it looks like so this will be interesting. When it arrives, it is just a slice of quiche - no salad or garnish - and it appears to be full of spinach but this is the callaloo I guess. It tastes pretty good!  As I sit there and eat, it starts to rain - hard. I wait it out and then set out to walk to the beach. The receptionist confirms that I need to head left, take the first road on the right, and there will be a path to the beach at the end.

Callaloo Quiche

And...... the rain

As I walk down the narrow road which has no sidewalks, I start to notice that there are huge holes in the dirt at the side of the road, everywhere - about 50 every 10 feet. I stop and look at one, warily. If these are made by some earth burrowing spider, it is going to make for terrifying walks to the beach every day and if I actually ever see one of what ever big ass arachnid makes these holes, I might never go to the beach as I won't dare step foot off of the hotel property! As I continue to walk, heart somewhat in throat, looking down at my feet, which now look very exposed in flimsy flip flops, to make sure no spiders are ready to attack me - I start to look ahead a little and notice that there are orange things outside each hole and as I get within 10 feet or so, they disappear into the hole and I realize - with huge relief - that the holes belong to land crabs.  The crabs are various sizes from the size of a small cookie to the size of my hand. There are ditches that run along each side of the side of the road, and on the far side of the ditches, the crabs that are lucky enough to live there don't run into their holes when I walk by. It's almost as if they are standing there, their one big claw in the air, saying 'HA! You can't get me... I am way over here and there is a ditch between us that you'll NEVER cross.' I imagine that these are the smug aristocracy of the crab community here.

WHAT lives in there?!?!?

Oh, whew! It's just some crabs.

I turn off this road down the first road on the right (more crabs) and see the local police. I cannot find the path that is supposed to be at the end of the road so I turn right along a road that runs alongside the beach (and more crabs) but has big resorts in between and I finally decide to just walk through one of the resorts, Spice Island, to the beach. I walk as if I belong there and no one stops me as I go through the marble clad open air reception, past a gorgeous bar and restaurant, and then a private outdoor seating area around a pretty fountain. I step onto the sand of Grand Anse and am immediately accosted by a young man with dreadlocks and a diamond stud in his nose. He is carrying a backpack and flashes a big white smile. He holds up a necklace made of cinnamon sticks, nutmeg with the mace lace still on, and various other leaves and spices and tells me I need one. It is a beach vendor and he is unrelenting when I tell him I'm not interested at the moment, thank you anyway, and he walks by my side as I start to walk down the beach. I tell him I have just arrived, that I am here for 10 days, and that IF I want one, I wouldn't buy it until the day before I leave. He realizes I am unmoved by his pleas and the smile disappears. He says everyone says that and then he never sees them again. I tell him that if I decide to buy one, I will look for him on my last day here and then I go on my way, leaving him behind. I have read that the beach is full of these guys but they accept it when you say no and move on. This guy sure didn't do that and I wonder if I am going to be fighting them off all week long.

Ahhh! The beach!!

I find a small dive shop on the beach with several local guys sitting out front. I walk up and ask them where the path is from the road to the beach and they point it out to me, not far away, and I find it on my way back, after a nice long stroll along this new-to-me end of the beach. No wonder I didn't see it, it is clearly a path from the beach side, but then it cuts through a small dirt road that doglegs and leads to a parking lot for a Yoga gym, which I saw from the other side but had no idea that was it.

I walk to the mall for a new iPhone 4 cord with no luck but buy some snacks and drinks to put in my fridge back at the hotel. As I head to the doors to leave I see that it is absolutely pissing it down out. There is a small group of shoppers waiting at the doors for the rain to pass and I join them. It slows down but doesn't stop so I head out into the drizzle and make my way back to the hotel. I haven't gotten my bearings yet - I do know how to get back - but I am sure there has to be a quicker way. As I walk the long way around from the front of the mall to the road that takes me home, I realize that the peach stuccoed, long, low building with the red tin roof that I passed on my way to the mall IS the mall - the back side - and that there is a small glass door into the mall at the end of a long path from the road, over the ditch, and through a bit of lawn that I could have taken. Great to know for future visits!

Waiting out the rain

As I get dressed to go out for dinner, I realize that I forgot to empty the drawer under my bunk on the boat. My tank tops and my bras are in there! I am gong to need those items!! I private message Rick on FaceBook and send him an email - I now have wifi in my room so can use my iPad. An hour later he hasn't replied to either. This is not good.

