Archiv
CW 05 2002
27.01.2002 - 02.02.2002
Today is Sunday, January 27, and we're still in Port Elisabeth on Bequia.
For breakfast we're having fresh Croissants and fresh bread. A nice way to
start a day, isn't it?!
Before we leave Thomas and I take the dinghy on a little tour to the beach,
to Princess Margaret Bay. One simply must have seen it from close by. Back
aboard we pack the dinghy and outboard motor away again and are ready for
take off. At 11.15am we unfasten the lines to the mooring buoy.
Bye-bye Bequia and Mustique, here we come. That's today's destination and
it'll be easy to reach, it's only 13nm until Mustique. Setting the sails we
make good speed and reach our destination in two hours.
Well, almost get there; since we stopped to go diving at the Montezuma Shoal,
a reef which is only half a mile away from Mustique. We anchor right at the
reef and can therefore dive straight off the boat. Unfortunately we can't
all go. Even though the anchor does hold, the weather conditions make it advisable
for one of us to stay aboard. So only Christina, Bernd and I go diving and
Thomas stays behind, aboard.
It's a pity we couldn't all go. This is really an underwater world worth seeing.
Endless corrals in amazing colours and shapes.
Corrals that look like oversized mushrooms. At times we couldn't look at everything
we wanted to because the current simply carried us on. Short, but beautiful
and intensive!
We get out of the water, weigh the anchor and cross over to Mustique, to the
Grand Bay.
We find a mooring buoy there, so to say in the first row, right at the beach.
After mooring it's only 4pm and totally beautiful weather.
Armed with snorkel, mask and fins we go snorkelling. There's a beautiful reef
right in front of the beach. And there's a lot to see here: suitcase-fish,
plenty of doctor-fish, even a small sea serpent, moraines and a small stingray
drift around. Diving down to the bottom is also worth wile since there are
beautiful seashells lying there. There are piles of shells on the beach, but
those are all broken. I'm talking about those big, beautiful shells that make
you believe you can hear the ocean in them if you put them to your ear. They're
called Conch here. And since they eat conch here broken shells are lying around
everywhere. They break a hole into the shell through which they can pull the
meat out. Conch is well known in the Caribbean and can be found, differently
prepared, on the menu of almost every restaurant.
There are islands in the Caribbean where tourists and yachters are welcome,
but there are also islands where the locals rather stay to themselves. As
an example, that's the way it is on Mustique. The reason being the rich and
famous inhabitants! The villas of actors, designers, pop stars and even nobles
stand here. To mention a few names: Tommy Hilfinger, Raquel Welch, Mick Jagger,
and even Princess Margaret own a luxurious villa here. Those can be rented
for only 7.000 US Dollars per week, including house servants, a cook and car!
Well, who needs it needs it. Some of those luxurious villas can be seen from
the boat. Wow! What we can also see from the boat is a bar on the beach and
there's music sounding over the bay from there. And that's not just any bar,
that's Basils Bar. To drink a cocktail at Basils Bar is simply a must when
you're on Mustique. And that's what we'll do after dinner and until then we'll
enjoy the blues-rhythms that drift over to us. When we arrive at the bar we
find out that they had live music, which unfortunately already finished for
today. We already missed a music festival at Bequia and now we're too late
again. Since it's a blues festival they will continue tomorrow, but by then
we won't be here any more. Well, then we'll simply sip our cocktails to playback
music, and not to live music. And that doesn't make this stuff taste any worse
at all.
Shortly after midnight we, so to say, close the bar and take the dinghy back
to the boat. We're quickly off to bed since we're leaving early tomorrow morning.
At 6.30 the line is unfastened and we're on our way and now we're going to
have breakfast.
No, we don't have far to go today, but there is a good reason for us leaving
this early. The Tobago Cays are our next stop. They haven't been an insider-tip
any more in a long time and not one Grenadine-sailor would miss them, after
all, the Tobago Cays are one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean.
So one must expect plenty of other yachts, which makes it advisable to get
there early in order to be able to get a nice place to anchor. Another reason
is getting there. Reefs surround the Tobago Cays and it is helpful to have
the sun behind you when coming in, so that the reefs are easier to see.
One of the biggest reefs is the Horseshoe Reef. It owes its name to its form,
enclosing 4 of the cays like a horseshoe.
