LAST DAY ON GRENADA

Up too early again.

I see a cruise ship come in at about 7:30 am, the first one of the season.

First cruise ship of the season

It was raining when I first got up and for a while after but now it has stopped and started to look promising so off to the beach for one last day of sun, sand, and swimming.  I want to commit it all to memory today, all the senses, so that I can recall it in the coming days of winter back home.

Didn't look too promising when I first got up

I'm not there five minutes and it starts to rain, and rain hard.  I pull my lounge up under the tree, right to the trunk, and put a towel over my head and continue to read the book I am into, hoping it will pass soon. After 20 minutes or so, the rain starts to drip from the towel, which is soaked through, onto my Kindle so I give up.  I am walking to the Allemanda lobby with the towel over my head when I hear my name being called.  I look out from under the towel and see Amy and John sitting out of the rain at the restaurant by the pool so I go join them and we sit there for about two hours while we wait it out. We have a good conversation, getting to know more about each other. They both work for the post office, and that is where they met.  I tell them my dad used to work for the Royal Mail as well, when we lived in England.

Rotten rain, ruining my last day here

At 1:30, with no sign of the rain letting up, they decide to go to their room and I decide to have lunch at the restaurant. I order a pita wrap which is delicious and served with lovely crunchy fries - under $7 Canadian, a very good deal. I am the only person at the restaurant and have only seen one other group dining here the entire time I've been walking back and forth to the beach for the past 10 days. I don't know how they stay in business. The food is really good so maybe they will get busy once the season starts, next month.

After delaying as long as I possibly can, I finally walk back to my hotel in the drizzle carrying two very heavy, soaked through towels along with my usual bag of stuff. Exhausting!

When I get there, the cleaning staff is just finishing up and I call Alison over, the girl who was getting my room ready the day I arrived here. I thank her for everything and give her all the EC cash I have left (about $25 and change) and also give her the pop-up floaty I brought with me but didn't use - I will have NO room for that in my bag on the trip home. She says her daughter will love it. I can't believe she is a mom, I thought she was about 17 but turns out she's a lot older and married!  We hug and say good-bye and she says she is sad to see me go and hopes I come back one day.

Lovely Alison

There's nothing much to do but take a shower, and then lay on the bed and read till it is time to get ready for dinner.  It is dark by 6:30 when Amy and John pick me up in their rental jeep, and we head off to La Phare Bleu, about half an hour away, for the Friendship Table dinner.

There are more people at the dinner than last week. And tonight the meal will be served family style - bowls of steaming food to pass around.  When we are seated, a couple sit across from us and they have some other people with them. We introduce ourselves and they are Jana and Dieter.  We find out half way through the meal that they are the owners of Le Phare Bleu, which is more than just a restaurant, it is a gorgeous resort that they built from the ground up. They are originally from Switzerland and the rest of their group is family over for a visit.  She delights in telling us how, one Sunday a month, the resort holds what they call a Dinghy Concert, out in the bay, where the cruisers come in their dinghies, raft together, and live music is played by various musicians set up on a floating stage.  I have heard of these concerts from Mike Sweeny, who is a cruiser and spends summers in Grenada.  I've seen pictures of it on his blog and it looks like a lot of fun.  She gets her husband, Dieter, to put a CD of one of the concerts on the TV over the bar.  We watch and it really looks like a very good time.

The food tonight is Mexican and it is very good.  Jana tells us how they are losing their staff and some of their chefs to the new and huge Sandals resort that is almost completed, not far away.  She said it is proving to be a big issue for many of the more established resorts as they need so many staff at Sandals and are actively poaching all the hotels and resorts. She is worried that they won't be able to keep everything operating properly.  Again I think, if I was trained in hotel services, or bartending, I could get a job in a snap here.  But then again, I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing my family. I especially miss my little granddaughter. She has completely wrecked the whole notion of me ever living in the Caribbean, at least for more than a few months at a time.

Amy and John, my new beach friends

When we get back to my hotel, I say goodbye to my new friends and promise to keep in touch.  Once in my room, I set about getting the rest of my things packed up.  I just know I am going to have overweight luggage tomorrow and debate leaving most of my toiletries behind for either the maid to take or toss out. It's about $30 worth of stuff but if I am overweight, it will be $50 US. I decide to leave my shampoo and conditioner, a couple of other cheaper items, and put the rest into a large zip lock bag right at the top of my luggage.  That way, if I need to, I can get at it easily.

