Home, Sweet Home. For A While At Least

Noi's morning dip in Prickly Bay.

We are finally getting settled into a sort of routine here in Grenada, our new temporary home.

Yes, we still watch the weather, but not with quite the same urgency as we did a few weeks back, when we were always searching for the next little window to set off for our next landfall. That's perhaps the biggest difference in our lifestyle now, that we have sort of lost our sense of urgency. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Instead, we get up each morning, put on some coffee, listen to the morning cruisers' radio net, take a quick salt-water dip/freshwater rinse and start planning our day. There are always cruiser friends who are showing up or the ones already here who have some activity planned that we might tag along on. Also, I am working on a few freelance pieces, one for the Annapolis free magazine SpinSheet, which has been a great outlet, actually. The other is for Cruising World. I can do that work aboard, but it's nice to get out of the boat -- so, that often means a lazy afternoon at our favorite Internet cafe at Prickly Bay Marina. The place has strong wifi (unusual on the cruising circuit) and power points at each booth. Plus a bar, of course. There are a dozen other similar options here, too. The place is packed with cruisers and the locals have definitely figured out that there's money to be made on us. Good for them.

In a few days, we will go back to Port Louis Marina. Carnival -- the annual bacchanal celebrated in the Caribbean in various forms, according to the island -- starts on Sunday, and we want to be in a secure location and closer to the action by then. Theft from boats has been an on again, off again, problem here, and especially so when everyone is ashore for the big Carnival events. We had already planned to go into the marina for the arrival of our son, Eric, the following week, so thought it made sense just to extend it a few days to get the marina's security staff keeping an eye on Symbiosis.

Visiting West Indies Beer Co. with Debbie and Larry Gaddy from Tropical Blend.

Speaking of security, I should mention that there was one very unpleasant incident in the past week in an adjacent bay to ours (we are in Prickly for the moment). A cruiser walking his dog was approached by two armed men (it's not clear if they were Grenadians or off islanders) on the beach and forced back to his boat, where his wife was aboard. The men, apparently on the lam from the authorities, demanded they be taken on the boat to Puerto Rico. Coincidentally, the boat's engine was not working, but the men demanded the boat be sailed there -- easily a three to four day passage. I won't go into much more detail except to they are alive and to add preemptively that no, having a gun aboard (I assume they did not) would not likely have helped them. In fact, they'd probably be dead now. You can read a detailed report here under the Grenada item dated July 30, 2016. In any case, these things must be kept in perspective. Yes, it was an unfortunate incident but seems to have been a one-off. Crime occurs all over the world. Just because we are in "paradise" doesn't mean we couldn't be a victim. But, it could just as easily (perhaps more easily) happen in the U.S.

Nutmeg. The outer red shell is mace. Grenada is the nutmeg capital of the world.

Mangoes. Another favorite in the islands.

Anyway, we are very excited about Eric's arrival. We haven't seen him in 10 months and we have lots of things planned that we hope he will enjoy: tours, waterfalls, river rafting, snorkeling. We will post an update soon on Carnival and Eric's big adventure!