Grown Ups Gap Year

Our first stop in Grenada, also known as the Spice Island, was Halifax Bay and we used this anchorage to explore some of the central area of the island. This is the first anchorage in Grenada from the north and is a sheltered inlet between two forested hills. The anchorage had only one other yacht anchored and was the classic representation of a Caribbean anchorage with the green lush foliage of mangrove woods coming all the way down to the beach with steep cliffs beyond. The only thing that prevented the perfect 10 score was the black sand and murky water caused by leaves and undergrowth!.

With the chores of the day done the three of us rowed ashore, locked the dingy and eventually found a path in which to climb up to the road. We walked towards the village of Concord heading for Concord falls. The walk was a mixture of alternating sunshine and tropical showers making for a very steamy walk. Reaching Concord we passed some faces engraved into the side of the cliff face lining the road and then had a very steep climb up to Concord Falls, of around 2 miles. During the walk we stopped to chat to a guy cutting some green beans from his plants who then chatted to us for almost half an hour describing the various plants he has on his plot and showing us how to pick and use them (nutmeg, cocoa, sorrel, ginger ...). He was delighted to share his knowledge and answered a lot of our questions, he then gave us some spices to take away with us! This was an early example of the friendliness and generosity of the people of Grenada.

When we arrived at Concord falls it was just in time for another tropical rain shower but this had the effect of significantly reducing the number of other visitors and by the time we had eaten our lunch we had exclusive use! We then had a very enjoyable time swimming in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall and it certainly gave true meaning to the term 'waterfall shower'. The swim was refreshing, exhilarating and experiencing the power of the waterfall was a definite bucket list tick off for us all, as the photos show.

After the two nights at Halifax Bay we sailed to the south coast of Grenada passing Port St George, its Capital, with Jim at the helm. This was a momentous experience for Jim, he specifically wanted to visit this area as he had recently won a virtual sailing event (over 40,000 people world wide typically compete in a race) from Lanzarote to Grenada, the first British guy too, using his own routing software, course2steer, that we have used for planning some our passages. Our final destination being an anchorage off Hog Island, as recommended by a neighbour of ours who used to crew in Grenada. The last couple of miles were a hard upwind sail and it was during this part of the journey we sailed to the most southern point of this whole adventure, so it could be said we are now on our way home! I don't know why it is called Hog Island as there were no pigs there and it is not shaped like a hog or hogs head.

Whilst at Hog Island we noticed our friends on Quokka2, Deb and Julian, and were invited on board for a quick catch-up as they were due to imminently sail to another marina to have there mast removed for some upgrades. We had just got ashore to purchase some outboard fuel and could see Q2 heading off when I remembered I had left our dry bag on board along with our wallet, boat keys, Jim's and our credit cards and my phone! This resulted in a mad dash for me in the dingy in hot pursuit, praying the fuel would last. Meanwhile Jim borrowed a fellow sailors VHF Radio to try and call up Q2 and Sally noticed the electronics engineer so asked him to try and whats app call them. Neither worked as they were too busy manoeuvring out of the anchorage! Thankfully they eventually noticed my bag and me trying to catch them up just as they were leaving the bay. Arriving back at the dock very wet I met with Jim and Sally holding the wet bag aloft like a trophy, much to everyone's relief especially Jim, needless to say Jim opted to carry his own credit card in future! Sally treated us to a delicious cake each from a local bakery to get over the shock and nervous energy expended over the ordeal as we continued to explore the local area. One of the reasons we went ashore was to get some petrol for the dinghy and just as we started to return to Mirage we ran out of fuel within a few seconds leaving me to have a half mile row back to the boat. I am glad I didn't run out fuel whilst on the dash for the bag!

