Moon Dancer

Chris and Nell – their boat is named Moon Dancer - a pretty name.

Though they have only been cruising less than 2 years they have been all the way up to Nova Scotia. Nell said it is FREEZING there and the boat heaters don't work because the water is too cold....guess we will go later by car.

Happy hour on a Tayana 55

One of the ‘girls’ from the girls day out Nell called and invited us over for ‘sundowners’ (that is Happy Hour in the states) This is Mark and Phil.

Carriacou over the transom

We sailed over to Carriacou (Tyrrel Bay) on 10/15/09, stayed two days (no pictures, other then us leaving) then continued to Petite St. Vincent.

We have to go back to Carriacou (Hillsborough) today to check out of Grenada then we go to Union Island (Clifton) to check into the 'Grenadines' - Grenada and Carriacou are not part of the 'Grenadines'....go figure....

Avocados

The avocados here look WAY different than the ones we get in the states. Imagine my surprise when I opened one and saw that he ‘nut’ took up 2/3’s of the space. But, the guacamole was yummy anyhow, just a bit less than expected.

Makes our boat look like the dinghy

Here is another picture of the Titanic with Silhouette next to it….makes Silhouette look like a dinghy. We are fueling up for the trip north.

Clark's Court Marina

At Clarks Court Marina these nice folks ran the bar and did most of the cooking over the last year…they are fellow cruisers and are planning on taking off in a few weeks. Thanks to Cheryl and Renee’ for making our stay most pleasant.

Rogers Beach Bar

This is a poor photo but the only one I have of ‘Rogers’ the local beach bar. It was so close while we were anchored at Hog Island we could swim ashore and grab a beer….but we usually took the dinghy.

Wheat weevils = RESERVATIONS

Meanwhile on Saturday night I was horrified to discover that my dinner plan (lasagna rollups) was ruined but some little buggies. All the pasta aboard the boat was infested with wheat weevils – drat! So we had ‘reservations’ instead at La Phare Blu Restaurant.

I was told that the way to prevent this in the future is to freeze all pasta, flour etc before storing it. So, I guess I need to keep some room in the freezer for ‘bug’ prevention.

Even the skeleton looks big

We took the dinghy to the local fishing dock in lower Woburn and got help. Here is the skeleton remains which were cut up and are in the freezer to be made into seafood stock.

Fish cleaning, we needed DAD

We chickened out on cleaning it ourselves after Mark took off the head and removed the entrails.

Then, Mark was unsure what to do so we went over to the local 'fish monger' to finish the job. We needed Dad for this job....the first thing they told us is NEVER remove the head first, oh well...

Red Snapper and lobster at last

We finally score our first fish – a red snapper and a lobster. Unfortunately, it was not on our fishing line but rather from one of the local fishermen. However, it still tasted wonderful.

Veggie stand in Clift

Trying to keep in shape an do marketing at the same time is fun in the islands. After the ‘Cruisers Net’ which comes on the VHF radio channel 68 at 7:30 AM each morning we (usually, but not always just the girls) go walking.

The ‘net’ is an informal radio broadcast of what is happening in Grenada, local businesses tell if there are any specials, cruisers list ‘treasures of the bilge’, etc.

This is Frances, our favorite vegetable vendor and one of our prime walk destinations in Clift, which is just above Lower Woburn. Believe it or not, most of the way there is uphill!

Here is my favorite ‘beer tender’.

Here is my favorite ‘beer tender’ at the Gouyave Fish Fry.

Fish Fry in Gouyave

We took a bus to the Gouyave fish fry – fishing capital of Grenada and had a great time. Mark wanted lobster our first of the season. The local population in Gouyave set up booths each Friday closing down 2 adjoining streets and start cooking.

Silhouette at anchor at Hog Island

Silhouette at anchor at Hog Island

Squeaker

Of course, Squeaker the kitty makes up to Mark (who is slightly allergic) and falls asleep on his foot.

Day sailing at last

Then we got to go sailing for the first time in months with Diane which she checked out her boat and sails after having some work done….it was a wonderful day.

Dinner out island style

Diane had Mark and me over for dinner – yummy chicken soup.

Can you say chocolate...

This is Diane holding a just off the vine cocoa bean, actually the beans are inside and very white until they are processed.

More new veggies

The plantation had a display of local foods – (bottom left, clockwise) yellow yam, okra, starfruit, two bowls of cashews, (can’t see what was in the sunlight) so to the right of the top bowl of cashews is an avocado, the 3 yellow things are nutmeg, cherries to the right, below those is a Soursop or maybe a Christophene…Oh, I give up you just will have to come see for yourself!

Cashews in the shell

I have long wondered what cashews look like in the shell and here they are!

Girls day out again

– And, because the first ‘girls day out’ was so much fun, we had to try it one more time. This time there was no hiking, we went to a coco bean plantation called Belmont Estate. The organizer (Jane on Cheetah II) was kind enough to bring Champaign and OJ for Mimosas…we all passed the hat to help defray the cost, but then she made the bus stop on the way back for more – what a girl!

La Phare Blu for Happy Hour

One of our favorite happy hour places is ‘La Phare Blu’ for ‘buckets of beer’ and 2 EC (Eastern Caribbean currency) appetizers (about 75 cents)…yes they are all fried but yummy…here I caught a couple of the ‘guys’ looking at a cute girl…

First you steam the pumpkin...

The pumpkin is steamed until soft, then scraped from the skin. Pumpkin served as a side dish with a little salt and pepper is yummy as well.

Those of you who may want the recipe, send me an email ant m.lignoula@gmail.com and I will be happy to oblige.
But, beware….some say the pumpkin here is different than in the states…

Pumpkin soup is delicious

As I have said in prior notes one of the fun things about cruising is discovering new foods and/or ways to prepare them. A new cruising friend (Diane) on Jabulani made Cream of Pumpkin Curry Soup which was delicious. She kindly gave me the recipe and I bought the requisite pumpkin.