Our Grenada Blog

For those of you who missed it, this years Carnival was as good as, if not better, than last years' celebration.

This year we took my wife's sister, as she had never been to Carnival before. Can you imagine, a teenager, living in Grenada, who has never had a chance to jump up for Carnival? There is something not quite right about that! Anyway, we decided to start her off lightly by taking her to the Jouvert celebration.

It was much better organized than last time around.

The weather cooperated nicely and we had a few short showers to keep everyone nice and cool.

Lots of colour this year...usually in the form of body paints! We made sure to introduce Amanda to the joys of brightly coloured makeup....(get paint on hand, apply liberally to any exposed body parts, including hair and face.
Stand back and admire the effect. Enjoy the screaming accolades coming from a shocked teen. Repeat often.)

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Last weekend we were taking a drive around the island, and stopped off at a couple of beaches on the way. One of those which we visited, and one of our personal favourites, was La Sagesse beach.

You can find it on the southeast coast, in the St.David's area. Some people prefer it to the more popular ones, like Grand Anse beach, mainly because it tends to be almost deserted. Even on sundays and public holidays, when you would expect to meet more people there, it still looks empty.

The beach itself is in a bay, so even though the sea can get quite choppy on the east coast sometimes, it does not get rough because it is sheltered. There tends to be a little bit of wave action sometimes. Just enough to make it fun for body surfing.

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A couple of months ago, we had heard that the Grooms Beach Villa & Resort had finally opened for business. We had seen the construction, but had not had a good nose around to see how things were progressing.

Anyway, we got the chance to visit the place yesterday.

The place is slightly off the beaten track and just a short 5 minute walk to two beaches, Groom's beach and one by the Beachhouse restaurant (sorry, can't remember its name at the moment).

Our first impression on going in was how quiet it was. There are no traffic noises, as it is in a residential area and it is sufficiently set back from the beaches that you do not hear the surf.

The staff were exceeding helpful and we got a tour of the place...took some photos as well ;-)

verandah - click to enlarge

Restaurant - click to enlarge

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We have been hashing for many years and can be considered to be addicted to it...(its not what you think ;-).

Hashing is perfect for visitors who would like to get off the beaten path and see the 'hidden' part of our island. An island tour will not get you this up close and personal with our island.

For those of you who don't know what hashing is, you can find a good explanation at the following site: grenadahash.com

Hashing is entirely free and everyone is welcome to join in. We personally feel that the best hashes are the ones which take you through streams and rivers, where you have to make your own trail. In other words, you get wet and muddy on a good hash! Some of the more boring hashes are along roads in the countryside, where you only have to worry about the traffic, if any.

Basically, a hash is a hike/walk along a trail set by an individual (the hare). The trail is set with blobs of shredded paper and can have false trails and go just about anywhere. A basic hash will start at 4pm (they are held every other saturday) and take up to 2 hours to walk.

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People are always asking us which of the many villas on the island we would recommend.
There are many great villas here, but it all boils down to a matter of taste.

What we may think is a perfect getaway, others may find not to be their first, second or even third choice.

With that in mind, here are two which we think are prime examples of what a villa in the Caribbean, or at least, a Villa with Caribbean flair, should look like.

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The weather this year is quite unusual.

By this, i mean that the dry season has started pretty late and we are still getting the occasional shower or two.

You would not think so to look at the outskirts of the island, because everything is brown and dry and looks as though it has been that way for a couple of months. In fact, it has only been this dry for about 1 month.

It is Easter and one of the things we normally expect are the easter breezes. For this Good Friday, it has been very still.

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Aerial Shot of Prickly Bay Waterside Development

This past weekend i had to make a side trip to Carriacou for the day. Normally, i'd take the Osprey and laze around for the hour and a half ride up. Its usually not boring, especially when the water is a little choppy. If you like people watching, then this is a good time to travel on the Osprey...just make sure you have a strong stomach......(Don't stay below. Best place to ride is on top.)

Just watching people change colors on the trip up is amazing. The different shades of green...especially from those who have a drink or two when we leave port.

Anyway, i flew up with SVG Air.
Lots faster, but nowhere near as comfortable.

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O.k, i may be a little late with the news, but for those of you who don't know, there is a new bar on the beach.

Its on the corner of the Grand Beach property, near the public access road to the beach and is open daily. Talk about a good spot! This is one of the best places on the beach for a bar, and Garfield has certainly made the most of it.

Its not large, nor is there much in the way of music, but what you get is a nice shady spot to relax and have a cold Carib, or a rum punch.

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Over the last few years we have noticed that people tend to display their national pride, especially around Independence day, more than ever.

In fact, this has been so since hurricane Ivan a couple of years back.

It started out as the usual flag decoration in the same old places, like the government offices, but has grown to the point that, wherever you go on the island, between the middle of January and the middle of February, you will see flags on cars, the national colors painted on the side of the street (usually next to a well decorated rum shop), on t-shirts and homes.

In fact, some of the cars are so decorated with flags that they look like carnival floats. (Yes, in case you are wondering, we also have one on our car.....)

Of course, the inevitable happens and people complain that they are not respecting the national emblem by draping it across their vehicles, making scarves out of them, blah blah blah.... Personally, i think they are a little too uptight. I don't really care how the flag is displayed. The main point is that people are buying flags and displaying them! I don't think that there has been this much national pride displayed since independence.

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We thought we would do something a little different this time.
My cousin, who has helped us out innumerable times over the years, has his family home for rent. This is one home which has an absolutely spectacular view.
It is up for rent, both long and short term.
The house is located on the hill by us, which is on the outskirts of the town, and has a view which is to die for.

click to enlarge

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