It was in the last few days of September when I thought I was imagining the appearance of Christmas trees. But low and behold it wasn’t my imagination there truly were Christmas trees in the Foodland store and other locations. Then the music started, yes Christmas music, 1st heard in the yacht club while waiting for my laundry and then in the Foodland grocery store. Grenada really gets a head start on Christmas.
For the most recent photos click here: – October so far
We had a really nasty near fatal accident happen, it showed us how ones life could be changed in an instance: We were heading to Grand Anse beach for a walk. The way there was directly through our anchorage in St George. It was a lovely sunny Grenada afternoon; we were in the dingy, 
travelling on a plane as it’s called – about 15mph, not exceptionally fast. At the edge of the moored boats we could see a sailboat dropping anchor behind a catamaran – These 2 boats were a good 250 feet apart. We always watch ahead and so when I saw a snorkeler off of the cat swimming towards the sailboat I alerted John who altered course accordingly. The next thing that registered was that another snorkeler had surfaced about 15 feet in front of us. I shouted, “another snorkeler!!!” John tried to swerve and cut the engine’s speed and motion, 
we hit him and he went under the dingy. It happened in an instant.
He came to the surface clearly semi conscious and badly shaken however I could see no blood. My worse fear being the blades of the prop had severely cut him and his bleeding to death. He had a nasty bang to the heard, a large bruise on the back and 5 small abrasions from the prop. John’s quick reaction had saved him. I held him above water as his friend and wife swam over. Between everyone we were able to “drag” him back to his cat where his wife grabbed a few items of clothing and sandals. We then took them into Port Louis Marina to get a taxi to the hospital. At the hospital he was 
found to have no breaks or fractures just some bad bruising. They told him that he was extremely lucky as normally the swimmers are killed not injured. We 
were all very shaken up, as everyone’s life could have changed in an instant and not for the good. His name was Mario and he usually snorkeled with a float tied to him – as most people do when swimming in busy areas, but he saw his friend in the sailboat dropping the anchor and decided to do a favor and snorkel under to see if the anchor was set. Later when speaking to a friend we realized, as she pointed out, boaters do have to be vigilant, but that swimmers have a responsibility too to alert others of their presence in the water. That snorkeling with a bright float attached by a line is very important.
It was the next morning that we were told about a very serious assault 
that had happened that previous evening to a couple we knew on the sailboat Rainbow. They had been at Carriocou for the Hash same as us and when they left had sailed to Union Island, St Vincent and the Grenadines. Where they anchored off of Frigate Island, which is about a mile away from the town of Ashton. They were in the cabin when at about 8:00pm Tina noticed that their cat was staring up into the dark cockpit above almost as if someone where there. Tina poked her 
head out to see what the cat was fixating on, she could see nothing exceptional, except what looked like a towel hanging off of the bimini cover above, confused she turned to Mark and asked if he had hung his towel over the lifelines (as normal) or if he had thrown it over the cover. Upon hearing that he had indeed hung it as usual she proceeded to go 
up the steps into the cockpit when a dark figure leapt towards her, slashing and gashing her with his cutlass/machete. She retreated back down into the cabin screaming as Mark grabbed a kitchen knife and started to try to defend them. Mark managed to put a few holes in the person who then turned and jumped over the side. He then saw 2 other figures in a small 
rowing boat holding on to the ladder at the stern. They shoved off and disappeared into the darkness. Meanwhile Tina had been on the radio calling for help. Between them they managed to pull the anchor and head for Carriacou while tending to severe injuries. Tina was slashed from behind her left ear across her cheek to her mouth (it was deep 
enough that it went into bone and teeth) she also had a huge gash across her back. Mark too had several gashes to his head, shoulders and arms. They arrived and received medical care in Carricou and subsequently in Grenada. It was a particularly violent attack, which was carried out by a 15 year old and two other 15 
year olds accomplices that were in the rowboat. They were arrested when the one that had been injured went for medical help. These youths had stolen the 10-foot wooden rowboat from Ashton, rowed a mile out to Rainbow and attacked 2 innocent cruisers. Tina and Mark held a meeting a week later to talk 
about their experience and to give advice. They will always have a cockpit light on so that they can see out from the cabin and hope never to be surprised again. An air horn on hand to been blown 5 times as a signal for help. (There had been 1 other sailboat anchored in the same bay, but they upon hearing all the screaming did not assist instead up anchored and left thinking it was a domestic dispute). Always meet and greet others anchored nearby to establish a support system in case help should be needed.
