The Package

We have been in Grenada since August 1, give or take a few days. It is nice here. It is safe from hurricanes, most of the time. Here is a photo of Omar passing over us in October. It became a tropical storm a day later and then turned into a hurricane. It did damage to some of islands to the north of us but left us unscathed. Omar is the big orange/blue blob and Grenada is to the right of the small orange blob.

But at the end of October alot of people get restless and head back north to the Virgin Islands. We were also getting a bit restless and decided to head north to find a long lost package.

Getting stuff shipped to the islands is an adventure. You can never be sure it will reach you in a timely manner and sometimes it just disappears. We had ordered some boat items from Australia and South Africa and had hoped to receive them in St. Martin. We had to leave before they arrived so friends had picked them up for us on their boats but we could never quite seem to connect. Finally both packages were left in St. Vincent, just a bit north of Grenada. We planned a nice little trip north to get the loot.

It felt great to be underway. We put out our fishing poles and got lucky. Steve reels them in while Anne slows the boat down.

This is a Black Fin Tuna. Great eating raw or cooked.Two Black Fin tunas and one Kingfish later

our freezer was getting full.

We lost one lure to a nice Wahoo. He broke our line and took off so we had no choice but to head for Bequia for new cedar plugs (our favorite lure).

Bequia is one of our favorite islands. It is very beautiful. It did sustain a small amount of damage from storm surge during Omar but the islanders are busy cleaning up. Bequia is a favorite place for boaters to go during the Christmas holidays.

The water is beautiful and refreshing

The locals are into sailingOn our return trip we stopped at Saltwhistle Bay on the island of Mayreau. It is like paradise here. The island of Canouan is in the background.

Back in Grenada, we are enjoying our new silicone candles from Australia. Powered by batteries so no worries about fires onboard. Life is good.

See You Soon,

Anne and Steve

S/V Fine Line

Hash Anyone?

One of the more interesting social events we have enjoyed here in Grenada is Hashing. Hashers are best described as "drinkers with a running problem". Here is some interesting facts about Hashing:

Hashing, as we know it today, began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a group of restive British company men started a hare & hounds running group. They named the group after their meeting place, the Selangor Club, aka the "Hash House." Hash House Harrier runs were patterned after the traditional British public school paper chase. A "hare" would be given a short head start to blaze a trail, marking his devious way with shreds of paper, soon to be pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers." Only the hare knew where he was going . . . the harriers followed his marks to stay on trail. Apart from the excitement of chasing down the wily hare, solving the hare's marks and reaching the end was its own reward, for there, thirsty harriers would find a tub of iced-down beer.

Here is Grenada you are assured of a few things when Hashing: It will rain right before or during the Hash making all trails muddy, slippery and downright treacherous.

There will be beer, rum and local food waiting for you upon your return.

So off we go, nice and clean, with our old and new friends.

The trail is not too bad in the begining. Nobody is thinking about turning back. As we progress into the hills it gets a bit steeper and slippery. Still not worth turning back....yetIt does not take long, however, before you begin cursing. You curse yourself first for going on another Hash. Then you curse the person that set the trail...what were they thinking? Are they trying to kill us? Do they have insurance? Do I have insurance against stupidity?? And, ofcourse, now there is no turning back.

One muddy trail leads to another. Mud is everywhere: in our shoes, in our socks, on our pants, on our shirts and in places I am not even going to mention.And just when you think the worst is behind you....you realize there is more

Why would a sensible person participate? For the cute t-shirt ofcourse.

This particular Hash was number 600. There was a bit of British pomp and circumstance surrounding the entire event. Awards were handed out right and left and unique "Hash" names were bestowed on certain participants. Our favorite was "Mountain Goat". He is 63 years old, hikes 25 miles per day, has rowed around Grenada twice and has climbed the highest peak in Grenada 150 times.

Notice how clean he is in this photo. Is this a before or after picture?

This is an after picture.It took a few days to clean up the shoes. The socks get thrown out. There is another Hash in two weeks. Can't wait!

Anne and Steve
S/V Fine Line

Puppy Love

Puppy love is not just for youngsters. Nope, even us older and sometimes wiser people fall head- over- heels when we least expect it. Steve is still numero uno but there is someone new....

The first time I saw him he was acting kind of coy. What a flirt.

He comes from a nice family. His mother is very friendly.

He has lots of sisters and brothers. Good gene pool.

He can be playful and also

Contemplative.

He is being kind of cautious right now.

Wants to "think things over"....

He does seem to need alot of naps and he may be a bit young. Oh well, nothing wrong with a little fantasy now and then.

Mama dog (that's what we call her) had 9 puppies. Two did not survive. They are now 4 weeks old. If you want a very cute island dog, come to Grenada and I will show you where they hide out.

Anne

S/V Fine Line

Local Flavor

The national dish of Grenada is "Oil Down". Sounds like something that might be fried but there is no oil added to this very popular concoction. The term Oil Down comes from the coconut milk that is used in the preparation and when cooked long enough reduces to coconut oil, or so the story goes?

We had heard alot of this local favorite and when an invitation was issued to boaters to join a community "Oil Down" up in the mountains, who could resist. The local rum shop was the site of our gathering, how convenient!

Pam on Wildcat along with Ruth, the rum shop owner, and her grandson enjoy the cool overcast afternoon. The men do the cooking and all the work that it entails and the women get to sit and chat. Works for me (Anne).The cooking pot is called a "karhee" or simply a curry pot. I'm sure we will see these on Martha Stewart soon so remember, you saw it here first!

Grenada is a very lush island. Lots of things grow here. And everything that grows here goes into the pot. Almost everything. Green plantains and bluggoes are peeled and thrown in whole. They are not sweet. They are very starchy.

Papaya is added for flavor and it has an enzyme that tenderizes everything.Callaloo is a large, elephant ear shaped green plant that is used widely on the island. It cooks down and tastes alot like spinach. Callaloo soup is one of our favorite island dishes. Another main ingredient is breadfruit. Breadfruit was imported (many years ago) to the islands from Tahiti to feed the slaves. It is another mainstay of the islanders and tastes alot like potatoe. It must be peeled by a man!

Coconut and tumeric is grated in large amounts. The grater is not something you will find in your favorite cook shop. It is hand made from scrap metal, punched with a nail and fastened to some sturdy tree branches. Very rustic setup and can only be handled by a man.

Water is added to the coconut/tumeric mixture. Gotta use your hands for this.

And now the coconut milk can be strained into the pot.

Meanwhile, at the firepit, the rest of the cooks are lighting up the embers. Cocounut husks are great firestarters.

And there is no shortage of wood, chop chop, watch your fingers. Don't try this at homeThe ingredients are added to the pot with fine precision.

Can't leave the meat portion of this meal unmentioned. That's chicken wings, pig's tail and pig's snout. Yummmmy! Can't wait for a taste.

And then it was ready for the fire.While we waited for dinner to cook, our host took us for a hike. Hiking here always means walking uphill and downhill. There are very few level walks to be found.Small colorful homes are perched high in the hills.

This is a pod of brazil nuts. They ripen in December. The top pops off and brazil nuts fall to the ground.

We returned from our hike just in time to see the dumplings being added.And soon it was time to eat. It was a great meal we will not soon forget. Thanks to the many cooks and wonderful hosts we left with full bellys. Not a complaint from us except.....how do you get this yellow tumeric off Captain Clean's hands?

Be back soon,

Anne and Steve

S/V Fine Line