Leaving Grenada soon

Triple Rainbow in Prickly Bay

Well good news is our outboard part finally made it and we are looking forward to moving north hopefully this week when Grenada Marine finishes the repair work.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Grenada, the people both locals and cruisers have been wonderful to be with.  The activities have been a great experience and Stan and I wish to return some day.  We have made some lasting relationships and the memories will not be forgotten.

This past Thursday I went to cooking class again and this time it was a new program they are developing and they used our class as guinea pigs.  It was great they set up 5 cooking stations and 3 people per station to do the cooking lesson hands on.  Stan stayed back on board as he was not feeling well and Pierre-Yves, Mireille and I were a team. We had 2 recipes for us and had several extra hands from the kitchen to help out.

First we started on making gingered pumpkin soup and then a gravy for pan seared fish.  It was a lot of fun and they also had a competition between the 5 tables for the best soup and gravy.  From the 5 tables our table came in 1st for the best gravy, so we were very proud. The gravy was for pan seared mahi-mahi which the chefs cooked. The best thing of all was we got to eat what we cooked along with the mashed potatoes they provided, what a wonderful meal and experience.  It was also free since they were learning how best to do this for future classes that they put on not just for us cruisers but the folks coming in on the big cruise ships so they have an opportunity to learn hands on cooking Grenada style.

Omega introduces the assistants and explains the cooking program for the day

Mireille and I discussing the finer points of our recipe.  I did my best Julia Child impression that was lost on our chefs who never heard of her but our classmates enjoyed it. 

Omega and Esther pan searing the fish.

Saturday afternoon was the "Extreme Hash" in the Grand Etang Forest, although not being a "virgin hasher" any more the descriptions of the course were making me a bit nervous but it turned out not be an issue.  There was a special tribute to a young woman who passed away unexpectedly from a stroke this week her hasher name was "Bush Princess" and was highly respected.  The course started down a steep embankment that required a rope, it had been raining so it was very muddy and slippery, most of the trail was following what Grenada refers to as a river but by VT standards I would call it a medium size stream.  The vegetation was thick, there were trees down across the stream, the gradient was very steep and the rocks very slippery.  Several points along the trail we left the stream to enjoy the mud that was unavoidable, if you were not careful you could easily slip and fall, I had numerous scratches from vegetation but luckily I did not fall.  It was a miracle no one hurt themselves. The hashmaster had said at the beginning that you needed to get to a point in the trail by 4:30 pm to continue for the most extreme portion of the hash, we arrived at 4:20 and was told it had closed 10 minutes before.  It was a bit of a disappointment and we would have made it if we had been further ahead of the pack but safety was their first concern. So we took a short trail out to the road and walked back to where we started for the "On-In" and enjoyed several cold beers and a chicken barbecue.

A well attended special service for "Bush Princess" before the "On-On"

It was a slow start as it was single file in many cases and there were probably more than 300 hashers today.

Hashers moving into the rainforest towards the stream.

Moving on downstream

Myself, Pierre-Yves and John another regular hasher/cruiser after the "On-In" (hashers name for the finish).

Well it was a fun hash, I liked the fact I was using all my muscles instead of just steep hikes up and down trails, I was not as sore the next morning as I had expected to be which was good.  There are other Hash groups up Island and I hope to catch a few more on our return trip if it works out.

Here is a link for a you tube video taken
Extreme Hash video

Just a few photos towards the end of the Hash:
Photo credits to Pierre-Yves for most of the Hash photos.

Walking up the road to the "On-In"

Fog rolling in

Tomorrow morning we will leave Prickly Bay and head back to St. David's to Grenada Marine to get our outboard (fingers crossed the repair went well). That is it for now, take care and have a Happy Thanksgiving.  Glad to hear Sugarbush opened with top to bottom skiing, I am thinking this is going to be a great ski season, wish you all the best.

Elizabeth

Becoming a Hasher in Grenada

View at the start of the non-hash event

Well I had never heard of Hashes before coming here but it turns out there is a group in Burlington, VT which I will likely check out when I return. It is a large international organization that began in Malaysia in 1938.  My 1st experience was actually not an official Hash but it was a good intro to what was to become the following Saturday.

On Sunday Oct. 4th I joined my hash mentor Pierre- Yves with a group of 15 or so non-hash hashers. We began at 1910' in the Grand Etang Forest hiked to a highpoint where all the cell towers are and then proceeded to follow a ridge-line through the rain forest eventually going down to Grand Etang Lake for a beer and barbecue.  All went well with the exception for a portion of the trail that had growth of razor grass and guess what it is like walking through razors and although the results looked far worse than it really was everyone ended up with bloodied arms and legs.  We came to a part of the trail that had been cleared substantially of the razor grass and other vegetation which was a relief.  All in all it was a fairly easy hike and took about an hour.

Our group getting instructions from our guide Fletcher

Fletcher on the left was our guide

View of Grand Etang Lake

Pierre-Yves and I at Grand Etang Lake after completing the non-hash hash

Mireille and Pierre-Yves at Etang Lake

Last Saturday afternoon was my 1st real experience as a hasher and since it was my 1st I had to sign up as a "virgin hasher" along with about a dozen others (I came to find out later why Mireille insisted I bring a change of clothes).  The were a couple of 100 hashers and the numbers have been known to be more than 300 mostly because of the medical college students participation.

Hashers getting ready for the hash.

