Grenada first week

Happy Birthday to Me!
What better present than a carefree weekend with my wonderful husband?

Gorgeous, good sized squid.

Always a favorite: the cowfish.

A large coral.

Tangs.

Heather

Peter

We had a quick lunch in transit: a fajita wrap for Peter, and a smoothie and a piece of cake for Heather! Hey, anything goes on your birthday! After lunch, we drove to La Sagesse, a wonderfully secluded resort on the east coast. This area always feels special: a place to let go of any worries, relax and enjoy. The sand at La Sagesse is incredibly fine; the grains are so close together that it holds water exceedingly well...which also means that it is the best sand sculpture sand imaginable! Water barely even seems to evaporate from it, seeming to hold gloms of sand in whatever position you leave it. The water in this bay is also unique: it is very calming, with gentle waves that seem to take forever to break and gently roll in to the beach. Even I can walk out into the water for a long ways until I can't reach the bottom.

Looking down the beach at La Sagesse.

Dolphin in the sand.

I just love this series of Peter frolicking in the water:

I enjoyed swimming, floating and relaxing. Eventually, we picked ourselves up and rented sea kayaks!

Peter and I paddled out into the open sea beyond the bay, which is protected by reefs, into some really terrific swells! We returned when the swells got to be too much for Peter's stomach!!

We had planned on eating dinner at La Sagesse, but it turned out they were hosting a wedding ceremony and reception (the two of us and our kayaks will no doubt be present in most of their wedding photos!) We thought it best to develop and alternative plan, so we went home, cleaned up, and decided to try the Mona Lisa, an Italian restaurant.

Britney stopped by with some beautiful flowers before we left.

The Mona Lisa turned out to be a delightful experience! The Italian woman who owns the restaurant has been with the Italian embassy for 14 years, and she was very proud to tell us how she creates and tests every dish on the menu, and she insists on shopping for each ingredient herself to ensure that the restaurant uses only the freshest food. Her care was evident in our wonderfully tasty meals!

We left from Grand Etang's crater lake.

Peter and Heather

Unlike our visit last fall, when we found the trail to be impassable without a machete, this time we found the path to be wide and clear. I understand that many trails are cleared during the tourist season. Nevertheless, there were a few obstacles along the way!

There was still plenty of razor grass, but this time it was largely avoidable thanks to the wide trail. We escaped with a minimum of grass cuts.

Much of the forest was severely damaged by recent hurricanes, as seen in the photo above. Trees were stripped of their foliage and died. These bare sticks poking above the shortened jungle are a reminder of the ecosystem's recent challenges. In just a few years, the forest has rallied and is on its way to recovery, though we understand it will take about 15 years for the vegetation affected to reach pre-hurricane populations.

In contrast, some areas managed to survive the storms much more intact.

A great deal of the trail was like a giant Stairmaster to the clouds!

We did not find any monkeys, but the flora and views were wonderful!

As we made our way along the trail, we found ourselves quite warm in the valleys and areas protected by trees, but the open ridges provided a fantastic and very cool wind.

At the top, we were rewarded with cooling wind, great views, clouds racing by our heads, and one final climb:

Although you can't tell by the photos, to sit on top of this boulder was like riding a surreal spaceship. Clouds starting in the valley directly below raced up the slope and streamed past our heads. The effect was like driving a car in a snowstorm of very large snowflakes. It is reminiscent of the TV/movie effect of traveling at "warp speed." It was a magical feeling!

Eran

Whew! A well deserved rest at the top of the boulder. In the background is the crater lake where we started.

At the top!

Peter

The descent was fast and fun! I think the above left photo was the last time we saw "Ironman" Eran until the bottom. His hiking prowess put Peter and I to shame!

A new fern unfurling.

Regrouping at the lake.

After the hike, we headed back to town and on to the Rex Grenadian to meet up with the rest of the SOSs and take a swim. Following a delightful dinner with Eran, we headed home to r-e-l-a-x!