St. George’s Market Place (8.28.10)

To truly discover Grenada, a trip to St. George’s Market Place on Saturday morning is on the list. The Grenadian people are warm and friendly, but in the market, everyone has to make a living. So, because we stick out a bit with our fair skin, we were approached by many a local. Some wishing to sell spices, some vegetables and fruits, and some hand made jewelry. If you practice saying “no” before you go, you might make out with more cash in your pocket than we did. We barely had enough money to afford the Reggae bus back home.

Bird for Breakfast (8.28.10)

Kibbles spent the night with us last night (are you a bit surprised?). We again tried to get him to fly away off our balcony, but, he wanted to remain with Grayson. As she walked down to breakfast this morning, we decided he should come with her. She had him on her finger but, he made his way to his favorite perch. Would you believe that people had the audacity to stare at us while we were eating breakfast? By the end of our meal, though, Kibbles had flown to a nearby tree. Good luck, sweet dove.

Fish Friday Extavaganza (8.27.10)

In the parish of St. John is the fishing capital of Grenada--a town called Gouyave. The community hosts a rustic, open-air seafood bazaar called “Fish Friday” as the name suggests, every Friday night. You walk around in centuries old alleys, and sample the local music, culture, and tastes, some of them unique to the island. The people who live here are the real deal… fishermen that have been laboring in these Caribbean waters for generations. A sample of their specialty is worth the long drive (~1 hour) along the Western coast to get there. Among our favorites? Fish cake, blue marlin, fish kabobs, topped off with nutmeg and cinnamon ice cream.

Red Sky at Night (8.27.10)

Being on land in the Caribbean is different from being on the water. For one, you get to drive up the coast (on the wrong side of the road, mind you) and take pictures of the sunset. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Our hearts are happy either place.

Marine Scavengers (8.27.10)

A scavenger hunt took place this afternoon (and yes, that’s the ocean that the kids are in), where uncertainty was broken with the spotting of a starfish. Not the big beautiful ones we’d seen here before, but, one small loner, just waiting to be held by little hands. We spent the full afternoon at Grand Anse, with our new friends from Connecticut who handily traveled with an 8 year old boy (Matthew) and 6 year old daughter (Sarah). Competition set in with the young males in who could find the most sea urchin shells and dive for them. Harrison became known as “the expert” and was the official winner. How are we ever going to travel home with this loot?

The National Bird (8.27.10)

Lloyd and I taught our second day at SGU while Keisher (our sitter, pronounced Keisha) and the kids remained at the University Club. When we walked into our room after teaching, Keisher hustled out pretty quickly... and with good reason. The kids had something to show us, and of course they had “rescued” a poor Grenadian dove from the pool! They named him Kibbles and put him in one of the drawers of our hotel room with some french fries and water. You should know that the national bird here is the Grenadian dove, and you’ll be happy to know that the kids were responsible for nursing it’s wing back to health. We tried to let it fly away outside our room (we had a bird releasing party), but, Kibbles actually believed that Grayson was it’s momma, and quite frequently would land on her head. He wouldn't leave her! I only have to place my bets now. There is a veterinary school at St. George’s and if I started paying tuition now, maybe we would be debt free by the time both our children enter the vet school here.

Skype 101 (8.26.10)

Not only was today our first day teaching the medical students at SGU, but, we also had an introduction to Skype with Harrison’s class at PDS. The boys articulated great questions. Harrison discussed changing money and showed them some E.C. of various values. He also talked about the water supply, weather forecast, and beach conditions. What a pleasure to be able to share our experiences with his classmates.