I have arranged to meet Bruce and Regina at Port Louis Marina tonight. Cat Eye comes for me and drives me about 10 minutes to the port. Bruce seems a bit distant at first but he soon comes around and we chat about his life on the farm and what prompted him to sell and come here, and about his life since.  Regina also shares a bit about her life in Switzerland. I have a really nice evening with the two of them and Regina and I agree to meet up on the beach tomorrow.

The ride back with Cat Eye is strange, he is either high or drunk. Either way, I do not feel safe with him at the wheel. I won't be using him again. (I was sure I took a pic of Bruce and Regina but a search of both my iPhone and camera turns up nothing.)

Mike from Zero to Cruising has messaged me asking if I would proof read an article he has written for a sailing magazine so I do that and then head to bed, leaving lights on in the living room because I don't want cockroaches running about. I haven't seen any. And I don't want to.

HOG ISLAND, GRENADA

Woke up at 6:30 but dozed till 8. I get up to see Alessandra on the couch on her iPhone and Rick at the computer and there is a sink full of two days worth of dirty dishes.  As it seems I am pretty much on my own for meals, this is the last straw... am I expected to do the dishes?  And I say exactly that. Rick mumbles something about them just having gotten up themselves. Whatever. They've been there since yesterday afternoon and they were both on board for well over an hour while I was at the pool and Alessandra was aboard alone for three hours while Rick and I videoed the girls singing last night.  I am getting the distinct impression that this is not a real charter so I guess I won't have to leave a real tip. I was prepared to leave 20% of the value of the prize but that is not going to happen.

Rick leaves to check in to customs and they charge him $140 EC and he isn't happy. He was checked in for 3 months already and I was checked in for the same at the airport when I arrived. I give him $100 EC as it is because of me, but I am not thrilled about it either. Seems like a money grab by the gov't aimed at sailors as I didn't have to pay anything to check in for three months at the airport.  And really, once you're checked in you should be able to come and go in that time without another fee.

At 11am we head off to Hog Island so that we can be there for the bbq later this afternoon. It's a nice motor all the way and I have a short nap. We get there at 1pm. We anchor close to the beach and, interestingly, Alessandra asks me if I am hungry and when I say that I am, she prepares herself a dish of avocado drizzled with olive oil and plops down in front of me and eats it, leaving me to myself. I eat the rest (4) of the gingersnaps.

We hop in the dinghy for a tour around and so I get to see Calvigny Island.  It is so cool to see so many of the places I've read about on Mike and Rebecca's blog.

Calvigny Island

Calvigny Island

We pass by the burnt out hull of a brand new yacht that caught fire a few months before I arrived in the islands, right in Prickly Bay. It burned everything but the aluminum hull. Such a shame. The guy who bought it has it tied alongside of a huge tug boat he owns and he has started to patch the hull with plates of steel riveted onto the outside of the shell. But the whole thing is so warped from the fire, I can't see what the point is nor how anything can ever be made of it.

It is an observation of mine that there is a great variety of people anchored in this place. Some of the boats are at least 50 feet, sleek and pristine. Then there are boats that are the water version of a gypsy caravan with all manner of 'junk' hanging from the lifelines and tied up anywhere else they found to stash stuff. The ropes are frayed, the hulls are small, faded, and some even rusty, with the sorriest looking excuse for a dingy floating behind and both the dingy and the boat needing some good old fashioned elbow grease. Some are obviously home to a lone sailor and some to young families and others to wealthy retirees. It's quite the mix.

We stop in at Clark's Court Marina, a tiny dive of a place, for a drink and watch the last 20 minutes of Hugo on the large TV over the bar, along with another half a dozen or so very worn-out looking customers.

We get over to Hog Island for the bbq dinner at Rogers Bar. The place is very rustic with a sand floor and cobbled together half walls and roof, open on the front to the beach. Strangely there is no music, not one note the whole night. The food is really good although the only chicken is all legs and I usually only eat white meat but I strip that leg down to the bone! At $25 EC it's a bit steep. Rick and Alessandra share one plate between them.

