In my hometown in Georgia where I grew up, we had one red light. This one red light was a very big deal because it meant that Stockbridge officially made the map. Here in Grenada, the island has three red lights but the story goes that all three mysteriously stopped working on the third day after installation and have not flashed since that day several years ago. So, they rely on traffic circles to somewhat organize the chaos. I am sure you are currently picturing the traffic circles that are so prevalent in Europe that have large monuments in the center circle and are several lanes deep. Grenadian monuments are three large tractor tires sitting in the middle of the road to indicate that you are now in a traffic circle. The circles work remarkably well here because all the islanders have a set rule that the vehicle to the right in any driving situation has the right of way….and they follow the rule! They also have driver’s education here which we have not seen on any of the other islands so while it is a little chaotic, it is educated chaos! The main challenge is that Bill is once again driving on the wrong side of the road and on the wrong side of the car so the traffic circles flow in reverse….luckily, the student drivers seem to know which way to go so we just follow them!
We spent this week collecting materials for our boat projects and we have been kicking away at them a little day by day. We generally work on the boat in the mornings and then run for the pool in the afternoons. The pool reward definitely makes the chores go more swiftly. The marina cut off the electricity today for repairs so we expect the pool to be a madhouse since most of the boaters here use their air conditioning throughout the day. We do not use our AC because we figured that if we didn’t use it, we would adjust more easily to the heat. That certainly proved true today since the other boaters are melting this morning. High excitement at the pool this week. Since we arrived, we met a family from the Netherlands. They have a four year old son who broke his arm a few weeks ago. He endured going to the public hospital, having his arm set incorrectly, going to the private hospital to have it reset and then pinned. Grenada did not have waterproof casts so for weeks, all the swimmers have watched the poor child sit sadly by the pool. We have all tried to pitch in to help entertain him by throwing a ball out of the pool to him, helping him build a fort, pointing out iguanas to chase, etc. Yesterday, he showed up with no cast and the entire pool erupted into loud cheers! It took him a few minutes to get up the nerve to jump in but once he realized his arm was safe, he was a swimming fool. I share this story to show how close knit the boaters become in residence. The wonderfully fun part of our current life-style is that boaters come and go but it is always so exciting to pull into a new destination months later and realize that one of your previous pool buddies is on the boat next to you ready to share the adventures they have had since last seen. Friday night was a night out on the town for all of the boaters. We headed over to the Grenada Yacht Club to hear some live music from a band called The Leaky Seacocks. It is a very clever name for a group of musicians made up of boaters. Seacocks are the most important thing on a boat. A seacock is a valve that goes through the hull of the boat to allow water to flow into the engine, toilets, etc. Seacocks are something that cause great concern and are checked often to insure there are no leaks. It is the only thing that stands between you and a quick trip to the bottom of the ocean. So, needless to say, a leaky seacock is a very bad thing! Luckily, the musical group was not a very bad thing and we had a great time listening to some classic rock and having some cheap happy hour beers. The final update from this week is good news with our weather. So far, the Caribbean has been enjoying beautiful, calm weather. We read daily weather reports to keep an eye on any forming storms but Mother Nature also gives us a way to see if we are going to have any weather adventures in the near forecast. For example, this week was the full moon but it was cloaked in a blanket of haze. This wonderful haze was caused by the continued Saharan dust that blows from Africa. Islanders love the Saharan dust because it is close to impossible for a hurricane to form when the Saharan dust is blowing. We definitely love hazy skies around here! This coming week is the annual Chocolate Festival in Grenada so we will be going to a chocolate plantation and to a rum and chocolate pairing as well. Boat projects will have to wait a couple of days because chocolate and rum followed by pool definitely has a better ring to it!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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