One thing I won't miss around here and that is the noisy people next door.  Seriously!

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.

NEW BEACH, NEW FRIEND, AND MORE PIZZA

Up at 6:30 - ugh, short night.

Yesterday Michael offered to take me to a different beach today, Morne Rouge. It is just over the hill from the end of Grand Anse but he picks me up at the hotel in the same friend's car as yesterday. There's lots of bread to be delivered in the car and I haven't had breakfast so the aroma is mouth watering.

It is so hot out today. We get to the beach and I walk the length of it looking for sea glass but there isn't even one piece. There are a few really nice small shells, however.

If I want a beach chair here, I will have to pay for it - $10 EC for the day. I decide to go to hotel on the beach, Kalinago Resort, for breakfast.  There's a lovely restaurant/bar right on the beach. There's no one there but one server. I order the potato waffle. I haven't had one of those ever so am intrigued. It comes with a plate of fruit to start. One of them is a guava. I haven't had that before either, and it's not bad. Sort of like a small pear with a lot of hard but edible seeds. When the potato waffle comes, it doesn't taste at all like I imagined, going off the long list of local spices listed on the menu that should be in it; it is rather bland. So I hit it with salt and pepper and ketchup.  Disappointing.

Nice beach bar for breakfast at Kalinago

Fruit plate with guava

Mike wants to leave the beach, he was hoping to meet up with some musician friends, he has brought his djembe in hopes of jamming with them, but they don't show up. I am fine with leaving as there's not much here but I know it is going to be a very hot walk back so buy a Ting for the trip.

I nearly die.

Ok, I nearly pass out. It is so incredibly hot and there's not much shade along the road. Getting to the beach nearly did me in but the walk on the sand to the Allemanda nearly killed me. SO SO hot and incredibly dificult to walk on the soft sand when this exhausted.  Why I don't stop for a swim - I just don't know really.  I think it is knowing my thighs will chap when wet, having to walk so far and also, I am really so exhausted from the heat, all I want to do is collapse onto a lounge. When we get to the Allemanda, it takes me 20 minutes of sitting in the shade, unable to even speak, to recover.

Cool cabin on the way back

Gorgeous view down to Grand Anse from up here

Caribbean colours at The Flamboyant

It suddenly begins to storm, starting with waves coming in on the beach getting bigger and bigger each passing minute until they are much bigger than usual. The rain starts and comes down hard so we take shelter at Ali Baba restaurant at the Allemanda for a drink and I order us some hummus. Mike talks a lot about his friendship and relationship with Rick.

The rain finally stops so we go back to the beach and in for a swim. The water is so incredibly warm!

It starts to look like rain again and, sure enough, starts while we pack up. I decide to stay at the Allemanda in the lobby and read for a bit until it lets up. Mike wants to go so we say goodbye and I, knowing I won't see him again, feel a little sad.

Bye, Mike

After a bit, I walk to my hotel in drizzling rain. Something is going on again at the grounds by the roundabout and this time it is all kids in school uniforms and there is very loud Caribbean music. Really loud. I can even hear it from my hotel room.



I change, freshen up, and walk back to the mall to get some Ting. I've been out of something to drink for two days. There is actually a traffic jam on the road because they've make the beach side a one way while this thing is going on at the grounds.

I buy some bubble wrap to protect some stuff I have bought to take back. Note to self: next trip, PACK SOME!! As if I don't have enough of it at home - sheesh!

Christmas has, apparently, arrived at the mall

I call Joe, the taxi driver that Mike Sweeney recommended, to take me to Prickly Bay Marina for dinner - I must have pizza there one last time. It takes several tries to connect - I can hear the line is live but he never replies to me. A ride there with him is $70 EC return. Seems steep but it's worth it for the peace of mind as he is so professional.

No one I know is at Prickly but I get talking to a guy beside me at the bar, Joe from Maine originally but now he lives on St.Thomas yet is in Grenada indefinitely on his boat. He is a very young self-made millionaire - bought and sold marinas. I have a nice time chatting with him and watching the boating crowd. A bit more upscale than the Hog Island crowd, but still not my scene.

The sunset is spectacular.

Joe from Maine

With Joe from Maine

Gorgeous sunset over Prickly Bay

I am back at my hotel by 9:00 to loud and inconsiderate Italian (or whatever) neighbours.

I want to go over there and scream at them.  My British reserve and/or Canadian politeness keeps me in my room.