I meet a great guy named Bruce from a boat named 'Sold the Farm' and it turns out he is from Alberta (how is it that all Albertans are such lovely people?!) and he really did sell his farm to buy a boat and move to the Caribbean. His crew is a lovely girl from Switzerland, Regina, and I have a great night talking with them. He is so nice and someone I'd be happy to sail with. Wish I was more suited to it - read: young and fit! Oh to turn back the clock knowing what I know now!

Regina at Rogers Bar

There are a lot of full-time cruisers and a handful of locals at this bbq and what a motley bunch! And such drama! One lady comes over and starts talking about her ex boyfriend (who is also present somewhere here) with Rick and as I listen to both of them it dawns on me that as much as some people are here to escape life, they just bring all the drama with them. I get the distinct impression that most of these people never leave this anchorage. They're not really cruisers, they just happen to live on a boat in the water. And they have the usual gossip about those they live near. Looking around I, once again, get an overwhelming feeling of not belonging. As much as I dream about living full time on a boat in the Caribbean, hanging out with this crowd is not for me.... I have nothing in common with them and I despise gossiping. And although I don't think this trip is a great gage of how I'd do as a full time live-aboard, I am feeling like it isn't for me. But I never did want to live on a mono-hull sail boat. A cat (or a nice big luxury yacht - hahaha) is the only way I could go, if I could go for it at all.

Hog Island regulars

Just a half empty bottle of Ting between me and 
the parrot that likes to bite people

I need to figure out what it is I want.  At 55. HA! I say that as if I have choices as to how I will live out my retirement. I don't. Not at this point in my life and not unless there is a dramatic event that brightens my prospects; I will be working till I drop dead.

Sigh.

BACK TO GRENADA

At 7am we pull up anchor and set for Grenada.  When I get up Rick and Alessandra are readying the boat to sail. There's no word about breakfast and I am thankful for coconut bread I bought on Mayreau as I set about making tea, a cold drink, and buttering a couple of slices of the bread.

There's a rainbow in the sky as we leave the harbour. It is sunny with clouds. I have to wear a light shirt as my back is sore with sunburn.

When we sail past Kick'em Jenny, Rick suddenly realizes that we are in the no-sail zone.  Eeek.

Off Grenada we hit a storm and I am ordered below. It's raining very hard and the wind is really strong, blowing the sails all over. Lines are whipping about as well. It's not fun. After what feels like an hour, we get through that and eventually head in to Port Louis Marina.

Rick has been asked to video a local girl singing at a club there tonight and he has agreed in exchange for moorage at the marina. There's a pool there and I am looking forward to that, especially because there is no breeze at all in the sheltered port and it is stinking hot and particularly stifling below deck. It will be hard to sleep tonight. What I wouldn't give for some air-conditioning right now! I am teeming sweat.

It's almost 4pm and we haven't eaten today, other than what I made for breakfast, and I decide I am going to make a meal for the three of us. I use lots of the vegetables we bought and have barely touched, chicken breast, and cook up some rice and make us a huge stir fry. It is absolutely delicious and Rick certainly seems to enjoy it. I honestly don't know how these two survive on the slim pickings that have been our meals. We never do use the fish we bought and not even half the bag of chicken. At one point I asked Rick about the bar-b-que he has on the rail, wondering if we could use it to cook up some burgers if I bought some ground beef. He didn't want to use it, citing it needing a new grill or more propane or something or other. I was dying for a burger (I rarely eat red meat) at that point and was very disappointed. As this will most likely be my only charter cruise, the whole meal situation has been quite the let down.

I am super frustrated because an adapter I recently purchased for my iPhone 4 enabling me to use the iPad cord, thus needing to pack only one cord for charging both, has broken. I bought it very cheaply online direct from China. It's a piece of garbage now and it leaves me without a way to charge my iPhone and for some reason I can't get online with my iPad.

The swim in the marina pool is very refreshing and I float about for over an hour waiting for Rick and Alessandra to join me... they were supposed to be right behind me. They eventually show up, just as I am thinking about getting out because my fingers are prunes. I stay a bit longer then leave to use the showers at the marina to clean up... what a treat and they are so much nicer than I expect!

Rick and I head over to YOLO, the bar at the marina, toting lots of video equipment. And it is air-conditioned!! Oh wow, does it ever feel amazing. What a relief!