Our Hash count increased this month; we now have 7 behind us. The 
hash after the Carricou Hash was again held on the main island of Grenada at the highest village: –
Clozier
This was a strenuous, fun, muddy trek through the trees. The course wound through farmland and forested areas, so there were slippery slopes going steeply down and then up 
again. The mud was so deep in some parts that it was sucking my sneakers off as I stepped through it. The only 
down side was our return journey which took 1 hour 20 mins and in a cramped bus with 18 people, 3 dogs and a puppy it was a tiresome drive.
The following Saturday’s Hash was
La Poterie, St Andrew’s parish
all the way in the northeastern area. This time the hash was along 
the shoreline much of which was along a beautiful beach. It was an easier hash, as the climbs were fewer and not at all as steep as usual. John and I were some of the first walkers finished which we were really pleased with. After the hash I was sitting on the side of the drainage ditch with a mother and 2 children on one side and a number of young Grenadians on 
the other. One member of this group introduced himself as Ivan and asked how I enjoyed the hash. “It 
was excellent!” I replied, then asking, “but you couldn’t have done it?” “Why you say that?” Ivan asked. I stated, “because there is not a bead of sweat on you.” He laughed and told me that he runs for Grenada and has been doing hashes for many years now so it was very easy for him. In fact he was there with the team and they all had run the course. And there I was soaking wet dripping with sweat having walked.
Meanwhile John and I have had some very lovely walks.
The most memorable was from the yacht club, through St George and into the countryside where we followed a track to Mt Moritz to 997ft. Another walk was along the southeastern coast near Grenada Marine. This hike started well and was very scenic until the pathway petered out and we ended up bush whacking, giving up and heading back, drenched in sweat, completely shattered and a bit frustrated after 4 & ½
hours and not getting where we were headed. We also found many scenic lanes and back roads around 
St George where we walked for exercise as it entails steep climbs up and sharp 
descents all of which keep the heart rate up.
A great day out
was spent with Shademan AKA Patrick. He took a group of us on a waterfall tour.
It was coincidental that a number of the other members of the group were people and a puppy we had met on hashes. Our 1st stop was
Seven Sister’s Waterfall.
To get there we drove through the Grand Etang rainforest, which is just spectacular with amazing viewpoints. At Seven Sister’s we hired a guide called Super Butterfly or as some called him Spiderman. The reason for his name 
became apparent when we were at the waterfall and he scaled the cliff face to dive backwards from the top with a 35-foot drop. Then again scaled the cliff from the other side to do a similarly daring stunt. The guy was very entertaining and able to tell us all about the plants and terrain of the area. Seven Sister’s is actually 8 waterfalls one above the other of which the 1st two are easily hiked. The name 
comes from the 7 sisters that own the property upon which the waterfalls are found. The falls are beautiful and the hike there was through wonderful rain forested countryside, so it was shady and cool but muddy and steep. Some members of our group swam there but we didn’t, as a hike back in wet clothes didn’t appeal to us. Our next stop was the Annandale falls, which John and I had previously visited. We made a stop at
Mark’s Rum Shop,
where Mark makes his own special blend of rum. He adds Bay leaves, lemon grass and a 
bark called dog poke which is supposed to help the men. Anyway we had to sample it, so we were told. The
method was have a small shot of this rum in one hand and a cup of water in the other hand. Put all the rum in your mouth rinse it around like mouth wash, swallow and follow with the water. I’m not a rum drinker so to me it was vile. However one couple did buy a bottle, either they liked it or he needs help with his performance. Then it was onto the
Concord waterfall
on the other side of Grenada. Patrick took a short cut down many 
narrow unpaved byways with huge potholes, very steep drop offs and deep ditches. It was an exciting cross-country drive and we got to see many farmers at work along the way. At Concord we had a booking for lunch, which was made especially for us. It was a delicious mixture of local vegetables, peas and rice and curried chicken. Our drink came from the Sorrel plant. It was a red juice which was usually made for special occasions like Christmas. It was deliciously 
refreshing. A bit of a huge lunch compared to what we normally eat but we
enjoyed as much as we could eat. Then it was down to the waterfalls for a wonderfully refreshing swim. Again it was a beautifully scenic waterfall, everyone in the group swam and relaxed before our drive home.
