Tobago - Rainforest Walk

[Kevin's Post]We have been in Tobago for about a week now and have been constantly amazed at how cheap everything is here. The cost of most grocery items is about half what it is in Grenada. Diesel is less than $1 US per gallon. Eating out at restaurants is pretty cheap too and there are tons of choices, especially in the resort area where we are right now. We are definitely going to stock up before we leave, good thing we raised the waterline!

Yesterday Susan and Hale on Cayuga had arranged a rainforest tour with a retired ranger and invited us along. Steve and Linda from 'Seaman's Elixir' and John and Ann from 'Living the Dream' also joined us. We piled into a rented minivan and drove across the island toward our arranged meeting spot. The retired ranger, Renson Jack, told us that if we get lost on our drive to just stop and ask for him. I'm not sure if that shows how small the island is, or how well known he is, but in any case that's what we did and we found him. He had planned to take us on a walk through the Louis D'or river valley, but with the recent rains the river was flowing a bit too high and he advised against it. Instead we spent a few hours walking around the rainforest surrounding his 'project', an eco-resort in the making which he has spent the past 25 years building. It was a beautiful area with lots of potential, but you had to really use your imagination as he pointed out the locations of the different amenities of his 'resort'. However, Renson was very knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna, and had no end of stories about his life on Tobago. In the afternoon we drove with Renson farther into the rainforest and walked part of the Gilpin Trace which is part of a trail that used to be the only route North to South across the island. Renson told us that when he was younger, he would walk the entire trail every other Tuesday with the local priest to give mass on the North coast. The rainforest in Tobago is supposedly the oldest nature preserve in the new world, established in the 1780's. Walking through the rainforest was like being in another world with all the ferns and vines and bamboo everywhere. We saw several colorful birds from a distance and even saw an army of leaf cutter ants making short work of a palm tree. The trail was extremely muddy and we were all a mess by the time we got back to the car. We stopped for beers at a bar not far from the Gilpin Trace and ate the lunches we had all packed for the trip. It was getting late in the afternoon, and Renson drove with us back to the Store Bay area pointing out several scenic vistas along the way turning our rainforest tour into an island tour. Back at Store Bay we all collapsed at Bago's for more beers while we watched the sun go down.

Store Bay, Tobago

The trip from Grenada to Tobago reminded me of a carnival ride. Not the smooth gliding rides you'd find at Disneyland, but the stomach-flopping, herky-jerky, leave-your-head-spinning rides you'd see at the state fair. Don't get me wrong, I love riding those kinds of rides -- the Tilt-a-Whirl is a personal favorite. But not for twelve hours straight. The waves weren't very big, it's just that every once in a while the boat would suddenly drop straight down into the trough and then a few seconds later the next wave would smack the side of the boat, rattling our skulls a little. It's unusual for me, but I felt very seasick. Pretty much the whole time. Neither one of us was too keen on spending a lot of time inside the boat, so nobody made lunch and all we ate during the trip was a couple crackers for me and three slices of bread for Kevin. Mmm.

We had left Grenada around four in the morning and we arrived in Store Bay around 4pm. It took a little while to get the boat settled, but the nice thing about seasickness is that it stops right away once you are flat and level again. It was almost 5:30 when we finally beached the dinghy and hailed a taxi to take us to Scarborough to clear in. We knew it was after-hours and there'd be overtime charges but we weren't prepared for the rigamarole once we got there. The customs agent told us to walk over to the ferry dock to check in with immigration. There was no one at immigration, so we walked up to the Information booth to find out if we could get someone to check us in. The booth was enclosed in darkly tinted glass, but we could just barely see a woman hiding behind a large purse who did not respond to anyone knocking on the glass. She was practically ducking under the counter and must have thought we couldn't see her. Helpful, huh? A little old lady walked up and asked us what we needed and offered to help us track down an immigration officers. The three of us approached some security guards and she asked them a few rapid-fire questions and then started berating them for being incompetent. As we walked away, she advised us to not even bother clearing through immigration since all the officials in this country "don't know their asses from their elbows". You had to be there: imagine this tiny spitfire of a woman, maybe about five-foot even, furious and cursing like a sailor. It was hilarious, but unfortunately not very helpful. We went back to customs to explain that there was no one at immigration and after another half-hour of negotiations he said we'd have to come back in the morning to clear immigration.

At this point it was getting dark outside and we just wanted to get back to the boat and get something to eat (after the bread and crackers we were absolutely ravenous). The taxis in this country are incredibly cheap and we soon discovered why. Our driver Emmanuel picked us up and asked if it was okay for him to "make one quick stop" along the way. He first picked up some gyros to go that he was bringing home to some friends. He handed me the bag of food to hold and the delicious aroma wafted throughout the car, torturing us. Then he stopped at a bar and ducked inside hoping to find some other friends of his to say hi. Meanwhile we are waiting in the car wondering if he'd notice if we each ate a gyro. Ten minutes later, he comes back and tells us he wants to take the scenic route instead of the highway so that we can "experience the ocean breeze". Ironically we'd been experiencing just that all day, but it was kind of useless to explain it to him. The road went along the coast and periodically he would slow down, pointing to the vast blackness (remember it was night time) and saying, "Just there -- that's the sea. Right there next to the road. Can you see it?" To be courteous we kept agreeing, "Yes it's beautiful." Our grumbling stomachs were also saying things, but not so politely. We finally arrived back at Store Bay and Kevin and I couldn't even wait to get back to the boat. We stopped at the first barbecue stand we saw and pretty much inhaled our dinner. The barbecue was tasty but to be honest we would've eaten just about anything at that point.

Where we are:
Location=Store Bay, Tobago
Lat=11 09.500
Lon=60 50.372

Tobago - Store Bay

We arrived safely in Tobago - more later.

Grenada - Everything must go

Kevin cleaned out our lockers this week and we found a whole bunch of junk that we haven't used in two and a half years. So we got on the cruisers net and announced a "yard sale". One man's trash is another man's treasure, right? In fact, most of the stuff we were just freecycling -- anyone who wanted could just come and take it. The only thing that we wanted to sell were the folding bikes. Remember how excited we were last summer when we bought those great folding bikes? Well, we haven't used them since Puerto Rico and we aren't likely to use them anytime soon, for several reasons. First: Caribbean islands are hilly! And I am no Lance Armstrong. Secondly, on a lot of the islands the roads are narrow and busses and cars come screaming around corners so you do kind of take your lives into your own hands. So needless to say the bikes weren't getting used at all, and Kevin has been on a quest to get rid of anything that could be weighing the boat down. So we announced that we would let them go for a really reasonable price (like $25 each but you can't announce the price on the net) and no one seemed interested. We even told people who came to sift through our other junk that we'd take the best offer for the bikes and still got no takers. Guess most other cruisers down here have already figured out the part about the hills and scary roads. Chalk that up to another lesson learned for us.

Hurricane season is coming to an end and we are ready to get moving again. So tonight we are going to motorsail the 75 miles southeast to Tobago (which is part of the two-island nation of Trinidad & Tobago). We kind of planned this trip spur of the moment. Kevin has been watching the weather and conditions are pretty ideal for leaving today or tomorrow, but if we wait any longer the weather looks like it will deteriorate and we might not be able to go. So we spent a few hours today getting the boat ready to leave, including clearing out of Grenada. We were lucky customs was open because today is a holiday. The Grenadians call it Thanksgiving, but it is also the anniversary of the 1983 US invasion. So happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Grenada - Cheeseburgers in Paradise

Smokey Sings

Kevin's fix held, so the saildrive seacock no longer leaks. On Tuesday we motored back over to Clarke's Court Bay Marina and got our old slip back. I had called ahead and Bob even had our transformer ready so the air conditioning is on and we are staying cool. For the past few weeks a rock band has been playing at the Marina every Wednesday night, and it really packs the house. Unfortunately the lead singer is a cruiser (Steve from Liward) and is heading off to Barbados, which means no more band. So this week Bob had a local steel pan player come play on Wednesday instead. And as an added draw, Bob wanted to serve up some burgers (the bar doesn't usually serve food). As we've mentioned before, it is tough to get a good "American-style" burger here in the islands. Most of the local hamburgers are really ground beef mixed with lots of breadcrumbs and egg and taste a bit like meatloaf.

Cruisers hanging out

If you are in the mood for a meatloaf sandwich they are pretty good, it's just that they don't taste like a "burger". So Dave and Sue from "Pirate's Hideout" helped Bob out with the shopping and prepwork, and Dave grilled up some fabulous all-beef cheeseburgers for the crowd. It didn't take long for the burgers to run out, and lots of people would've gone back for seconds I'm sure. The steelpan music really added to the ambience. We posted some videos if you want to check it out. Smokey can really play and sings well, too. He played two sets and everyone really had a great time so we hope Bob makes this a regular Wednesday night thing.