We get a drink each and then Rick sets up the equipment. There are a few people in the club and I get to talking to a fellow beside me. Turns out he is the captain of a big luxury yacht in the marina called GO. We first saw the boat when we left Port Louis on our way to the Grenadines. We also saw them everywhere we went up there and we were so surprised to see them behind us when we pulled into Port Louis today - basically they had the exact same itinerary we had. He is a really nice guy from Texas and he shows me some photos on his iPhone of the interior of the yacht. It's gorgeous.

Tammy Baldeo arrives with her accompanist, a fantastic guitar player, and we get busy filming them. I take the camera on sticks and Rick works the steadi cam. The singing is really good, especially seeing this is one of her first public appearances, and I very much enjoy the evening.

While we were there the Prime Minister and Governor General of Grenada show up with a retinue including a female uniformed guard, red braid and all. They sit outside on the patio and have a meal and then leave without coming inside to hear the music. Rather exciting, regardless.

RELUCTANTLY LEAVING THE CAYS

I set my alarm to be up by 5:30 so I can pop my head out of my berth hatch and see the sunrise. WOW! It is GORGEOUS!!

Sunrise in Saltwhistle Bay

I stand there and watch the show for at least 20 minutes before I lay back down and try to sleep but can't so read.

Once up, I watch La Boriel, a 'small' luxury cruise ship from France, sail into the Cays.

I wait for the coconut bread I ordered from yesterday to arrive and when it does it is delicious.  I pay $10 EC instead of $6.  It just seemed too cheap to pay that little and it is obvious to me that the local people do not have a lot of money so I feel it is the least I can do.

When we go to leave the bay, the same boat boy that helped us off of the sand last night wants $60 EC for the mooring ball. Rick is angry about that and refuses to pay more than $40, as that is what they go for around the other side at the turtle reserve. He seems really angry at the amount of money he has spent since arriving here so I give him $100 EC to cover most of it. When you consider the exchange rate, it isn't that much money.

I am sad to be leaving the Cays - it is beyond gorgeous here, truly a paradise and I don't know if - let alone when - I will ever be back. It saddens me almost to tears to leave.

We stop in at Union Island again to sign out of the Grenadines. We girls stay on board although I am alone most of the time as Alessandra prefers her cell phone to my company, it seems, so I sit on the swim grid and dangle my feet in the water. A squall comes over and it rains hard for 10 minutes and soaks everything not below deck. Rick is still away and doesn't return for over an hour. He stopped at a bar when the rain hit and ended up staying half an hour.

Alessandra

Alessandra is planning on making pasta again today. I am starting to get annoyed. I paid for a good portion of the groceries we purchased and there was chicken and fish in the cart. Where aren't we using any of it? This trip is almost over and we've had chicken once and pork one other night. I tell her as nicely as possible that I need protein, that there has been way more carbs this week than I would normally eat in a month. She doesn't seem happy to hear this but, oh well. I will cook myself a chicken breast to go with the pasta whenever our next meal is.

Once Rick is back, we head over to Petit Martinique for fuel. It is sunny and very hot and I try to stay out of the sun as it feels like my back is burning. It takes us about an hour to get there and Alessandra is in her cabin pretty much the whole trip over. I thought perhaps it was because she was upset about me wanting protein but apparently she is feeling seasick.

We arrive for fuel and then take the dinghy over to a spit of sand named Mopion just off of the island on the other side.  It is just tiny with a palapa on one end that is being taken by the sea as the sand shifts.

Heading in to Petit Martinique for fuel

The idea was for me to have my picture taken under it but the waves are very rough and the water too deep around the island. I am afraid I'd never be able to get back into the dinghy so I don't get out. Shame really. It would have been a cool pic to have.

What Mopion used to look like

Mopion today

After a pretty motor sail past Carriacou's backside while the sun, we drop anchor in Tyrrel Bay at the south end just before dark. Rick comments at the close call on the timing as he doesn't like to drop anchor after dark.

Carriacou

Carriacou

Carriacou

Sailboat in the sunset

Boats in the sunset

There doesn't look like there's much here. Hillsborough, around the other side, is the main town but there is no sheltered anchorage there.  Apparently one used to have to clear customs into Grenada at Hillsborough but they, just in the last month, moved the office to Tyrell Bay as cruisers complained a lot that it was inconvenient to have the customs office where you couldn't overnight.

It takes a few tries to get the anchor set and then we finally eat at 18:25.  The chicken tastes amazing as I was actually craving it. I can't say I've ever craved chicken before.