Spice Islands tour

Piña Colada - Tyrell Bay, Carriacou

Platoon!

As a tribute and farewell to Trinidad we arranged to go for a gorge walk with David (whose Christmas party we’d gatecrashed) and his friend, Keith. Dawn was a soggy affair and it continued to be so, thus the walk was spent in torrential rain, which actually didn’t matter a bit because the footpath we followed was a river. It was great to properly stretch our legs again and see some wild Trinidad. There was a small section in the ‘heart’ of the gorge that was, if I’m honest, pretty terrifying. I froze with fear, with one foot on each cliff/river side and a churning torrent of water flowing underneath, not daring to go on or turn around. I didn’t want to let the side down, being the only girl and all but had to concede to Jamie leading the way back to safety. What a great day though, finished, as all good walks should be, with a pub lunch and beer.

Hermit Crab circa 500 feet up Mt Taboi, Union Island

On the 24th January at 01.30 we set sail again, this time towards Grenada to meet Becky and Andy who were arriving on the afternoon of the 25th. We attempted to get some sleep beforehand but couldn’t. The moon was brand new and so we had no light, and as soon as we got through the Boca de Monos we realised how rough the sea was, even though we couldn’t see it. There was a 3 metre swell and a force 5 gusty wind and the boat was lifted around as if she were a rag dolly. This was much more terrifying than gorge walking! I knew it was bad because Jamie willingly let me put a lifejacket on him and allowed me to tie him on for fear he should fall off the back. We agreed to sail on until light and then re-assess our options. Waiting for dawn was the longest wait I can remember having. The boat bucked and leaned and the wind howled, I couldn’t even make a cup of tea because it was so rough. Finally, we saw the bright haze of the Poinesettia gas platform glowing in the distance and so at least we had some point of reference, and just before 06.00, daylight, albeit a grey and unfriendly one, finally arrived.

Sailing with the wind - Good times!

The morning continued in the same grim, drawn out uncomfortable manner but at around lunchtime the wind eased slightly and the swells became a little less alarming. Spirits lifted further when Grenada appeared on the horizon at around 15.00. Later on we spotted a hammer head shark circling the boat, and even later a pod of tiny dolphins joined us for a few minutes. At 22.30 we sailed into Prickly Bay, Grenada and were both so tired that we were hallucinating. We threw in an anchor, hoped for the best and fell into bed.

Whoop whoop, today is the day that Becky and Andy arrive! With just enough time to clean the Badger, go shopping and clear in with customs and immigration we met them at the airport, both looking amazingly white. Our long and arduous journey had been worth it.

Rivers Rum distillery Grenada, still powered by the river

A few days were spent in Prickly Bay with the highlights being a visit to Grenville for the most gorgeous ‘doubles’ yet (doubles are Indian influenced fried chick pea puris filled with curried chick peas and chillis, heavenly), a visit to Rivers Rum factory and the Grenada Organic Chocolate factory stopping off at some beautiful waterfalls on the way back for a quick dip. Once back, we had a few beers with some of the folks from our day trip who told us about a party they were going to that evening. We (foolishly in mine and Becky’s case) decided to forgo dinner and just carry on drinking. We managed to gatecrash the party (by entering from the beach) which was held for the American medical students here (the same ones that Reagan used as an excuse to invade Grenada in 1983) and had a great time. Our heads the next day weren’t so great however.

Gutting Wahoo - Halifax Harbour, Grenada

Once recovered we decided to show our new crew some Caribbean highlights and sailed via St. Georges (the capital) for provisions and headed north up the west coast of Grenada to Halifax Harbour, our anchorage for the evening. We’d had our usual lure out the back on which we’ve never yet managed to hook anything but seaweed. As Andy wound it in he said, “I think there’s something on it…” OMG, would you believe it, we had an enormous stripy fish hooked! Quickly identified as a Wahoo, we anchored, then the boys dragged it ashore with the dinghy to ‘put it out of its misery’.

Too big for the barbi

Once ashore we lit a fire to cook our catch on. It was so big we weren’t quite sure how to deal with it and decided in the end, to saw it clean in half and grill it on the BBQ. With hindsight, the next time we’re lucky enough to land such a whopper I’d chop it into more manageable steaks because it took ages to cook. The flesh was gorgeous: firm, white and moist and there was enough of it to feed 20 easily. Needless to say fish curry followed by Thai style fish cakes kept us going for the next 2 days. From our lovely beach BBQ we saw our first monkey since arriving and spent a lovely peaceful evening by the fire on the beach.

An early start was made with Carriacou as our destination. As we approached the top of Grenada the wind became so ferocious that it made us lean until Becky and I were screaming. After reefing the sails and a shot of rum (it was 10.30…) to calm us down we continued, arriving at Tyrell Bay just before sunset. That night we were rudely woken by an almighty thud only to find that we were in a compromising position with a catamaran. We re-anchored and no damage was done to either boat but that was the second time  that we have slipped anchor in Tyrell Bay.

Atop Chapeau Carre, looking south - Carriacou, Grenada

A lovely shiny morning greeted us, although the wind was still pretty fierce, and we decided to climb Chapeau Carre, the islands tallest peak. It was a lovely wooded track, we saw a tortoise on the way up and the views accross the Grenadines and the island were stunning. A much needed swim in the gorgeous sea was had after our walk.

The next day we headed for Petite Martinique (PM) and its even smaller neighbour Petit St. Vincent  (PSV). The following morning we  explored PM and bought some provisions, then  spent a couple of hours snorkelling off PSV. It was Becky’s first go in the water with her float (due to a broken arm) and it was a success.

Magic Badger at anchor - Petit St.Vincent

Following lunch we sailed over to Union Island, after clearing in at Clifton, we headed for the gorgeous Chatham Bay. The next day was spent attempting to climb the 1000 foot Mt.Taboi, however, with undergrowth that wouldn’t have been out of place in Sleeping Beauty and a huge tree across our footpath we didn’t quite make the top. A lovely relaxing afternoon of snorkelling and a BBQ on the beach was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Another early rise took us via Clifton for provisions and on to the Tobago Cays for swimming with turtles. A relaxing  down wind sail took us to Mayreau to overnight. Some friendly yachties  invited us for drinks on board their lovely big catamaran. A pleasant evening was spent chatting and drinking then it was back to the Badger for food and some very special pina coladas. Yet again, we were rudely awoken in the early hours with Jamie starting the engine. We had slipped anchor again, but this time were heading out into the open ocean…good job Jamie woke up.

Sandy Island - Carriacou

On the way back to Tyrell Bay, we stopped at Sandy Island for some really good snorkelling and some lolling on the amazing white beach. Becky and Andy treated us all to  grilled lobster (mm, except Jamie who had chicken…). The next day we had a fairly long sail back to Prickly Bay, Grenada, a drunken night in Grenada’s equivalent of a pub quiz, and then departure day loomed. I cried as I watched their plane roar over the bay and am still feeling sad now, but a lovely holiday was had by all.

More Piña Colada - Tyrell Bay, Carriacou