Where we are:
Location=Clarkes Court Bay, Grenada
Lat=12 00.628
Lon=61 44.349

Grenada - "Go For Launch"

After waiting for the rain to abate, which it finally did on Friday, the boatyard crew was able to finish the waxing on the boat by midday Saturday. The guys that work the travelift don't launch boats on Saturdays, so we were stuck for the rest of the weekend. We took the opportunity to do a few loads of laundry and do a couple of other small projects on Sunday. Finally Monday morning rolled around and they had us in the water before lunchtime. Hooray! Or so I thought...

"Houston, we have a problem..." We had planned to spend one night in the harbor just to make sure that the saildrives didn't leak. (A saildrive is what links the propeller to the engine.) The mechanics had installed new seals to prevent seawater from leaking in, but just to be sure we didn't want to stray too far from the boatyard. So we anchored in the harbor and had lunch. Kevin then looked at both engine compartments, and sure enough the starboard side had a slow leak. After ten minutes of inspecting, Kevin found that the saildrive wasn't leaking but the seacock was. The mechanics had removed the seacock to take out the saildrives so something went wrong when they reinstalled it (the seacock wasn't leaking before we hauled out). So Kevin got on the phone to Craig, the mechanical manager, and let him know what was going on. Unfortunately Craig didn't have anyone available to fix it until tomorrow and he couldn't guarantee that we wouldn't get charged for a second haulout. What???!!! Kevin mentioned that he had a spare seacock and all that they needed to do was lift the boat out of the water and change it while we were in the slings and then just drop us back in. Kevin wanted it to be no charge since it was part of the job to put the boat back together with no holes in it. Craig countered with "Well you must have known the seacock was bad if you are carrying a spare." What an idiot. We carry ALL KINDS of spares for the engines! Because you never know where you will be when something breaks. (In fact we WISH we'd carried spare sail drive seals since the ones Craig ordered took FOREVER to clear through customs.) Obviously customer service is not Craig's strong suit. Kevin was hopping mad, and is determined to fix this problem himself. For now, we are taking on water (albeit very slowly).

[Kevin's Post]I was actually kind of relieved when I saw that it was the seacock leaking and not the seal itself. The seacock was leaking from the valve, not the threads, so they must have damaged it somehow during the process of removing and reinstalling the saildrives. After talking to Craig, it was clear that they weren't going to take responsibility for it. So rather than pay for another haulout and the labor to fix it, I decided I would fix it myself. I've changed 2 seacocks in the past (this was one of them actually) while in the water. Both those times the water was too murky/dirty to dive and plug the thru-hull from the outside, so water poured through the thru-hull until I could get the new one on. This time I dove and wrapped saran wrap around the saildrive to plug the intakes while I removed and replaced the seacock. It only took me about 20 minutes to get the new seacock on and so far it appears to not be leaking. The engine room is drying out and I'll have to check it again in the morning to make sure the repair is good. We won't be hauling at Grenada Marine again, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

Grenada - Haulout week 3

[Kevin's Post]On Monday this officially became our longest haulout ever. But the end is in sight. The saildrives have been reinstalled and have been painted with the correct antifouling for the first time. The boot stripe is done. The bottom paint is done with a new higher waterline. They are currently trying to compound and wax the boat in between rain showers and are about 75% done. Hopefully we will get back in the water before the weekend.

Grenada -- Lazy Sunday

So it's Sunday afternoon and we are still in the boatyard. I wish I could say that the end is in sight (we were supposed to be finished with everything two days ago), but unfortunately our saildrive parts are STILL tied up in customs and the bootstripe is still not 100% completed due to all kinds of issues. Our painter, Steve, had started on it earlier in the week but the water hose incident (from Kevin's post) caused a big delay. Then, when he fixed that part and finally got around to painting the rest of the starboard hull on Friday, something went wrong with the paint machine spray nozzle and he had to re-do that part. Each time he has to re-do something, it takes a day for the paint to dry, be sanded down, and re-sprayed so it can get very frustrating. On Saturday, Steve sanded and re-sprayed the starboard hull and a few hours after he left it rained pretty hard making all kinds of water drip marks in the paint. Sunday is their one day off for most of the yard workers, so it definitely isn't going to get fixed today. And although Steve is a good guy and a good worker, he's the one who parties too hard and usually doesn't come in Mondays. *Sigh*.

Meanwhile, Kevin has come down with some tropical disease (kidding, it's just a sore throat/cold) and has been pretty miserable the past few days. He is up all night coughing and sneezing and I think between the stress of the haulout and the cold he is just getting worn down. Poor guy. Of course as of this morning I have it too. It's pretty much a given that if one of us gets sick, the other catches it also. So we both get to share in the misery. Yay.

Of course all of this would be a cakewalk if we were still in the hotel (ah, the beautiful, beautiful hotel, with it's A/C, satellite TV, and enormously decadent shower!). But I made the reservation according to the haulout schedule (it was a mistake to be so optimistic!) so we checked out Friday morning and have been living on the dry boat since then. It's kind of like camping -- we can't use the boat toilets or showers (everything would go out the thru hull and onto the ground below -- ick!) so we use the showers and restrooms at the boatyard. Which is fine during the day but kind of sucks at night having to climb up and down a ladder and find our way around the yard using a flashlight to avoid the mud puddles and the toads. That's right -- big old toads come out at night after it rains. Also it's pretty much too hot in the boat kitchen to cook anything with the oven or stove, so hooray for sandwiches -- we'll be eating a lot of those! We still have the air conditioner we rented to keep the boat cool for the cat, and thank goodness for it. It doesn't cool the whole boat, but it does keep one cabin cool so that is where we are right now. We've got the computer, wifi antenna, and several books down here and basically haven't moved much all day.

Grenada - Haulout week 2

Masked for the boot stripe

[Kevin's Post]Today is launch day. But we're not launching. In ten working days, the yard has not completed a single task on the work list. Since my last post, the only thing that they have done is paint half the boot stripe. On Wednesday, they were ready to paint when the guy in the boat behind us announced that he needed to put his boat in the water. That meant that they had to stop working on our boat, pick it up, and move it out of the way so they could get to his boat. After that was done, they realized they didn't have the color of paint I wanted. Thursday morning it rained and all the masking got wet and pulled off the boat. After it dried out and they remasked, they finally started painting the boot stripe. About 5 minutes into painting somebody walked past the boat and stepped on the spray nozzle of a water hose spraying water all over the wet paint on the starboard hull ruining it. So the painter could only paint the port hull, and had to wait overnight for the starboard hull to dry enough to be sanded and repainted. This morning of course it rained again, so they had to pull all the masking off and remask. That's where it stands now. It looks like it is going to rain some more, so they are waiting for the skies to clear some. The yard still hasn't received the saildrive parts they need to reinstall our saildrives, despite ordering them 2 months ago (they say). I've inquired about them 3 times and every time they assure me the parts will be here "today". We checked out of the hotel this morning and are now living on the boat in the boatyard until the job is finished. The sad thing is, even with all these problems, this has still been one of our better haulouts.

Grenada - Haulout week 1

[Kevin's Post]We've been hauled out of the water for a little over a week and the progress on the boat has been excruciatingly slow. Last week all that they did was scrape and wet sand the bottom and mask the new boot stripe. The boat is supposed to go back in the water on Friday (4 days from now) and most of the work is yet to be done. I've started to be a squeaky wheel which seems to be helping speed things along. This morning I tracked down the head mechanic and told him that I had removed the propellers from the saildrives and drained the oil so they were ready to be pulled. Boom! Within 20 minutes there were 2 guys at the boat, and within 2 hours they had unmounted the engines, pulled the engines forward, and removed the saildrives from the boat. This is not an easy task, and we were amazed at how quickly and expertly they got it done. The saildrives are already in the paint shed and have been stripped in preparation for repainting. All the workers seem to really know what they are doing, which is a distinction from some of our other haulouts. The challenge is just getting the yard to assign workers to our job. Today they were supposed to prime the boot stripe, but apparently the guy who was supposed to do it parties too hard on the weekend to work on Mondays. That's life in the Caribbean.

Grenada - On The Hard

Hauling the Boat

So the boat was hauled out on Monday and is now "on the hard" which is a sailor's term for being out of the water. Oddly, "on the soft" has no corresponding meaning in sailor parlance. We had made arrangements to board the cat during the haulout but after discovering that the kennels were outdoors we found a place that rented small portable air conditioners and it would cost the same as boarding him. So Boris stays on the boat, but the noise from the air conditioner freaks him out a little so he spends his time sitting near the doorway to the cabin with the A/C but doesn't like to actually set foot in the room. Strange cat. Meanwhile, we are literally in the lap of luxury down the road at the Bel Air Plantation resort. The resort consists of eleven or so vacation cottages and villas. So it's like having a small one-bedroom condo complete with kitchenette. And of course, satellite TV. The interesting thing about that is the Direct TV service is for Latin America, so many of the programs are in English with permanent Spanish subtitles and most of the commercials are in Spanish. When we were in Puerto Rico I tried to teach Kevin some helpful Spanish phrases but he opted instead to master how to say "My wife speaks Spanish" so that he could avoid having to talk to people. So maybe now he'll at least have an incentive to learn the days of the week and how to tell time. Who says you can't learn anything watching TV?