BEACH DAY AND ROGERS BAR AGAIN

Up early again, went down to the restaurant and had the apple fritters.  Not what I expected but they were very good.  Not sure what I expected, really, as I haven't had fritters before.

Apple fritters

I walked over to the Allemanda to the beach and this time I spoke to the couple that have been there every day.  Turns out they are from England, although she is originally from Grenada. They have travelled all over the world and they come here every year.  They tell me, once they find out I am from British Columbia, that their trip through Alberta and B.C. was the best holiday they have ever had. Given how many places they've been to, that is saying something!

I ask them if I can leave my beach bag in their safe-keeping and then walk down the beach, back to find more beach glass and I get another nice haul.  It's a gorgeous day and I stop along the way to swim in the beautiful clear water.  Nothing but sand on the bottom and it's glorious. I love how so many local people come down here on the weekend to enjoy the water too. You don't see a lot of that in the BVI - I even met some locals there who hadn't been to the beach in two or three years.  Boggles my mind. Here, at least this time of year, there are more locals than tourists.

Today's glass haul

I just nicely get back to my chair when Michael shows up, thinking I am some other woman he met on the beach yesterday. There is some confusion with this as I do know him from when I met him with Rick and we had pizza and burgers together at Prickly Bay but at first I didn't realize who he was because he was wearing sunglasses.  I got him to take them off then I recognized him and told him I wasn't who he thought I was but we had met. He was embarrassed at his mistake but I laughed it off; no big deal.

Michael, surprisingly shy for the camera

He offers to take me over to the dock to be picked up by Rick for the BBQ at Rogers on Hog Island. I accept and, after hanging out on the beach a bit, he makes a call and we head off to his friend's car.  His friend delivers bread for a local bakery and has some in the vehicle and it smells divine.

Waiting at the dock for Rick to pick us up

Black sand beach, lots of garbage... we waited quite a while for

Rick and I was wishing I had a garbage bag

This time, for the meal, I ask for it without the meat as the chicken is all legs and I prefer white meat. Roger's wife heaps the plate with her fabulous potato salad and charges me $5 less.  It is delicious!! However, my afternoon at Rogers decides it for me.  Not to offend anybody, but this is just far too strange a crowd for my tastes and there's lots of locals there today and they are definitely keeping to themselves so it doesn't make for a good atmosphere. I really anticipated that the cruising crowd here would be the same sort of bunch you find cruising in BC waters but they're nothing alike. It seems to me that those who really cruise have left for the northern islands already and these guys are the ones who never actually get out and sail. They're not very friendly to strangers either. I try to say hi and talk to a few but they'd rather go back and talk to the people they know. Even the ones who come and sit down at our table to talk to Rick completely ignore me.

Rogers Bar

Capt. Rick and Lucky - who I find out is a girl after 

thinking she was a he for 10 days!

I leave with Mike before dark as he isn't into it either, and catch a ride back with the same friend. I give him $20 for gas.

I get back to my hotel room to discover that a bunch of very loud Italians have moved in to the room next to me. It sounds like at least half a dozen of them.  I can hear every word, bump and scrape.  I have four more nights here. If these guys are here for the entire time, I think I might go insane. The lovely peace of this place has been completely shattered.

There's no way I can sleep while they are up so I don't get to turn out the light until well after midnight.

A NATIONAL HOLIDAY & A VERY SHORT DINNER

I went to bed early last night, I was so tired from my day of touring Grenada, and as a result I am wide awake at 6am.

Today is a national holiday named Thanksgiving, but there is nothing about it that relates to Thanksgiving in North America. Thanksgiving here is a relatively young holiday as it is in celebration of the liberation of the nation from a military coup thirty years ago, courtesy of the USA. I recall the weeks, back in 1983, when it all went down, but I was knee deep in toddler and baby life, having a two year old and a newborn thus did not have time to learn the why. So I spend some time online this morning, researching and learning.

I head out to La Boulangerie, just down the road, for a croissant. It is delicious as it is fresh baked this morning but, sadly, the San Pelligrino is flat.

After breakfast, I walk over to the beach and there are lots of locals out today due to the holiday. I head down to the North end on a quest for sea glass and find quite a lot. While there, a couple slightly older than me come along, they are from Colorado and we have a nice conversation as we all search. I admire a necklace she is wearing -  a gold chain with a very pretty pendant made with three lovely pieces of glass she tells me she found on a past holiday.

