Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited

1-20-23 to 1-27-23

Cale and I ran some errands. We got a few random things. The kids swam and met some new friends from Norway. They came over and hung out in the boat and played games. I finally was able to sell our mixer. Had to wait for a local named Denver to come buy the mixer then we got roti before picking up my parents. They were tired but good sports. We went back to the boat and then got dinner at the container park.
1-21-23
Cale and I went and got our washing machine and a BCD for scuba diving for me. We have been super lucky that the boat came with so much gear so its just been checking out the equipment and seeing what fits who. We drove through the Carinage then up to the mountains. Driving up there was scary. Cale was a good driver, but the grandparents were a bit on edge I think. We hiked to Anadale and swam. The boys jumped off the platform and Grandpa tipped a guy to jump off a very high cliff. He made it look like it was an accidental fall.
We drove to the park and looked for monkies, then we drove to 7 Sisters Waterfall. Our same guide was there we had in November named Terron. He took us again. We spent more time on learning about the spices around the island. It wasn’t nearly as wet as last time we were here but its still a pretty good hike that is very up and down. We all made it! I was proud of the grandparents. The kids were sooo excited when we saw the Mona monkies jumping around in the trees.
So much grows on the island and many of the locals use it in teas and their food. A few things he mentioned so I can try and remember what to buy when I go to the markets. Bread fruit – looks the same as Jack fruit but smooth. Jack fruit looks like bread fruit but rough. Calilou- a big leaf they use in stews. Oil down is a Granada dish that from the sounds of it has a little bit of everything in it. We chewed the cinnamon bark and it tasted so good. They put the leaves in tea for cinnamon tea. Gospoo ( not sure how to spell it)- fruit, looks like green orange. Make into juice. Brings back appetite. 5 types of cocoa on the island. Skin ups are little and green, peel to eat (skin it right up).
After a crazy drive back into town we had dinner at the marina restaurant at Port Louis.
1-22 We drove the rental car to church. I loved a couple quotes from the day. “It’s not your fault but it is your responsibility” and “Nature of man is always the same. It’s their habits that change them.”
We were excited to get out of the marina and head down to Le Phare Bleu. It was about an hour. We weren’t able to sail because we were heading straight into the waves. The kids had a blast jumping with the waves trying to fly, until they realized it was hurting the bottoms of their feet. We anchored out. Cale got out the water drone and we tried that out.
1-23 Today was a very eventful, unnerving day. We woke up anchored at Petite Calvigny near Le Phare Bleu. The boys from Murielle came over early around 7:30 to take our boys surfing. Cale followed after in the dingy. Cale came back a while later and said he had a story. He was in the dingy watching and turned away from the waves to raise the propeller. A wave pummeled him and he went out of the boat. He didn’t have the kill strap on so the boat took off. He immediately dove, not sure what the boat was going to do. The boat went flying away and ramped up on a rocky shore. Our friend we were with sped over in his dingy and turned it off. They were able to get it back in the water. Amazingly, it still started but the prop was beat up. It was a very bad situation that could have been so much worse. We were so grateful no one was badly hurt. Cale got pretty scraped up diving out of the way.
Cale I went to Clark’s bay to see about getting a new prop. By some miracle, a local guy came over to offer some help as Cale was trying to remove the old one. He said to go across the bay to a shack with a green roof and ask for the outboard King, a big man named Nigel. He added its the place with all the shells. We knew right away we were at the right place. There were conch shells, they call them lambie, all over. Thousands of them. He called around and found the part and said he’d go get it and have it ready for us. His co-worker even drove us back to the boat. A couple hours later our dingy was doing great. It was a miracle it worked out how it did. We were so grateful and felt very watched over.

While all the stuff was happening with the dinghy, Cade hit the reef and got a sea urchin sting. It got him in about 6 or 7 places in both feet. It took him several days to get them out and get him walking normal. Despite all that, Cole and Cade both caught a wave and liked surfing (Cade maybe a little more hesitantly then Cole because of his injuries). The people who showed us the break nicknamed it the gallows. I would say that was a fitting name. After swimming at the pool at La Phare Bleu and getting some tasty drinks we motored back up and anchored at Grand Anse Beach.
1-24 It was rainy when we woke up. We took the dinghy from our Anchorage near Grand Anse and went first to get fresh bread. We have fallen in love with this baker’s cheese bread and cinnamon rolls. We then went to Foodland to get groceries. They had about half of what was on our list but we were able to get a few things. Cale, Cole and I took the groceries back and picked up Kelsey, Cade and Papa. We have been soaking Cade’s feet a lot and are hoping to get his urchin stings out. Once we all got back to the Caranage area we walked through the tunnel. We explored the market area and then walked through the fort. It was cool to see our boat anchored in the distance.
We got back to the boat and had lunch. Our next outing was to Grand Anse Beach. Barry and Gail stayed behind but we picked up Norian and Leon. The kids had fun playing at the beach.
The kids all came back later and played games. Cade was talking a lot of trash to Norian saying he could beat him at chess. He did not, but continues to try.
Cale took them back to their Marina. We will probably meet up with them soon. It’s so cool to make some new friends so fast.
We had dinner and told dad jokes for about an hour. The kids laughed and laughed.

1- 25 We got a fairly early start after breakfast and motored up to Molinere Point. We did some snorkeling and then met up with Hold Fast 2. It was fairly clear. We were able to see several of the sculptures. The kids went next door and swung off their boat. We had lunch then went for a scuba dive. Cade stayed back because his foot was hurting. Barry came and did awesome, especially since its been a long time since he’s gone. There is a video of it posted on my You tube.

1-26
We got up and were getting ready to head to Ronde when a hose on the water maker blew. Cale went to go fix it. We rode to shore and got ice cream at our favorite spot, Sugar and Spice, and a few groceries. Dad and I went on a very local hike to get fuel. We took a wrong turn going and went up a big hill. On the way back we walked through a preschool playground. The kids all ran up and asked “for your car”? since we had a gas can. Cale didn’t have much luck but we found a temporary solution to fix the water maker. We decided to go back to Island Yacht Club for fuel and water. We tried to anchor at Halifax, but it was too full. We went back to Molineire Point, just out from Grand Mal for the night for a second night.
1-27
Cale and I got going early to catch the bus. It was the best bus ride of my life. Especially the one from Grand Mal to the main station. This awesome island, fast-paced music was playing. We were packed in like sardines and flying through the streets. Lots of honking. Every once in awhile the conductor would push open his door, sometimes more people would just hop on, sometimes half the bus unloaded to make room for someone at the back to get out and then everyone piled back in. It was a lot of fun.
Our 2nd bus ride took us to get the part and then 2 more rides back to the boat.
We got back and got under way to go to Ronde. It was a fun ride. Kelsey loves to sit up on the front bench. We were heading right into the wind so didn’t sail. It took about 3 hours. The coast of Grenada is so beautiful. Little fishing villages dot the coast line. It’s so green and lush. They had a great snorkel once we got there and even saw an octopus.
We had a very rolly night because of northly swells.