Grenada Jimmy Jam Visit 8/18-23

Jimmy came down for a week of fishing August 18-23. As it turned out, there was a whole lot of fishing but not a whole lot of catching. Even so, a good time was had by all and it was great to have a friend down to enjoy the Grenada coast with us.

Grenada Carnival Parade of Bands August 15

On Saturday, August 15, we returned to St Georges to watch the Parade of Bands, the finale of Carnival. Words do no justice. No wonder they did not want to parade in the rain. Here are a bunch of pictures.

It was great fun to dash in and out amongst the paraders, who never stood still long enough to get a shot unless you asked, and then they'd strike a pose....

Just when I think it can't get any better, along comes my favorite. One theme of the parade was emotions. This red troupe represented "anger". This lady was anything but...the prettiest smile and so nice. Isn't she just beautiful??

All ages participate. Go, Gramms, Go!! Flapped her wings for me and everything...

August 11-14 Grand Mal Bay and Moliniere Point

Since it was to be several days before the parade, we pulled out of the marina to explore the area just north of St Georges. We left in the company of S/V Alianna (Rosie and Sim, from the UK, we met in Luperon) and S/V Bold Endeavor (Roy and Dunne, from New Zealand, we met in Puerto Rico). Once anchored in Grand Mal Bay, we took the dinghies over to Moliniere Point to snorkel an underwater sculpture park.
We cooked out on Bold Endeavor and enjoyed a nice evening with friends.

The caps and O-rings on our tanks have been taking a beating in the sun. Here are the elastic band hats I made to better protect them:

Here is a link to a video of the underwater sculpture park at Moliniere Point:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X33698McQ7g

Grenada Carnival Parade of Bands/Rain August 11

The Parade of Bands, the highlight of carnival, was to start around 2pm on Monday. It started raining int he weeing hours of the morning and did not stop. We heard a report of 30 inches in 24 hours, courtesy of a little tropical depression that rolled over us. No one was sure if the parade would go. The only time it has ever been cancelled was for Hurricane Ivan. It seemed to lighten up around 1pm, so our band took a bus to a local restaurant that had an excellent viewing patio. We decided that if it were cancelled, we could at least get off the boats and have a nice lunch. Turned out to be a mediocre buffett and at 4pm the parade was cancelled until the following Saturday. Right after the official word came down, the skies magically cleared. Not to be dissuaded by a bit of inclement weather, some of the participants who had been dressed and waiting for hours paraded anyway. After watching this tiny taste of what was to come, we once again returned to the pool for R&R.
I know everyone is wondering and no, I did not get a chance to track down the costume designer to let him/her know that while ordering up otherwise fabulous bikinis, beads and feathers, non-control top hose might have been a good idea. Seriously.