I have kept myself busy once again, while Brett has done odd jobs around the boat. I went to Grenada cooking class and this week the chefs were kitted out in the Grenadian colours because they were being televised. Once again it was quite entertaining. $EC12 is a bargain as you get the receipes and get to eat at the end of the class. 

I went to the final summer session of the Mt Airy Readers program, where the kids had a spelling and reading competition followed by a small party. The kids were all so patient sitting while the other kids participated.     

This is Keisha who was my friend for the morning. She drew me some very colorful pictures while waiting patiently for the party.

All of the children who competed received a certificate and there were prizes for various placings. The kids were so proud and happy to receive their certificates, which was nice to see. 

This is Cassie and her uncle. I worked with Cassie last week on her reading skills so was happy to see she did well.

As you do we had quite a few social gatherings with friends in the bay and then Richard and Jen from Our Rose invited us to go around to one of the bays for a long weekend for some hobbie cat racing. Maverick’s on tour. Our Rose below….

On the South Coast of Grenada there are a lot of bays so it was nice to get out and see them and go touring by sea again. There were some pretty interesting looking homes about.

Hobbie cat racing at the Le Phare Bleu Yachtclub was a blast, with 20 teams competing over the day. Our friends from Prickly Bay came over to support which was awesome. Jen and I teamed up and did very well for complete beginners. Jen ran the sheets while I worked the rudder. We ended up going out twice as we won our first race, much better than the boys! Alas we did not win our next race. Competition was tough. We were very happy with our day.

Richard and Brett went solo but must have had tougher competition as they were out after their first races so at the end they had a race against each other with Richard winning. Excellent time.  

The weekend ended at the Whisper Cove Marina for Jam night, where some cruisers get together and play music.

Off to Grenada Marina as the parts are in for our alternators. At last!

Canadians Donna & Jack from S/V Kathrian organized an outing to the Naniki Caribbean Jazz festival for Sunday evening. Bob and Judy from Adastra and Jen & Richard also came.

It was held in the gardens at the Mt Cinnamon Resort. Not a huge number of people were there, which was a shame. It was nice to lay on the grass and enjoy the music from the various artists. A little rain shower did not dampen our spirits, we were all organized and happy that it didn’t last long. It was nice just sitting back and relaxing.

There were 2 Jazz bands, the Sean Thomas quartet and C4 from Barbados

They also had a couple of vocalists; Jenny J from Grenada and Shontelle from Barbados. Another good night out in Grenada. 

June 29^th, in the fishing town of Gouyave is the Annual Fisherman’s Birthday, a celebration honoring St Peter  – Patron Saint of Fishermen. As part of the day’s events the fishermen’s boats are blessed for the upcoming fishing season followed by boat races and ending with a street party in the evening. A lot of people come into town to enjoy the music and festivities.  We decided the evening party sounded like fun so joined a few cruisers,  including Jen and Richard from Our Rose and Ian and Wendy from Outsider, and off we went to enjoy the evenings celebrations.

There were some food tents set up, serving all sorts of dishes. We tried a number of dishes including oildown (below), a traditional Grenadian curry dish, which was very tasty.

The party was along the main street which was packed full of people dancing and enjoying each others We had a lot of fun limin’with friends and the locals.

A great night in Gouyave.

I volunteered to help out last Saturday morning at the Mt Airy Young readers program; a program for children in the area who would like a little extra help with their reading, writing and math. Jean Pascal supports and hosts the program out of her garage, which is set up like a small classroom, which extends out into her courtyard depending on the number of kids who turn up.

The program relies on volunteers to come along and help assist in working with the children aged between 4 and 17 years. The cruising community helps the volunteer program out by donating books, stationery and time to helping Jean and her husband support these kids.

A great program for everyone involved. I worked with a young 4 year old who unfortunately had lost his mother recently and just needed a little attention. I will be going along to help out again this coming weekend as it really is a amazing program where Jean relies on help from any and all volunteers.

Every Friday night in the town of Gouyave on the West Coast Shademan takes a group of cruisers up to the town for Fish Fry-day, limes with his friends and then returns you back to your boats, when you are ready. We decided to go up with Wendy and Ian and had a blast starting out as you do at one of the local bars for some pre dinner drinks.

Various stalls are set up around a couple of the streets selling all sorts of fryed food from breadfruit to fish-n-bake to seafood kebabs.

The chefs are all extremely friendly and very proud of what they are serving.

The steel pan band was out to entertain everyone that came out; they were good. People were dancing in the streets and limin’ while listening to the band.

I met the local policeman who was watching all the traffic that came into town. He must have been hot in his uniform!

Great evening out.

Of course you have to get out and enjoy Grenada. You jump in one of the many privately owned, efficient and fantastically frequent maxi taxis that have different routes around the island, designated by a number on the front screen.

We were heading to Mt Carmel Waterfalls, which we read about in a book called “Ready to get wet? Our top 10 hikes of the Caribbean” written by Mike from zero to cruising and available on their web site zerotocruising . We had to jump the No 1 van from Prickly Bay to St George and then the Number 2 towards Grenville.

These guys beep at you to let you know they are coming, a hand waves out the window to see if you want to jump aboard as they scream by and if you blink they screech to a halt and back up a block to load you in. Sometimes the conductor jumps out of the van and stands in the middle of the road with arms outstretched not understanding why you are walking and not jumping aboard. A quick wave and they are off. If you do take up the offer you squeeze into a spot in the taxi seated for 15ish and you are on your way with loud dance and reggae tunes to help the driver and you enjoy the trip. If you pay a little extra EC$ you can even get door to door service.

At one point on our trip to Grenville there were 18 of us in the van. Amazing to watch the dynamics of moving people around to accomodate each passenger and ensure you get everyone in. When you want out you tap on the side of the van or push a button and before you know it you screech to a halt, you are out and they are ready to fill your spot. Awesome.

About 1.5 hours later we arrived at the stop for Mt Carmel waterfalls.

It was a pretty easy 15 minute hike along a dirt trail to the waterfall. Akeem also joined us along the track explaining a little about the area. It was quite refreshing standing under the falls and having a quick shower.

We then wandered back along the track and took another path to Basse Falls where the local kids were sliding down the rocks into the pool at the bottom. The kids made it look like fun but their ripped shorts showed what the rocks can do and I don’t think it would be a gentle massage on your skin! 

We swam in the pool and enjoyed lunch before getting back in a van to head back home to get ready to go out for Fish Fry-day with Shademan.