Tuesday morning we got up late… although we did listen (from our bed) to the cruisers net which starts at 7.30 am.  Nothing was mentioned of particular interest to us so probably won’t bother that much in future – definitely not something I’m planning to set the alarm clock for!!!  We did a few pink and blue jobs down below and continued to compile lists of things we need to get sorted out…  It was also a rainy and grey day. But in the afternoon we rallied ourselves and headed off to the marina pool for a dip. We then had a quiet night on board.

Wednesday we had made arrangements to go to Grand Anse beach with Jim and Sharon from ShaSha…. Luckily the sun had returned and the skies were blue. Hurrah!!! They picked us up by dinghy and we motored out of the marina and around the corner through the anchorage. This is probably Grenada’s best beach with gorgeous sand and sparkling clear water against the lovely backdrop of palm trees and flowers. Had a really nice bobbing time, including lunch at the local beach bar, and came back on board around 4pm. And that was it for the day!  Lovely time had by all…..

Thursday more boat jobs and we also organised a hire car for Friday…. In the afternoon we went to the pool to cool off and bumped into Nick and Pam from Knot Yet who told us that there was going to be a TexMex ‘pot luck’ party that evening on J dock. So we quickly went back to Morphie – via a dinghy stop at the local supermarket for a few essential items like jalapenos – and I made Mexican tortillas to take with us. This is our first cruisers ‘pot luck’ party where everyone takes a dish, their own plate / knife and fork, and brings their own drinks – and we really weren’t sure what to expect. When we arrived shortly after 7 pm the party was in full flow and there were about 40 people there – with loads and loads of different Mexican dishes. We tucked in and enjoyed catching up with old cruising faces and meeting some new ones.   The cruising community here in Grenada is huge and pretty much everyone knows everyone else – all a bit daunting to newbies like ourselves!   Back onboard about 10pm and we’re tidying up and I ask Richard where the knives and forks have gone????  Oh dear… he dumped them along with our rubbish in the bin! Good job I took plastic plates…   A good excuse to get some new cutlery next season???

Friday and we have a car organised for 9am – and our pimped up “rent a wreck” arrived just after. Doing the paperwork and we are driven to the police station to get a temporary driving permit for Richard. Oh dear….. we are only carrying our plastic credit-card sized photo driving licences – and the Grenada police want to see the paper part of the licence too. What!!!!????!!!! That’s tucked away at home and has never been asked for – EVER – by anybody else throughout the island chain. Getting frustrated and after some backwards and forwards we eventually get issued with a permit. But talk about hassle…. Grrrrrr…..  Glad it’s valid for 3 months so we don’t have to go through that again before we leave to fly home at the end of August. Not a great start to the day to be honest.

Finally we are on our way – so we head off first to visit Grenada Marine. This is where Morphie will be hauled out and living on the hard for a while so we wanted to check it all out – and to confirm the date with them. We were pleased with the security at the gate, the local restaurant / bar, and the space between boats which is plenty big enough for us to do the work we’ve planned like renew Morphie’s anti-fouling – using a product that actually repels growth this time!!!  We also came across two Island Packets we had spent time with this season – Blue Pearl and Cutter Loose – so we gave them a pat. We also noticed Zero to Cruising as we drove away from the yard.

Whilst at the marina office we confirmed our haul out date of 19 August – so then headed off round the corner to Sagesse Point where there is a hotel which had been recommended to us. Really convenient location and nice large rooms but no (working!) air conditioning in the one they had available for our dates. As we are going to be working on Morphie in the dirty and dusty environment of the marina during the heat of the day I really did want a cool room to return to. So didn’t commit and decided to have a look elsewhere, although we did get offered a special deal on the price. So we headed off to La Phare Bleu marina which has a boutique hotel attached. Not such a convenient location but the one-bedroom apartments are huge with air conditioning, TV, wifi, surround-sound, sitting room, a fully equipped kitchenette, huge bed, swimming pool and I’m sold.

Please pretty please Richard????  The only fly in the ointment was the published list price of US $200 a night….  Asked whether there were any special deals going for August and the English manager agreed a price of US $120 a night if we stayed for a week. Job done – so excited – paid the deposit and we’re sorted.  I really didn’t fancy staying onboard on the hard – climbing up and down ladders to go to the loo in the middle of the night was my main concern!!! Richard was also happy to go with this as our end of trip treat. Hurrah…..

Moving on we visited some of the other anchorages that we are planning to visit when we leave Port Louis. Really liked Prickly Bay and its facilities and had a soda there to check it all out.

Then we headed off to Mount Hartman Bay and followed the signs down to Secret Harbour. This was a trip down memory lane for us – we stayed in this hotel in the late 90s before and after a sailing holiday with Moorings, who were based here at that time. Oh dear…. the hotel has been virtually abandoned and has fallen into disrepair. What a shame – in such a beautiful setting too. Oh well, never mind, our memories of this place remain pretty special!!!

We were also surprised to see that the private residence that we had nicknamed the ‘mushroom house’ had been extended and was no longer the almost invisible house built into the side of the cliff complete with grass roof…. apparently this has now been turned into a hotel too…

Moving on from memory lane we visited more chandleries and hardware stores – this is getting expensive, particularly the spare macerator pump!  Most popular purchase was the new toilet seat… Amazing how easily pleased we are getting…. Back on board via the bar for happy hour sundowners, enjoyed the sunset, and another early night.

Saturday I turned a bit girlie and headed off to the spa for a long overdue haircut and a neck and back massage. Completely restorative and thoroughly enjoyed it – Richard enjoying the peace and quiet on board without me!!!!  Rest of the day was spent cleaning and polishing along with food preparation as tonight we are hosting ShaSha for dinner on board – and we have a hard act to follow after Jim’s spectacular roast lamb last week. Managed to prepare a three course meal which we ate down below in the saloon – which was a first – and, thankfully, they appeared to really enjoy the food! Phew…that’s a relief!!!! Very late night and so to bed…. Really good evening.

It’s Sunday now and we’ve just had breakfast…and are taking it easy., recovering from the excesses of the night before.  This afternoon we are heading off to Whisper Cove for the Sunday “jam session” with Chris and Linda from Troubadour – never been before and don’t really know what to expect, but looking forward to it.

Bye for now

Jan