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.

GRAND ANSE BEACH - FINALLY!

Got up to sunshine and blue sky above but there are big dark clouds over the island.  I say that it looks like we are in for bad weather but Alessandra says it's normal and will be gone in an hour. I have my doubts but then again, the weather does move fast in the islands.

Three hours later and we are still here as the clouds have now moved overhead and it is raining.  We were going to move the boat over to Hog Island for the barbeque tonight but it's too risky to take the boat through the reef in this wind.  I am disappointed as I was really looking forward to it, having read about Rogers and the bbq on Zero to Cruising, a blog of friends of mine.

10:30am we head over to Port Louis marina for diesel and water.  As we are on our way, the weather breaks and by the time we arrive, it is sunny in almost a cloudless sky and the wind has died down so it is nice and hot again.

St. George's and the Carenage 

Port Louis Marina

We anchor just around the corner from Port Louis.  The boat, Elephant's Child is 2 boats away.  This is a boat I have considered joining to learn how to sail as the owner has an ad on Crew Wanted for a first mate and is willing to teach. I have been in contact with him, off and on for a couple of years, over the internet.  Now here is his boat!  I'd love to be able to meet the owner, John.  He's a Scotsman.

At 3pm we FINALLY head off to the beach!  We take the dinghy to Grand Anse, a beach I have read about and plan to spend considerable time on during the 'on land' part of this trip.  We tie up at small dock near a bar on the far north end of the beach.  

It's a really nice beach but the sand is not as white or as fine as the sand in the BVI.  

There is a hotel at the very end of the beach that is next to a plot of empty land, well - empty of buildings but has lots of trees and several small fishing boats that look like big row boats.   There are several men in among the trees and it almost looks as though they live there, with what looks like a make-shift tent and a fire burning.  Glad I am not booked in at that hotel for the land based 10 days.

In the dinghy heading to the beach

Fish nets spread out to dry in front of the empty lot

Grand Anse Beach; the north end

Rick and Alessandra have a beer at the small bar while I go in search of beach glass, which I find plenty of in one spot about 10 yards before the sand ends and mountain begins.

We are back on the boat by 6 and by 6:30 there is no sign of any dinner prep and I am starving.  Really not how I envisioned this and I am feeling kinda disappointed.

Finally at 8 we have dinner, a pasta dish - spaghetti with tomato sauce and herbs.  It's very tasty but there isn't enough of it and I am still hungry when we clean up.

A huge system comes through at about 9:30pm lasting for a few hours.  It is very windy and lots of rain finally forces me out of the cockpit where I was alone, reading and munching on a couple of ginger snaps. I sit on the banquette below and read for a bit more. Rick and Alessandra went to bed hours ago.