Another recommendation by Tom was Nimrod's Rum Shack where we purchased a Nimrod's tee-shirt for him as a reminder of his time here. Tom used to frequent the shack when he worked in Grenada during the sailing season and used to drink the rum from old tin cans. After the rum shack we walked to to Fort Jeudy Beach in Port Egmont as we were considering coming around to the anchorage. Whilst on the beach and doing a bit of a beach clean we were asked by one of the local guys if we wanted to pop over to where they were working to join them for lunch. We thought this would be a quick visit for a drink in a roadside cafe but it turned out to be a kind of community project. An allotment style small holding where they had built a shack style communal dining area. We were invited to what turned out to be a three hour lunch including Rum and Coke! We were treated to a Porcupine fish meal using their locally grown vegetables, so locally grown we saw them being taken off of the trees so no food miles here. The guys showed Sally how to prepare, wash and cook them, including Bread fruit, Poppey, Sorrel, fresh herbs and spices as well as how they removed the spikes from the fish using pliers which showed that the fish was cooked. The meal was cooked on a log fire using wood from the area where we sat. Whilst chatting with the guys we discovered that a quiet older gentleman had been the mastermind behind this project. He had been made redundant from a local marina after 22 years and invested it into purchasing this piece of land. Gradually cultivating it with the help of local men and now uses it to teach younger Grenadian guys the techniques of clearing the shrubs, gardening and cooking. I guess similar to what is called a 'man cave' group in the UK. We felt very welcome by all the guys and talking to them and discovering their backgrounds including fishing, plumbing, builders, University Staff etc. The older guy who owned the placed spoke very little but it was clear in the pride he had for his achievements. They didn't want anything for our visit but we did give a donation to the running of the place and the all essential rum supplies they were drinking!

Afterwards we rushed onto our original destination for a visit to the Westerhall Rum distillery museum. Unfortunately now late afternoon we were advised that they had closed for that day but we could sneak in with the cruise liner tour that was about to begin. It was a German tour and Sally spoke a few German words convincing the hosts that they were part of the tour and they then even managed to blag a couple of free samples of different rum with using chocolate beans in the distilling process. This took Jim's rum types up to three for the day!

When we returned to the boat the final adventure for the day was a short dinghy trip onto Hog Island and a brisk circumnavigation walk around the island before sunset, ending at the small bar on the beach. Two drinks later we returned to Mirage taking Jim's Rum variety count to four for the day and Sally up to three, this is definately the exception and not the rule!

Jim's final day with us started early at sunrise, with a short motor back along the coast from Hog Island to Prickly Bay. This was the nearest anchorage to the airport for his flight the following day. We spent the remainder of the day visiting the capital, St George Town by taking the bus and getting off at Port Louis Marina. Jim specifically wanted to visit this marina to see for himself where his virtual race finished. Such a pity he missed the real experience that competitors got as they came into the Marina having crossed the finishing line but definitely the next best thing!

We walked up to an old fortification overlooking the coastline and had a fabulous vantage point of his finishing line and then on into St George town along the front which was exceptionally quiet with no cruise liners visiting. Whilst there we climbed to Fort George which is now a shared area with the Royal Grenadian Police Force and found ourselves chatting with the Commissioner no less as we walked through to visit Fort George! Even he took time to explain the devastation and the damage that is still present from Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 where buildings still have yet to be either repaired or demolished and this was very apparent from the heights of the fort. Immediately north of Fort George, St Andrew's Church fared worst of all the town's churches in Hurricane Ivan. There isn't much left except the front wall and the clock tower perched precariously on the hill top as the photos show. St George's is a very picturesque town and the handsome old French architectured buildings to the Carenage harbour really added to the whole appeal. There are also some more modern buildings that have been painted to appear old with a look of rough hand laid bricks rather than the more modern consistent size bricks they actually are built from.

Sadly Jim's time flew by quickly and we waved him off hoping that he had enjoyed his brief visit to the Grenadian Islands and wet his appetite for a return visit some time in the future.

