Blogs from Grenada, Grenada, Central America Caribbean

We had decided to take the overnight bus to Gatwick as we had to be there 4hrs before the flight ie 5.45am and it didn’t seem worth getting a hotel for half a nights sleep! Arrived at Gatwick at the unearthly hour of 4.10am and after checking our bags in, were rewarded with window seats on Thomson’s new Dreamliner plane! It was about an hour late leaving as it needed de-icing but we made up time on the way and arrived in Barbados (8 1/4hrs flight) at 2.00pm. Barbados is 4hrs ahead of UK! Off the plane, onto coaches to the Port, a very easy check-in and onto the ship, Ventura (P & O Cruises!) Went to our cabin (B311) but as our cases hadn’t caught up with us yet decided to have a little wander ... read more

Grenada is a bigger island, a full 21 miles long. Our ferry docks on time, a first on the trip, but there is no sign of our hire car. A quick phone call and we discover we have been forgotten. Half an hour later the boss turns up to lend us his wife's car for the night - he'll sort out our jeep in the morning. Our house is very comfortable, set in a lush garden on a hillside. Dining and lazing on its large and shady verandah have become favourite pastimes. We have a good kitchen, so are back into cooking. This week's discoveries include pigeon peas - peas that grow on a tree - and sapodilla - a fruit that looks like a very fat kiwi and tastes very sweet. Grenada's tourism, we discover, ... read more

Splash! The Rum Runner is back in the water. And looking better than ever! We have new bottom paint, the hull has been waxed, the plumbing re-done, and we completed just about everything on our to-do list (not the entire list, but good enough). We got new cockpit cushions (our old ones were stained and falling apart) and even a new grill (which was necessary after 4 years of heavy use- we grill every chance we get). So we are decked out and ready for another cruising season. Best of all, we installed new underwater lights and they are awesome! They are so much brighter than the last ones and attract thousands of fish. It is like having our own aquarium at night- love it! The first night we turned them on we had a 4 ... read more

OIL DOWN The national dish of Grenada It was a great afternoon with about 20 cruisers and 20 locals. The recipe kind of says it all! Take a swig of rum, preferably Rivers. Grate fresh coconut and saffron. (about an hour with 8 people) Peel breadfruit, ripe green bananas & pumpkin. (get locals to help with this). Go to nearest callaloo bush & pick 1/2 dozen leaves. Take another swig Rivers rum. 8-9 garlic cloves, 1 very, very small onion. Green papaya, 2 carrots. string beans, ketchup, 1 Tbsp. "Complete Seasoning" Slaughter pig, cut off snout & tail, discard rest. (Definitely need a hefty gulp of rum at this point) Marinate in "Green Sauce" along with some old chicken. Get yourself a massive black cauldron & start up fire, making sure that lady from up the ... read more

November first is the official end of hurricane season, so it was time to leave Trinidad and start our trek north. We are very excite to start another cruising season in the Caribbean, not only because our first stop is Grenada and the Grenadines (which are amazing) but also because we have so many islands to explore this year. Unlike last year where we had to travel over 2,500 miles and therefore skip many countries along the way, this year we are already here in the Caribbean and can take our time to explore all the islands. And our first stop north is Grenada- yohoo! We left Crews Inn Marina at o'dark thirty, just as the first rays of sunshine lit the sky. We were traveling with a flotilla of other boats and many of our ... read more