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Adventures in Grenada

You can find adventure wherever you are.  Whether at home, going to a new place, or trying a new experience. There’s potential for adventure every day!  In other blog posts, I’ve shared a little about our adventures while pet-sitting in Grenada on our friends Amy and Doug’s sailboat.  We’ve found that anytime we can live on a boat, it is going to be an adventure! Now, add in a cute and happy puppy = we’re all set to go!  We take our responsibilities seriously while boatsitting and as a result, we focused much of our attention towards Crew and caring for SV Black River.  This meant we spent a lot of time at Port Louis Marina.  

Beyond the Marina

While we were just visitors while staying at Port Louis Marina, others call this place “home” for months over the summer and fall.  Grenada is a popular spot for Caribbean cruisers to spend the hurricane season.  We can see why!  Grenadians are friendly, it’s a safe country, the landscape is gorgeous, they make world-class cocoa, there are beautiful beaches, an underwater sculpture park, and more.  We sampled a few of these highlights of the island and hope to return soon to experience more!

Why are adventures so enriching?

Have you thought about what is it that makes any type of adventure, home or away, an especially enriching part of our lives? 

Is it exploring a new landscape, meeting new people, the food, the culture, history, the routine everyday errands, unique activities, opportunities to serve others, learning new things, and conversations along the way?  For us, it tends to be a combination of the above.

How To Get Around

“Do you want to rent a car?” was one of the first questions Doug and Amy asked when planning our trip.  “No” was our quick answer.  We remembered the island drivers from being in Antiqua where they drive on the left side and the roads are narrow and winding.  We were not confident to jump into this island type of driving quite yet.  “We’ll walk or take the bus” was our strategy.

Buses in Grenada

In general, Tony & I prefer to take public transportation when it is available.  It’s often a more affordable option to get around town and it gives us a glimpse into living like a local. 

Taking the bus to town or the grocery store worked out just fine for us.  The buses are actually vans.  In addition to the driver, there’s a conductor who sits beside the sliding van door to direct passengers in and out and collect the fares.  There are routes and designated bus stops, but there’s also a great deal of flexibility.  One time as our bus was about to leave a stop, it went backwards instead of forward.  After reversing about a block, a passenger got on and then we continued forward on our way.  This was considered normal. 

I especially loved to see how the bus drivers and conductors took special care of the young and old.  After school, many students take the bus home.  At one stop on the main, busier road, our driver got out and escorted a young boy across the street to make sure he got to his house safely.  And at a stop at a grocery store, an elderly woman (meaning older than me) with many bags of groceries was helped with her bags.  Don’t you love to see gestures of kindness and good manners like these? 

The conductors tended to be a bit overly optimistic about how many more passengers could fit into their bus.  In an already full van, when the conductor motioned me in and pointed to my spot, I seriously wondered if he wanted me to sit on a stranger’s lap.  Everyone squished over and I managed to wedge myself on a little patch of available room on the seat. 

Sometimes our bus ride felt more like an off-road adventure, even though we were still on the road.  Up and down the hills while following sharp curves and also navigating potholes or oncoming traffic…can you picture it?!

Communicating With the Horn

Cars and buses in Grenada have a happy honk.  The toots of the horn seem to say something friendly like “I’m turning here” or “You can go” or “Hi!” or “Thank you” or “I’m going around you”, or “Do you want a bus ride?”…The toot of a horn seems to be used as a multi-purpose, friendly message that the drivers seem to understand.  Some of our cruising friends get their licenses for their time in Grenada and have adapted to this type of driving.  I wonder how it goes for them on visits home to the U.S. if they make a friendly honk.

Stop Lights

We noticed stoplights installed on many of the streets, but they weren’t in operation during our first few weeks in Grenada.  But before we left, they were activated.  It seemed to us they seemed to create more traffic jams than we had seen before they went into use, go figure! 

Walk Abouts

If our destination is within walking distance, we like to walk!  The biggest difference while being in Grenada was the heat and humidity.  We learned quickly to take that into account after a couple of very sweaty excursions.  Tony wasn’t shy to state the obvious “I’ve never seen you sweat this much!”.  It’s true.  I normally don’t get sweat marks on my shirt, but in Grenada, I fit in with everyone else walking around with pit stains, neck sweat circles, or belly marks.   

While packing for this trip, I asked Amy “What do you wear most days?” Her answer: “As little as possible without getting charged for indecent exposure”.  I packed accordingly with primarily tank tops and shorts, yet the overwhelming heat and humidity still came as a surprise.  How do you explain to someone that after taking a shower and having that clean, fresh feeling, you’re going to be back to sweating again within minutes of stepping outside?  We still ventured outside and enjoyed many walkabouts, especially on the Carenage. But, we were very thankful for the reprieve of having AC on Black River!   

