Wow, time really does fly! Somehow our summer in Colorado is over already. We spent our last week squeezing in as many visits with friends as humanly possible…. Oh, and eating lots of Mexican food!
We spent our last weekend in CO with Micki and Nathan in Denver. We got to enjoy a beautiful summer evening on their Caribbean themed patio, the Rhum Shack… with very non-Caribbean oysters, champagne, and cheese.
We were especially lucky to be able to celebrate Micki’s graduation from the Lighthouse creative writing program – she’s one talented lady!
We managed to squeeze in brunch with our former ski condo besties, and with little Ester š
And just like that, we loaded up the Bat Mobile, with way more junk than we started with (Darn you, Costco!) and pointed the bow back east. Three loooooooong days on the straight, fast highways through Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, and (finally) Vermont. We made it! This beautiful green slice of paradise will be home for the next month or so as we hike the Long Trail from Massachusetts to the Canadian border. Wish us luck!
Don’t worry though, Capt Mike’s still got a little pirate in him. He managed to find a painkiller in Burlington, VTš“āā ļø
After five months in The Grenadines (yikes – five months in one country!) we are finally preparing to say goodbye to this beautiful country and to head south for hurricane season. And weāre also saying goodbye to many good friends. Weāve been sharing anchorages with some of these same boats since Covid first started in 2020. Iām not so fond of goodbyes, so hereās a āSee you laterā to some of my favorite places and people….
All good things must come to an end. And so, lobster season in St Vincent ends on the last day of April. I kind of thought Capt. Mikeās epic birthday party in the Tobago Cays would be our last lobster beach barbecue of the season. But wait! In a calm weather window, we herded the cats and gathered four boats of cruisers off the beach of Petite Bateau for one last hurrah. Romeo and Juliet motored by in their red power boat, shouting out āwelcome back my friends!ā And, wow did they treat us well this time! They whipped up a towering platter of grilled critters, plus conch curry, plus all the delectable sides. We had so much lobster, we celebrated āMofongo Mondayā with the crews of Dorothy Rose and Soulshine with the leftovers the next day. Thanks Karen! I havenāt had mofongo since Puerto Rico, and yours is delicious! š
We recently had the opportunity to meet a large group of Scandinavian cruisers. Itās been fun to meet and play with a whole new crew! At one point, all of our boats were anchored in beautiful Chatham Bay on the quieter, undeveloped side of Union Island. Thereās only a couple of rustic beach bars on this spot, and weāve kind of colonized Sunset Cove, returning time and time again for Adeleās great food and Bald Headās strong rum punch. We spent an afternoon there in a super competitive Mexican train dominos tournament. (Jill, from SV Ticora, shared the bottle of rum that she won with the rest of us). Ken, who owns the bar, offered a buffet barbecue and bonfire if we could get a good sized group together. Cara, from SV Music, took on the challenge and in no time, we had a goodbye party scheduled for the next day. This sleepy beachfront turned into a disco with a DJ getting everybody dancing off their dinners around the embers of a gorgeous fire.
We had to return to the ābig cityā side of Union Island soon after, so that we could get our second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine at the Clifton hospital. Many of the Scandinavian boats followed us over to the new anchorage, prompting the idea for a farewell to yet another favorite place. Sparrowās Beach Club, on the most beautiful beach on Union Island, is always a special day out. Iāve organized so many group outings there that Bertrand, the manager, replies to my phone call with āHello Jennifer.ā This was the biggest group of all, with 20 sailors – pretty much every cruising boat in Clifton Harbor – attending. We had the largest pavilion to ourselves, claimed all the beach chairs with their fluffy pink towels, and lucked out on the sunniest and warmest day of the week! The fresh fish is always delicious at Sparrows, and you really canāt beat the location. When I told Bertrand it would be our last visit for the season, he treated me to a free mojito. Well played, monsieur Bertrand! Youāll see me and all my friends again next season for sure.