The bounty from a very successful hour of sea glass hunting

I walk back to Allemanda and my beach bag is so heavy! It's a gorgeous day so in the heat the bag seems to be getting heavier and I decide to stop for a float about in a gorgeous, pool-like bit of water before carrying on.

After saying hello to the couple I see every day, I get a lounge and settle into the usual spot but within an hour a huge system moves in and it starts to rain a lot. I pull my lounge up under the tree to wait it out but give up after a while and decide to walk to the South end of the beach. I go to The Owl, a restaurant attached to The Flamboyant Hotel, and order chicken roti with salad (as described on the menu) and a Ting.  The roti is very good but the 'salad' is a joke - a tiny piece of lettuce, one slice of cucumber and one slice of tomato.

 Lunch at The Owl

I overhear a group of people a few tables over talking about being on the island for the invasion. Sounds like one of them was a med student at the time. He talks about hearing the shots that killed the Prime Minister and his cabinet. How awful. They have lots of interesting stories actually, and I rather enjoy hearing them. And I wasn't really eavesdropping as they were talking so loud, everyone could hear them.

After lunch I sit on the beach for a bit under the seagrape trees on one of several lounges there that belong to The Flamboyant. The weather is still drizzly and I take out my camera to get a photo. As I click the button, something seemed to drop through the frame. When I look at the photo, I see that a bird was coming in for a landing right as the shutter opened.

Coming in for a landing

An infestation of ants that are biting me drives me off. I stop by Cinnamon Resort's beach restaurant, SAVVY, to take a look and decide to go in and have a drink. I love the look of this place with it's large couches and chairs grouped around long low tables, and the beautifully painted tent roof overhead. I select a comfy chair, plop down, and order a pina colada. This is a really lovely spot and I decide I will come back for lunch on another day.

Love the ambience of this place

I like pina coladas...

After an hour or two of relaxing with my Kindle, I head down the beach to the Allemanda. The beach is so busy, despite the weather, with all of the locals out enjoying the holiday. I come across a group of young guys playing cricket on the sand and there's an older guy up to bat. As I walk by, he drops the bat and walks over to me and I realize, with a sinking heart, that it is Tom the taxi driver. He right away asks me out and I say no. He asks why and I hem and haw. He says he just wants to get to know me. Sigh. He keeps pressing me and something in me breaks. Fine. You want to go out with me? We will go out. I don't say that, I say "Fine. Ok. I will go out for a drink with you tonight. Pick me up at 7." and he breaks into a big smile as I walk away to continue down the beach.  He also gives me a hard time about not using him to take a tour like we had talked about. I tell him I went with a company that was a lot cheaper than what he quoted me.

I kick myself most of the way back to my hotel while deciding that I will not hold back as to why I don't want to go out with him when I see him tonight.

I take a short cut through a school yard on the way back that saves me 10 minutes of walking but the entire grounds are a mine field of crab holes! It's like a crab hotel!

Tom is 20 minutes late picking me up and he's lucky I am still here as I was just in the process of calling a taxi to take me to dinner.  I am seriously thinking of telling him I have changed my mind but think to ask him where he lives. He lives in Gouyave which is over an hour away and I would feel terrible having him gone home to change and come back all that way for nothing so I lock my door and head to his van where he holds open the back door for me to climb in. I tell him as I am not a paying customer this trip, I will sit in the front and he quickly clears a pile of junk off of the seat so I can get in.

I am hungry so he takes me to a Chinese food place that is a dive at the side of a busy road. I thought we'd order a few dishes like we do back home and share, but he orders a plate of chow mien for himself so I do the same. I eat two forkfuls and leave the rest, it really is that bad; until now I hadn't met a chow mien I didn't love. 

Me and a plate of chow mien I won't be eating

It is an awkward conversation. He goes off on how he thinks I am beautiful, that I am interesting, that I intrigue him, that he just wants to get to know me better, ad nausea. I interrupt to ask him how old he is and he says he is 33. I tell him that is the same age as my son and he shakes his head and says age is just a number, blah blah blah. I tell him it's a big number to me.. the number of my son's age and that alone would keep me from dating him. It also comes out that he is still married after telling me, in answer to my specifically asking the first night he asked me out, that he was divorced. When I express my outrage at his lie to me, he claims that here in the islands, once you're separated you are considered no longer married so he did not lie. I explain to him that where I come from you're married until you have a document stating you're divorced.

