Merry Christmas!

Prickly Bay

Life moves at a nice, slow pace in Prickly Bay, Grenada and then all of a sudden you wake up to some excitement!  I was making a cup of tea at 6:30 the other morning when I noticed a friend zoom by in his dinghy.  Where could he be going so early?  A few minutes later Jim took his coffee and went to sit in the cockpit and noticed what all the excitement was about.  A boat had broken loose from it's mooring, bounced off of a pier and went aground along the west shore of the bay.

 The boat was unoccupied and apparently the line was cut.  It could have happened in the night if someone ran over the line in the dark and cut it with their outboard prop.  Or I guess it could have been foul play but that sort of thing hasn't happened here before and with no one aboard it's doubtful that the owner had angered someone so it remains a mystery how it happened.

 Several dinghies were already on the scene offering assistance.  Here the man with the dinghy on the left has taken the main halyard (look closely and you'll see the line from the top of the mast running to the dinghy) and is pulling the sailboat over on her side to free the keel from the sand.  A little more pulling and the boat popped free with no damage!  Phew!  Glad that wasn't us.  It's not a good feeling to go to sleep in one place and wake up in another!

 In Prickly Bay we are surrounded by beautiful homes. 

This home is right off of Merengue's stern.

 We've come to think of Grenada as home and have decided to make it our home for the next year.  We'll stay here to do a few boat projects while we enjoy all this island has to offer.  Oh, maybe we'll take a trip to  the Grenadines but we have no plans to sail any further north.  It will be a nice, lazy year.  We're looking forward to it.

Merengue in Prickly Bay, Grenada.

Only 3 weeks Until Christmas. Yikes!

We've had several inquiries asking if Jim put out a calendar for 2012 so at the risk of shameless self-promotion here's the link again.  There is also a great Christmas card with a Caribbean theme. 

If you hurry, you'll still have time to address the cards and get them mailed!

http://www.cafepress.com/Merengue 

Front of card

Inside message

Thanks for your interest.  It is truly appreciated!

Sophie's Sojourn

Yahoo!  Another niece!

We have 2 you know!

Sophie came to visit us in Grenada, her first time in the Caribbean.

 The first day begins with a noodle-float in the ocean.  It's a great way to begin a vacation!

 Celebrating Jim's birthday with friends at De Big Fish Restaurant.

 Sophie and Jim

Sophie and Wendy



Jim and Sophie doing a little cooking together.

 It's thirsty work!  Just a little sip as this is 15 year old El Dorado rum.

 The result of their effort was a delicious chicken curry with breadfruit.

 Beach day at the Aquarium restaurant on Magazine Beach.

 The surf was really big so we had to skip the snorkeling.  Instead we ate......

 drank.......

drank some more......

and hung out on the beach.

 Island tour time with our guide and friend, Cutty.

 Cutty always teaches us about the local plants.  This are cocoa pods.

 Annandale Falls

River's Rum Distillery

 Rivers is the oldest working, water-driven distillery in the Caribbean established in 1785.....

 ...thus the old pictures.  Oh wait, cameras hadn't been invented in 1785!

 Tasting the overproof rum.  All smiles, Sophie's ready!

 Oh, that's rough!

 What is this stuff?  Look at Jim thinking "I got her!"

 Oh, there's the burn!  Will I ever feel my throat again?

Cutty's favorite neighborhood rum shop.  We stopped for a cold beer on the way home.

 Another beach day.  You can't have too many! 

This is the view looking out from Umbrella's Restaurant on Grand Anse Beach.

 Our waitress strikes a pose for the camera.

Not to be outdone, Sophie strikes a pose of her own!

We loved having you here sweetie.  Come back soon!