The day after Jim had left we took two buses via George Town to Grand Etang National Park to climb Mount Qua Qua. The Mount Qua Qua hike is a moderately challenging trail that follows the volcanic crater ridge to the west of Grand Etang Lake, that gave us beautiful views across rain forest to Grenada's east and west coasts. The Mount Qua Qua hike was one of the adventures that we added to our 'must do' list prior to arriving in Grenada after reading other travel blogs but wanted to select a day when little or no rain was forecast as some of the blogs hikes had been miserable or even dangerous following heavy rainfall on the trail. January is the transition between the dry and wet seasons in Grenada. Moreover, being located in the rain forest covered, mountainous interior of Grenada, we knew that finding a rain-free day was not going to be easy. Initially taking the number 1 bus followed by the number 6 bus it deposited us right at the entrance to Grand Etang National Park and the starting point of the Mount Qua Qua hike. The first section of the trail is relatively flat and leads you through pleasant forest on a well-defined, albeit muddy track. After a short distance, there is a route off to your right which leads down to Grand Etang Lake and the Shoreline Trail. At this point, the Mount Qua Qua hike gradient increases but some helpful man-made steps integrated into all the steeper sections greatly aided our climb. As the elevation increases, the canopy gradually opens up and regular gaps begin to appear in the undergrowth off to both left and right. As a result, glimpses of the sparkling ocean beyond the thick carpet of dark, lush forest become visible for the first time. If you are anything like us, you will probably find yourself stopping at regular intervals to marvel at the wide variety of exquisite views on offer. Grand Etang Lake also came into view behind. A glistening lake encircled by light green vegetation, with a backdrop of craggy, dark green peaks. A photographer's dream for sure! As the Mount Qua Qua hike leads you on the final stretch towards the summit, you really get a sense that you are walking along a mountain ridge. This is because the forest that was acting as a shield a little further back, is now a little thinner. You are now fully exposed to both the sun and those strong, gusty easterly prevailing winds. A short distance from the summit, there is a path leading off to the left this would have taken us to Concord falls, the waterfall we had visited earlier in our stay but with time being short we decided to miss out on another swim there! The walk down was much quicker as you would expect!

We choose to clear immigration from Carricou, Tyrell Bay, so we had another early start at dawn to make the short day sail back there to enable us to clear out the following morning. As I was trimming the sails I noticed a small area of sunlight flowing through our main sail. On closer inspection with the binoculars we did indeed have a small area where the stitching appeared to be coming undone. After anchoring and having our late lunch we dropped the mainsail to perform what we anticipated would be a small repair with our sail repair kit. However on closer inspection we discovered small tears along the leach where the sail material is doubled for reinforcement. This was definitely too much for hand sewing and it will mean we can no longer use it until we reach an island big enough to have a sail maker and repair centre. Thankfully we have a large Genoa which allows us to upwind sail without a main, but sadly we will not be able to race any other cruising boats to the best anchoring spots in the near future!

We met up with Steve and Annemarie, members of the Moody Owners Association, who have a Moody 425 and have been cruising the Caribbean for the past 7 years. We met at the local bar called 'The Slipway' and they gave us some extremely useful tips on good cruising grounds and places of interest. They also recommended a good sail makers in Bequia so that would be ideal for us as we are planning on visiting there on our way up through the Grenadines the next Island chain. However we did get more than we bargained for as although the bar was great we were certainly fresh blood for the local mosquito population as we got our first Caribbean bites!

Sally took a final bus ride into Hillsborough for our last minute provisions whilst I cleared immigration. After lunch we took a short motor around the headland to a sandy island, ironically called Sandy Island. It's a Marine Conservation Area and you have to pay to pick up a mooring buoy and to snorkel. However it was a perfect sunny day for it and although we had to share it with about 20 other boats it was a little tropical gem with the best snorkelling we have had since leaving Barbados. The Coral Reefs were alive with plenty of fish and pelicans enjoying rich pickings with little to no effort. We were also blessed with a fabulous sunset to round off our first Island hoping adventure to the Grenadine Island Chain.

We can now understand why people sail here and never go home!