Gosh! We’ve already been here for more than two weeks and we’re starting to settle in to the laid back island lifestyle. Our first week in Grenada was filled with excitement and partying. Crossing the Atlantic has brought all the Viking Explorers into a close knit family and we celebrated our achievement in style. Only four boats including ourselves had crossed as ‘double handers’ and we teamed up to do a tour of the island and enjoy some excellent meals ashore.
Jan and Miguel, Theo and Pam, Satomi and Rob – from Germany, Portugal, Greece, USA, Japan and Australia – organised some great trips. We toured the lakes at the central mountainous part of the island, picked local spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, then bumped our way across rough roads to Grenville where we had lunch overlooking the wild Atlantic. In addition to nutmeg, which graces the Grenada flag, the island is also famous for its chocolate and rum. So we took the obligatory tour, tasting the 75% proof rum that has to be diluted before export by air as it is classed as dangerously highly flammable! The delicious island chocolate was much more palatable and we cooled off with a swim at one of the island’s many waterfalls.
Sundowner drinks parties and visits to ‘hurricane approved’ boat yards followed. A fisherman delivered a huge tuna to the marina pontoon, cutting us huge steaks for very few dollars and which we enjoyed wrapped in coriander and wasabi, lightly seared and delicious. Our first week culminated in Grenada’s Independence Day – the 51st anniversary. Everyone in Grenada was dressed in the red, gold and green of the national flag with all the building bedecked in the same. We went to the national stadium curious to see the official celebrations. These consisted mainly of marching bands, the very popular President posing for countless photos with beaming children, many prayers of thanks for the Grenadan nation and stirring Gospel singers. We even tasted the national dish ‘oil down’ from one of the street stalls.
The following evening was the official welcome ceremony for all the Viking Explorers, held at True Blue Bay resort. We all received awards and certificates with special prizes for oldest and newest, biggest and smallest boats, youngest and oldest captain, biggest fish caught on passage and the spirit of the Vikings. Jan bagged two prizes for youngest captain and the oldest boat and dutifully shared his rum prizes with all. Perhaps this helped us all to make shapes to the steel band!
The next day, feeling somewhat hungover but keen to move on from the marina, we hugged farewells to our friends and sailed the short distance to Prickly Bay, a huge inlet on the south of Grenada. It felt so good to be able to go ashore to the beautiful beaches and swim from the boat – everything we had been looking forward to in the Caribbean.
We returned to the marina after a few days in paradise to welcome in the final boat. Poor Stan and Julie on So What had a delayed departure from Cape Verde whilst they awaited parts to repair their boat. This meant that for part of their crossing they had even rougher weather than us. They arrived just before mid-night to a raucous welcome. Their dogs, Bertie and Ernie, went crazy as they finally made landfall. And it gave us the excuse to arrange one more party the next evening where the rum punch again flowed to excess.
We’re now back in Prickly Bay enjoying the laid back vibe. Many of the boats here seem to be year-round live-aboards. Quite a few of our fellow Vikings are moored close by. We are waiting for the winds and seas to calm a little, hopefully by this weekend, so that we can sail north and start to explore the other islands.