View From Our Cottage

As for the work progress: yesterday Kevin scraped the barnacle remains off the waterline and I removed the vinyl bootstripe. Removing the vinyl was kind of fun, sort of like when kids try to peel the foil off the wax of a gum wrapper all in one piece? Only I was never very good at that game so yesterday afternoon and this morning we both had to work really hard to scrub off all the leftover glue using adhesive remover and acetone. The good news is this morning we had a crew of guys show up and start prepping the bottom of the boat for painting. I'm not sure if they're the guys who'll be doing the rest of the work, but they've done a really good job so far. As they worked they chatted away like ladies in a sewing circle, and of course they speak English but they talk so fast that with their accents we can only understand a few words here and there. (Unless they are talking to us, in which case they speak slowly with less slang so we understand). So we are pleased with the progress so far and hope it continues to go smoothly.

Well it is the end of the workday now, so we are headed back over to the resort where the bar has a fabulous happy hour. Beers are EC$3.00/US$1.11 until 7pm and they make the best burgers we've had in months.

Where we are:
Location=Grenada Marine Boatyard
Lat=12 01.367
Lon=61 40.697

Grenada - St. David's

19 days growth

[Kevin's Post]We left the marina yesterday and motored 6 miles east to St. David's where we are supposed to be hauling the boat out on Monday. As we pulled away from the dock, I noticed the boat was not handling very well. It was difficult to turn and sluggish. We could only manage about 3.5 knots for the 6 mile trip which is about half our normal speed. The photo to the left explains it all. Our propellers were practically a solid mass of barnacles. The amazing thing is that our propellers were completely clean 19 days ago when we scrubbed the bottom at Calivigny Island. We've never had more than a couple dozen barnacles on our props, and have in the past gone months without having to clean them. Today as I was standing on the transom putting on my mask and fins I saw the outline of a big fish hanging out under the boat. I stuck my head in the water to see that it was a 4 foot barracuda. I decided to just jump in anyway figuring it would take off. Apparently I only scare away fish when I am trying to catch them cause he didn't go anywhere. I scraped the props for a half hour and he just stayed there watching me.

Where we are:
Location=St. David's, Grenada
Lat=12 01.194
Lon=61 40.774

Grenada - Shiver Me Timbers

Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. So everyone grab an eye patch, make a hook with your right index finger and say it with me: "Aarrrgh!".

Grenada - Cool Cat with a Hat

New Hat for Kevin

We love being at the marina here, but one of the drawbacks is that the water is too dirty and silty (lots of mangroves) to go swimming. So Roxanne on the sailboat "Raven" organized a Sunday afternoon trip to the beach. Of course practically everyone in the marina was excited and wanted to go, so she chartered a big bus and 30 of us piled in and headed over to the west side of the island. There's a restaurant called the Aquarium with a soft sand beach, so everyone proceeded to rent a beach chair and soak up the rays with a blender drink from the bar. Of course what beach is complete without beach vendors hawking necklaces, handmade baskets, ankle bracelets, and spices? I'm sure the vendors get pretty tired of hearing "no thanks, not today". So when the basket weaving guy approached us and we asked him if he could make a hat instead of a basket, his eyes lit up like we had made his day. A sale! Kevin has been wanting a straw hat for a while and this seemed the perfect opportunity. We negotiated a price and watched Terry set to work. He brought over a single palm frond and measured it around Kevin's head to get the perfect fit. Then we watched in awe as he cranked out that hat in about 15 minutes. Amazing. So now Kevin has a great hat that will last 30 years (Terry's guarantee). Even if it only lasts half that long it was cool to watch it being made.

Cooling Off

After everyone had their beach time, we all sat down for the Barbecue dinner. The meal was okay, nothing spectacular, but the band was really incredible. We haven't heard too much live local music. We've heard LOTS of karaoke, and there is a good rock band that plays once a week, but this band at the Aquarium was rocking some fantastic soca, singing covers of all the songs we hear on the local radio. They were just really good and really into it; people were dancing and we all had a really great time. So it was a perfect end to a perfect afternoon.

Grenada - Flaming Swords!

Lightship Vastra Banken

On the morning VHF net there was an announcement for a dinner at a local restaurant where the meal would be served on a flaming sword. How could we pass that up? So we made a reservation and Thursday night we headed over to Le Phare Bleu for a fabulous meal. The restaurant and marina is just one bay over to the east so it wasn't far. The owners of the marina have added a very distinctive feature to set the marina apart: a beautifully restored lightship which houses the marina facilities as well as an upscale restaurant. For those of you unfamiliar with lightships, they served as a guide for vessels wherever the currents or shifting shoals prevented building a lighthouse. The ship at Le Phare Bleu, Vastra Banken, was built in 1900 and was active as a lightship until 1970. It's 28 meters long and something like 250 tons. Since 1970 it has been used as a cafe, a houseboat (big house!), and finally it was loaded onto a container ship and brought here to Grenada to serve as the centerpiece of the Le Phare Bleu Marina.

Dinner at Le Phare Bleu

When we arrived we were offered champagne glasses and invited to take a look around. We headed to the upper deck to enjoy the twilight and the cool ocean breeze. After the sun set our hostess Veronika invited us down to the dining room, where we were seated and served delicious bread and appetizers. Finally the moment arrived for the flaming swords (we have video - it's no Errol Flynn swordfight but it's still pretty cool). The swords were presented by Chef Alexander Sattler (Veronika's husband) and the food was excellent (seared tuna, beef fillet medallions, chicken and shrimp). They kept making more and bringing the swords around for seconds and thirds. We were almost too stuffed for dessert, but we managed to save room for the fruit sorbets and espresso chocolate mousse. Yum. Afterwards, Chef Alex drove us back over to Clarkes Court and it was interesting to hear the challenges he faces running an upscale restaurant here in Grenada. We had a great time, plus how often do you go to a four-star restaurant and get chauffeured home by the executive chef? Only in Grenada.

Grenada - Third World Dentistry and Other Adventures

Several other cruisers here have had dental work done. Everything from crowns to root canals, and they all rave about the same thing: "It's sooo cheap!" they exclaim, "A cleaning is EC$90 (US$33) and a full root canal is only like US$300!". The low prices coupled with the fact that we are both overdue for cleanings was enough for me to finally break down and give this dentist a call. Our appointments were for 8 and 9 am this morning, so in typical type A fashion, I call and ask the cab to pick us up at 7:15 so we'll get there plenty early to fill out any paperwork. Unfortunately the cab couldn't come til 7:45 so we just barely made it on time for the 8 o'clock. I was worried about paperwork? Ha! We had arrived before the doctor so we sat down with the receptionist who hadn't even booked us under the right last name (Nice to meet you, Mr. & Mrs. Palt) and there was not a sign-in sheet, form, or even a pen in sight. Dr. H arrived shortly and two minutes after that I was in the dental chair. Why is it that dentists all over the world get so chatty when you have no possible way to respond, other than "unnngh" and "gaaah"? While I was tongue-tied, I learned all about Dr. H -- he is from Syria, came here for vacation a few years back and decided to stay and open up a practice. He was very nice and very gentle, and also very, very quick. No exam (I guess you have to specially request that when you schedule) and the entire cleaning was done in 20 minutes at the most. I got up from the chair and he took a few minutes to clean the instruments and then it was Kevin's turn. Twenty minutes later he was done and we paid the doctor directly, instead of paying the receptionist (which was weird -- we are so used to the whole copay process in the US). All in all I think you get what you pay for. It wasn't the most thorough of cleanings, although I bet it's a real steal if you need serious dental work done. But Kevin did mention as we walked down the street, "Hm. That was the first time I've ever had my teeth cleaned with a dental drill." What???!!! I had thought he was using a waterpick, but Kevin paid closer attention and he was actually using a sort of drill. Jeez, I hope he didn't scrape ALL the enamel off our teeth. For those of you dentist-phobes, there's a reason the dental hygienist spends and hour scraping the plaque off with those twisty torture implements -- it's the best way to remove the tartar without taking the most important part of the tooth! So next time you go for a cleaning, ponder that and let them know you appreciate their efforts. As for us, that will probably be the last time we skimp on routine dental care.

Scary Slings

This afternoon we were sitting inside and out the rear window I see a mast coming impossibly close to us at the dock. I flew outside to see what the heck was going on and apparently a small local catamaran had hired a crane and was getting hauled out right here at the dock next to us. I should mention that this marina is not a boatyard -- it doesn't have a special haulout slip or even any boatwork facilities. I guess the owner of the boat lives nearby and just wanted to haul it somewhere where he could keep an eye on things. It seemed kind of like a fly-by-night operation. They pulled the boat up as close to the rocks onshore as possible, and were side-to the wind. Three big guys were holding the lines to keep her in place while they set up the crane. Then the crane guys pulled out these scraggly looking slings to lift the boat -- they were all frayed and completely worn out. There's no way we would trust our boat in something like that. So we nervously watched the whole process (from another boat safely across the dock). The wind was not cooperating so we were worried the boat would swing around wildly once they got it up in the air. We took lots of pictures (for evidence, in case they dropped the thing on our boat!) but the crane operator really knew what he was about and had that thing lifted and safely out of the water without hitting anything or dropping it. So that was the excitement for today. Hopefully we are long gone when they decide to put the thing back in the water.

