This was such a great hike, with breath taking views, magnificent flowers (heliconia), huge bamboos swinging in the wind and finally, Mona monkeys!!! (Not the one with the striped shirt...that's a canadian mammal!)

After the hike with Carole and Daniel to the Seven Sisters Fall, we regretted not to have taken a picture of our muddy feet and legs...Heiner and I had to look for another opportunity to get dirty! And we did...

We traveled, by bus again, to the Grand Etang National Park with the idea in mind to walk around the Grand Etang ...we had to ask a guide where the path is ...she gave us some general info but forgot to mention that the best maintained trail was the one for going to Mount Qua Qua, a much more rigorous one. And guess what: that's the one we took. Lucky mistake as the view were just breathtaking ..and the mud as plentiful as on our previous hike!

Next step is to determine what nuts are good or not: they are plonged in water basins and the "floaters" or bad ones are set aside! After they dried, they will be sorted by size and shipped throughout the worlds...yes, one worker of the plant is applying red paint to the jute bags to mark their final destinations! Gouyave ius where it happens!!!! Fascinating...we already have been enjoying nutmeg syrop on our pancakes and are including the spices in several of our dishes!!!!

Ainsi se termine la petite histoire de la noix de muscade: une simple petite noix qui fait l'economie d'un pays, le gagne-pain d'une famille, la prosperite d'une communaute. Les arbres les plus vieux sont ceux qui produisent le plus de noix: une tres grande proportion de ces arbres ont ete decimes par l'ouragan Ivan et cela va prendre au moins 10 ans avant que cette generation soit aussi productive...il y a bien des noix qui proviennent d'Indonesie mais on nous assure, ici, que c'est la noix de Grenade qui est la plus savoureuse! pensez y la prochaine fois que vous raperez cette petite noix dans votre mets prefere!

After a long drying period, the shells must be broken: first step is now done with a wooden mill that cracks the shells..women used to crack the shells with a small wooden hammer! What a job...now these workers "only" separate the broken shells from the nuts manually. They must process 700lbs of nuts a day to earn their 30 EC (12 Can $)...very boring and arduous work.

We had an interesting visit of the nutmeg processing plant in Gouyave: after hurricane Ivan destructed up to 80% of the nutmeg plantations on the island, this is now the only plant actually processing the nuts brought by farmers from all over Grenada. Frank was our guide; he had helped us earlier to find a neat little restaurant in town. He was very good at describing all steps of processing. First we were shown huge racks where nuts with envelope were left to dry. One such nut can be kept for 10 years...without the envelope (like the ones we buy at our stores) the nutmeg is good for up to only 3 years. Here in the pan are three kinds of mace (the envelopes of the nutmeg): depending on the degree of dryness, they will be used for cooking, food preservation or in cosmetics.

There is a small town on the west coast of Grenada called Gouyave reknown for two things: its Friday's fish fry and its Nutmeg Processing plant (seen here in the picture). The day of our visit, the town was kind of depressed because of the road blockage ...in an effort to widen this very busy road, workers had detonated explosives and caused more damages than good (it appears that the contract for this job had been given to a firm whose prices were cheaper than all others bidders!!!) : as a result, rocks began falling on the road and it became unpassable! All traffic had to go through the interior (much longer) and on the way back, we had to walk, in the mud again, in order to catch the bus to St George!!! Adventures!!!!!!!

After underwater adventures, we went on land expeditions... Taking Bus #5, we drove to the interior of the island, passing Grand Etang national park and reached the starting point of an hour long walk through the rainforest before reaching the Seven Sisters Falls (altitude 1990 feet). The driving was fun and the hiking was even more fun: we fulfilles our children's dream of playing in the mud!!! We were dirty.........good that we had sticks to help us stay upright because it could have been a very very dirty hike.

Apres une couple de jours a jouer dans l'eau, nous avons pris le bus vers les Seven Sisters Falls, a l'interieur du pays. C'etait fascinant de grimper dans les montagnes en bus - surtout avec leur style de conduite! - mais ce fut encore plus amusant de monter les sentiers tres boueux avant d'arriver aux chutes! Quand Carole et moi avons vu les chutes # 1 et 2, on a tout de suite eu envie d'y nager! Daniel et Heiner ont ete plus aventureux et ont gravi un sentier de bouette pour voir les 6 et 7....

Carole and Marleyne were looking forward to swimm in the first fresh water pool of the first falls...while Daniel and Heiner were more adventurous and decided to hike even further to the last falls...

Grenada has some interesting snorkeling spots to offer...we went back to an area already visited, namely Dragon Point and Molinieres Point ...and next day to Happy Hill bay in order to look at the Flamingo reef...we were amazed at the diversity of fishes, the clarity of water with cliffs offering beautiful views of corals and sponges ... one amazing thing was to snorkel amidst a bank of thousands silvery fishes...sorry no pictures! (If our friend Karen had been with us, we would have pictures!!!!).