So we approach this great destination at a good time, 10.30am. Some of the
first ones are already leaving and there's enough room. And again we get one
of the nicest places.
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The anchor drops to the ground and we're in paradise.
No picture can show how beautiful it really is. The view reminds us
of the picture-wallpapers we used to know, doesn't it Christina?
In such an idyllic surrounding one has to go swimming as well and Thomas takes Christina and Bernd to the beach with the dinghy and they both go snorkelling. While the two of them are still paddling around unsuspectingly Thomas takes care of our dinner and at the same time of Bernds plans for the evening. Now we're 6 aboard; 2 lobsters are waiting for their destiny in a bucket filled with salt water. So Bernd will make Spaghetti with a delicious lobster sauce for us. Really yummy! |
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And we get something else that's really delicious tonight. A full moon!
There it is, above the palm trees, and a beautiful day comes to an end. Actually we had planned to spend two days at the Tobago Cays. We wanted to go diving here, but unfortunately the swell at the reefs is so strong that that probably wouldn't be too nice. So we decide to leave the Tobago Cays on Tuesday morning. There are only a few miles ahead of us today, but we still have to do some administrative work, we have to sign out again. That is something rather annoying, but it can't be helped when cruising the Caribbean, because you sometimes drop anchor in different territorial waters every day. Almost every island is under a different flag. |
Some islands are independent, others are French, and others …, depending
on their political, historical and colonial past. The whole story.
This time we have to go to Union Island to sign out and then we can stay another
24 hours before we actually have to leave. After arriving at Union Island
at 11am Thomas goes and signs us out while Christina buys a little fresh fruit
and vegetables.
Just before 1pm we're on our way again and an hour later we drop anchor at
Petit St. Vincent.
Petit St. Vincent is a hotel island with nothing else there. The hotels main
building, the small bungalows for guests, a restaurant and a bar and that's
it. But, there's a beautiful reef at small St. Vincent, a reef made for snorkelling.
So we gather our stuff together, jump into the dinghy and get going.
Arriving at the reef we drop the small dinghy anchor and are ready to go.
But before all four of us jump into the water one of the men goes to take
a look. And it doesn't look too good. The current is so strong, it's impossible
to stay close to the dinghy. Well, then we'll just drive on a little and look
for a different place. Easier said than done. The dinghy anchor is stuck and
we can't get that little devil out again. Therefore Bernd jumps in again and
unfastens us. If someone has been watching us he's having a good laugh.
Now we could look for a better place, but none of the places really are better.
There's a pretty strong current everywhere and we can't all go together. Thomas
stays in the dinghy, the three of us go into the water and let the current
carry us along the reef and over the reef and then Thomas picks us up again.
Even though there were things to see, if you wanted to take a closer look
you had to fin really hard to keep the current from carrying you away. All
in all it was too strenuous to be enjoyable. And since that isn't too much
fun it doesn't take long for us to decide to go and look for yet another place.
This is our last try. The sun is already going down and we can hardly see
anything under water, especially if sand and sediment are stirred up, clouding
the water, as is the case now. Ok, back aboard and let it be done with!
What's not so nice is that it is raining hard again. The rainstorms here are
usually pretty strong, but they don't last too long and a little shower won't
harm us. Although, those showers can be annoying while they last. On starboard
there's a sailing ship ahead of us and on this sailing ship is a person filming
us - while we're being showered. Yes, that's right, filming us with a video
camera. Now, that's really quite something. Well, I couldn't help myself and
had to show that "lady" something else, besides my disinterest.
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It's Wednesday and time to leave Petit St. Vincent.
We leave shortly before 10am and just an hour later we're already at
Carriacou, which is only 6 miles away. Thomas has to go and sign us
in again and he has to be quick since the office hours are being taken
strictly here and the lunch brake starts at exactly 12 o'clock. That
worked out really well and we've already weighed anchor again and are
on our way to Sandy Island. Supposedly diving and snorkelling is very
nice here. Before we all get ready Thomas and Bernd go to check out
the situation - and that turns out really bad. There's nothing left
to see, everything was eaten, died or is overgrown with algae. Nevertheless,
it's a beautiful place with great water and a pretty beach.
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We weigh anchor again and move on to Tyrell Bay, which is 3 nm away. This
bay is also described as a bay suitable for diving. But that's not what it
looks like.