Grenada - Kevin Sings

Hashing in Grenada

Stop worrying, everyone. We did not fall off the face of the earth or fall victim to a freak accident. Anyone who skims the blogs from last summer will realize that when we are sitting at a marina doing nothing, the well runs dry and I run out of ideas for blog posts. We keep doing the same things that I blogged about previously (karaoke on Saturdays, Hash every once in a while, watch the grass grow, watch the cows and sheep and other livestock mow the grass, etc). We are not bored per se (Kevin has been waxing the boat a few feet at a time -- a daunting and energy-sapping task -- it is really shiny and pretty now); it's just that I haven't written much because I felt it might be bor-ing to those of you who have to read it. But our inbox is getting full of requests for a post, so here it is. I can't guarantee a scintillating read, though.

Saturday was another Hash day; this one started and ended at Cabier Ocean Lodge on the east side of the island. It was farther away than we expected, and we had to take a taxi (expensive!), but it was the most scenic hike we've done by far. We walked along a beach for part of it, and then the trail wound its way up to a cliff which had pretty spectacular views of two bays. Gingerly stepping around large piles of cow dung (lots of cows -- Moo!), we followed the rest of the group and ended the evening drinking beers on the beach and munching on some tasty fish nuggets. We were back at the marina in time for the karaoke, and Kevin managed to stick it out until 9pm. He usually takes off around 8 or so. One moment he's there the next minute "Poof. Just like that -- he's gone" (picture Kevin Spacey describing the disappearing act of Kaiser Soze in The Usual Suspects). Although I can't understand why he wouldn't want to stay to the end, the very end, of the singing. Keep this on the down low but he did actually pick up the mike and sing, just once, a few weeks ago. Somewhere in there is his inner Justin Timberlake just waiting to bring the sexy back and bust out in song. I have no doubt that Kevin will deny, deny, deny that this ever happened but lest you doubt me one of our friends recorded it for all posterity in a photo.

Grenada - Tropical Storm Felix part II

Tropical Storm Felix

[Kevin's Post]Felix announced his arrival around 4AM with howling wind and torrential rain. We both got up since it was impossible to sleep. We sat around listening to conditions deteriorate outside and downloading weather updates. The 5AM advisory from the National Hurricane Center stated that it had strengthened to a tropical storm as predicted and the center had passed and was located about 30 miles NW of us. Shortly after 5am the power went out and the marina was pitch black. Since we couldn't see anything from inside the boat, we put on our foul weather gear and went out to the cockpit to check on things. The wind speed indicator was showing a sustained 45 knots (52mph) with higher gusts. There was a steady chatter on the VHF of anchored boats dragging in the various harbors around southern Grenada. We could see that the two boats on the opposite side of the dock (the windward side) were having trouble with the wind and waves pushing them back into the dock. Amanda turned on the deck lights to light up the docks so they could see and I put on a pfd and went over to help. Both of the boats' transoms were slamming into the dock under the force of the wind and the waves. That can be pretty serious, a lot of boats sank because of this during Ivan. I helped one of the boats adjust their docklines to hold them off the dock and the other boat managed to get situated on their own. The rain hitting me at 50 mph was actually kind of painful and I had to lean into the wind to maintain my balance. I think everyone was a little surprised by this storm since we only had about 16 hours warning versus 4 days like we had with Dean. One of our neighbors clocked the max wind at 53 knots (61 mph). These were the strongest winds we have seen since we have been on the boat. At least the boat got a good rinse.

The small white circle in the middle of the red is Grenada.

Grenada - Tropical Storm Felix

Tropical Depression #6

[Kevin's Post]Well, it looks like we are in the crosshairs again. NOAA just decided an hour ago that the low approaching Grenada has closed circulation and is officially tropical depression #6. It is expected to become a tropical storm tonight, and a hurricane in 3-4 days. It is only 180 miles east of us right now so should pass right over us as it becomes a tropical storm sometime tonight. This is actually good news, as it will not have gained much strength by the time it passes. This time our preparations consisted of throwing on a couple of extra docklines and crossing our fingers.

Grenada - Transformer #4

[Kevin's Post]It's been a while since we've talked about our electricity woes, so here's a quick recap: The power supply at the marina is 220 volts (actually closer to 200, but I'll get to that) and 50 Hz, our boat is American and needs 120 volts 60 Hz. So, after our first week having no power, the marina cannibalized a 3 kw transformer (Transformer #1) from the laundry room and gave it to us. This transformer was too small and couldn't provide enough current to start our air conditioning compressor. So we gave it back. Then they gave us a 15 kw transformer (Transformer #2) and life was good. For a few days, anyway. Then they took it away from us and gave it to a bigger boat (which by the way is now unoccupied). Then they gave us another 3 kw transformer (Transformer #3) which can provide enough current to start our air conditioners. Unfortunately transformer #3 only produces 92-96 volts under load, which is bad for the compressors (at 50 hz, the nominal voltage is 100). After learning that these transformers only cost about $150 in the states we decided to just buy our own (transformer #4). We had it shipped from the states to Grenada which cost $250. By the time it arrived it had so many broken parts inside that it sounded like a 30 pound maraca. Needless to say, it didn't work and we filed a claim with FedEx.

The reason we ordered this particular transformer is because it has an automatic voltage regulation circuit in it and can take any voltage input from 160 volts - 250 volts and produce the correct output. You can even adjust the output +/- 10 volts. So, if it worked it would have compensated for low input voltage automatically. But it didn't work. After starting the claims process with FedEx, it was clear that they weren't interested in owning a broken transformer, so I decided I had nothing to lose by trying to fix it. Hey, I've been using electricity all my life, right? How hard could it be? So I took the whole thing apart, sketched out a wiring diagram, fixed the broken pieces, bypassed a broken switch, and managed to put the whole thing back together. I hardly had any parts leftover. I cautiously plugged it in, half expecting it to explode or at least burst into flames. Anyway, it didn't and now I believe it is working like it is supposed to. It has two output sockets, one for 110 and one for 220. On the 110 socket I am getting 110 volts between hot and neutral which is good. However I am also getting 110 volts between neutral and ground which the boat's electrical panel interprets as reversed polarity and so it won't let me flip on the breaker. So the 110 socket is useless. The 220 socket works great though, even with a 200 volt input I can adjust the output to be anywhere from 210 - 230. So I am running the regulated 220 output from transformer #4 into transformer #3 to step it down to get a steady 100 volts, exactly what the air conditioning specs call for at 50hz.

After all this, today the marina owner told us that starting tomorrow he is converting the marina power to 3-phase in order to solve the low voltage problem, thus making our new transformer nothing more than a $400 sacrifice to the transformer gods.

Grenada - It Ain't Over Til It's Over

So after seeing the extremely calm conditions Thursday night/Friday morning, we decided yesterday to take down our huge spider web of docklines. We went back to our normal configuration so that we could actually get off the boat (with the spider web we were suspended at least 3 or 4 feet off of all the piers so we were stuck unless we used the dinghy). Anyway we may have jumped the gun because in the evening on Friday we started seeing some steady 20 knot south winds gusting to 25 and it got a little rolly at the docks. Also it rained cats and dogs for a while. Sure enough, looking at the satellite imagery we were still feeling the last effects of Dean (not that Dean has dissipated at all, in fact it is strengthening as it moves westward toward the mainland). It wasn't uncomfortable at the dock, but we would've liked to see how the spider web of lines worked in wind and waves as opposed to flat calm. So we will be a little more patient and conservative next time (knock wood that there won't be a next time, of course).

Grenada - Hurricane Dean

Hurricane Dean

[Kevin's Post]Well, we survived our first hurricane. After 2 days of preparations, Dean passed 140 miles north of us as a category 2 hurricane, and it was a big nothing for us here in Grenada. We had no wind, no rain, and no waves. We had worse weather at our wedding (which was outdoors). We had light and variable winds all night long, and this morning we have west winds 10-15 knots with partly cloudy skies. We used 19 lines to secure our boat to the dock, so we definitely erred on the side of caution. On the one hand we are glad we didn't experience any severe weather, but on the other hand we feel slightly cheated after all our efforts. Nonetheless, it was a good exercise for us to prepare the boat. Hopefully we won't get too many more close calls this season.

