Carriacou and Arrival to Grenada July 8-12

Wednesday July8 We sail to Carriacou which is under the domain of Grenada, although geographically, it is part of the Grenadine chain of islands. We arrive in Hillsboro in the afternoon with plenty of time to check into Grenada. After paperwork is complete, we explore town a bit and are excited to find a real deli owned by an English woman who imports all kinds of delectable treats. The meat slicer is her pride and joy and we immediately set about putting it to work. It has been a long time since we have found any meats other than chicken breasts and pork chops (and other mysterious bits, frozen and unrecognizable…I refuse to buy), and there are certainly NO lunch meats to speak of. Did you know there are, like, 8 brands of Vienna sausages?? Who knew? Me neither! So, the next time you swing by the grocery store and pick yourself up a pack of shaved turkey breast, think of me while I am digging around my stores wondering what in the world I can fix Craig for lunch…
But I digress. We return to the boat with all sorts of imported goodies, deli meats, relish, pepperjack cheese, bagels and a bottle of balsamic vinegar that I am truly excited to have. Craig noted a fair amount of marine life when doing the routine anchor check this afternoon. We pull out the small spinning rods and try our luck, using mystery chicken franks that I had bought a while back. As soon as it hits bottom, I have a fish and we are excited to catch an elusive grouper. Spear guns are illegal down here, plus, lobster season is closed…disappointing. We try for a couple more hours but only catch a few small yellowtail and grunts. We save a few for trolling. Jimmy: I am waiting for you…
Thursday July 8 We make a quick hop over to Tyrrell Bay, Carriacou. This is obviously much more popular with cruisers judging by the number of boats in the harbour. The only reason we can figure is because it is a bit less rolly and the bottom is better for anchor holding. We walk the town but it is a bit disappointing after Hillsboro, so we return to the boat with an eye for heading on to Grenada. It has stormed most of the day and is to continue through the weekend. Like many other boats, we are waiting for this tropical wave to settle down before the short passage to Grenada proper.
Saturday July 10 We have enjoyed a couple of dinners out and tonight met several other cruisers at Lucky’s: a thriving, off the beaten path “restaurant” where a dinner of grilled ribs, chicken and fries cost about $4.50. We return to the boat early, preparing for the short open water passage to Grenada.

Full moon rising in Carriacou and a hillside shack....

You, my little precious snookums, will be called "dinner":

And you, my little tiny hothouse flower, will be called "trolling bait"....

Cows on the beach in Tyrrel Bay. The captain tries to make friends....

Interactive Blog Contest...sister Christy skunked everyone else on the swamp witch question. What is this plant I found???

Mom: you get to play because of computer handicap!!

Cheater: it has been cropped!!

I have this fascination with storms/squalls at sea.

Craig, as I make you a fresh iced tea, please tell me we are sailing to the blue....

OK. I am intrigued. Powerboat. No doubt, electric heads. Why is he compelled to come out every morning, nekkid, and pee off his stern?? And why are you trying to enlarge this photo to see if you can see his wanker?? Trust me. I did not have binoculars out or a telephoto lens, but I can tell you this: If they are waving it about it front of God and everybody, it is not worth seeing....

Sunday July 11 Craig and I are up early and ready to go. We are restless. The anchor is up at 0700 and we are on our way. Wind and seas have calmed, so we motored for a bit and then sailed the rest of the way (about 35 miles) to St George, the capital city of Grenada. We had heard that the harbor was hot and dirty (worse than Luperon) and were prepared to move on if need be. We were pleasantly surprised to find otherwise….clean and not too crowded. There is an Island Water World, the equivalent of West Marine, within eyesight so Craig is happy. There is also a FoodMart…a large grocery store. I use that term loosely but I am happy. We are erranding tomorrow and are excited to explore the wonders of Grenada. Inland tours and other adventures abound….

Approach and at anchor in St Georges, Grenada....