Library

One of my goals while exploring a new place is to visit their library.  Following Mapquest’s directions to the “library near me” brought us to a small community library in St George.  We arrived in the late afternoon as students were leaving.  They come after school to get tutoring, play board games, or work on their homework.  I’m not sure I would be able to concentrate on my homework with the stunning view from the window!

Students

While many students head to the local convenience store or gas station for a special after-school treat, some treats come to them.  We saw this motorcycle with a snowcone machine attachment parked outside the school ready for business.   

Grenadian students wear uniforms for school and we saw varieties of school colors and styles during our walkabouts, especially our walks along the Carenage.  The students look very clean and sharp going to and from school and are polite with their greetings to us as we pass by.     

Sir Eric Gairy Botanical Gardens

One of our walk abouts was to check out a local garden, Sir Eric Gairy Botanical Gardens. We expected to see more plants, but it was still interesting to walk the grounds, see some statues, and enjoy many shade trees. Near the end of the grounds, we saw a group of children exercising on a cement slab. First, they were doing their push-ups, sit-ups, and stretches with no mats on that hard surface, my back hurt just from watching them. Then, they started their running, skipping, and jumping exercises back and forth. I was tired and sweaty just from walking, I can’t imagine doing an exercise program in this heat.

Rides With Friends

We didn’t walk or take the bus everywhere we went.  If a friend offered me a ride, I said “yes”!  Even if we didn’t need to go on their errand run, I enjoyed the social time and the scenery of seeing more of the Grenada countryside. 

Not all our outings with cruising friends were for errands.  Ben and Kitra on SV Daggers Down were especially kind to plan outings to explore beyond the marina with us.  They knew the island well and were good at seeking out special things to see and do.  We joined them to see the underwater statues, an orchid show, a chocolate factory, historic fort, and we spent some time at the beach.

Underwater Sculptures

Off the west coast of Grenada, there is an underwater sculpture park.  During our visit to Grenada, some new statues were available to preview on land before they were lowered into the water.  In a TED Talk, sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor explains how they use materials and designs that encourage plants, coral, and sea life to thrive. 

Orchids and Gardens

After viewing the statues for the underwater park, our next stop was to check out an orchid show.   The guys were not so sure about this stop, but afterward both Ben and Tony agreed it was worth their time.  The Orchids were at the home of Michael and Candi.  We learned not only do they grow and sell orchids, but he is also a photographer and she makes and sells custom jewelry.  We enjoyed seeing their gorgeous gardens with plants at various stages of growth and their home which offers a spectacular view over the water! 

Beaches

I was able to visit Magazine Beach twice with Kitra and Ben.  It’s a gorgeous beach with great snorkeling.   During one of our visits there, some local kids were swinging and playing nearby.  I’m a kid at heart and can’t resist the opportunity to join in the fun.  “Do you want to build a sandcastle?”  They didn’t have any buckets or shovels, so I showed them how we could use sticks, rocks, and other natural supplies to build our castle. 

There was live music at the beach restaurant nearby.  You know what that means, it’s time to dance!  But just like it takes more effort to run along the beach, it is also harder to dance in the sand than on a solid surface.  That didn’t stop Kitra and I from enjoying a little beach swing dancing! 

Snorkeling Buddies

Karen and John on SV Estrala Del Mar, are avid divers and snorkelers. When they heard of my love for snorkeling, they invited me to join them to snorkel some special areas right off our marina. One was a huge area of elkhorn near the anchorage, what a find! Whenever I went with them, I felt like I had a private tour guide as they were a wealth of information about what I was seeing below the water.

Historic Fort

There were a couple of forts near our marina.  One, Fort George, we walked up the steep hill to see it only to find out it was closed to visitors due to renovations.  The other two, Fort Frederick and For Matthew, we drove by with Ben and Kitra on one of our outings with them.  Tony casually mentioned his interest in history and forts.  Weeks later, while working on a boat project together, Tony and Ben headed off together on what I assumed was an errand run to get boat parts.  But no, it was a trip to see the fort!  So thoughtful! 

Organized Tour

A new experience for us was deciding to take a guided tour to help us discover more about Grenada.  There are many tour guides and options to learn about the history, culture, and special attractions.  We were fortunate to have an opportunity to join in a Cutty tour.  He is an experienced guide and very knowledgeable about the plants and foods, history, and current events.  Now we’ve learned the benefits of taking a guided tour when visiting a new place. 

At the Marina and Beyond

Spending a good deal of time at the marina while pet-sitting allowed for new friendships to form and for us to have enriching conversations with other cruisers.  And we didn’t always talk about boating!  Sometimes we talked about our land life, our families, our dreams and goals, healthy living, hobbies, or overcoming obstacles in life (on or off the water).  Not all our conversations were serious, sometimes we just talked about being hot and sweaty!

Going on excursions and adventures beyond the marina allowed us to see some highlights of the country, enjoy new experiences, and try spices and foods specific to Grenada. 

The problem is, that we just sampled a little of what Grenada has to offer.  We’ll need to return to experience more! 

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