Grenada -- Waiting For Dean

So far this week has been filled with vacillation and indecision. We've been keeping an eye on Tropical Storm (soon-to-be-hurricane) Dean, which earlier this week was out in the Atlantic on a westerly path headed straight for us. At the time, weather forecast models were all over the place, no one knew where it was going to hit, and our "weather guy" Chris Parker kept repeating the word "Venezuela" like a mantra when boats asked him where they would be safe. Knowing that we would have great weather through Thursday, we listened to Tuesday's afternoon and evening forecasts with bated breath. In the afternoon we were nearly sure we would just run to Puerto La Cruz in Venezuela, which is about 210 miles southwest of here and well out of any potential storm path. But we are really reluctant to go to Venezuela. Not that we have anything against Venezuela (can't say they feel the same way about us) but we just really like it here in Grenada and don't want to have to bash through the tradewinds for 210 miles on the way back here. So even though we weren't sure what we were going to do we started preparing for departure: we had the props scrubbed free of oysters and sea critters, and Kevin checked the engines. All was going along smoothly until -- crack! -- the dipstick for the saildrive oil broke off while Kevin was twisting it back on. You have to feel for the guy. After it broke, he paced around the boat muttering "I just want to be able to touch ONE THING on this boat and not have it break...". Poor kid.

Still undecided, but prepared to run at noon on Wednesday if there was no change, we both got a good night's sleep on Tuesday and woke up to a somewhat happier scenario. Finally the forecast models have reached a consensus, that Hurricane Dean is moving more to the northwest and will strike somewhere near St. Lucia or Martinique (150 miles north of us) sometime on Friday. So given the distance and the wind forecast for Grenada we think we'll stay put. We've already started preparing the boat for the possible worst case scenario -- stowing stuff down below, lashing stuff down if it can't be removed, and cocooning the boat in a spiderweb-like cradle of dock lines. (Kevin has worked out a diagram where we use 17 dock lines and 15 dock cleats. We'll take a photo when we're done.) We are prepared for worse conditions than they are predicting for this area, so the upside is that even if nothing much happens we will have got some practice prepping for severe weather. Plus Kevin was able to fix the broken dipstick with super glue! So things are looking up.

Grenada -- Panorama

Panorama 2007

So this week is Carnival week in Grenada. All kinds of events have been going on, starting with Children's Carnival, the Soca Monarch competition, and ending with two days of parades and events (Mon 13 & Tues 14). Earlier in the week I headed into town on a quest to find tickets to the big steel pan competition, the aptly titled Panorama. I stopped at a tourism booth and they weren't able to give me much information, the girl knew it was on Saturday at the National Stadium but had no idea what time it started or where exactly to buy tickets. I went to two tourist stores and finally found the tickets being sold in a shoe boutique of all places. I now had a ticket which claimed that the show started at 7pm, and a paper schedule that said it started at 8pm. Hmmm. I asked around -- other cruisers, locals on the bus, the people I work with at the GSPCA -- and no one could tell me for sure what time to be there. So when Saturday rolled around, I called the cab to pick us up around 6pm just in case the thing started "on time". (Grenadians reading this should be laughing uproariously at that.) So sure enough we arrive at the stadium at 6:37 and even as we are coming through the gate, I ask the security lady what time it'll start and the answer was a shrug and a nonchalant "Not too sure...". So as it ends up we are pretty much the only people there, other than the bands. We are even there earlier than the vendors who have yet to set up their beer booths (GASP!). Okay, I exaggerate, there were other people there. Of course they were other white tourists, sitting patiently in their seats in an empty stadium, waiting for the show to start.

Corinthian Steel Orchestra

But the nice thing about being there so early was that we got to walk around and get up close to the bands as they practiced. I should explain that this is not simply a steel band competition, it is a steel orchestra competition. There were 8 bands ranging in size from 30 to 75 kids, with sometimes 150 instruments. Back in July these kids (grade school age to high school age) competed with other orchestras to win a spot at Panorama, so they are the best the island has to offer, and they are truly amazing. They play an original piece, and if you look closely at the videos (which we'll post) you'll see no sheet music whatsoever, and no conductor in front of the band. The competition finally started (at 9:30pm -- needless to say, the local Grenadians somehow knew not to bother showing up before nine!). Kevin and I got right up close to the stage so we could get the full sound experience (there was no amplification so back at the stadium seats you couldn't really hear very well) and I've never seen anything like it. It was intense -- there was so much energy and the kids were all jumping around to the rhythm as they played each piece, really something to see. Hopefully the video will do it justice. Unfortunately we couldn't stay to hear all 8 bands, by midnight they were only through band number five, but it was still a great experience.

Grenada - That Sinking Feeling

[Kevin's Post] Ever since we moved aboard the boat (with everything we own) the boat rides a little bit lower in the water than it ought to. The bottom paint was painted based on a fairly lightly loaded boat and now that the boat is heavier, the bottom paint doesn't even extend above the waterline at the bows. This is bad because stuff grows really fast on the bare fiberglass if it is underwater. I've watched the bows get lower and lower and at this point I would estimate the bows are about 5 inches lower than when we bought the boat while the stern is about 1 inch lower. A while back somebody mentioned to me that I should check for water trapped under the floors of the forward lockers. The front 8' of each hull is a huge locker with a fiberglass floor about a foot above the waterline. Under the floor is a big dead space and one of few places on our boat that you can't stick your head in and look around. I asked them how it would be possible to check for water and they said to use the inspection port. Hmmmm. Our boat doesn't have an inspection port. Apparently newer Mantas have an inspection port because the older boats (like ours) had a tendency to accumulate water under the floor. So I contacted Manta and they said that on our boat that whole dead space was filled with foam for floatation, and that yes it is possible for water to get in there. I figured that with the foam there was no way for enough water to get in there to effect the waterline and decided not to worry about it. That was about 9 months ago.

Now we are trying to plan our next haulout and one of the things we are considering doing is raising the painted waterline. Before we resort to that, I thought it would be prudent to finally check for water under the forward locker floors. So yesterday I got out a hole saw and cut a 2" hole in the floor of the locker exposing the foam. Sure enough the foam was damp. Eureka! I scraped out as much of the foam as I could with a screw driver and the foam was getting wetter the deeper I went. I had about 3 feet of foam below me and a screwdriver wasn't going to get the job done. So I attached the hole saw bit to the end of a pole and started working my way down through the foam (do you see where this is going yet?). Now I wasn't using a drill or anything (I'm not completely crazy) I was just twisting the pole with the hole saw bit and pulling up a little chunk of foam at a time. After about 2 hours of this I knew I was getting close to the bottom when all of a sudden, whoosh! The hole floods with water. Uh-Oh. (Not my exact words). I went inside and told Amanda that I had just cut a hole through the bottom of the boat. She thought I was joking, but then she freaked out when she realized I was serious. Let me just stop for a minute and explain that the forward locker has a watertight bulkhead between it and the rest of the boat, so I could cut holes in the bottom of the bow all day long, there would be no danger of sinking. I put on my mask and snorkel and jumped in the murky water to inspect the damage. I searched the whole bow for a hole but couldn't find one given the limited visibility. Back out of the water, we grabbed a hand pump and start pumping the water out to see how fast water was coming in. After pumping 20-30 gallons out, the water level in the hole was dropping. We watched the hole expectantly waiting for the water level to come back up. It didn't. I looked over the side at the waterline, "Uh, I think the bow is higher". Living on the boat for 2 years I have learned a few things about seamanship: 1) The water is supposed to be on the outside of the boat, and 2) sinking boats go down not up. Amanda took over pumping and pumped until it was dry. We excitedly jumped to the dock so we could see the bows from a better vantage. Sure enough, the port bow was at least 3 inches higher with all the water pumped out. Apparently for 2 years we have been carrying around several hundred pounds of water in our port bow. I am sure there is an equivalent amount in the starboard bow, so my next project is going to be performing the same surgery there. Verrry carefully.

Grenada -- Fish Friday

Gouyave Fish Fry

Last night about 15 of us took a 1.5 hour bus ride up to Gouyave (rhymes with "suave") for the Friday Night Fish Fry. Gouyave is on the northwest coast and is known as "the Fishing Capital of Grenada". By the time we arrived around 7:30 pm, the party was already in full swing. It was like a huge street fair, with lots of booths set up offering different fish or shrimp snacks at great prices. The most expensive items were the shrimp stir fry and yellowfin tuna kebobs at 10 EC apiece ($3.70) and the cheapest was the fried fish burgers for 2 EC (about 75 cents), so we were able to fill up without spending too much. There were throngs of people wandering up and down the streets and we ran into another big group of cruisers as well as a group of some of the veterinarians who work at the Animal Shelter. The town of Gouyave puts on this party every Friday, rain or shine. We had brought our umbrella (hoping if we came prepared, it would stay dry!) but of course it started pouring halfway through the evening. That didn't stop the party though, all the people just crammed into the booths with the cooks until the rain let up. We were a little disappointed that there wasn't any live music, but the music they were playing (giant stacks of speakers are a must at any Grenadian get-together) was pretty fun and the local kids tried in vain to teach some of us to dance. It was a friendly and welcoming scene and we enjoyed people watching as well as sampling the food (and drinks!).

