Grenada first week

On Monday, Heather finally got the opportunity to show Peter around the capital, St. George's. It wasn't quite the trip I anticipated, though, as our car broke down on the way downtown. The car overheated, but appeared to have other problems as well. At least we made it off the road and into a parking lot - NAPA auto parts as it turns out. After taking some time to let the words coming out of my mouth sink in, Peter finally heard that the radiator appeared to be leaking along the top. It was cracked along the entire length. Geez! Visions of the radiator replacement that ended up "totaling" my old car came to mind, along with the $300 tow quote we just received. Fortunately, we mustered the patience to wait for Mr. Greenjeans to come, who is the gentleman who sold us the shivering mass that is our car - when it was still brave enough to shutter. Truly, Greenjeans has been absolutely wonderful taking care of us and our car issues - long after our purchase - and at the expense of at least his time if not those in his service. After proposing some truly surprising solutions over the phone, once he saw the problem in person, he said hey, no problem - you can have just the top of the radiator replaced...just down the block as it happens. Never heard of it? I can't begin to tell you about the automotive solutions arrived at in Grenada, but darn it, it's a whole lot cheaper and the fixes have worked so far!

While we waited the hour for the car to be fixed (read: 4 hours,) we continued on to St. George's and explored the lower portion of the city. We took a reggae bus the rest of the way. I had really hoped to show Peter the crest of the hill with the churches and school, but we didn't think we had enough time. The capital was packed with people, as it had been for the past few pre-holiday weeks.

Heather in front of the trophy shop. An improbable find. Yes, they even offer some trophies!

My favorite non-radio advertisement. "HAVE A HAPPENING CHRISTMAS!" We found this poster downtown, but the ad was everywhere. Turns out, remember Nick's Donut Shop from earlier weeks, the one that doesn't generally have donuts? His daughter won the car! Woo-hoo!

A gorgeous ship in port.

The favorite cruise ship so far - I just love the lips on the front.

Peter near the cruise ship port. The land all the way to the buildings in the background is reclaimed land - this used to be the sea until two or three years ago. Instead, they made a large dock and "port" to accommodate the huge cruise ships, a mall, and a parking lot.

St. George's

Buying fresh anise in the spice market.

We headed back to the auto repair shop before completion, anticipating that the work would be accomplished sooner if we were present. We chose to walk back to the repair shop, past the Carenage where many fishing boats, ferries, and day cruising vessels are tied up. Oh, and this interesting, partially afloat, pile-o-random-artifacts. My favorite is the banister post on the right with a rose attached to the top.

The ferry from Trinidad was unloading as we passed. This driver was slowly driving off trying to avoid scraping the bottom of his van on the ramp. We indicated that it looked like he was in the clear (barely,) and he hollered to us, asking us to take his photo, so we obliged.

This photo only shows part of the story here. Directly behind the van in the above picture (you can even see a bit of it in the photo of the van), was much smaller, er, vehicle waiting its turn. A cart of speakers on wheels, pushed by a truly impressive character, tragically unseen in this photo. You can make out his camouflage coat, but the trousers, hat, and hair must be left to your imagination.

The third and perhaps most unlikely passenger awaiting exit from the ferry. Candice the Cow. She says she had a nice enough trip, a boat ride now and then breaks up the time, but she prefers green, grassy ground under her hooves.

Most of the fishing boats we see are about ten foot skiffs. These are serious trawlers.

The Carenage. The Trinidad ferry is the white and black boat on the left.
Even in this environment, if you walk along the street, which meets the sea, you can spot random and beautiful tropical fish in this very industrial environment.

Peter in front of "De Reno Cinema and Cultural Entatainment Centa!" Grenada's only movie theatre, which offers two different classes of movie tickets and two shows a day.