Our first night sleep tied to a dock in Grenada after a thrilling 4 day passage we slept like babies. Air conditioning, more than three hour naps at a time and nothing throwing us around. Ahhhh. The little things. Our first day we did a lot of purposeful things- we checked into customs and immigration, we walked the marina grounds and saw the three restaurants and duty free shops, the boat got washed and an air conditioning guy came and fixed the pilot house a.c. I worked at putting the boat back together after passage tearing down the makeshift bed in the salon, repositioning items that got stowed, opened hatches to get air and just made sure everything was ship shape. Not a fun day but one that has to be done after a long passage.
Secure In Her Slip
The next day having put the boat back together we were ready to explore our new neighborhood- the capital city St. George's. From the marina there is a nice sidewalk that goes all the way around the basin into town. It was hot but a nice view right on the water. When we arrived in town we noticed a statue near the water we were checking out when a man approached us and said, "let me tell you about that statue." We listened intently as he told us about Maurice Bishop their former president. As we started walking away Jimmy followed us pointing out more town highlights like the oldest hotel and several streets. As I gave Jeff a look he said it's fine we can learn something. Jimmy walked us through the tunnel by the cruise ship dock and through the spice market and the fish market all while telling us historical factoids. After the spice market Jeff thanked him and gave him some money and we made our way back on our own.
Walking Into St. George's
First & Oldest Hotel
Walking Through The Tunnel With Jimmy
Former Slave Quarters
Streets of St. George's
Fish Market
Fish Market Offerings
Lunch At Sails Restaurant In St. George's
The next day (little did we know) would make a profound difference in our cruising life here in the Caribbean. We first went to the IGA for provisions and later that day made our way to the marina pool where we met Kitra and Ben from Daggers Down. The told us about the large boating community that existed in Grenada and informed me about ladies coffee at the marina that takes place every Thursday and invited me into the Sea Sisters boating community, an online WhatsApp group for women only that has groups in every country and are a wealth of knowledge and information. This would change everything for Jeff and I.
As it turned out the next day was Thursday October 16th and there was ladies coffee. I went and met so many nice women all kind and welcoming and full of information to share. I came back to the boat jacked on caffeine and excited to tell Jeff about my experience. Unfortunately I don't have a photo since I was only just put into the WhatsApp group that day. Later on that day we took a stroll around the property and over to the private beach and met James and Danielle fellow powerboats on our dock. We felt like we were really getting to know people here.
Beautiful Tree on Marina Property
Walking the Property
St George's From Marina Walk
After working around the boat the next morning we decided to lower the dink. With no neighbors on our starboard side we had nothing but room. We buzzed around the basin and saw town then outside to the mooring field and checked out the famous Grand Anse beach which was stunning. We made a note to pack towels and have a beach day soon. It was so great that we could dingy there and not have to worry about getting a taxi. That night we went to what we thought was going to be a nice dinner at the upscale restaurant at the marina but it just turned out to be weird and not great food. The service was odd and the waitstaff seemed to have attitudes. They were out of several items and Jeff's fish came cold. Hence no pictures from the restaurant.
St George's From The Dink
Grenada From Grand Anse Beach
Every Saturday at the marina there is a small but very impressive farmers market. There are fresh fruits and vegetable sold by Jenny from her garden. Fresh homemade breads from Sherryann's kitchen. Freshly caught and vacuum packed fish from Aiden. There is also a wine stand and meat monger. Basically anything you would need you can find there. We had a ball picking out things and I even got Sherryanne's WhatsApp number so I could place my weekly bread order in advance. Her focaccia and sourdough were wonderful. We did some more exploring around the marina property and walked to the top of the hill for a great view of the water and sat inside a little old gazebo. Jeff bought and grilled fish for himself that night.
Top of the Hill at Port Louis Marina
Jeff's New Shades From Duty Free Store at Marina
The next few days were continued meeting more people from the dock and exploring our neighborhood. We took a local bus to the mall where I got my nails done and Jeff went to lunch while he waited. Then on Wednesday October 22nd we took for the first time the Meat and Meet free shuttle from the marina to the La Phare Blue resort. Once a week on Wednesday the owner of a shop called Meat and Meet provided a free shuttle from all the marinas down to the south of the island to her store which is situated in La Phare Blue resort. So a bunch of us took the bus and did some shopping in her store. It used to only be a meat shop but she has expanded it into a small cute international market. It's customary to buy something from her store in exchange for the free ride then from there we went to the coffee shop and enjoyed views of the water while drinking some Joe. Then we met our friends over at the pool and had some cocktails while we waited for it to be lunchtime. Some people swam in the pool. This time we didn't. We enjoyed chatting with our new friends and experiencing this great perk from the marina.
Meat & Meet with Mary, Tom, James & Danielle
Lunch With The Gang at Meat & Meet
After our fun Meat & Meet day we decided we needed some exercise and made our way over to Grand Anse Beach. We tied up the dinghy dock and took a long beach walk before taking a cool, refreshing swim. The water color mixed with the pristine beach was amazing. It felt like a postcard. Later that evening we had our boat neighbors on Sacagawea over for some sundowners.
Dink Tied Up at Grand Anse
Beach Walk Grand Anse
Grand Anse
View From Grand Anse
Sundowners With Sacagawea
We had such a nice time at the Meat and Meet that we decided to go back the following week. This time it was just Jeff and I but we still had a good time nonetheless. We followed the same routine- shop at Meat and Meet, grab a coffee, sit on the beach, head to the pool & drink then get lunch before coming back on the shuttle. We have a long list of touristy things we want to do around town but Jeff's daughter Sami is coming in next week so we are saving them to do with her.
Lunch at La Phare Blue
La Phare Blue Marina
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