Nous avons fait de la plongée en apnée dans des baies de la côte ouest de la Grenade. Nous sommes retournés a Dragon Point et à Molinieres Point qui, avec ses sculptures sous l’eau offre un spectacle un peu morbide mais intéressant..mais ce sont les poissons et les coraux et éponges de toutes sortes qui nous ont fascinés! Et, nous avons été ébahis de nager au milieu d’un banc de poissons, des milliers de poissons argentés (sardines?) qui ont envahi la baie de Happy Hill...

When friends are visiting, the weather is great! We had a great sail from Hog Island to St Georges...Carole and Daniel enjoyed the warmth and the gentle breeze! It had been a while since they sailed in the Caribbean but they felt right at home!!! We anchored at Ross Point close to St Georges harbour so we could shop for food and drinks. We all enjoyed our Gin and Tonic as sundowner!

On avait hate que nos amis arrivent ..afin de nous reposer!

Et ils arriverent...1 heure plus tot que prevu!!! Malgre l'epuisement des 24 heures de "voyagerie", ils nous ont accompagne a St George pour aller au marche du samedi!! En revenant, nous avons pris une bonne Carib en fut a la marina Whisper Cove...

Carole and Daniel arrived early on Liat's flight from Trinidad...we were late by an hour to pick them up at the Whisper Cove Marina of Woburn. They acquainted themselves with the new marina managers...and welcomed us at 8am!

Despite their fatigue, they were keen on coming with us to St George to go to the Saturday market and buy fish...When we came back, we were so thirsty..and had a draft beer on the marina's patio!

A walk up the hilly streets of St George reveals the damages inflicted by hurricanes such as Ivan, 5 years ago already. Churches such as the St. Andrew Presbyterian Kirk (referred to as Scots Kirk built in 1831) and other habitations, even the house of Parlement were just anihilated... it will take a long time to reconstruct these buildings. And what about the nutmeg plantations that were destroyed up to 80%...

Fort Georges still stands, however, and we liked its volcanic rocks surrounded by Bougainvillae bushes...Fort George played an important role in the crisis of 1983 when the leftist leader Maurice Bishop and several of his ministers were executed within its walls...Six days later, the United States military invaded the island.

November 11th already...Stores have begun to play Christmas music since last week...good thing that the "reggae" sound tones its down a bit...way to early for us! Besides, we don't think of Xmas when it's 30C and sunny...

Time passes quickly...we thought that we could do some sightseeing BEFORE our next set of friends gets here but no, maintenance work oblige...we have not done anything very touristy. We went to St Georges with the minibus from Woburn..it's a nice ride and we love walking around St Georges Carenage, walking up Young street, buy a vegetarian roti at the "D Roti Shop" and go shopping for fish and veggies.

After a nice couple of meals with fresh tuna, we had marlin last weekend. We are not raw fish lovers so we have to come up with different recipes: blackened or in a coconut milk sauce with plantains or okras...we love every version of fresh fish.

Now that we have moved to Prickly Bay, we took the bus for a tour to St Georges on Saturday, market day. We loved the activity, the smells, the noises...market days are the best.

For their last day in Grenada, we decided to make a little trip to the Atlantic side of the island and a visit to the River Antoine Rum Distillery! Grenville is the second most important town in Grenada and is very very different from St George's. We were the only white tourists there and enjoyed the Grenadians kindness and hospitality. We bought food on the street -pastries at the backery, soup with turkey and local vegetables and then rotis. The conch or lambi roti was extra-ordinary! The fish was good too but lambi was our preferred one.

The Grenada Yacht Club has a great view on the lagoon and we had lunch on their deck..thanks Lindsay and Karen for the invite! We had a wonderful mahi-mahi meal (blackened for us, broiled for them) followed by nutmeg ice cream! Wow! delicious...Heiner is seen here harbouring a jersey of the club!

We were really getting low on food and drinks and it demanded a lot of creativity to serve appetizing dishes to the crew! The cook had dreams of beef loin the night before departing for St George's where shopping was number one on the list of things to do!!! St George is charming and has international flair...lots of food stores, boat stores, and we had no problem refilling the pantry and the fridge!

Our first anchorage was located just after halifax Harbour and very pittoresque. Dragon Point offered good snorkeling all around. As we were fixing the dinghy and could not leave the boat...the invitation from Syd and Manuela on Paradise to go snorkeling with them at Molinieres Point was really welcome! Look at these intriguing scultpures on following link:http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Grenada/Molini%C3%A8re/blog-441765.html

We moved to Grand Mal bay on following day as there was too much surge and rolling in the bay! That's where we spent the Grenadian Thanksgiving!