To avoid our stomachs getting upset as well we use this stop to take a small
lunch snack and then we weigh anchor again and drive on. Somehow our anglers
luck isn't working properly either. Maybe we should use more colourful bait.
Possibly the Caribbean fish like colourful things better?!
Ha, and that's just the way it is. Half an hour after bringing out the rod
with a green-yellow bait there's FISH! And what a fish! A beautiful Wahoo,
also called King Fish. Anglers luck for Thomas!
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Sometimes you get Wahoo as line fish in restaurants. A pretty fish
with good white meat. Wow! |
But first we're going to take care of the fish we have, the Wahoo.
To be precise, our men are taking care of it. Can I dare tell you again, what
a great meal we had?
Oh well: for starters we had fish tartar with Irish roasted potatoes and avocado
and as a main course Wahoo a la Thomas, oven baked with potatoes and carrots.
A dream! After that one enjoys doing the dishes and can go to bed totally
satisfied.
Thursday starts a little early again. We have 30 nm ahead of us and we really
want to go diving today since this will be our last chance before we drop
anchor in Grenada.
Unfortunately it's only a small dive. Small, as far as depth is concerned,
and as far as what we see is concerned, since we have problems with a strong
current again. But we do see a few pretty fish, nice corrals and beautiful
gorgonians. Well, that's all and we go on.
At 2.30pm we're talking the last few miles to Grenada, where we drop anchor
2 hours later in Prickley Bay.
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We'll spend a few days here and we'll have to say good-bye
again, because Christina and Bernd will leave us from here.
By the way, last year those two were mentioned here already. Our "service" that wasn't a service but a white lie, enabling us to show up at the surprise-party for a 40th birthday. That was Bernds Birthday and Christina surprised him with a party. And it really was a surprise. Ok, now we'll have to find out what's happening here and where one could go. And where do you find out about things like that? Exactly, at the bar. So the two men go to the bar for sundowners and Christina and I take ours aboard. A little later we girls make dinner and that'll be it for today. |
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Today, Friday, we're going to check again what the situation concerning a
mooring place at that mini landing is - and it's bad. All we can manage is
whizzing across to refill water and diesel and then we go back to anchor.
Luckily it rained last night and some of the salt was already washed off the
ship. Now we'll give it a little wash from the outside and then we have to
get going since we're planning to go on an island tour this afternoon. Here,
on Grenada, we also take a look at parts of the island by taxi. We drive along
the western coast, heading north. Our first stop is Fort Frederick. From here
you have a great view over St. George, Grenada's capitol. We continue uphill
and go down again until we meet the coast, to Grenada's longest and best-known
beaches, especially the Grande Anse Bay. On the way we pass small fishermen
villages, built into the mountain slopes, with nice names such as Happy Hill.
It's really a good idea to take a taxi here since the roads are busy and narrow
and above all, people drive on the lift side of the road here.
Back on the road, between two villages, Traver, our driver, abruptly stops
the car. He opens the doors for us and asks us to get out. Now what is this?
He walks over to a few trees, bends down and picks something up from the ground.
That something is nutmeg. Nutmeg trees grow on every corner here. And not
only those, banana bushes, cacao plants, tangerine and paw-paw trees, anything
you can imagine. But nutmeg is something special in Grenada. Special enough
to be on the countries flag. But I'll tell you more about that later.
Before we drive on we gather a few nutmeg and take them with us.
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Before we learn more about nutmeg we visit the Concord Falls. Before
reaching the beautiful water falls we first cross a valley with the same
name. In the waterfalls surroundings are also interesting thins to see, e.g. a grass green lizard that sits on a branch motionless at first and then pumps itself up like a frog. Ups, now we're motionless, but luckily the animal disappears behind a huge hibiscus bush. And nutmeg trees are here as well. Leaving the valley behind us we get back onto the costal road and after a short while we reach Gouyave. Gouyave has 5000 inhabitants and is the third largest settlement on Grenada. As far as nutmeg is concerned it's a very important settlement, since this is where the Grenada Co-operative Nutmeg Association is. |
That's the state association of nutmeg farmers. And this is where we learn
more about this spice that everybody knows somehow and somehow doesn't know
at all. Or did you know, that this fruit, on first sight, looks a lot like
an apricot? And that, as soon as the fruit is ripe its skin pops open and
a brown pip covered by a dark red net, the nutmeg-flower, comes out? And that
the nutmeg we know is inside of this pip?
