Grenada- Dogs, Beaches and The Viking

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Grenada Dogs, Warm Water, and Beaches!



Ah Grenada! Some of you may have doctors or veterinarians who attended med school here. Can you imagine the dedication it would take to stick to the books when beautiful beaches are calling.



For us, when the sirens of the beaches called, we went running ;-) Or more correctly, we leisurely headed down the long dock to shore, then down the beach to the rickety wood pier, where “The Viking” told us to “come aboard” his small ferry boat to Great Anse Beach. There were already 6 people on board, all German. The “Aida” had docked next to our Ruby Princess with a couple of thousand Germans who had flown in from Germany to the Dominican Republic, to pick up the ship. They were on a 7 day cruise to Aruba, Bonaire and Grenada. We ask a cute young German boy about 13, who is sitting across the boat from us to take our picture. We don’t speak German, he doesn’t speak English but pointing works. He’s flattered that we did not ask his parents and asked him instead. Well… of course we would. When it comes to technology, we always look first to see if there are any small children around to help, before asking an adult. LOL



We lean back on the boat in the sun and relax. We are on “island time”. The Viking can take 21 passengers and having been in the islands many times, we know that we will not be leaving until we have all 21 passengers aboard. Not 19 and not 22, 21 ;-). So, it’s going to be awhile ;-) As people start dribbling down the dock, in one’s and two’s we get a little island history from The Viking. He is in his 50’s, 60’s or 70’s (I have no idea ;-) is wiry from living on the sea and blackened by the sun. He knows his island.



While we wait, he tells us that, like many Caribbean islands, the Caribs and Arawaks originally inhabited the island. In 1654 the French seized control from the natives. Grenada is just northeast of Venezuela and southwest of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. There are about 110,000 people living here.



Throughout this part of the world they use the Eastern Caribbean Dollar, however, US Dollars are widely accepted. Hint: If you’re coming to this part of the world only bring $1’s, 5’s and 10’s. Anything larger is almost impossible for them to change. And… if they do change it you will receive Eastern Caribbean Dollars in return.



Finally, passengers 20, then 21. We are full and The Viking unties the boat and we turn to head south around the stern of the Ruby Princess and the Aida. The water is clear, clear, clear. The wind is soft as water sprays over the bow and sides. It is about 15 minutes to Great Anse Beach. The steep lushly green tropical hillsides are dotted with pink, blue, purple and turquoise island homes stretching from the peaks down to the shore. In the distance we see a long white beach with coconut palms along the sand. YES! As we get close to the dock, The Viking tells us to rent a beach chaise and umbrella from his friend, “Jack Sparrow”! LOL We jump off and head up the dock. We head down the beach but never find Jack . We do, however, find Joy and her friend Nandika. They are beautiful local young women who are taking food and drink orders on the beach. They introduce us to Marri who takes our $20 for a day’s use of two comfy chaise lounges and umbrellas under swaying palm trees in the shade. Since we were one of the first ferry’s, over the waters are empty and so is the beach, so we have our choice of location. The views are startling beautiful. Like being in a surreal painting.



We no more settle in than Cope is yelling and laughing…what the heck? Oh gosh, I’m laughing now too! A small dog has spied Cope and come running and jumping right up onto him. He is licking Cope’s face like his long lost friend. How fun!!! ;-). The pup’s owner is calling him but he’s too young to really know his name and too focused on licking Cope ;-) We are laughing hysterically and so is everyone else including Joy and Nandika ;-) Finally the pup is called away and I cannot wait to float in the water. Cope naps (it’s been a hard morning with all the dog licking ;-) while I go swimming. Floating calmly in the water, really, just off shore. The beach is sandy and it is easy to walk right in. The water is cool but not cold. This is the BEST feeling in the world. Cope wakes and we take a walk along this 2 ½ mile stretch of beach, picking up sand, shells and watching the local dogs running along the sand and jumping in the water to fetch sticks.



We return to find we have 2 guys who are our “chaise mates” from, where else, Phoenix. They are travel agents and regale us with hysterical stories of their client’s travels. Cope decides to swim out and see if he could see some fish as we were told the snorkeling was good. With just his swimming goggles, there was not much to see, but he seemed to really enjoy being in the water.. He is such a good swimmer; it’s too bad we don’t live closer to water. But, we are here today ;-)



When he returns we order lunch. A BLT and Coke from Nandika and a Cheese Sandwich and fries from Joy. Although they are friends, they work for competing beach bars so we split our order. The early afternoon sun is draining our energy so we decide to head back to the ferry dock and the ship. The morning in reverse order;-)



From the chaise to the beach, from the beach to the pier. From the pier to the ferry (there are 15 of them ferrying passengers all day) where we wait 20 minutes for 19 more people to board.







Next, on to Trinidad and Tobago!

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