The sail from Carriacou to mainland Grenada was just beautiful...Lindsay and Karen were amazed how beautiful sailing can be here..and so were we! We had not had these mild conditions (East wind 15-17 knots) very often in the last year! We passed the Grenadian islands and the underwater volcano Kick'em Jenny without problem. This volcano is 1300 m high but its peak is about 180 under water...its last eruption dates back to 2001!

There was a lot of haziness as we approached Grenada but its mountains were beautiful. The town of Sauteurs first came into view...this town has been named "Jumpers" after the Carib Indians who jumped into the sea to escape their ennemies.

Today was "administration day"...when you cruise, it means that you spend quite a bit of time checking out of an area (St Vincent and The Grenadines) and checking in another (Grenada)...and shopping and carrying garbages out. We had an enjoyable check out experience in Union Island - the staff was quite bored because there are so few cruisers at this time of the year - and we took the opportunity to chat with them about the upcoming referendum (November 25th) and the politics of the island. We sailed another 6 miles to Carriacou and checked in Grenada...after a beautiful sail. We encouraged the local economy bu shopping and having a couple fo beers at the beach Bar (Snug's) named after Cuthberth Snug, the owner: an aboslutely charming man. Good luck with your business Cuthberth!

From Mayreau to the Tobago Cays, we only sailed 5 miles and were so happy to see that boat traffic was almost inexistant...wow! the Horseshoe Ref Anchorage was empty with only 5 boats anchoring there. First we dinghied to the beach of the Turtles area and once again, Heiner and I enjoyed swimming with or above the Green Turtles! As for Karen and Lindsay, they were absolutely delighted!

After lunch we went for another snorkel trip on the reef itself and marveled at all the pretty fishes! Karen took millions of pictures underwater! The Tobago cays at this time of the year were just great!

After an enjoyable time in Bequia, we sailed towards the Tobago Cays with our first stop in Mayreau. The sail was wonderful with - unusually for us - soft 15 knots breeze..like in the magazines. We anchored in the picturesque Saltwhistle Bay and enjoyed the sunset and the starry night.

They have arrived to Bequia..not on time but earlier! Hard to believe! but it happens, even in the Caribbean. The day was spent swimming, eating, having drinks on the deck and looking at shooting stars. Hard life..........

The tropical wave has finally passed away...after raining on us for the entire day yesterday. Today is sunny and windy...good, we need to recharge the batteries after almost a complete day without sun and only too much - sporadically - wind up to 35 knots in gusts.

We are cleaning the boat, reacquainting ourselves with all spareparts and their storage places. The was a major meltdown in the "head" department...Heiner is still in there, replacing all discharge hoses...in this heat (32c), it's nice to know that the swimming pool is not too far away!!

While in Ottley Hall, we were given bananas..dessert bananas and figues, the yellow stubby ones! They are delicious...and ripe when their skin splits! Of course, they all ripen together...but they can be flambees, eaten raw or in fruit salad...or just like that, with a little rum. And, as our friends Karen and Lindsay are about to arrive here for a visit, they'll help us out!

Nous avons decide d'accrocher nos bananes dehors...comme ca, elles se croiront encore dans l'arbre!!! Ces bananes nous furent donnees en cadeau par un travailleur du chantier de Ottley Hall, Rudolf. Elles vont toutes murir en meme temps...ben, on fera du pain aux bananes, on les flambera, ou on les degustera comme ca, avec un ti-rhum. Pis n va les offrir aux amis qui arrivent sous peu..qui refuserait ces bananes exquises!!!

BEQUIA!
After a smooth launch, we spent at least 30 minutes just outside the Ottley Hall Basin to re-attach the back stay and rig the furler. It was not easy as there is a lot of surge and the wind comes from all direction. But all went well and we had a great sail to Bequia, with an easterly breeze of 16 knots, little wave action, and no squalls. It was great to anchor, feel the breeze, and swimm...............we had 2 ice cold Carib beers and lunch in the cockpit, feeling almost unreal to be back cruising. LIFE IS GOOD.
BEQUIA - apres une mise a l'eau sans problemes, nous avons fait les quelques 7 milles entre Ottley Hall and Bequia en 1 heure - le vent etait doux a 16 noeuds, presque pas de vagues et avec notre coque bien propre et la peinture fraiche, nous faisions du 7 noeuds! De nous retrouver sur l'eau, d'avoir de l'air frais, et de nager etait tout simplement extatique! Et que dire de la biere Carib bien froide que nous avons prise avec le lunch...LA VIE EST BELLE.

The boat will be launched sometimes this morning...let's hope all will go well. We had an interesting meeting with the yard manager yesterday...we argued quite a bit regarding his creative accounting and his responsability with regard to damages to our boat. We won...but he still operates the travellift this morning.... We are so much looking forward to sail away to Bequia and have a holiday!
Apres une rencontre fort animee avec le gerant du chantier hier apres-midi, nous avons enfin regle nos differents et "gagne " nos arguments. Mais, c'est lui qui nous met a l'eau ce matin alors esperons qu'il sera quand meme bien dispose....Nous serons heureux de mouiller a Bequia! en vacances!!!!