Photo credit: Nikki Marie on SV BooRiePhoto credit: Cara on SV Music
Caribbean countries have just started relaxing quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated visitors. We had to wait two weeks after our second shot to be considered fully vaccinated, so we squeezed in one last sail north to Bequia to check off the last few items on our wish list there. (If you recall, our last visit was cut short by that pesky volcano) I thought Iād walked every road and trail on the island, but I found one that Iād missed – a 9.5 mile round trip trek to the northernmost point on the island, with great views of the main island of St Vincent. Iām glad we came back for it, because this turned out to be one of the nicest trails weāve encountered in the Grenadines – even if our feet were aching by the end of the trek. Life on a sailboat sure isnāt good for hiking training! In Bequia, we were also able to squeeze in a little gift shopping and gluten free food shopping, as well as visits to our favorite restaurants, and one last hike to picturesque Peggyās Rock.
Most of this long drawn-out goodbye has been loads of fun. But the downside of this nomadic life (and the flip side of meeting so many great people) is that eventually we have to say goodbye to close friends who have become our chosen family. Weāve been buddy boating with Kevin and Cheryl on SV LeefNu and Zach and Lindy on SV Holiday on and off for the past three years. (Check out the āFun on Holidayā YouTube channel for great videos of cruising life – with ukulele serenades!) From SVG, we are all going our separate ways. And while we might meet up with Holiday somewhere during next yearās cruising season, LeefNu will be sailing back home to Ontario to resume careers and hunting and canoeing adventures up north. Weāve had great times together; hosting beach barbecues, sharing recipes, repairing each otherās boats, hiking and snorkeling, and drinking rum. Saying āSee you laterā to such good friends was the toughest part of our long goodbye.
Well, goodbye month is winding down, and itās time to stop liming on the beach, and start making plans for keeping Sanitas and ourselves safe during hurricane season. Next blog post, weāll be heading back south to Grenada!
It wasnāt a white Christmas (unless you count the sand) but I truly think weāve had as nice a holiday as we could manage while being stuck far from home in the days of coronavirus.
Within the sailing community, everyone talks about āChristmas in Bequiaā in the country of St Vincent and the Grenadines. So as soon as weād cleared into the country at Union Island, Capt. Mike and I started planning to sail about 55nm north to arrive in Bequia before bad weather moved in and to ensure weād make it before the holiday. It was a brisk sail, with higher than expected seas, but Sanitas did great. We arrived and anchored just in front of the floating Bar One where friends from SV Jono and SV Maracudja cheered and jeered our anchoring attempts. Sometimes you watch the show, and sometimes you are the show!
It was a lovely welcome to this particularly welcoming island! Bequia is all about boats – they build boats by hand here, and fishing is a big part of the culture. Bequia is one of the few places remaining in the world where residents have approval to hunt whales. But they can only do so using small open sailboats (without motors) and using hand thrown harpoons. š² You can find any sort of marine service you might require here, such as canvas work, engine maintenance, or sail repair. And ferry boats run daily to the main island of St Vincent in case you canāt find a repair part here. It immediately felt like a place we could stay quite happily for a while. And the best part was that many of our sailing friends from Grenada and elsewhere had also gathered, so we could look forward to celebrations with friends to make us feel a little bit better about that fact that we were so far away from family.
St Vincentians have a unique Christmas tradition known as the āNine Mornings.ā For the nine days leading up to Christmas Eve, some folks attend early morning church services and then gather in the main square in town to listen to music, dance, and participate in contests like ālongest earringsā, ābest female dancerā, and āfastest juice drinker.ā I have to admit, we didnāt participate very much – even hearing loud music from shore at 4:30 am isnāt enough of an enticement to get me out of bed before sunrise. And then…once the sun does come up, everybody heads to work or school and the partyās over. But we did enjoy the lights and decorations at a much more reasonable hour of the evening, lol!
On Christmas Eve, we were invited over to Andres and Elisbethās sailboat to join in a Norwegian tradition of sharing rice porridge (risgrĆøt) and mulled wine (glĆøgg) with friends and family. This tradition is new to me, but I love it! The āmore the merrierā vibe felt so kind, and it was a great chance to meet new cruiser friends – several of who had just crossed the Atlantic in time for the holiday. Wow! Impressive! Our hosts were festively attired – those Santa hats are hot in the tropics!
We had Christmas lunch with some good friends at Cocoās Place. And while I *could* have ordered Turkey and the fixings, when in Bequia, you must celebrate Christmas with fresh fruit, right? And a cool rum punch š¹Tourism is way, way down because of Covid, and it felt good to support a small local restaurant owner with our holiday business. And weāll definitely be back for Cocoās famous fish chowder. Luckily, we have good cell phone signal here, so both the captain and I were able to call home on Christmas to speak to our families and to dream of the more traditional snowy, cozy Christmas we wish we could be spending with our loved ones.