Grenada -- Drop Shipment

Happy Cat

Poor Boris. Yesterday afternoon I noticed him obsessively cleaning the area around his tail. On closer inspection I could see some blood and signs of infection, classic signs of an abscess. Lucky for us we had our Grenada cell phone and we were able to call around to get an appointment to see a veterinarian. The GSPCA didn't have one on duty yesterday but there is a teaching hospital at St. George's University and they had an appointment open so we brought him in. Sure enough, he did have an abscess and the doctor on duty was able to clean it and give us the proper medications, all the while explaining every step to the veterinary student who was also in the room with us. We also bought him an Elizabethan Collar which will prevent him from licking the wound until it heals properly so now he is stumbling around the boat like a cat with a lampshade on his head. I feel sad for him but sometimes can't help laughing when he walks straight into the wall. Like I said, poor Boris.

So we are still having power woes; the voltage is too low for Kevin's liking so a week ago he ordered a high-tech transformer from the US to help regulate the power to the correct voltage. He's been eagerly awaiting its arrival and spent all afternoon today getting the paperwork in order: he had to pick up forms at Fedex, then make two trips to the customs agent before finally going back to Fedex to pick up the box. Only to discover a huge tear down the side of the box -- not a good sign on a shipment containing a piece of highly sensitive and expensive electrical equipment. After noting the damage, and making the Fedex guy document it with photos, he took the box back to the boat and plugged it in. Nothing. Not a whirr, not a click, not a hum. After taking the housing off, he noted that the thing was broken in half-a-dozen different ways, it basically looked like the thing had been dropped (or thrown). So we are foiled once again in our attempt to get the power working correctly. We're still using the air conditioning even with the low voltage, but we'd prefer to run it with the correct voltage specified in the owner's manual. He's not ready to give up yet; maybe he can tinker with the thing to get it working MacGyver fashion.

Grenada -- On! On!

We are continuing to settle into life here in Grenada. Last week I began volunteering at the GSPCA (like the ASPCA, only G for "Grenada"). It's the island's animal shelter and they take in strays as well as do vaccines, spays and neutering. It's been a long time since I've been in an animal clinic atmosphere but on Thursday they were so busy that they had me draw blood and monitor anaesthesia during surgery, so it was a lot of fun and I started to remember all the things I've forgotten how to do over the years.

After we got back from the last Hash House Harriers event, we told the other cruisers here at the marina all about it and this week everyone was eager to join us. So Saturday evening twelve of us took a taxi into Grand Mal for the "moonlit hash". It started off at dusk, with everyone following the trail and charging through local folks' backyards shouting "On! On!". By the end it was dark enough that you needed a flashlight to see where you were going. Everyone had a great time and had lots of beers afterwards so the taxi ride home was a bit rowdy, with everybody singing "We Are The Champions" at the top of their lungs. Which was perfect, because everyone stuck around for karaoke once we got back to the marina. Our friends on Adventure Bound had just flown in from their visit home to the States/Canada, so it was a nice reunion and everyone partied til midnight.

Grenada - Cellphone search

[Kevin's Post]Sorry for the lack of posts, there's just not much going on here. We are gradually integrating ourselves into Grenada society. We've got the public transportation system mastered. We know where all the grocery stores are and even what days they restock. We know where to buy the cheap beer. And today we have obtained the grand prize: a Grenada cell phone.

Yesterday I figured we would just run into town to the main Digicel store and buy a prepaid cell phone. We found the store easily enough, right on the waterfront in St. George. There were about 20 people waiting in line (more of a mob actually) and 2 employees working. I stood in one part of the mob and Amanda stood in another part and after about an hour waiting Amanda finally made it to the front of the mob. We told the guy we wanted to buy a prepaid cellphone (the same thing we had watched several people in front of us buy - some of them buying more than one). "Are you a student?", the guy asked me. I said no. "Do you have a work permit?". I said no. He then told us that they could not sell a prepaid cell phone to anyone without a Grenadian ID. He suggested we find a Grenadian to buy us one. I'm not sure what the point of the policy is, if all I have to do is get some guy walking by the store (with an hour to kill) who is willing to buy it for us. So we shook our heads in disbelief and left. We walked over to the bus terminal to catch a bus back to the marina and ducked into the Esplanade mall to check it out. The mall is at the cruise ship terminal and filled with tacky little tourist shops. One of them we noticed had a small sign "Cell phones $125". Thats in Eastern Caribbean dollars which is about $46 US. So we go in to see what the deal is, and find that the store is run by a small Indian woman that has a box of loose cellphones in the back. Cool. She says that they are unlocked and you need to get a sim card and it will work. Hmmmm. I was a little skeptical, figuring if Digicel wouldn't sell me a phone, they probably wouldn't sell me a sim card either. There was a different Digicel store across the street so I figured I would try again to buy a prepaid phone. They weren't as busy as the other store and I went straight to the counter and asked for a prepaid phone. "Are you a student?". "Uh. . .Yeah". "Do you have ID?". "Sure", and I proudly display my Arizona driver's license. She was too smart to fall for that and said I would need a St. George University ID. So day 1 of the cell phone search ended with defeat.

Back at the marina we met up with Chuck and Barb (Tusen Takk II) who I knew had a local cell phone. We asked them how they managed to get one and they said they bought the phone in St. Maarten and the sim card from bMobile (Digicel's competition) in Carriacou. So apparently you can buy a sim card without a Grenadian ID, at least from bMobile in Carriacou. So, this morning I went back to the Indian lady and bought one of her loose cell phones. No manual, no box, just the phone and the charger. She said I could bring it back if I couldn't get a sim card to work in it. Fair enough. I walked around the corner to the bMobile store and showed them the phone and said I wanted to buy a sim card. Them: "They are $40" Me: "ok" Wahoo!! Them: "Do you have ID" Me:crap. I sheepishly pull out my US passport and hand it to them. She reaches under the counter and pulls out a form and starts filling it out. Wahoo!! I left the store with an apparently working GSM cell phone. On the bus ride back to the marina I watched the signal meter on the phone constantly to see how the coverage was. I figured it would probably drop down to zero as soon as I got back to the marina. Luckily it didn't, and so far so good. We have a working local cell phone. Don't call us, we'll call you.

Grenada - I Get Older

Birthday Blues

For my birthday, Kevin made a lovely pancake breakfast and announced that we'd be spending the night at True Blue Bay, one of the island's nicest resorts. So we packed an overnight bag and headed over. We arrived just in time for lunch and we had a delicious meal at the Dodgy Dock restaurant, overlooking the bay. We splurged and ordered the specialty cocktails - a True Blue Bay Lemonade for me and a True Blue Margarita for Kevin. In the spirit of the resort theme, both drinks were electric blue and very tasty. Our room overlooked the bay and one of the pools; it was nice to swim in freshwater for once. For dinner we got dressed up (well, as dressed up as cruisers ever get) and headed over to La Luna, one of the top restaurants in Grenada. The restaurant overlooked the Morne Rouge beach and the dinner was fabulous - yummy tempura shrimp, tenderloin with porcini cream sauce, and profiteroles because it's not a birthday dinner until you've had a sinful dessert.

Surprise!

When we got back to the boat the next day, I discovered to my surprise that my birthday wasn't over. Our friends Linda, Ginette, and Barb had borrowed the key from Kevin and decorated the boat with balloons and streamers! They had also put some champagne in the fridge along with some delicious poached pears. It was such an unexpected surprise, I was really touched. So my birthday this year was full of wonderful surprises. Almost makes me forget that I'm getting older!

Grenada - Busy Saturday

BB Cooks

"Bam!". On Saturday I went to a Caribbean cooking demonstration with some of the other ladies from the marina. Brian Benjamin is the chef and owner of BB's Crab Back restaurant in St. George (I think he also has one in Ealing, UK). He was born here but lived most of his life in London where he earned rave reviews and awards at the Renaissance Hotel Heathrow. He moved back here and is the Emeril of the Caribbean, specializing in West Indian cooking using local produce and meats. He showed us how to make curry paste, callalloo soup, and a whole host of other dishes. The nicest thing was that he showed us how to pick out ripe produce and I finally learned how to properly slice up a mango (they can be very messy if you don't know what you're doing!) Anyway he had a large staff working for him and a flair for the dramatic, so whenever he finished with a demonstration or needed another ingredient he would shout "Cinderella!" and one of his helpers would come and clean up after him or bring him what he asked for. I'm sure the rest of the staff didn't appreciate it very much -- they gave him some surly looks when his back was turned. But it was very entertaining to watch. After the demonstration we all sat down to a lunch of curried goat, barracuda with red wine sauce, breadfruit french fries, rice and "provisions" (cooked plantains and dasheen). It was all very good and hopefully I will be able to reproduce some of it (well, maybe not the curried goat -- they are too cute to eat).