Sunday - a good mix of work and play. We got up early this morning, at 6h00, and 15 minutes later, heiner was applying the first coat of antifouling ...coffee was still in the making! Thta's how dedicated we are ! We worked on several projects and by noon, we had our work done! The3 afternoon was fun and began with a creole lunch prepared by Toni and a friend, Gisele. Both worked hard in the kitchen to serve us a very full-sized meal. As a starter, Toni had prepared a seafood potage with tender pieces of conch and whelks, chillies and cucumber. The main dish was an assortment of breadfruit, two kinds of sweet potatos, macaroni pie, and rice with pumpkin pieces. The chicken was juicy and well spiced. And as a drink, we had home made Mauby juice: it s bark of a tree that is boiled and sweetened. Served on ice, it has a refreshing flavor.

After such a succulent meal, we sat on the balcony overlooking the St Vincent passage betwen St Vincent and Bequia. We then took a drive to Fort Charlotte and were once more admiring the breathtaking mountains and ocean views of the island.

We ended up going to the famous Basil's in Kingstown for a couple of Hairoun beers and tremendously enjoyed their air conditioned and dark bar! Great way to end the hard work week!

Saturday night: it is a cool 29C and we are sitting in the cockpit, enjpying the fresh air and listening to birds and cicadas. The work is almost all finished: tomorrow, first coat of antifouling. Heiner finished polishing the hull today (2nd coat) . His arms get bigger and bigger!

We get started arouond 6am in order to stay cool...Launching is planned for Wednesday.

Qu'il fait bon de se retrouver dehors, sans soleil, et de profiter de la jolie brise rafraichissante: il fait apeu pres 29C et la temperature a l'interieur du bateau baisse tranquillement. Tous les travaux sont presque termines. Heiner s'est leve de bon matin pour commencer a faire son deuxieme round de polissage...il commence a avoir de serieux muscles, le capitaine!!!Demain premiere couche de peinture antifouling...nous aimerions avoir la mise a l'eau mercredi!!!

A little break due to rain showers...
Yesterday, the heat would have been brutal as there was NO wind! but luckily, frequent cloudy periods made it more bearable.
Our work days have become more productive since we started getting up at 6h30 and working at 7am....more work hours and more showers!!!
We finalized several projects on the weekend, despite having gone to Kingstown on Saturday afternoon. We managed to finish the work below the waterline: all rusty spots sanded, with 2 coats of clear epoxy and 4 coats of white epoxy. The latter one thin and still soft so that the antifouling would stick to it. Then Heiner fixed the damage to the hull: sanded and applied clear and white epoxy. Today a bit of West System will be applied to make the dents less visible. And some rust in the cockpit along the seats and the main sheet track - whatever that thing is called##!!! - also sanded and epoxied. With 35C...it's a lot of effort. When the temperature sinks to 29C during the night we find it cool!!!

The creole dinner was a very rustical thing organised by a community group (to fight local youth violence) and taking place in one of the street of Kingstown. There were several different fish dishes, black fish (small whale), smoked hering, and salt cod. There was some breadfruit, plantain, and dasheen...this is some veggie very popular here but not so good looking or great tasting for us! Anyhow, the whole thing was fun and we went there with a scottish family also working on their boat in the yard...their daughter has been getting involved with the local groups and sold us tickets for this dinner. We then went to a concert of steeldrums by a local youth band - the kids were great and played wonderfully, without music sheets and with lots of rhytm. We had rum and ginger ale...4/5 rum and 1/5 ginger ale..the right proportion!

Today Monday, we will go back into Kingstown for a bit of shopping, and also to have a drink with a man whom we met on the Liat flight from Trinidad to here. We met him on Saturday while strolling in the town streets and decided to have a drink together...

It's 10am..got to go back to work...

October 1st...the weather is great, without squalls or rain: we wish we could be sailing! We see sailboats on the sea, waiving with their martini glasses...

Yesterday after our workday, we went to town with Tony and had a couple of Hairoun beers in a nice local restaurant. We enjoyed the ride through the mountains and came back to the boat less tired than when we left...

Our work is going well: rust has been removed from both sides of the underwater hull and the first coat of clear epoxy has been applied. We have to get up a little earlier though...

Avant le paradis, c'est le purgatoire comme dirait mon amie Carole. Ben elle a raison, on va l'avoir notre paradis. Mais le purgatoire est chaud et je voudrais pas connaitre l'enfer ici!
Notre travail va bon train malgre la chaleur...mais le corps n'est pas encore habitue a tant d'effort physiques!!! Carpe diem...