Carriacou

We had a lovely vacation in Carriacou. The weather was perfect and the sea was lovely. Don, Jason and myself managed to go for a dive and although the visibility was not great I think we all enjoyed ourselves. Over our 3 day stay we took a tour of the island, did a dive, and otherwise walked the beach, relaxed and played Settlers of Catan. Here's some of my favourite pictures from the weekend.

The view under the pier. I loved the light.

Thomas, our taxi driver, took this picture of us from the hospital up on the hill. The water behind us is the Caribbean sea, if you turned around 180 degrees you'd see the Atlantic.

Jason and Don checking out a ship in progress.

Finally, we manage to get a picture of me where I'm smiling with my eyes open!

Just a beautiful view of the ocean. If you squint you can see a reef in the middle of the picture and a ship that got stuck on it!

Well, that's our quick Carriacou overview. I hope you have enjoyed it!

Kristy

Weekend activities

My brother and sister-in-law are in Grenada visiting us since last week sunday. As we didn't have much time to visit throughout the week, we spent the weekend with a rented car touring the island. One of our first stops was to the farm of Hugh Currie, a Canadian farming in Grenada. He has developed an extensive fruit farm and he allowed us to walk around the farm and eat ourselves silly. We were some tired sticky people, but man did we have happy mouths and stomachs. No chances of scurvy here! I think everyone's favourite was the kingfruit (also known as uglyfruit) which had a delicious lemony flavour, sort of like a cross between a sweet navel orange and a lemon.

Needing to clean up we headed off to Bathway beach (after a brief stop at a sulpher spring. There's a reason there are no pictures of it here.) Don and Jay went for a swim while Ang and I tried to have a nap on the beach. The rain sent us scurrying back to the car after a while and we headed back to their hotel in Grand Anse for a much needed meal and sleep. I think we tired them out on friday!

Saturday we went to the southern part of the island, an area that Jason and I have not really seen until now. We tried to find the La Sagesse Nature Reserve, and although we found the hotel and a chinese run greenhouse, we couldn't figure out where the 'nature reserve' part came in. Nonetheless we had a lovely walk on the beach and on the rocks, and later drove the car up on top of a tall ridge where we had a fabulous view of the Atlantic.


Is there any question which direction the prevailing winds are coming from?


Sunday we packed don and ang's bags into the car and headed into the interior. From this view point in Grand Etang you can see all the way to the southern tip of the island. We had a nice hike down to seven sisters falls where Jason and Don climbed up to jump down 6 waterfalls. Ang and I went for a swim at the base of the biggest fall. Afterwards we unpacked our picnic lunch and had a nice meal. Then we went to try and find the honeymoon falls. We found some falls, but never found out if they were in fact the ones we were searching for! On the way back to Gouyave we took another road through the interior where we passed by many banana plantations and other farms. We stopped to let Jason and Don talk to a farmer who was planting papayas for the regional market. After a while Ang and I were able to drag them away and we made it back to Gouyave. We got them settled in their house and made a simple supper after which we let them get some well deserved rest.

Next weekend we are off to Carriacou so ta ta for now!

Kristy

p.s. Thanks to all those who participated in our survey both in voting and in leaving comments. We enjoyed hearing from you!

The results are in!

The results of the poll are in and the majority have it. Jason did indeed write sample A while Kristy was masterful in her sample B submission. Our question for the voters is why you voted the way you did? Was it the pictures, the language, the format? Indulge our interactive needs!

Later,
Jason & Kristy

P.S.
Yes, for all those concerned, our latest group of visitors have arrived safe and sound. As they unwind, relax and Don finishes his Open-Water SCUBA certification we will be working away. However, the coming weekends will be very busy with many exciting activities.

Sample A

For my highlight post, that this, the review of some of the best or most meaningful pictures that we have taken in Grenada thus far I have chosen these five. You may notice that none of these photos include people and there could be many reasons for this occurrence. For me, however, I have chosen to lump these pictures together as a highlight of some of the natural scenes or products of Grenada.

This first one highlights one of the many beautiful scenes that we witness as the sun sets over the Caribbean Sea.