Grenada Hashers

"Drinkers with a running problem" is the slogan of the Hash House Harriers. On Saturday afternoon, Kevin and I participated in the 560th Grenada Hash. "Hashing" got it's start back in the 1930's by three Brit ex-pats living in Malaysia who belonged to a club whose dining area was called the "Hash House". They wanted to get some exercise to justify all the beer drinking that they did and the Hash House Harriers were born. Here in Grenada, they hash every other Saturday. Each hash begins and ends at a different local rum shop. Someone has already laid a trail (marked by shredded paper) that you are supposed to follow, and you can either run or walk. Sometimes they put in false trails and so you have to go back and find the real trail. Today's hash had easily 200 people, and it was a lot of fun. Most of us were just walking, since we had to cross a river several times (very wet!) and part of the trail was extremely steep so we had to scramble up using our hands. It's non-competitive so everyone goes at their own pace and the trail leads back to the rum shop where you started. The party afterwards is the main reason people go to these things -- everyone had a beer or two (or three or four!), and they had a special ritual for hash "virgins". I am not supposed to say what it was, but I will say that at the end Kevin and I were soaked and reeked of beer. We will definitely be back again. (For those of you in Phoenix who are interested, there are several "kennels" there, see link: http://www.phoenixhhh.org/ Try it -- it's a lot of fun!)

We got back to Clarkes Court just in time for the Saturday night karaoke, so I played DJ despite the fact that I was dirty, sweaty, and stank of beer (no one wanted to do any duets with me!). Earlier in the week, Kevin and I had downloaded and burned nearly 400 karaoke tracks so there was a good list to choose from and we had three times as many people singing as there were on Tuesday. I had a blast helping people pick out songs that would "unleash their inner diva", so this could turn into a permanent gig.

Grenada - We Are Finally Cool

Karaoke Ladies

So yesterday we got a new transformer. No, it was neither an Autobot nor a Decepticon. (For those of you who, circa 1984, did not race home from school in order to glue your eyes to the TV set: the Transformers were toy robots that could be turned into cars, trucks, planes, etc. Or were they toy cars, trucks, and planes that could be turned into robots? Anyway, it became a TV show with an epic theme song that has been running through my head all week. Apparently it is also a huge blockbuster movie that's out right now but I prefer the 1980's version.) Where was I? Oh yeah. The transformer we got yesterday was of the electrical variety. You see, we've been without air conditioning all week because the electricity here has a voltage of 220 (like in Europe) whereas our boat runs on 110 (like in the US). So the marina has to give each US boat a transformer to decrease the voltage to 110. When we first got here all they had left was an undersized transformer that wasn't powerful enough to kick on our air conditioner. It's been a sweaty week for us because when it rains we have to close all the hatches. There's been a lot of rain this week so it's been stuffy and humid on board the boat. But last night Bob came by and swapped the small transformer for a larger one and -- Voila! Our air conditioning now works. Needless to say the grumpiness level on our boat went down along with the air temperature.

Kevin Loves Karaoke

After getting our A/C working we headed over to Oasis, the marina bar, for drinks and karaoke. The owners, Bob and Leslie, have their hands full running this place and are basically here from dawn til whenever us cruisers go home so the bar can close. But Leslie is leaving this week for Canada (she and Bob have a home there as well as a dock-building business.) Leslie or Bob usually tends bar but this week Ginette on Sol Magique volunteered to take some shifts so they could have a break and she's been doing a great job. So when I heard them announce that they wanted to do karaoke tonight I figured I could help too: by running the karaoke machine. It was so fun! Everyone in the bar sang -- even Kevin! (Not voluntarily of course. Someone had to hold the microphone in front of his face and shout "Sing!", but he still sang!) There were lots of surprisingly good singers, and people were dancing and shooting pool and everybody had a good time. No one sang "Last Dance" or any Janis Joplin (where's Jamie when you need her?) but we did observe the cardinal rule of karaoke: the night's not over until someone sings "I Will Survive".

Grenada - Leatherbacks

Leatherback Nesting

Last night Inga (a former cruiser who now lives in Grenada and coordinates tours for cruisers) organized a group to go up to Levera Beach to see the Leatherback turtles lay their eggs. Once again Cutty was our driver, and eight of us wound our way up the twisty roads to Levera Beach which is the northernmost beach on the island. The turtles nest at night, so it was dark during the drive and it gave us an interesting perspective on local nightlife, since we are usually back on board the boat by sunset and rarely go out late at night. Driving through Grenville (where we were on Friday's tour) it looked like a street fair or something -- everyone was out in the streets, people were roasting corn and chicken in barrel ovens and of course the calypso music was blaring from massive speakers. Cutty said they weren't celebrating anything special; this is just a typical Saturday night.

We arrived at Levera Beach around 9 pm and met Karl, a researcher from Ocean Spirits which is a non-profit research group that monitors the turtles during their nesting season from April to July. We were lucky; a female turtle was already up on the beach and beginning to dig her nest. Leatherbacks are the largest species of sea turtle; this one was a little over four feet long but they've been recorded at up to nine feet long. She was digging in the sand with her back flippers and as we watched she began to lay her eggs. Throughout the nesting season the same female will come up to the beach on several different occasions, laying up to 150 eggs each time. The eggs incubate for more than two months before hatching. The hatchlings are tiny -- only about 3 inches long -- and as they make their way to the ocean, many are gobbled up by sea birds and crabs. By patrolling Levera Beach during nesting season, volunteers from Ocean Spirit keep the predators at a distance allowing more hatchlings to make it to the open ocean. We saw several of the little ones making their way to the water. They are very sensitive to light and would get confused occasionally, doing donuts in the sand while trying to figure out which way to go. We had to be really careful where we stepped -- the moon hadn't risen yet and the beach was pitch black so we had to use flashlights with red filters to find our way around.

Due to illegal hunting and egg poaching worldwide, leatherback turtles are critically endangered. But this season Ocean Spirits recorded more nests (900 in all) than the previous two years combined, so that is encouraging. Tonight we saw three females nesting even though it is pretty late in the season. The whole experience was really cool. Due to the turtles' sensitivity to light, we weren't able to take any flash photos but Kevin brought along the videocamera which has "night vision" mode. It looks a little creepy like the Blair Witch Project but you are able to see the turtles pretty clearly. We'll try to edit and convert the videos and get them posted soon.

Grenada - Rum Punch

I know you've all been debating amongst yourselves: "Is it pronounced Gre-NAY-duh or Gre-NAH-duh?". I've heard cruisers pronounce it both ways but the locals say Gre-NAY-duh so I'll take my cue from them since, you know, they live here. Long day today. We went with several other cruisers on an island tour guided by local taxi driver Cutty. Ten of us, "Seamans Elixir" (Steve & Linda), "Tusen Takk II" (Chuck & Barb), "Sol Magique" (Paul & Ginette), and "Minx" (Cynthia & Mike), all piled into Cutty's minibus for our first stop at Fort Frederick overlooking the city of St. George. Yeah, I know, another old fort but while we were there Cutty gave us the skinny on the events surrounding the US invasion in 1983. Back in 1979 Maurice Bishop, a moderate Marxist, seized power from the democratically elected leader in a bloodless coup. Over the next four years Bishop strengthened ties with Cuba (Fidel was a close friend), much to the consternation of the US. But the situation got ugly in 1983 when Bishop's right-hand-man, Bernard Coard, stabbed him in the back and seized power. Bishop was executed and in the ensuing upheaval the US saw the opportunity to help the Grenadian people while sticking it to ol' Fidel and the pinko Commies. Because there were American students at the medical school, the US (in conjunction with Jamaica and the other Eastern Caribbean countries) sent in a "rescue mission" of 1200 troops and after several months of scattered fighting (including a few mishaps such as planes bombing the nearby mental hospital instead of the communist headquarters. Ummm...oops, my bad!) peace and democracy were restored. Cutty did say that the invasion was welcomed by the Grenadian people and as we were driving around we saw graffiti that said "Thank you USA for liberating us". So that's one US invasion that worked out well for all involved. Even for the leaders of the coup: the Grenadian people magnanimously commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment. Amid much controversy, some were even released recently. So everyone wins.

We also hit one of several nutmeg cooperatives where the local farmers bring their nutmeg to be dried and processed. Hurricane Ivan decimated the nutmeg trees and the industry is not expected to fully recover for another 15 years. Processing the nutmeg and mace from the plant is a labor-intensive process so the economy has suffered with people having to look for other work. In fact, most of the island apart from the prosperous southeast coast (where we are) is still reeling from the effects of the 2004 storm. Houses and businesses are still showing lots of damage. Cutty lost the roof on his house and everything in it. At the time some of the local cruisers gathered donations and one of them sailed to Trinidad for supplies to help rebuild the roof and repair the windows. Everywhere we went today we could hear the sounds of hammering, so bit by bit the Grenadian people are recovering but it's a slow process.

We stopped for a swim at Annadale Falls -- a pretty waterfall where, for a "small donation", some local guys will jump off a cliff into the pool beneath the waterfall. These guys have their act together, wearing uniforms emblazoned with "Annadale Jumpers Association". We were wondering how they could afford them, because really...how much is it worth to watch someone else jump into a pool? (We donated 5 EC, about $1.85). But when cruise ships come through town they must make out like bandits, so the jumping business must be pretty profitable.

We also took an eye-opening and stomach-churning tour of the River Antoine Rum Distillery. The rum here is made using the same processes (and tools!) that were used in 1785. "Oh how quaint and unique!" you might say. It's definitely unique, but I can't say it's very sanitary. Huge open pools of fermenting rum amid flies galore. The vats and equipment look like perhaps they had their last cleaning around the year 1872 so it was with great trepidation that we sampled the product at the end of the tour. The fact that it's alcohol probably kills all the germs, right? Needless to say the day-old rum was as smooth as sandpaper and several hours later my throat was still burning. What's the old saying? What doesn't kill you (or blind you) makes you stronger. Let's hope so.

