Back in the Water – With Proof!

Fire coral - baaaaad.

Well, we’ve finally found nice water for snorkeling again at Union Island in the Grenadines. Mind you, it’s not like the Bahamas, but it’s more than we’ve had for months. We had bought an underwater camera over the summer, and hadn’t had a chance to use it…until now. So here are some of the sights we saw when we snorkeled.

Soft coral - good!

Location, Location, Location

Nice view!

Try to buy a house with any kind of ocean view in the states, and you’re talking big bucks. Here’s a little getaway we saw when we hiked up to visit Fort Frederick in St. George’s, Grenada. Okay, it’s a shack, but it’s a colorful shack with a balcony overlooking a million-dollar ocean view. And if they’ve got binoculars, they have an even more interesting view at hand. See the buildings on the next ridge? That’s Her Royal Majesty’s Prison. The green trees and grounds below the prison are where the prisoners grow fruits and vegetables, and raise pigs, goats, and chickens, to supply government facilities like the prison and hospitals. No lazing around for these nere-do-wells! The prisoners must have a spectacular view, too.

Close-up of colorful shack - with a balcony for the view!

Cruising at the Other End of the Spectrum

Nice inflatable water slide on Teleost

How big is Hemisphere? Look at the guy on the bike on the dock

 

 For us, cruising is an inexpensive lifestyle relative to living on land, or living on the boat at a dock. And in an anchorage, we see all kinds of boats, large and small. Recently in Grenada we’ve shared anchorages with a few megayachts. I looked a couple up online, and it’s enough to blow your mind. One was Teleost, a 161-foot motor yacht with all the toys, including jet skis, water skis, underwater scooter, SCUBA gear, and a huge, inflatable water slide. Check it out here. The other was Hemisphere, a 145-foot, brand-new (launched in 2011) luxury catamaran, also with all the toys. Check it out here. Despite her size, which makes everything around her look out of scale, she’s a really beautiful boat. (And her crew was friendly, waving when we went by.) The price of a luxurious week in the Caribbean on these vessels? Well, Teleost goes for $240,000. Yes, that’s for a week, not a year. Hemisphere’s price is even more dear, ranging from $245,000 during the low season to $266,000 during the high season. I’ve got to say, even if I had that kind of money, I don’t know if I could make myself blow it in a week, regardless of how nice the boat is. So we’ll stay on our cozy boat, walk or take public transportation, and eat at the street vendors, and stretch our money so we can cruise much longer than a week.

Anyone Interested in an Abandoned Restaurant with a View?

Front pond

Lobby

 

All the little things hanging down are bats

The long, red roof above is the restaurant

Chris and I walked over to Mount Hartman Bay to explore an abandoned restaurant. It’s situated on a hill above a marina/resort, and I truly hope they refurbish it one day, because the place it spectacular. You pass by a pretty little tiled pond with water lilies at the entrance, and wander into the lobby. The walls are brick below, white plaster above, with dark-wood ceilings and rough-hewn timbers and supports. The floors are tiled and the rooms large and open, with large brick archways, a patio, and balconies with beautiful views of the bay. Right now it’s being used only by a colony of bats, which hang happily from the ceilings and flit all around. And, while the bats are fun to watch, I’d rather come here to enjoy the food and view.

Cooking Class

Esther (right) showing off her new knife while Omega looks on

Preparing the guacamole

Last Thursday I attended a cooking class (really a demonstration class) at True Blue, a resort nearby to Prickly Bay, Grenada, where we were anchored. The classes are held weekly, and originally were intended for resort guests, but now a lot of cruisers attend.  It was great fun, and I got to meet several people whose voices I’ve heard on the radio for months, but have never seen face to face. Two women run the class.  Esther seems to do all the preparations and cooking, and Omega is her sidekick. This week the foods were guacamole and salsa, which I already know how to make, but that was okay because they served out plates of both with fresh tortilla chips. Other weeks they’ve prepared fish or vegetable dishes, I’m told. It was a nice way to spend a couple of hours, and only cost $10 EC ($3.75 US). Plus, they had delicious rum punch specially priced for the class at $5 EC (~$1.88 US) per glass.

Serving out to hungry observers

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise

Sunset

 

 Just a couple of pictures from our anchorage at Prickly Bay, Grenada, where we’ve been anchored for several weeks so that we could finish up editing of the fourth and final book of the Scimitar Seas series, Scimitar War.

Interesting Date

Yes, it’s a bit dated now (ha ha), but I thought this date and time combination was pretty cool.