Early Rising

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It has been a busy few days since I last wrote to you. We spent 2 days in Grenada enjoying the history and scenery of the islands. The inlands of Grenada are covered in lush rainforest, which is amazing considering that a hurricane devastated the island only 2 years ago. Apparently when the storm hit it took all the roofs off the houses and uprooted trees across the hillsides. The island is dependent on crops of bananas and spices which were totally destroyed, so the islanders faced extreme hardship. Some houses went without power and running water for months - imagine no showers or flushing toilets for 2 months! The island has bounced back though, and we spent a fantastic morning walking through the forest, swimming in waterfalls, followed by an afternoon exploring the old fort in the capital of St. George, where Prime Minister Bishop was publicly executed in the 1983! Can you imagine such a thing happening in England?!?

We left Grenada early yesterday morning and sailed north to the island of Carriacou, a small community that is part of the country of Grenada but has a totally different feel to it: more like a sleepy backwater where the children from outlying villages catch the boat to school in the morning. I spent the afternoon snorkelling around on a small reef looking at the marine life and taking photos of some of the weird sponges and eels.

This morning we were supposed to have an hour ashore before departing for Union Island, our entry into The Grenadines. Our sleep was rudely interrupted, however, by a short squall (a mini storm that brings strong winds and rain but is over very quickly) which hit Ocean Star at 5am. It was a sight to see; the whole crew including the students running around the deck in their pyjamas and waterproof jackets in the pouring rain trying to take down the shade cloth as it whipped backwards and forwards in the wind. We re-laid the anchor which had dragged slightly in the squall and then set about making tea and pancakes to warm up.

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