Clarkes Court Bay, Grenada

We knew we wanted to move the boat to the marina today but we were waiting on an estimate for some canvas work so we got a late start. By the time we pulled anchor and headed off on our quick four-mile trip to the marina, the wind was blowing a steady 22 knots and the seas were really ugly with the waves close together. How ironic that our last "passage", which should have been so short and simple, turned out to be one of the worst we've had on the whole trip south. But once we got into the protection of the the bay we were alright and got tied up right near our friends on Seaman's Elixir (there's a funny story to go with that name) and Sol Magique.

The marina is pretty nice. Hurricane Ivan in 2004 completely wiped out the docks so Bob (the owner) rebuilt them with a few hurricane-resistant adjustments. They look brand new and he is in the process of building a really nice marina complex with apartments/condos, but for now there is just a bar and a shower and a laundry. It's a quiet neighborhood compared to the other anchorages we've seen; there's not much out here in the way of bars or restaurants or shopping and it's a good hike to get into town but if we dinghy across the bay we can pick up the minibus so we should be able to get around just fine. Of course the first thing we did was hit the marina bar for a couple Caribs, just to check things out. It's a rustic place -- they don't serve food or anything, only beverages. But a big plus is that they have draft beer -- usually the bars on other islands only have bottled. Ironically the Carib draft is more expensive than the bottles whereas back home it's usually the other way around.

Where we are:
Location=Clarkes Court Bay, Grenada
Lat=12 00.628
Lon=61 44.349

Prickly Bay, Grenada -- Mall Rats

Today we took the local minibus to the shopping centers in Grand Anse. Riding the bus in the Caribbean is always interesting. It's not really a bus, it's more of a van into which they cram as many people as possible. Then, once the bus is good and full, everyone gets to sit and sweat (no AC) while the driver slows down to honk and say "hi" to all his friends on the street. Sometimes they even stop the bus and chat and the passengers either sit and wait patiently or join in the conversation. No one seems to mind or be in a hurry; everyone here is on island time. But the drivers are pretty friendly and they will usually let you off and pick you up anywhere along the route even if it's not a bus stop. Plus it only costs 2.00 EC (1 Eastern Caribbean Dollar = about $2.70) so it's a good deal.

Spiceland Mall is tiny compared with malls back in America, but it's incredibly nice -- they have flat screen TV's throughout advertising their shops and, of course, showing soccer and cricket matches. (Cricket is a huge deal here -- they just completed an enormous new stadium). We hit the IGA grocery store (this is the mall's "anchor store" instead of Dillards or Macy's) and also the food court for roti, which is like an East Indian-style burrito wrap filled with curried chicken, potatoes and other yummy vegetables. About halfway through our shopping the power went out in the entire mall, which served as a reminder that we were in Grenada and not the US.

Prickly Bay, Grenada -- 4th of July

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Not much is going on here for the Fourth; the Canadians had a big to-do for Canada Day (on the 1st) but it seems like the Americans are keeping it low-key. We plan on having our friends on Blue Wilderness over for dinner (Mark & Nancy and their 3 kids: Summer, Solomon, & Sam). Yesterday we moved the boat to Prickly Bay on the south side of the island. We're in a beautiful area (called Lance Aux Epines), with lots of stately homes. When walking through some of the neighborhoods in this area it sometimes feels like we are walking through a community in Paradise Valley, except none of the houses here has the same floor plan, and all of them are painted different colors. It was nice to get off the boat and get some good exercise, walking around the bay and scoping out all the restaurants and shops. We had a drink at the True Blue Bay resort (beautiful views of the bay) and ate pizza at the Prickly Bay Marina (which probably negated any calories burned on our walk!)

Nude Calisthenics

Speaking of exercise, one of our neighbors in the harbor seems to be a fitness nut. This morning as I was hanging out the laundry I could see him doing push ups and sit ups on the deck of his catamaran about 100 feet behind us. Of course it was impossible not to notice him, as he was completely nude at the time. Kevin took a few discreet photos (we couldn't resist!), so when we have internet access in a few days we'll be sure to post them. I guess we should be happy he wasn't doing jumping jacks or -- heaven forbid -- toe touches!

Where we are:
Location=Prickly Bay, Grenada
Lat=11 59.838
Lon=61 45.750

St. George's - We Invade Grenada

Well we are finally here, in the capital city of Grenada. On Thursday we made the 32 mile trip here and we had to make a slight detour around Kick 'Em Jenny, an active underwater volcano that lies directly on the route between Carriacou and the mainland. It erupted in both 1988 and 1989, so they've got a maritime exclusion zone around it. We like the name -- it sure sets it apart from the multitude of volcanoes out there named "Soufriere".

Grenada has the distinction of being one of the few nations that actually welcomed a US invasion (back in 1983 we helped put down a communist regime at the Grenadian people's request. According to a local guy we met today, Ronald Reagan is considered a great man here and no one says anything bad about him. I didn't ask him if the same rule applies to George W.) Our personal invasion of the country began with a reconnaissance of the local restaurants and a full assault on the grocery store (fantastic -- just like a US grocery store!). Sorry if I am always rambling about finding groceries, but you have to see what passes for a grocery store on some of the smaller islands to fully appreciate the convenience of the superstores we have back home and being able to buy what you want when you want it.

Today (Saturday) we hit the Grenada National Museum, which was kind of a hodgepodge of natural and political history. The exhibits were not in any specific order so it was a little random. They had the marble bathtub of the Empress Josephine (Napoleon's wife who was born on the French island of Martinique -- not sure why they have that artifact in Grenada and there was no explanation on the plaque to help us figure it out). After the museum we hit the Saturday Market, which is like a farmer's market on steroids. Along with the required fruits & veggies there were locally grown spices (Grenada is known as the "Spice Island". We saw lots of Ginger, but no Sporty or Scary). There were so many stalls we got confused and kept passing the same aisle, where a lady named Theresa kept saying, "You guys back again? Jus' tell me what you lookin' for and I find it for you". So we let her "find" us some tomatoes and bought some other vegetables as well. She then offered to braid my hair and also complimented the pigment of my skin but said if I wanted to get darker I should let her fix me up with some black pepper (she sold it by the bag). If I eat enough of it, it will "blacken" me up. I took a pass on the braids and the pepper -- for now...

Where we are:
Location=St. Georges, Grenada
Lat=12 02.539
Lon=61 45.297

Tyrrel Bay - Out of Africa

For the past week, Kevin and I have been standing on African soil...and rinsing it off our decks, and wiping it off the window screens. No, we didn't take a wrong turn navigating, it's actually dust from the Sahara that makes it's way across the Atlantic to the Windward Islands just so it can land on our boat and make a mess. Other cruisers had been telling us about this phenomenon and we thought they were pulling our leg, but in our weather report yesterday the forecaster mentioned that "Visibility may be reduced by haze due to atmospheric African dust" so it appears to be true.

Today was our last day in Carriacou, tomorrow we head for mainland Grenada. We went ashore for lunch hoping to score some more pizza from the Lazy Turtle (when we were there the other night, the calzones looked pretty good too). When we walked up the place was deserted except for one lady in an apron sitting upright at a table, fast asleep. I gently woke her and asked if the kitchen was open. "Not for pizza," she said. Disappointed, I asked her what they were serving, if anything. "Burgers and salads" was the reply. We decided to pass on the burgers and instead eat sandwiches on the boat. You could see relief fill the lady's eyes when she realized she could go back to sleep!

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou

[Kevin's Post]Well, we're still hanging out in Carriacou trying to kill time until our dockage in Grenada starts July 15. We've got about 3 weeks left and only 30 miles to go, so we can afford to just be lazy. The anchorage here has free wifi so that is an added draw. We've been having a great time catching up with all the friends we made in Luperon and elsewhere along the trip. Last night Chuck and Barb on Tusen Takk II threw a big party on their gorgeous Kadey-Krogen 48. There aren't too many cruising boats out there that can accomodate 20+ guests. But theirs can. Comfortably. Very comfortably. Everyone brought delicious hors d'œuvres, and there was quite a spread. Amanda improvised some bean burrito bites using some tortillas we picked up and they turned out quite good. The rum flowed freely last night, a little too freely, and we were both feeling it this morning.

Since we've had a bit of time on our hands, and not a whole lot to do I've been making a few improvements to the blog which you have probably noticed. The filmstrip on the right shows thumbnails of the 50 most recently uploaded photos. Some of these never appeared in the blog, so keep an eye on those. I'm in the process of converting all our videos to YouTube, and eventually they will all appear in the widget on the left. Probably the coolest thing though is the yellow track which now appears on the Google Maps inlay. This shows our route through the islands since January. The track is a pretty accurate representation of the boat's path, it is not just straight lines between the anchorages. So zoom way in and check it out.