This week’s blog has a little something for everyone! We have beach bars, snorkeling, food, drinks, characters and adventures. I start you off with a fuel tank update because I feel the need to wean you slowly after so many months of fuel tank updates. I do not want to send you into withdrawals by making you go cold turkey. So, fuel tank update….they hold fuel, distribute fuel and dare I say…..seem to be fully functioning! In fact, I do not think we have uttered the words “fuel tank” in days which is quite the accomplishment. Our adventure this week started with a long overdue goodbye to Grenada! After filling out several online forms, in person forms and yet another PCR test, we were cleared for departure. We left Carriacou and made our way over to Sandy Island for the night. Sandy Island is a small spit of land off the coast of Carriacou and it lived up to it’s not so very original name. It had gorgeous white sand and was surrounded by reefs. We went for our first snorkel in months and enjoyed the cool water. We spent the rest of the afternoon being entertained by the pelicans hunting on the reefs. They are very determined birds! Our last evening within the Grenada borders was spent having sundowners on the beach with our friends from Make Way whom we will not see for at least another year as their travels take them back to Australia. It was a sad parting but we know we will meet them again down the line.
The next morning, we began the hour long boat ride over to the island chain known as St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I must admit I had never heard of St. Vincent until it’s volcano erupted last year. Other cruisers have raved about the area being as beautiful as the Bahamas so we decided it was worth a visit. The island chain is made up of the main islands of Union, Mayreau, Canoun, Bequia, Mustique and St. Vincent. We pulled into Clifton Bay, Union Island to clear customs, immigration and of course, the health check. We made our way over to the health office which was step number one. The woman greeted us and asked for all our paperwork. She then said, “I’ll get this done for you. You can just go sit in the bar and have a drink” and she pointed down the corridor to the restaurant. What kind of amazing place was this country? We did as we were told and after an hour, I made my way back to the health office. Our helper was missing. When I inquired as to her whereabouts and stated that we needed to get over to Customs before they closed, the woman said, “Oh no. She has gone over to customs and immigration for you. She’ll bring everything to the bar once she is done.” I must have had a look of utter disbelief on my face because she tilted her head at me inquiringly. I simply stated, “This is the best country EVER!” and I heard her laughter follow me as I made my way back to the bar. After we had cleared customs, we went to explore the town of Clifton. The entire population of Union Island is around 3000 people so exploring did not take long. As we walked up the main road, we passed by the elementary school. All the kids were getting out of school for the day and walking home. In St. Vincent, the official language is English. However, islanders speak a mix of languages blending English and Creole which means that when the locals are conversing with each other, we have no idea what is being said. As we walked down the hill from the school, we heard the children talking. The discussion went as follows…..creole, creole, creole, “White People”, creole, creole, creole. We were not sure what was being said, but we figured out pretty easily we were the main topic of conversation! Following our fifteen minute exploration of town, we selected a bar called the Tipsy Turtle to take a rest. I was very excited when I saw milkshakes listed on the wall! I have not had a milkshake since we left the States. My only choice was chocolate which was perfect for me! After our drinks, we voted for some more exercise so we headed over to the kite surfer beach. We walked down a dirt path which dead ended into…..dare you take a guess?....yet another bar! Not only did this bar have cold beer for Bill and an amazing view, it had lounging beds where one could lie down, drink a drink and stare out over the ocean. I do not think a day could have been any better! Until dinner. We finished off the day at an Italian restaurant called Barracudas and ate a lobster pizza. For my foodies out there, it was as amazing as it sounds! As wonderful as Clifton was, the bay on Thursday night was a rolly event which did not make for a comfortable night’s sleep so we voted in the morning to move on to our next anchorage, Chatham Bay. Chatham Bay was just around the corner from Clifton so the short hop only took about an hour. We made our way into the bay and dropped the anchor. Just as we had turned off the engine, a man pulled up along side Galt and told us that he owned the local beach bar and would love to cook us dinner on Saturday night. He began rattling off choices that we would have including lobster, red snapper, chicken, ribs, rice, plantains and about 10 more items. We told him we would definitely be there! We asked him about food for Friday night since we had not planned anything yet and he said, “Come on over tonight and I’ll make you some conch fritters.” What kind of magical country is this place? While we waited for nightfall and fritters, we swam over to the reef that lined one side of the bay. Before we had a chance to get on our fins, Bill said, “You should see all these fish in here!” I know I say this statement every time we go snorkeling but this time I mean it…..I have never seen so many fish in all my life! Schools of silver minnows swarmed about us. Long needle nosed fish sauntered by while rainbow fish swam lazily through red and green coral. It was breathtaking and the afternoon slid by as we immersed ourselves into the underwater world. At sunset, we made our way over the Sun, Beach and Eat bar. As we jumped onto the beach, I heard someone call my name. Our summer neighbors from the marina in Grenada were enjoying their sundowners at the bar! We had not seen them in several months so it was nice to catch up. Vanessa, the co-owner of the bar, brought us our promised fritters and we settled in for an evening of good conversation. Vanessa was quite the personality and she had no qualms about smoking pot right at the table! Bill asked her if the police cared about the islanders smoking pot and she laughed for at least five minutes….so we took that as a strong ‘no’. She also taught me a few new wonderful sayings that I will always remember. When asked about the volcanic eruption last year, she stated, “Ah, God just wanted to rearrange his living room furniture so no worries.” She also described the rich people on the super yachts as “highty tighty” meaning too good for the rest of us so that is one phrase that we will definitely use in the future! The final humor of the night was when she lost her lighter and accused her husband of taking it….after a few minutes, she reached up to scratch her head and began laughing as she pulled the lighter she had stored in her braids out of her hair bun. The finale of the week….Saturday night dinner at Beach, Sun and Eat. When we arrived for our reservations, we were surprised to find the entertainment for the night was none other than Julian, the lead singer of the Leaky Seacocks from Grenada! He said he spends several months a year floating around the Grenadines so we knew we would have good entertainment for the night. The restaurant was full of cruisers and we all watched as the lobsters and fish were put onto the grill and the aromas floating through the bar had us all ready to eat. We stared in wonder as the lobster and red snapper were delivered to our table followed by potatoes, rice, plantains and salad. By the time we were finished, the poor stray dogs had only a little rice left for their dinner. Fat and happy, we made our way back to the boat and called it the perfect ending to a wonderful week. So, as you can tell, we are very happy to be on our way again and we look forward to another week of travel. For those of you in the snow this week, we salute you as we put aloe on our sunburn! ***More pictures on Pictures tab under Grenada and St. Vincent areas
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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