Carriacou

6/1/2017

rest break on our hike in Carriacou

On May 23, after a brief overnight stop at Petit St. Vincent, we dropped anchor in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou. Since Carriacou is part of Grenada, Brian went to check in. Once formalities were completed, we went ashore to look around. Having completed the school year just before leaving St. Lucia, we were all enjoying the freedom of 'summer vacation.' Mornings were no longer devoted to lessons, and we'd been able to do a lot more swimming, snorkeling, exploring, and relaxing on board.

We had read in one of our guidebooks that nearby there was a trail to the second highest point on the island. Without going into every detail, we will say we had an adventurous afternoon with a steadily disappearing trail, intense heat, bushwhacking, enormous centipedes, cacti and stinging nettle plants, and no scenic view. The kids all maintained good humor despite the discomfort caused by the centipedes and stinging nettles. On the way down, for a brief time, we found ourselves between a free-range cow and her wayward calf. As her calls to the calf became louder, the other cows in the area, including a large bull, moseyed over to investigate. Fortunately we got to the other side of the calf before the cow and her posse reached us. Once mother and calf were reunited, the other bovines fortunately lost interest in us.

The combination of the beautiful views, great snorkeling, and incredibly friendly island residents quickly made Carriacou one of our favorite places. The next day, we decided to ride the local bus to Windward, a town on the - you guessed it - windward side of the island. Windward is known for its boat building. It turned out that a beautiful wooden boat we had first seen in St. Lucia, and again in a few other anchorages as we made our way south, was a Carriacou schooner that had been built in Windward. We'd heard that another was under construction and we were hoping to see it.

We took the bus to Hillsborough, then boarded a second bus to Windward. The driver knew where we wanted to go without us telling him, and let us know when we'd reached the stop for 'the boats'. We walked a little way along the road enjoying the views and cute cottages. On the road we met Jeff, a local resident, who stopped to chat with us. He invited us to his house where he introduced us to his wife, Anne, who gave us a bag filled with ripe plums and guavas from their trees. After talking with them for a little while and enjoying the view from their porch, we continued down the road. It was quite warm, so we stopped for cold drinks at a small store near the waterfront. As we sat in the shade with our drinks, we chatted with a group of older men sitting outside the shop, sharing our stories. Before he retired, one of the men had delivered power boats from the U.S. East Coast. He also offered advice for us as we continued our trip through the Caribbean. Later, he walked with us to the bus stop.

Back in Hillsborough, we visited the Carriacou Museum and had lunch before heading back to Harvey Vale/Tyrell Bay. As we walked down the beach toward the dock where we'd left the dinghy, we met up with a group of Brownies (Girl Scouts) on an outing. The girls were about the same ages as Marin and Isla and were very curious about them. They asked Marin and Isla about our trip and taught them some local games.