Gouyave as viewed from the ruins of a 17th century French Fort.

Nutmeg in drying racks. Nutmeg, cocoa and banana were the three agricultural products that brought colonial powers to the island. Banana has ceased to be an export crop but nutmeg and cocoa are still very much a part of the Grenadian image and psyche.

Seven Sisters Falls, just another reason that Grenada is one of the most beautiful countries in the Caribbean and the world.

In Grenada you can really see where the efforts of human beings meet those of nature. While there are myriad arguments regarding the meeting of people and the natural world, I won't get into them here. This photo highlights what can be seen as a struggle between dichotomous wills.

Of course I have many more favourite photos but these are the ones that popped out at me today. I hope that they convey the meaning that I hope they do.

Sample B

I choose my five pictures to highlight some of the things that stand out in my mind about Grenada as a place, and Grenadians as a people. I hope that I will be able to convey them to you at least a little bit!


1. Grenada is a place of extraordinary beauty. The reality that I live within a few minutes walk of the Caribbean sea still escapes me from time to time. The natural world in Grenada is green and blue and is such an integrated part of peoples lives. Everyone has plants growing in their 'yard', such as it is. From Pigeon peas to banana plants it is not enough for Grenadians to have the jungle growing on the hillside behind their house, they plant decorative plants in pots and place them on their railings. I love the beauty of Grenada.



2. Although the natural world may be blue and green, the population of Grenada is NOT afraid of colours. Namely red, green and yellow! On the 7th of February Grenada celebrated 33 years of independance. Every person in Grenada not only wore their national colours but went out and painted walls, curbs and even rocks to celebrate their country's birthday! It was truly an inspirational sight. I can't remember ever experiencing such celebrations for Canada day. I love the spirit of Grenada.



3. Although it always takes time to truly get to know people in a new place, context and culture, Grenadians make it easy to feel welcomed. As we walk the streets we are always greeted and in fact, the longer we are here, the more people recognise us and associate us with Gouyave, even when we're somewhere else, like St. Georges. We have made many aquaintences, as well as friends. Some have started to feel like family, like the little girl Kelci in the picture below. The same age as our niece Andrea, she brings spirit and laughter to our house. Laughter is infectious here and Grenadians love to let loose and have fun. I love the friendliness of Grenada.






4. I included this picture because it places us within our work here in Grenada. Although we do not always know the politics of a given situation, or the background, we are always ready to lift a hand and help wherever we can. GRENCODA works hard in is work and we feel honoured to be a part of their work.


5. Finally, Grenadians know when it is time to stop working and soak up the famous Caribbean sun. Called 'liming' it is an important part of a Grenadian lifestyle. We were once told that the reason Grenadians take things slowly and don't walk in the rain is because they can't depend on good health care to restore them to health if they fall ill or have a heart attack. Here some young men are liming on the beach after a regatta. They were probably on the water in the morning racing their boat and now deserve some rest on the beach. I love the easy going attitude of Grenada.

Gifts

One of the joys of travelling are the people you meet. Recently, my brother Al came to Grenada to visit and met a little girl named Kelci. Jason and I have gotten to know her well over the last number of months, especially during the time when she stayed with her grand mother and great grandmother, almost across the road from us while her mom was gone to Trinidad to have a baby. Kelci was on our porch almost daily, in fact it was hard to send her home when we wanted to go have supper or go to bed!



While Al was here he got to meet Kelci and humored her for a long time goofing around with pillows and playing frisbee. Kelci also enjoyed 'helping' us with a puzzle that my mother-in-law gave as a christmas gift. Al told Kelci he would send a puzzle along for her with my parents when they came to visit. And that's what he did.


She's pleased as punch (though didn't like it that i suggested she work on the puzzle in our house so I could help her with it!) 500 pieces is just a little daunting when you haven't done many puzzles! I'll be sure to post a picture when we have finished the puzzle.

So, here's my question for all of you. What is the best gift you have ever given, or received? I'd love to hear from all of you folks who have been lurking out there but never leave comments!