There are 7000 nutmeg farmers on Grenada and most of them bring their harvest
here. Here the nuts are weighed and manually packed into thick jute bags that
are piled up to 4 floors high with a pulley block. The nuts are put into meter
long and meter high racks to dry for 6 - 8 weeks. From there they come into
a kind of mill that opens their shells. Then the opened nuts fall into a collecting
container. From here the nuts are taken out of and separated from their shells
manually. Then they get tested for quality. This is done in water - the bad
ones swim on the surface and the good ones sink to the bottom. Then the nuts
have to be spread out in those big shelves again to dry for a few more days.
Before they're packed again and get sent all over the world they get categorized.
This is done with plates that have holes in them. There are different tables
with different sized holes in those plats and the nuts are separated into
3 categories. If the nutmeg falls through the first holes it belongs to the
smallest category. Oh, and then there's the nutmeg flower as well. Right at
the beginning the flower is taken off the nut and is also dried in large wooden
boxes. When drying the flower looses its red colour and becomes yellow. This
process only partly takes place here since some farmers do that themselves
and only deliver the nut in its shell.
Even though the nutmeg flower isn't really a well-known spice in Germany it
is a very nice spice.
Frank, who guided us on this tour, tells us that he has been to Hamburg before
- and he even speaks a few words of German. It's really a shame, if you consider,
that a nutmeg costs about 50 Cents in Germany and that this man gets 12 Euro
a day, for 8 hours of work. What a miss-relation!
At the end we all get to taste some nutmeg liqueur. We each get a tiny bottle
cap full, but that's nothing we would want to buy, since it doesn't taste
that good. Actually it's only sweet, that's it.
Having learned a lot we leave nutmeg land deeply impressed. One simply never
stops learning new things. And since food has been mentioned so often in this
log we won't give you a receipt, but a tip: always buy whole nutmegs and use
a rasp. Don't buy grinded nutmeg, you never know what's in there and it tastes
better and spicier and more aromatic if freshly ground anyways.
And a health tip: If you've got a cold, make yourself some grog with rum,
lemon juice and honey. Sprinkle freshly ground nutmeg on top and drink it
hot. This "hot teddy" tastes better than any medicine from the pharmacy.
It's time for us to make our way back. So we return by the same way we came.
Back in Prickley Bay we go back aboard, freshen up and go to the bar to catch
a little of the happy hour before we go for dinner. There's something going
on all night here. First a Steel Band plays for two hours and then another
band plays until way after midnight.
And then it's about time for us to get back home; after all we want to visit
the market tomorrow.
Today is Saturday, February 2, and at 10am we're in a taxi on our way to
the market in St. George. A busy and colourful place. Everyone who has something
to sell has his stand here and is offering his goods, the young and the old.
Vast amounts of fruit and vegetables, freshly slaughtered chicken, spices
and essences as well as woven goods and souvenirs from Grenada, the so-called
"Isle of Spice".
We buy a few spices and some fruit and leave this picturesque place. We still
want to go to the fish market. We walk a few minutes and then we're in that
market hall. There are mainly woman at the stands, offering fish and cutting
it up with their big sharp knives. Right across is the old fish market building
and next to that the meat market which we also take a look at. One shouldn't
stay here too long since the handling is pretty rough.
After a 10-minute walk we're back at the harbour and relax with a cold drink
before we take a taxi back home.
Back aboard Christina and Bern have to start packing their bags. To strengthen
them for the long journey they get some liver pate with sweet mustard from
Händelmaier - except for the missing Weiss bier very typical for the
Caribbean!
Around 5pm we go ashore again and have a farewell drink at the bar, before
Christina and Bernd take a taxi to the airport and we wave them good-bye.
Travel safely and have a good trip!
Just after 7.30pm an airplane roars over our heads. That's the plane they're
in. We stay at the bar for a while and let the day and the week end slowly.
… what the next brought us
… in one week, here:
same time, same place!
so long
Diana + Thomas
Today's clever remark is from Samuel Butler:
The art of living is to draw the right conclusions from wrong assumptions.
