Grenada Update
Roysterer
Peter & Penny Hesleden
Sun 12 Jan 2014 17:14
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First mate here. This is our last day at Phare Bleu Marina, we're moving round to Clarkes Court Bay Marina tomorrow, as there is too much swell here and the mooring lines creak alarmingly. We were getting off the boat using the passarelle, but had to take it off as a bolt sheared off. I was delighted as it was at a very steep angle and bouncing up and down ( the boats and pontoons move up and down all the time), and had been doing its best to catapult me off it whenever I got off the boat. In fact one day I insisted we got in the dinghy and took it round to the dinghy dock to get off the boat! Now we get on the swim ladder and step off (choosing the right moment), but it does mean Roysterer is near the pontoon and did crash into it once - the swell pushed the fender up so far it was no protection. We dinghied round to Clarkes Court and it seemed very calm in comparison. Although it is literally the next bay, we will have to go out to sea a bit, as there are reefs here, and then hope the sun is out so we can see them easily as we come in.
We hired a car for a couple of days, but the weather is still very rainy so it wasn't entirely successful. We did get to the Belmont Estate though, where they show you how they prepare cocoa beans for the Grenada Chocolate Factory. It was very interesting and we tasted some delicious hot chocolate made from pure chocolate with cinnammon and nutmeg added. The generator has now been fixed - it was only a split hose fortunately, so easily fixed and we're good to go. We haven't had much exercise recently, with all the rain and waiting around for the generator to be fixed, but went for a walk up to the Egmont bridge this morning. It was quite a nature trail, with mongooses, butterflies and several types of birds, including mockingbirds. Looking down from the bridge at the mangroves, we saw shoals of tiny fish and big brown crabs. The pictures (which seem to have arranged themselves in a random order) are me enjoying a rum punch in St George's, Phare Bleu marina, Belmont Estate, drying the cocoa beans , a dinghy concert held in our bay - there is a bar on a barge on the other side of the yacht, crammed with people who all arrived by dinghy. Then there is a lovely dog called Spike, who lies on the passarelle not bothered at all by it bouncing up and down , Pete securing the dinghy after we used it to get off the boat (he thought I was a wimp), Clive, Caroline and Glenys from Lady Caroline, a view of St George's from the dinghy and Pete back on the boat on New Year's Eve. We went to De Big Fish with Lady Caroline and celebrated midnight at UK time (8.00 here), including the fireworks in London on a big screen, then were back on Roysterer by 11.00, so we saw the firework display at the marina too. |
