Sorry to all of you that thought we were still in Trinidad, a lot has happened since then so here goes....

 

While in Trinidad I flew to Florida to visit with Claire for 10 days and had a wonderful time with Claire enjoying American Thanksgiving, Claire is well and enjoying life to the full and Chris thinks it is good for me to visit lala land, as he calls it every so often.  Personally I think he just enjoys the peace and quiet so it works all ways, he was also very well looked after by our many cruiser friends while I was away!  Upon my return to Trinidad, we had a few days to pack up and head back to Grenada.  The day before we left we heard on the radio of a boat that had lost its parrot, asking anyone to keep a look out for it, guess what?  I saw what could have been a turtle head in the water a couple of hundred yards away, turns out to be a parrot!  Into the dinghy with a towel and one very wet bedraggled parrot, though it did have the strength to chuckle at me as I talked to it, was returned to its owner. I have heard it has escaped and been rescued again, maybe it doesn’t like boatlife any more???  Views on Trinidad: would like to go back and see more of the interior of the Island, and maybe sail to some of the other bays. Chaguaramus Bay was very dirty so we missed the swimming and I don’t think we thought it was as friendly as Grenada,  someone put it as, Trinidad is where you would go to have work done on your boats but Grenada is where you would live.....

 

So back to Grenada in company with Just Imagine and Cat Tales, and we arrive in Prickly Bay to check in with customs on the 2nd December and have a mad clean and tidy of Quicksilver in time for Maris and Ali to arrive from the UK on the 5th!  We set of for the airport with Shademan to meet the B.A. flight from Gatwick and take very excited people back to Quicksilver and we begin a very hectic fun (I hope) filled 14 days of tourism.  We did the Historic Island tour, we visited the markets, we swam in clear waters and sat on sandy beaches, we left  drank rum punches onboard, on the 9th the weather was perfect for a sail up the East side of Grenada to Carriacou.  From Tyrell Bay, Carriacou we went to Petite St Vincent, then onto Petite Martinique, Sandy Island, Paradise Beach and then headed back to Grenada spending the final night at anchor on Isle de Ronde, (this is an anchorage only available in very very good weather conditions).  The 15th December, sail down to La Molinere Sculpture Park to see the underwater statues and then back to Secret Harbour, Mount Hartman to see our new mooring ball.  The weather for this trip was text book perfect and we enjoyed snorkeling, swimming and drinking beer and rum punch.  We move again to Calivigny Cut so we can visit Hogg Island for a final time, one more shopping day, dinner at the Little Dipper with its fabuoluos views and good local food and it is now nearing time for the return flight to the UK.  Sunday 18th arrives and Jeffery, (Roxie) Chris, Maris and Ali go for a final walk along the Grande Anse beach, (a swim for Maris) while I check them online for their flight, then it is time to leave for the airport.  Jeffery has very kindly lent us his car so after check the luggage in we head for the Aquarium Restaurant for a final rum punch and lunch before waving of the visitors, back to a cold, wet and windy UK.

 

We moved back to Mount Hartman for a couple of days and then cam back to the Calivigny Cut where we are anchored near, Jeffery & Connie (Roxie), Robin & Cheryl (Just Imagine) and Dan & Cindy (Sitatunga).  The ‘Christmas Winds’ have kicked in and we are having steady 25 knots of wind with gusts up to 35 knots, all coming from the North so we shall be staying here for a while....

 

Christmas Eve came with a ‘pot luck’ dinner and Christmas sing a long at Clarkes Court Bay, then Cheryl and I went to church Christmas Day and then onto Clarkes Court for Christmas Lunch with 70 other cruisers......  This New Years Eve began with us lying in our cabin reading when we hear a goat bleating, its seems to get closer so we are either drifting towards the shore or there is a goat taking a swim!  Check on deck and sure enough goat in the water off our starboard bow!  Into the dinghy (after getting nearly dressed) and head towards said goat who is being taken out to sea on the current, and drag her into the dinghy, she looks decidedly pregnant and has chewed ear and a few cuts over her chest and legs, so we take her into the shore and I go into the water with her and lead her up the beach where she shakes herself and moves towards the grass so assume she is OK.  With this and the parrot Robin has taken to calling Chris Noah, and if you remember we did come across on the ARC!!

 

for the rest of this New Years Eve I am cooking shortbread to share with friends tomorrow, and this evening we are having a gala party at the Phare Bleu Marina so looking forward to that.  I hope where ever you are and whatever you are doing you have an enjoyable, peaceful time.  I cut the following from the facebook page of a Kim a friend of ours, she said the inspiration came as she sat on her toilet??????????

 

 

xxxx