Mangos are out of season, much to John’s 
disappointment. However citrus is in season and I have found it to be wonderful. The grapefruit and mandarins are huge! The best part is that at the market for 5EC, ($2.00) I can get half a dozen. We have also discovered the fish market. There I was 
able to buy some excellent tuna, for 22EC ($9.00) I bought 2&1/2 lbs. However what was very 
upsetting in the fish market was watching 2 Chinese workers in their traditional red dress and straw hats buying a very large turtle shell. (The Chinese are in Grenada building a new fisheries, the new hospital and low cost housing in exchange for certain fishing rights. The Japanese built a bridge and various other projects so that Grenada gave them the ok for a whaling boat)
Our final Hash before leaving for the wedding 
was at Grand Brass #799. This area was in the mountainous farming area of St Andrews. The hash was our most exciting; we started by forging a river. John and I didn’t bother trying to step from rock to rock instead we just sloughed through. The rocks were very 
slippery but the water only came up to our knees. Then it was up a very muddy cliff; again I was fortunate to have some fellows give me a hand up. The track through the forested and farming areas was extremely muddy. The going up was much easier than the going down and in the end many of us just sat on our haunches and slid down in the mud. We walked with Gwen who introduced herself as a friend of Lynn and Eric so much of the time was 
spent chatting as she had lived in Kenya. The last slope was a mudslide of a good 100 feet straight down to the river. Now this time the river was deeper but I again had help from some local lads. I was wet up to my waist but took advantage of the water to wash my backside off. Then it was down the road through the village and we were back, amazing ourselves by being some of the 1st few walkers back. It was great fun!
We moved into
Mount Hartman Bay, Secret Harbour Marina
on the Friday before leaving and so when we were invited to Lynn and Eric’s beach barbeque on Sunday we had to walk to Grand Anse. Off we went not realizing quite how far we had to go finally arriving nearly an hour later. It was a fun few hours chatting to everyone and then we 
hiked back, which was considerably easier as it was the much cooler evening. With both the hash and that walk we covered 15 miles in 2 days. Our next move was into Secret harbour Marina to ready Aeeshah for our departure. The marina it very nice and we were excited to be able to have a hamburger and fries dinner, our 1st in months.
Subsequently a friend informed me about a website/blog that had written a “report” about our nasty accident: – http://www.windtraveler.net/2013/10/swimming-at-anchor-youre-not-always.html In this account there are many inaccuracies. I believe due to the fact that it was 3rd hand information. The annoying part is that this site is used as a promotional site for various companies and their produce. My feelings are that when someone has been chosen to represent well known companies and promote their products one has a responsibility to report as accurately as possible, giving accurate, relevant information. This would have been achieved by asking both parties involved. We had exchanged contact info and so would have been easy to contact.
“To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing: that’s enough for one man’s life.” T.S. Eliot
“Travel is more than the seeing of the sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” Miriam Beard
What we plan:- A very rough plan as weather dictates
November: St Lucia, Isle De Saintes
December: Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, and Antigua
January: Antigua, Barbuda, St Barts, St Martin
February: St Martin, Saba, and St Kitts
March: St Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat
April: St Lucia, 8th – 22nd UK for Helen’s & Martin’s wedding, Dominica
May: Dominica, Martinique
June: St Vincent & Grenadines, Grenada
July: Trinidad and Tobago
August: Trinidad and Tobago, approx. 20th fly to Bermuda
September: Bermuda till approx. 20th Trinidad
October: British Guyana
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