Thanks to Cheryl on Leef Nu and Lindy on Holiday for the photos of Christmas lunch! I guess I was having too much fun to take pictures.
Speaking of difficulties due to Covid, The Fig Tree restaurant is an institution in Bequia- long a gathering place for cruisers, as well as a resource for local school children who attend Miss Johnsonās reading program in the afternoons. But the owners were contemplating closing down because of the lack of visitors in 2020. So a group of Fig Tree supporters, including the owners and crew of Sailing Yacht Ananda, planned a fundraiser party for New Yearās Eve. Iām thrilled to report that every single table sold out, and we enjoyed a wonderful evening of cocktails, local Caribbean food, and dancing knowing that we were helping Miss Johnson and her team stay in business through this unusually quiet āhighā season.
You may be wondering about exactly HOW we can safely have these types of celebrations during Covid. St Vincent and the Grenadines has used closed borders, mandatory Covid testing, and mandatory quarantine to do a good job of keeping the number of cases imported into the island nation low. There are limits of the size of gatherings, and requirements for hand sanitizer and contact tracing, but otherwise things feel pretty relaxed. Except….at about 7:00 on New Years Eve, the government decided that the big street parties and all night celebrations that usually usher in the new year would be too risky this year. So at the last minute they prohibited āamplified musicā and sent policemen around to share that message. It definitely meant things were quieter than expected! But the Fig Tree party was granted an exception, because our entertainment was provided by a violinist playing pop hits with great enthusiasm. The authorities said he could play during dinner…..so dinner went on for a very, very, long time – right up to midnight! š¤£ He did have backup music, and a supporting DJ, but I guess they figured a violinist couldnāt get in too much trouble!
I hope you and your families had a safe and peaceful Christmas, and that you were also to do the best you could to make new traditions in this crazy year. ā¤ļø
Every Saturday afternoon, a group of self-proclaimed ādrinkers with a running problemā gather in a remote corner of Grenada to hike or run through the bush with a couple hundred of their closest friends. After the run, thereās always a fun party, with food, beer, and maybe even a DJ. Capt. Mike and I joined in as often as possible during our stay in Grenada, to see different parts of the island, meet locals, and get a bit of exercise. If youāre curious about the history and rituals of the Hash House Harriers around the globe, check out this Wikipedia link. Grenada supposedly has the largest HHH organization in the world!
Our first Hash was the first held since COVID-19 restrictions. It was a BLAST as everybody was able to finally get together again in the great outdoors. COVID protocols were definitely in place – masks required when youāre not eating, drinking, or running; social distancing with separation between groups; allowing extra time to register by spreading people out. But it didnāt dampen the fun one bit.
We finished our first HashLots of masks!
The thing that came closest to dampening the fun was in fact the bus ride to this first Hash. It was so popular that local taxi driver Shademan ran two whole busses from the cruiser-popular areas in the south bays of Grenada to the event. Now, the ābusā is really just a van with 4 rows of bench seats. Our bus to the hash crammed in 22 people (and one dog) for a ride that took over an hour and a half in the late summer heat. We had to alternate who could sit back in the seats, versus who had to sit on the very edge to fit so many full sized adults and kids.
Luxury Transportation
But we made it! If you have any picture in your mind of trail running on flowing single track through an aspen grove in the mountains of Colorado…. thatās NOT what a Hash in Grenada is like š¤£ They call it a run through the bush, but to me, itās a jungle! You push through greenery and vines grab at your ankles. You wade through mud, and sometimes streams. You pass avocado and mango trees, sometimes trampling rotting mangos underfoot, cacao bushes with their bright red pods, the trail (when there actually is a trail) is frequently crossed by lizards and spiders.
This is where chocolate comes from…
There are no switchbacks. The ups and downs are steep and slick, and your best bet is to grab the trees and vines to control the rate of your fall. This may or may not sound like fun to you, but Iāve gotta say, once you get over the fear of getting dirty, itās a heck of a lot of challenging good time. On a later, even muddier Hash, I fell on my butt three separate times on the same long downhill stretch. Good thing there was a water tap for hosing down at the finish line of that one!
