 Hillsborough, Carriacou  On board the Osprey ferry to Grenada.  Christina, Martha, Kordell, and Matt walking along Grand Anse Beach.  In Grenada, cows can have fun on the beach too!  Kari Fazio, our wonderful host in Grenada.  Where the hey is the ferry?  Cruising in style aboard the Gem Star. |
"Waiting for the Gem Star" 10/30/2003
This past weekend, Martha, Matt, and I took a fun trip down to Grenada. We started out Thursday morning by taking the Barracuda ferry from St. Vincent down to Union Island. On Friday, we hired a speed boat to take us to the island of Carriacou (part of Grenada). The speed boat trip took about 45 minutes and gave us a good look at the northern end of the island. After chillin' on the beach all afternoon we spent the night at a place called Ade's Dream. For $45 US we got a great room with a balcony, hot water, air conditioning, and a kitchen. Saturday morning we took a hike around the island, and then in the afternoon, took the Osprey ferry to Grenada. The day we arrived in Grenada was the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion. It is celebrated as a holiday called "thanksgiving day". Most Grenadians are indeed very thankful of the help they got from the U.S. It was interesting listening to them talking about it on the radio in a bus the next day. On Sunday we went to Grand Anse beach with our Peace Corps host Kari, another PCV from our class, Christina and her boyfried Kordell. Grand Anse is an amazing beach. It has crystal clear turquoise water, golden white sand that stretches for miles, and a spectacular view. We spent almost the whole day there. We also went to check out Grenada's grocery stores which were rumored to be much better than St. Vincent's. The rumors were true. Fresh milk, real ice cream, gummi worms, apples, everything! Because of the medical college on Grenada, the shopping areas are more developed. On Monday we took a short 30 minute hike to Seven Sisters waterfall with Amy Zoeller, a PCV from our class. After the hike we explored St. Georges some more, did some shopping and then caught the evening ferry to Petit Martinique. I wish we had arranged to spend more time on Grenada. From Petit Martinique, Wendell, our speed boat captain picked us up and took us back to Union Island. The speed boat ride took place in the dark, with no moon and no clouds. The stars were so clear! The final leg of our journey was supposed to be the Barracuda ferry ride back to "Vincy" on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, the Barracuda was broken down and all the flights had been booked, so we were stuck. After getting 10 different stories about when the ferry was coming back, we decided to wait for the Gem Star. The Gem Star is a mail boat that goes through all the Grenadines. It finally showed up late Wednesday afternoon and we enjoyed the leisurely 6 hour ride to St. Vincent. Even though I was anxious to get back to my computer classes, the extra rest on Union Island was great. |