Back in St. Georges

We sailed back to St George's and tomorrow we will go into the marina to do some work on the boat. It is evening now and this is what we see from our boat on anchor

Boiling water

I would like to tell you about this strange thing we see all the time here. Rocky and I were both below when we heard this strange sound like something had come loose on the boat and was flapping. We both rushed to the top and saw what looked like boiling water around the Dutch boat next to us. We knew that it was fish going berserk around and against their boat. They were also looking at it. At first I thought that they might have thrown something in the water. There were also a lot of birds flying around. A bit later we heard them around our boat and we saw a lot of different kind of fish big and small frantically swimming and flapping around. This is very different from the flying fish everywhere. Now we see it a lot
Today I sat on my noodle and went around the boat cleaning just below the water line. Then all these fish were around me probably for the stuff I wiped of the boat. I did not know how fast I could get back in the boat. No thanks not with those frantic fish.

Cooking class in Grenada

First of all it is not a cooking class but a cooking demonstration. That is until you get there and sit down with your rum punch. The food is cooked already and Omega keeps saying how 'everything is running along nicely which is good because she is hungry'. She is a comedian and keeps asking how well she is doing. She has us all in stitches with her sing song language.
When the lady who organized the event said how great Omegas ommelettes are she tells her to repeat it because she is sure we did not hear. When someone asks how much a stick of butter is she proceeds to explain that you buy a certain brand of butter cut it in half and then slice it again. Also a carton of cream she says is this kind of shape never mind liter or half liter. The recipes she gives is for about 40 people so when we ask what it would be for 2 she says 'never mind you just invite friends'. You can imagine with the strong rum punch it was a laugh a minute.

Prickly Bay Grenada 17 July

So we finally left the bay at St George's and sailed to Prickly bay. We had to go back to St George's to get the sim card activated so we went by bus. That is pretty cool here. They have those mini busses with a driver and helper. This helper hangout of the window enticing people to take the bus. So it stops anywhere people want to get on. And if it quiet the driver will go off the track if they spot anyone walking. We have had some sightseeing tours this way. Also you can pay a couple of dollars more and they will take you to your door. All this in often a multicolour painted bus with loud reggae music. Very friendly and helpful though. Yesterday we saw another example. It was quite busy on the road and the bus was completely full. A car in a driveway on our side of the road was trying to get across. Our driver stopped put his hand out of the window to stop the oncoming traffic and the car in the driveway was on his way. This is just an example of the friendliness and consideration of the people here. I absolutely love the people here. They always say hello. They sing and love telling stories,dance and everywhere there is music. This is difficult to show in photos. I include a photo of this round thing with a BBQ in it and all that you can rent to go around the bay. Pretty cool hey.

Our boat on anchor in the bay again

We moved back in the bay and our first night was perfect but last night was very bad. We were rolling the whole night like we were at sea. I went for a walk and took photos of the boat on anchor

Trip around Grenada

We saw chocolate factory,rum distillery and waterfalls. I will show it to you in photos. You see first the old rum distillery and after that the coco beans with the walking of the beans and the dansing of the beans. The chocolate is very high in percentage of chocolate

Plans

So we sort of have decided what we want to do. We will be back here after time in Australia and sail around the Caribbean islands again. So many still to see. Then before hurricane season we will go to the ABC's (Aruba Bonaire and curaçao). We will go through the Panama canal. We heard from so many people that this is a fantastic experience. Then we go across the Pacific islands. Again we heard from a lot of people that this was the most wonderful trip with the trade winds. People hang around sometimes for years in island like Tahiti. I was afraid of the long crossings with like bad weather but it is not like that I have been assured. So that seems better to us now then going to Europe first because you would still have to come back here before crossing the pacific. Anyway that is the plan but you know 'the best plans are flexible'

Friends visiting from Florida

Bill and Suzanne arrived on Sunday night. I had made calaloo soup with hot chicken bread fruit salad and the long string beans. The next day we had a relaxing breakfast and went to town. That evening swimming and a long happy hour. The next day we took the boat to snorkel the statues had lunch and went for a great sail. Bill at the helm. Then again happy hour and dinner on the boat. The next day we went on a tour of the island with some other friends. We saw waterfalls spices chocolate factory completely from the coco fruit. And we saw the rum factory. There is one photo where they dance in the coco beans. After this more happy hour and diner at the restaurant. Today Bill and Rocky worked on the boat while Suzanne and I first went by bus to a mall and after lunch we went visiting by dinghy and bought mahi mahi fish at the fish market for our BBQ tonight. Now they are doing dishes before we have mango and cream. Not a bad life.

Guests on Island Girl 1 July

So we have been in Grenada for 2 weeks. It has been wonderful. We are now in Fort Louis marina waiting for our friends Suzanne and Bill from Florida. We will be cruising a bit with them. Tonight we will eat a Grenadian meal with Calaloo soup and breadfruit salad with very long string beans and a hot chicken thing. We will surely have some famous rum punch. . All good. Can not wait.