David & Rachel Come to Town

Prickly Bay was our first anchoring stop in Grenada, largely because it sounded familiar and was the closest harbor after we rounded the southern tip of the island. We spent a week there familiarizing ourselves with our new digs: figuring out where to get on the bus to find groceries, where to find the fastest wifi, meeting our neighbors, etc. We also did the bare minimum amount of work on the boat just to say we got something done. I polished our stainless steel and Jon replaced our gear shift cable that broke way back in the BVIs.

But most of the time we concentrated on slowing down. We met up with friends we had met along the way and made some new ones, spending probably too many evenings drinking good beer at the West Indies brewing company.

In search of the most convenient spot to initiate our soon arriving new crew members, David and Rachel, into the cruising life, we moved over to Mt. Hartman Bay and landed with a thud – there was a sudden gust – on the dock. I had convinced myself that our guests would be arriving at 10pm that evening, so with some time to kill we joined friends at the brewery (again) and then decided we would just walk several miles to the airport. Luckily, the walk didn’t take terribly long because their flight actually landed at 8pm. They were just exiting customs as we walked up and it occurred to me that military time conversions are not second nature to me and therefore worth double (or triple) checking.

David and Rachel left for their round-the-world adventure a year before we did, and we left Colorado a month or two before they returned so it had been two years since we last saw each other. It probably sounds strange, but knowing that they would come to visit us in Grenada if we made it by July was a big factor in our decision to continue south. They sent word that they were ready to buy plane tickets around the time of our long beat to windward along the south coast of Puerto Rico, when we were both pretty over being on the boat and weren’t sure what to do next. We didn’t really want to turn back after all that work and weren’t comfortable with staying put, so their willingness to travel to Grenada gave us the shot-in-the-arm we needed to keep going ourselves and we’re so glad we did.

It was wonderful to see our friends again and introduce them to our new lifestyle. The week flew by as we did our best to take in the island while comparing our traveling experiences and exchanging stories. 

Of course we took them to the brewery.

Overlooking Mt. Hartman Bay

We showed them how we make the most of a ridiculously steep incline.

We tried to get a glimpse of the crater lake at Grand Etang.

But instead just enjoyed the cool breeze.

Annandale Falls

Grand Anse beach

 

I wasn't alone in my love of goats. I think we fed all of them at Belmont Estates.

We finally left the dock to go sailing and snorkeling at the sculpture park in Moliniere Bay.

Unfortunately Bobbie didn't have her little engine quite yet.

While David and Rachel were visiting a new development was underway for us. We hadn't planned on returning home at all after we set sail last year because it's not really in our budget. But when my old coworker informed me that she was heading off to basic training for four months, it just seemed too serendipitous not to reach out to my old boss to see if they could use any help while she's gone. Turns out, they can. For six weeks. So Jon and I are flying home in a couple of days to visit our friends and family with the added bonus that we will be able to reimburse ourselves for the plane tickets and keeping the boat on a mooring while we're gone. Jon will be returning after only three weeks to take care of the boat and finish start some of our too long ignored projects. But more on that later. For now it feels pretty good to say, "See you soon!"