Distillery Waterwheel

July 9

Leo is a wild man. He drove our group of eight up and down and across Grenada around blind, steep, switchback, mountain roads constantly inches and milliseconds away from certain death, using his horn for warning and also to greet nearly everyone we saw. Does anyone remember the mad mouse carnival ride? Add horns, cars, pedestrians and the occasional rooster flying past your windshield and you're close.

The other seven paid more than the entire day with our driver "Soulja Boy" to float down a creek in inner tube-like floaty things for forty five minutes. I demurred. A cocoa processing plant (the chocolate factory is up the road and not open to touring) was in a beautiful setting and very interesting. Yes, Sweetheart, I bought you some seriously good dark chocolate. A distillery still operating, with waterwheel power to crush the cane, the way it did when the English built it in 1785, was most notable for its age and filth. They primarily make rum with alcohol content too high to ship by air, seriously. After a taste my hair was flammable.

*Warning! Soapbox Moment* An otherwise nice older lady who is noted for occasional inappropriate expression, made a condescending comment about machetes being a "way of life" in the islands. A high percentage of people in the South, for example, own and use guns, primarily for hunting. My relatives would eat through winter on deer they killed in the fall. Firearms aren't a way of life in any greater sense (probably less) than are automobiles (which kill more people) or machetes. They're all just highly useful tools. Incidentally, most of you folks, we shall call you snobs, who look down upon wielders of guns are not vegans. Virtually all hunted creatures live 'free-range' lives naturally avoiding predators, including man. They have a chance to survive, and the smart ones do, to continue living an uncaged existence. Hamburger, bacon and chicken tenders come from animals that are penned and fattened from birth for inescapable slaughter. So, enjoy your Boar's Head at the deli.

On a lighter note, think about a meat company deciding on a logo. "OK, guys, what's the most disgusting animal we can find to advertise our product?" "Hey, how about a wild boar?" "No, wait, how about the ugliest part, his head?" "Cool!"

Jack