Sailing south to Grenada, many other sailors said “you will love Grenada. There is always something going on. Hikes, dominos, music, volunteer opportunities, what ever you want to do it is available to you in Grenada”
“OK that sounds good. I am sure I will check out some of the activities.” i replied.
The very first hike I already talked about in a previous blog entry. Every morning I listen to the cruiser’s net to find out what is happening. Unfortunately I have not been able to participate in all that I want to. Boat chores and other related projects keep getting in the way. I had hoped to get off the dock and doing one last sail before getting pulled out for the summer, but that may not happen. One projects leads to another, and that lead to another, and anyone with a boat know how that is. Some are just going to have to wait until fall when I get back.
Thursday I was hiking with some cruisers. They were going to the waterfall I had hiked to the week before so I know this was a more relaxed hike with the reward of swimming in the cool pool below the waterfall.
As we are driving back, some of the people asked if I was coming on Sat. to the hike walk. It sounded like fun to me so I said ok.
I joined a group of 9 others we boarded a local taxi van. Others asked if I had done one of these before and I said “no this will be my first one”
“Your a virgin” they replied.
I have not been called that since high school so I was not too sure what they were talking about.
We arrive after a 45 minute drive to the north side of the island on the east side. Quite the drive through narrow windy roads.
i go up to the registration desk and they ask “ Walker? runner? or first timer.”
“First timer” I reply.
“Sign here”
Soon there are about 150 people here. A few cruisers but mostly locals and many with there families. This has become a weekly family event for many of the people.
Officials are walking through the crowds and when they spot someone with new shoes they grab one of their shoes. Soon there are 12 single shoes on the registration desk. All with a bottle of beer behind them. The owners of the shoes were called forward and their brand new shoe was then fill filled with beer which they were required to drink directly out of the shoe. Memes to self, never where new shoes to this event.
Instructions are giving to give us newbies an idea of what we are doing and off we go. The runner go first and the walkers follow. We are looking for piles of shredded paper o to guide us for the next hour. Suddenly you come up on a circle of shredded paper with trails going off in all directions. Since I was not in the lead group, I could just follow, but if you were in the lead you would have to scout out which is the real trail and which is a fas trail the leads to nowhere. We are walking through the rainforest, over piles of fallen leave, in peoples backyards, around home with the owner encouraging us on or just laughing at us. This is a great way to see the inside of Grenada. I finally finish an done of the guys I know hands me a beer and congratulates me on a job well done having made it to the finish without getting totally lost. Beers are 3 for $12 EC or about $4 us dollars for 3 beers. it is going to be a beer drinking night, I can tell.
They is a bbq set up where they are barbecuing chicken and another booth serving “oildown” a local dish. i know what bbq chicken tasted like so I decided to try some oildown. i still do not have a clue what it is, how it is made, or what is in it. It seemed very starchy and the flavor was not bad but I would not consider it good either. I am told that are good Oildown and not so good oildown. I am hoping that this is a not so good one, because if this is a good one they can have it.
The runners are now entering. They look exhausted.
“This was a tough one” they said. “Way to many false trails. Where is a beer.”
“Where are all the first timers” the official asked. “Front and center Virgins”
I bet you did not know that you are a virgin until you have a certificate of Loss of Virginity. How many of you have a certificate of loss of Virginity? I do now.
“Be it known by all and Sundry that as of today Greg Seebart, having done it with all of us, at times rough, sometimes wet, sometimes dry, sometimes hard, sometimes prone, sometimes supine, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, bawling out a lot of unintelligible phrases like “are you”, “On on” ‘On Back” “On in”, grunting, groaning and shouting expletives in the mud and sand and rivers and streams, on hillsides and in the bushes and trails of the forests and having completed this hour long ordeal absolutely exhausted, sweaty and smelling like a ram goat, is henceforth not to be a considered a virgin by any member of the Grenada Hash House harriers.
We are then completely drenched in beer. It is going to be along ride home. I had been warned so I had another shirt but 5 others on the bus had no clue as to what was going to happen.
It was a smelly ride home with one stop to make sure we did not suffer from lack of beer.
It was so much fun, I will probably do it next Saturday also.