I also bring up that he listens to Christian radio so I can safely assume he is a man of faith and if so, doesn't the Bible say something about not being 'unequally yoked together with an unbeliever?" and since he doesn't know me at all, why is he trying so desperately to date a woman who could be a hedonistic heathen, for all he knows. He tries to tell me that verse isn't talking about personal relationships and I have to laugh. He has no idea that I have sat in church for most of my life, listening to sermons and several really good ones on the meaning of that verse, not to mention doing my own study, books I have read on the subject etc. so I know exactly what it is talking about and it most certainly does apply to personal relationships... more so than most other kinds!

He asks me what I meant on the beach earlier today when I had said he made me uncomfortable the other night. So I told him. I am a single woman, travelling alone, in a strange country so the only way I feel safe going anywhere after dark is to hire a taxi. I pay to feel safe and then I get a taxi driver who behaves very unprofessionally and abuses his position, using his taxi to attempt to pick up women who are travelling alone. He crosses the line from friendly to intrusive with his many personal questions. I didn't like it and it made me uncomfortable and add to that - he knows where I am staying and even what room I am in. How does he think that would make me feel? He seems genuinely taken aback and apologizes to me.  We sit there in relative silence for a bit but dinner is over, in less than an hour. We leave and he drives me back to the hotel.

He brings up the offer to put aloe on my back the other night so I tell him what I think of that too. In response, he claims he wasn't trying to get into my room, that we'd have gone down to the pool for him to do it. As if I believe that, never mind that at the time, he specifically offered to come into my hotel room to do it. As I am walking to my room he, unbelievably, tries again by asking if he can have my email address and cell phone number. I tell him an emphatic 'no' and his face falls so I say "I have your business card that you gave me on the beach the other day. If I feel inclined, I can contact you," then wave goodbye as I go into my room and shut the door.

I am home by 8:20 so gone just an hour. It was long enough.

AN UNFRIENDLY LOCAL AND A FRIENDLY MEAL

I wake up to about 200 sugar ants on my nightstand.  UGH!! I left an open bottle half full of Ting on it overnight. Not a good plan.

I walk down to the restaurant and order the Spicy French Toast and then go in the pool for a dip. The location of this pool is unfortunate. I don't really want to swim and lay out here where every single lunch patron can watch me. Thus I make it a quick dip.

Spicy French Toast

I go to reception and get some info on a tour company here and go back to my room to make the call to book an 8 hour island tour for tomorrow and a market tour for Saturday. They are $90 and $12 US dollars respectively. The island tour includes lunch. I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of the island.

On the way to the Allemanda resort I stop in at the mall for a couple of drinks for the beach.  Once at the beach, I have to ask again for the chairs to be unlocked. It is a bit of an inconvenience but I understand it. Right next to where the resort is, there is a public park of sorts with a few shacks on it selling food. There is a big seagrape tree in front of the park on the beach and a lot of local men hang out under it for the entire day. They have a big stack of chairs in the park and they rent them out for the day. Some of them are also the beach vendors selling jewelry and massages etc. They look like a shady bunch and I guess the hotel doesn't want them, or anyone else for that matter, helping themselves to their chairs.

I get settled in and then go in for a dip. There are two women in the water and they greet me. We get to talking and their names are Lauren and Rosalie.  Rosalie is older and originally from Grenada but now lives in New York, as does Lauren - who is originally from Tobago. At one point I am sure I hear Lauren call Rosalie 'mom' so not sure how it is they are from two different islands. They are really nice and very friendly and we spend an hour floating and laughing.

Rosalie and Lauren

Back lounging in my chair, a huge cat comes in - Carib Cats. I have seen it (or rather HEARD it) way out on the water  earlier. It takes tourists out for a few hours and they play reggae music extremely loudly. As I watch them, a young local guy is hauled up the very tall mast by rope and a small wooden platform. It doesn't look any too secure and steady and I am riveted watching him go up and then shortly after, back down. They let him down too fast and he freaks out a little about half way. Poor guy! When he gets on the sand he actually kneels down and kisses it!

An annoying old ratty looking rasta guy, who has been talking at volume ALL DAY under the local hang out tree I mentioned earlier, comes over to where I am and starts yelling at some little girls playing at the water's edge.  It is obvious to me by the startled looks on their faces that they do not know this guy. They go back to playing and try to ignore him while he continues to yell at them. I can't make out what it is that has got him so annoyed but it seems to me that he is way out of line. He turns to see me staring at him, probably with a scowl, and he says something unintelligible to me and then says "Are you angry with me?" I say no but I guess he can tell I am annoyed with him and he goes off at volume about who he is, how much money he paid for a private island and some gas company (uh-huh, not buying it). He is yelling and is quite aggressive. He starts to walk off and then turns back to me yelling a bunch of stuff about how educated he is. He goes on and on and on and I finally have had enough.