The hash route ended up making a very very steep accent up and around to the top of a large gravel pit, it was so steep and slippery from the mud that ropes were installed which had they not been everyone would have ended up in a big pile at the bottom.  It was very aerobic and a little tougher than I had expected but I made it along with my hash mentor Pierre-Yves, Stan and Mireille stayed back at the base area waiting our safe return.  I was glad of the small stream we had to forge at the end which allowed me to wash the mud off my sneakers and legs.  At the end they have beer and food, beer being considered most important, and there was a steel band for entertainment and then a DJ.

The " hare"  who set up the hash greeted us at the top.

They had a ceremony for which I ended having to participate in as a "virgin hasher" along with all the others, they had us get in a huddle a sprayed us with large amounts of beer and gave us each a certificate (I thought it was a huge waste of beer myself).

They honored a few others as well for various reasons and they were required to drink beer out a huge pot and sprayed also (more wasted beer).  God forbid anyone who shows up with a new pair of sneakesr as they are required to remove one and drink from it. It was really a lot of fun and check out the FAQ's page for more info http://grenadahash.com/hash-faqs

Well next week is an "extreme" hash and not recommended for kids or dogs and I just heard ropes will be involved as well.  There will be 2 trails a runners course and a walkers course, not everyone actually runs the runners course.  I committed myself to doing the running course with Pierre-Yves so we will see how that goes, I asked him if he knew CPR.

Cooking School

Stan and I went to the cooking class at True Blue Resort and although we were disappointed in that they decided to just provide everyone with 3 pre-cooked dishes and have a party instead which was fine, the food and company was great. Next weeks school will be a real cooking class.

Cooking class

Chefs explaining that this weeks cooking class is a party :-) eat drink and be merry.

Visiting Fort George

Stan and I visited the fort with Hilda and Michael and toured around St. George some more and got to know more local folks.

One of the stairways up to Fort George, funny there was an ambulance waiting at the top!!?? A few more sets of stairs got us to the top.

Looking south from the west side of the fort

Other views from Fort George

Other news

Our part for our outboard finally arrived, we hope Granada Marine gets it running soon and we hope to start heading north next week.   We must admit it is a great community of cruisers and locals here in Grenada and we have really enjoyed ourselves and hope to return some year in the future although it may be a while.

So as always stay tuned and below are a few more photos:

This is a water filter that filters water pumped up from Lake Etang, this was along the ridge we followed on the non-hash hash, I assume it flows by gravity to a reservoir. Security is not like what we see at home.

At the edge towards the top of the quarry headed down. Pierre-yves did not like me so close to the edge.

Great little place for 3 for $10 beer  behind the fruit/spice veggie place in St. Georges

Looking back up a set of stairs at the end of the hash

Pierre-Yves and I at the " On In" a term for the finish of a Hash.

Island Tours

Stan meets Mona monkey up-close and personal.

11/3/12

Well we have backed off some on chores to enjoy several days exploring and touring the beautiful island of Grenada.  I am happy to report that Stan's foot is better and so glad he can get out and about pain free.  We jumped on the local bus system (less than $1 US one-way) to the big city of St. Georges with "More Mischief" and "Cheetah II" and found out where all the good shopping deals are to be be found (thanks to Jane who is very familiar with Grenada), and the best place to get a good lunch at a great price.  There was a cruise ship in this day so everything was a bustle.  While at the veggie/spice market Jane introduced us to the spice lady who loves to shake her booty.

One of several ladies at the fish market.

Entertainment on the street

The local police were busy giving tickets to the public bus system drivers for picking up passengers at non-designated locations ($150 EC fine and all passengers were required to get off the bus (14 passenger vans that seem to fit many more than that).  For the trip back a bus stopped for us but sneakily backed into a side street to allow us to board so as not to get caught. 

Our next adventure was to the 7 Sisters Falls in the rain forest.  Cutty was our driver/guide and was very knowledgeable of the fauna, vegetation, fruits, spices and history of the island and it was a great pleasure having him as our guide. It was mostly a downhill hike to the falls, fairly steep in many places, muddy from the rain but everyone had a fun time.

Cutty our guide taking up the rear of the group.

Large bambool lines the trail

Fall 6 & 7, I jumped #7.

Sign says: no jumping in falls??!!!

The water was refreshing and although they have a sign posted no jumping Cutty showed me how to safely jump fall #7 which was easy compared to the ones we did back in Dominican Republic.  As we returned to the bus a couple of locals came out with buckets and sponges and washed the mud off our shoes and legs, I guess this was a new feature to the hike which netted them a little tip from each of us.

Our last adventure was a big tour of the island once again Cutty was our driver/naturalist and historian.  He often would stop along the side of the road and cut off a branch or grab a few leaves off a bush or cut into a root of something and explain their importance, many of which if you used in your diet everyday you would probably live to 150 years :-)

Cutty explaining herbs/nuts/spices found on the island. In his hand is a  large  pod that holds several Brazilian nuts.

We stopped for informative guided tours of chocolate and nutmeg processing facilities and a rum distiller.

Looking out over St. George's.

Racks for drying chocolate beans, racks can be slid under protection from rain.

Sugar cane being crushed powered by water.

Water wheel to power crusher.

Sugar juice fermenting after having been boiled to reduce water content.

Wood fired distillery process.

 
Of course as you can see from the 1st video on the blog we saw Mona monkeys at a stop we made at the Grand Etang Forest Reserve.

It was a long day starting at 8:30 am and returning around 6:00 pm at which time we were beat and went to the Tiki Bar with "More Mischief" and enjoyed the steel band playing, "Umido" joined us as well.  We have been meeting many new cruisers which is fun, there is a very large community of cruisers here.

WIFI can be frustrating so I will post more pictures at a later time. Take care and stay tuned.
Elizabeth