A Hash is more of a game or a puzzle than simply a run. Each week, a different member acts as the āHareā and sets out the trail ahead of time. The rest of us are the hounds, essentially chasing down the hare. The trail is marked using small piles of shredded paper. When you see one of these paper markers, thereās a sense of relief – phew, weāre still on the trail. Except…when youāre not. A couple of times during each Hash, Iād be streaming along quite happily, huffing and puffing, following the trail, until suddenly, the dreaded X. When you come across an X made of paper, youāve arrived at a dead end in the trail. At some point prior, maybe at an āOā of paper suggesting youāve arrived at a crossroads, youāve taken a wrong turn. Possibly even still following innocent looking paper trail markers. Until you realize the Hare outsmarted you again, and itās time to turn around and start hunting the one real true trail. If you suspect you might very well be lost, you can shout out āAre you?!?ā to ask whether other hashers within the sound of your voice are on the right trail. If so, hopefully someone will shout back, āOn-On!ā Or, if theyāve already found the dreaded X, they might respond āOn back!ā to let you know you should go no further; the pack is backtracking. Usually, this whole thing is part of the fun. But once, I took a wrong turn and got separated from the pack. Iād covered at least four miles, and was longing for the finish line and a cold beverage, but I couldnāt even hear the music blaring from the finish party yet. At that point, Iād had enough of tricks and false trails, thank you very much!
One of the best parts of hashing in Grenada is that it gets us outside the cruiser bubble and gives us the chance to meet real local Grenadians. One Saturday, Mike and I took the local bus to get to the Hash at the Westerhall Rum Distillery. Wearing our bright blue hash t-shirts, everybody knew exactly where we were going. Usually, the bus drivers ignore us, but this time the driver and conductor joked and chatted. At the Spice Island Mall stop, a young woman got on and said, āHey, I didnāt know the Hashes were happening again!ā Fun to get even the smallest chance to feel like a local!
Iāve heard fellow cruisers describe a hurricane season in Grenada, West Indies as āGrenada Summer Campā and now I know why!
The crew of Sanitas spent July 2020 anchored in Woburn Bay on the south coast of Grenada. Every morning, weād listen to the Cruisersā Net on the VHF radio and there were so many social activities announced every morning, we had to create a little cheat sheet calendar to keep track of them all! Yes, this is still the age of Coronavirus, but Grenada was COVID-free by July and gatherings of up to 25 are allowed, especially outdoors. For more info on āWhere are the masks?ā click the link to my previous blog post.
We reunited with sailing friends who cleared quarantine a few weeks earlier than us on the 4th of July at a Bar-B-Q at Whisper Cove Marina. This lovely small marina became our home away from home – a place to do laundry, fill water jugs, dispose of trash – as well as mingling with other cruisers at happy hour or pizza night or acoustic jam sessions.
Sanitas was anchored just a short dinghy ride away from Le Phare Bleu Marina, a welcoming spot WITH A POOL where for the price of a happy hour cocktail, cruisers are welcome to socialize while floating about. Kids splash and chase each other at one end, and adults share buckets of beer at the other, and everyone has a wonderful time until sunset.
Grenada summer camp (or is it retirement community? š¤) isnāt all eating and drinking. Itās the first time in months weāve been able to go ashore and get some regular exercise. Meghan, on SV Clarity, is kind enough to lead beach boot camp a couple of days a week. And, while the Hash House Harriers arenāt running (they canāt guarantee groups of less than 25 people) there are lovely trails within the Mt Hartman Dove Preserve, and weāve participated in several small group hikes. Sometimes, the hikes end at the West Indies Beer Company. Ok, maybe it is all eating and drinking!
Hog Island is the center of cruising social life. On Sunday afternoons, cruisers and locals alike gather at Rogerās Barefoot Bar to chat and to buy burgers, ribs, and lobster from the informal vendors. Have grill, will sell Bar-B-Q! You can also buy a sarong or some fresh veggies from vendors in the shade of the island trees if the curious cows donāt eat it first! Thereās a mile-long trail on the island with great views of the anchorage too. One evening, we gathered on the beach with Leef Nu and Holiday and had a cookout – grilled delicious Italian sausage with a potluck of sides. We had a rollicking good conversation about the differences between American candy brands and Canadian candy brands. Did you know Smarties and called Rockets in Canada? And, to add the the confusion, Canadian smarties and bigger crunchier m&mās! Isnāt this an educational blog?
What Floats Our Boat 