"All I care about is that you're disturbing the peace of this beautiful place" I say.

He doesn't like that one bit. "ME?  Disturbing the peace? Is that what you said?"

"Yep. That's what I said."

He goes off again about the millions he has spent on land and companies. I just go back to my kindle and ignore him. He continues to yell and then finally leaves, walking to another small group not far from his tree and starts disturbing their peace.

Guys like that should be arrested. Loitering all day, ranting at tourists right in front of their resort. He was a total ass for yelling at those little girls like he did.

Every day that I have been on the beach here, there has been a couple my age under the shade of a tree a bit closer to the property line for the resort. He is white and she is black. Judging books by their covers, they seem really nice. I have started to say hi to them when I arrive, it is clear they are staying at the Allemanda, and they have been watching this whole exchange. I look over at them and grin and shrug. He grins back.

Some young boys arrive at the beach and proceed to have the Caribbean version of a snowball fight. It is highly entertaining to watch as they carefully form a small ball out of sand and a lot of water and then slowly pack more dry sand around it. They make a line of half a dozen or so and then start pelting each other with them. They are having the time of their lives and I am thoroughly enjoying watching them.

Carefully forming the sandballs

This ball landed smack on the side of the target's head!

I have finally called Joe, the taxi driver Mike recommended, to come and take me out to dinner.  He arrives right on time to pick me up and he is so professional, his van is new and pristine, and I am very happy. Not one single personal question.

Ready for a night out with mystery guests

Tom, the other driver, had told me about a resort on the south end of the island named Le Phare Bleu, that hosts a 'friendship table' dinner once a week on Wednesday evenings. The meal is set out, family style, in dishes, and you all sit together at one long table and get to know some new people. I LOVE the idea of this and so have made a reservation and that is where we are headed.

When I arrive, there is a long table set out and a few people at the bar. I walk up to the bar, order a drink and then say hello to an older gentleman sitting there. I ask him if he is there for the friendship dinner and he says he is. We introduce ourselves; he is Robin and he is British. I recognize another man down the bar from pizza night at Prickly Bay. He is rather loud but seems really nice and I am guessing from his accent that he is from the states, maybe Texas. I find out later that he is from Florida. There is a woman with him who looks to be about 20 years older than he is (he looks my age) but I think maybe she is the same age but has had a hard life and too much sun!

My wonderful dinner partner, Robin

It turns out that tonight we are dining buffet style and a server comes to tell us we can help ourselves whenever we are ready so we head to the table. The meal tonight is all authentic Caribbean cuisine and I am excited to try it.  Robin and I sit across from each other at the long table and have a great conversation. It turns out he has lived on Grenada for ten years, he is a project manager and built the beautiful Port Louis Marina, among other places. He has just returned from a trip to England and his wife is still there visiting family.  He is a wonderful dinner partner and I have a lovely evening. And the food is fantastic.

Robin and me

The guy from Florida is named Tom and once I am alone, because Robin has gone home for the evening, he comes over and offers to buy me a drink and I accept. He orders it and one for himself. He asks me where I am from and tells me he is from Florida and that he is a boat captain and delivers boats all over the Caribbean from Florida for those who don't want to make the trip themselves. Just as the drinks arrive, the woman he is with walks over and it is clear right away that she has had too much to drink. She more orders than tells him that it is time to go. He says "yes, in a bit", and turns back to me. She gets really rude at this point and grabs his arm and says "Lets GO! I want to GO. NOW!" and yanks on his arm. He can't ignore her although it seems he wants to. He apologizes to me and stands. She is loudly telling him she wants to leave NOW the whole time. I feel sorry for Tom as he seems very embarrassed and tells me she is his first mate. As they walk away, I wonder if he is also married to her. If he is, I feel very sorry for him.

What I really appreciate about my new taxi driver, Joe, is that he, unlike the other two, does not require me to give him a time to return for me, just a phone call giving him 20 minutes to get here - so I don't feel like I am leaving before I want to. I call him and then go sit with some other friendship table diners that were at the other end to introduce myself. I meet a lovely woman with a young boy on her lap. They are from Germany and here on business for two months and just arrived today. They are staying at the resort attached to the restaurant here. We have a nice chat until Joe arrives and then we walk out together, her to their room and me to the lovely shiny clean taxi.

