Our Grenada Blog

Was just looking at the lagoon from our balcony and admiring the fishing boats taking part in the Grenada Billfish Tournament.

This is held every year around this time and we get boats from several of the other islands, with the largest contingent coming from Trinidad.

We did this for a few years as well, with our pirogue 'BlackJack', but not anymore.

With all the large boats taking part now, smaller boats like ours are at a big disadvantage. It is now a tag and release tournament, which basically means that boats only bring in fish which they think will break a record, or which pass a minimum weight to enter for points.

You should be able to see some of the action from webcam2, as we will have it zoomed into the Yacht Club when they return in the afternoon.

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We were recently in town on a saturday morning looking for some cucumbers.

Occasionally, there tends to be a shortage of certain fruits and vegetables. The fruits because they are not in season all year round, and the vegetables, because most farmers seem to plant them at the same time, so when the crop is finished, there is a short time when you can't seem to find any.

Just before Christmas, it was tomatoes and cucumbers.

Anyway, we were doing some window shopping in the town and decided to check out the market to see if by chance there were cucumbers available.

If you would like to see a cross section of Grenadian life, then the market on a saturday morning is a good place to be.

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Yacht Reverie

We were just sitting on our verandah watching the lights come on after the sunset. Glorious sunset (Moni saw the green blip), the last for 2007.

The Royal Clipper is all lighted up outside the town. At Port Louis, the 'Reverie' is all lighted up as well. She is the largest private yacht built in Italy. The photos of her on their website are unbelievable! More like a floating palace than a boat.

They were decorating the top deck, just before the sunset. I guess there is going to be a private party to ring in the New Year.......just checked my email and no, there is no invitation there....guess we will just have to sip our drinks and watch the action from here ;-)

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Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) - click to enlarge

Yesterday, the Queen Mary was in port for its usual Christmas visit.

Today, the QE2 has taken her place.

This will be the last time the old girl visits Grenada it seems. Heard that she has been sold and will be turned into a floating hotel later in the year (2008) at Palm Jumeirah, Dubai ...not the end you would envision for one of these old cruise ships.

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The largest privately owned yacht in the world, pulled into the lagoon today.
Now THAT is a one beautiful and expensive toy.
The Maltese Falcon is currently moored alongside the jetty at Port Louis (where else?). Seems they are waiting for their guests to arrive tomorrow.
Stopped off after work to take a shot of it...WOW!
O.k, i know what i want for my next Christmas....;-) I guess the daily upkeep on that baby is more than i make in a year.

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There are two seasons during the year which attract the most attention, and these are Carnival and Christmas.

Carnival attracts both visitors and locals alike. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find space on a flight into the island at that time, as it seems that every Grenadian living overseas, is trying to get home in time for the celebrations.

Christmas is usually spent with the family...and in Grenada, that can mean a VERY extended family. Of course, there is the usual rush to get the house painted, cobwebbing done, hang the new curtains (or give the old ones a severe cleaning), and make sure you have a ham and some sorrel and ginger beer handy for the Christmas.

The nights are cooler and wherever you go, you hear Parang playing on the radio. It's a part of Caribbean culture, as much so as Christmas carols.

For church goers, there is of course midnight mass and other services at chapels all over the island. There is a feeling of 'expectation' in the air and even the sunshine seems to change a little and its not as hot on the skin.

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I guess it comes as no surprise to some people how difficult it can be to find the stuff you are looking for. Grenada is a great place to live, but you certainly need lots of patience sometimes.

For instance...after Ivan (yes, more than 3 years ago, if you insist on keeping count), as we had lost all our furniture, we decided we would like to re-decorate the house in a warmer, more caribbean style. This means brighter colors and furniture which tended to be either rattan or bamboo.

This would be a long term project, not because we were not in a rush, but because we could not find everything we wanted in the local stores at a reasonable price (cheap).

To this end, we would buy individual pieces whenever we came across them, occasionally finding rugs, side tables etc. in the shops in town.

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We have been having an unusually hot rainy season this year. Sitting here now, i wish today was one of those hot sunny days.

Started out sunny enough this morning, but that didn't last very long!

Since around 9:30 its been raining off and on, but it didn't really start to pour until nearly midday...and has been ever since.

You would think that, if you live in the Caribbean, you would never feel cold and your biggest worry was sunburn....HAH! O.k, it might not snow in the next 5 minutes, but as far as i'm concerned, 76 degrees is a mite cool...Throw in the wind chill factor and a persistent rain and it feels like 66!

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One of the little things which seem to elude lots of people, is the green flash...or, as Moni would put it, the green blip.

Personally, i have seen it a few dozen times....well, its either the green flash or i was seeing green spots after staring at the sunset waiting for the green flash.

Moni had not seen one until about a year ago.

Her first reaction when i told her about it was 'Yeah, right! Pull the other leg! ''Only after a few rum punches!'

She had never seen one.

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click to enlarge

Moni was walking into the kitchen the other night when she was nearly attached and dragged off by this interloper.

Ever had something uglier than a bloodhound which didn't get enough sleep, stake its claim to your home?

Well, here it is!

Not too sure if its a spider, beetle or something the dogs dug up, but its BIG!

Any ideas? Two suggestions so far are some type of beetle.....? and a scorpion spider.....suggestions welcome!

By the way, we showed it the door...forcibly!