BEACH, BURGER, AND A (SMELLY) BAG OF ALOE

Up at 8:30 after a fabulous sleep. I love how quiet this place is.

I read over the proof read one more time and email back and forth with Mike a bit until we get it just right.

I grab a couple of gingersnaps for breakfast and walk down to the computer store on 'Wall Street' (named so because there are several banks on that block) just by the big roundabout at the end of my road. They have a cord for my phone at $105 EC or $42 Canadian. I hate to pay that much but I need it.

Close by is the Allamanda Beach Resort, a sister hotel to where I am staying. Because of this, I can use their deck chairs to lounge on the beach. I head over there and have to ask at the desk for the chairs to be unlocked. I take two in case Regina comes by.

It's a partially sunny day and yet super hot so I put the chairs in the shade of one of the huge seagrape trees that are along this stretch of sand. I read for two hours and am constantly being interrupted by local men and women asking me if I want to purchase handcrafted jewelry, or do I want my hair braided (no!!!!), or would I like a foot massage. Most do leave when I say 'no thank you' but the constant interruption is annoying and the odd one who won't take no for an answer is as well. One great thing though, I am wearing the bracelet I bought on Mayreau so those who are selling a similar item notice it and say 'oh I see you have one' and leave me alone.

Ahhh... perfect!

A fellow walks up to my chair and hands me a business card, his name is Tom. He tells me that he runs tours of the island and asks if I am interested. I am, actually, so he asks if he can sit down and he sits on the edge of my lounge. He explains the full island tour and prices and I ask a few questions. I mention that I am looking for a new taxi driver and he tells me he drives taxi as well so I arrange for him to pick me up at 5:30 at my hotel for dinner at Prickly Bay with Rick and Alessandra. I tell him I will think about the tour (as his price seems steep to me). He eventually leaves and we agree to 'see you later'.

Shortly after I think I see Regina and Bruce heading towards me along the waters edge and I stand up and wave to them. They wave back. They get close and... it isn't them! I am so shocked because they both looked exactly like them from a distance. I get ready to explain myself but as they walk close enough to talk to, they completely ignore me - no eye contact at all. Hmmm.

Growing hungry, I realize that it is almost noon so I walk down the beach in search of a restaurant and find a place called Umbrellas near by. It isn't right on the beach, there is a packed sand parking lot between, but it's close enough that I feel okay about going in with just a swimsuit and cover up shirt. I ask to be seated outside on the upper deck and love the view from there.

View from my table at Umbrellas

I am dying for a burger so order one and a nutmeg milkshake. I don't usually drink milkshakes but I want to try the nutmeg one. I mention to the waiter that I'd like to charge my phone if there is an outlet nearby but he says there isn't. He offers to charge it behind the bar downstairs and I gratefully accept. The weather is warm and breezy, broken cloud with about 30% blue sky. I hope the rain holds off today.

Nutmeg Milkshake...mmmm!

The meal is exceptionally good and the shake is delicious! I decide I will definitely be back and trying more of their menu.  When it comes time to leave, I am rather self conscious as more patrons have arrived and they are all dressed for either a business lunch or a ladies lunch out with friends. I feel very underdressed and decide that I can't come back here unless I am dressed for it so no more beach lunches at Umbreallas.

Enhanced view

I head back to Allamanda and the chairs have been put back so I have to get them unlocked again. I just get one for me this time. As I sit there, a dog walks up to me and stands beside my chair and gazes into my eyes for about a minute. I look back at him and say 'hi' and give him a pat on the head. He continues to gaze into my face and then suddenly turns, walks a couple of steps to the rear of my chair and collapses onto the sand in the shade. He instantly falls asleep and stays there for a couple of hours. I guess he was checking me out to make sure I was trustworthy.

A weary dog who just needed a safe place to sleep for a while

After a couple of hours or so I decide to walk down the beach in search of sea glass and I don't get very far when who should be waving at me from a distance but Regina! So we walk back to my chair, get a second one and sit together and chat until I have to go and get changed for dinner. We agree to try to meet up again tomorrow.

I walk back and get changed and fixed up. Tom, the driver, arrives on time and seems rather taken aback by the change in my appearance - something I have encountered before as I know I tend to look fairly hideous on the beach with no makeup and limp hair clipped back off of my face. He compliments me and I just smile and say 'thanks' as I head down the steps towards his van... which is a total wreck. As he gives me a hand up into the back, I bang my head on a rusted piece of metal hanging by wires from the ceiling and I realize that it is the dome light that has come loose and is not working. I can't see but it feels like it cut my forehead. I decide on the spot that there is no way I am going for an 8 hour tour in this heap. The seat I am on is completely wrecked with lumpy springs under my butt.

He asks me a lot of personal questions on the drive to Prickly Bay but that seems to be the norm for males in these parts and I give short answers. It's about a 20 minute drive so there's a lot of questions.  I am relieved when we arrive at the destination and I ask to him to come back for me at 9.

Rick and Alessandra arrive about 20 minutes after me and they have a couple of people with them, a girl named Dasha and a local fellow named Michael. Dasha has a heavy accent that sounds a lot like Andy Kauffman playing Latka. Over beer, hamburgers, and pizza we have a nice evening. There is a trivia game that anyone can take part in and it is awful as the questions are seriously stupid - trivia no one but a specialist on the subject would know.

Tom arrives right on time and so I have to go even though I could have stayed another hour, and he is exhibiting impatience as I say my goodbyes which I find inappropriate but I don't say anything about it.

He has noticed my blistered and peeling shoulders (I will peel from my hairline to my toes before this vacation is over) and offers to stop at a friend's place to cut me some aloe vera. I thank him but tell him no. He insists it is no trouble. Again I say no, that it is okay. He then insists that I need it so I say fine. He heads in a completely different direction than we came in and soon we are on a pot-holed dirt road in the middle of nothing and nowhere. There are no houses, no street lights, just the glow from his headlights illuminating a few feet ahead and on each side of the road. It passes through my mind that this may not end so good for me but I take hope in the fact that he listens to Christian radio (there's been sermons blaring on it the entire time I've been in the van).  But him continuously saying 'let your heart be not afraid, I am not going to hurt you' without provocation could kind of negate that hope. However, deep down, I sense that his intentions are good, and sure enough, we pull off into a cleared area where there are several huge yucca plants and he jumps out and cuts off two huge leaves. He gets back in and fishes around on the floor until he finds a bag and puts them inside and hands them to me. I thank him and we get on our way.  There has been an odd unpleasant odour in the van since getting in at the marina and it just got incredibly stronger. I gingerly sniff at the bag in my hands. It is coming from there. I lay it on the floor.

We pass by the airport - we actually drive right through the pick-up area, and he is flagged down by a uniformed customs officer. Now what?! They exchange some words that I don't understand and then the passenger door opens and a woman gets in. I recognize her as one of the customs clerks that was present when I checked into the country. Apparently we are giving her a ride into town. She never looks back where I am and never says a word to me so I don't know if she even realizes I am there. She and Tom talk a bit but, honestly, despite my trying very hard, I can't pick up more than a word here or there. Hard to believe they are speaking English!

Once we are back at the hotel the driver tells me he'd like to take me out for coffee in the morning. I tell him no thank you. He then offers to come in and put the aloe vera on my back for me. Uhhh... no. He is really pushy about seeing me in the morning but I tell him again that I am not interested. He again offers to put the aloe vera on for me and I tell him firmly that I can handle it myself and I walk up the stairs to my door carrying the smelly bag of stems. He calls after me and says will I please, please think about going out for a drink with him and I say I will think about it just to get rid of him but there is no way I want to see this guy again. I feel so uncomfortable. I need a new cab driver. Mike gave me the name of a guy they use and I had intended to call him after my bad experience with Cat Eye but then this guy appeared on the beach and I figured why not just go with him but it was clearly a mistake. I will be calling Joe, Mike's guy, tomorrow.

I go to the kitchen to cut some aloe vera and when I pull it out of the bag I am overwhelmed with the odour of some sort of curry and see that there is a bright yellow oily slick on both stems of the plant. It just reeks - I mean, I love curry but this is not just curry. I have no idea what it is that smells like that but it is absolutely disgusting. I wash the stems off with dish soap and water and dry them to see that there is still a yellow stain on the stem. I cut a piece off of one and put the rest in the fridge. I then go about slicing the piece open and rubbing it on my shoulders and back as far as I can reach. As I climb into bed and get comfortable, I realize that I smell like that awful curry. It is absolutely nauseating and I get up, wash my hands and spray some perfume on myself before getting back into bed. It doesn't really help.

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.