Grenada first week

Grenada
The Spice of the Caribbean

Fall 2007

Josh gets more face time.

SGU's TALENT SHOW!

...AND the VERY FIRST photo taken with our NEW (REPLACEMENT) CAMERA! Whoa!

First Photo!

The only thing more exciting than using our "new" refurbished camera, "freshly" back from warranty replacement was experiencing the hilarious comic stylings of Grenada's own Pirate! Gooooooo Jonathan! Jonathan was a super comedian on stage. Now that I know how funny he can be, I only hope he sticks to the actually funny off-stage too! (Just kidding! Everyone's a comedian, eh?)

Even Peter takes a well deserved break after the show (which he missed, as it's three hours long) to watch a movie short at home. :)

YOWZA! One of the more striking fish on the reefs in Grenada; we've seen them as adorable tiny little fry starting last spring. I believe this is a variety of juvenile angel fish, but I'll try to confirm my suspicion.

The schooling fish...and their nemesis, the pelicans...were still maintaining their relative positions at the Aquarium.

A rainbow, emanating from its pot-of-gold: St. George's.

Peter poses with an eel-like, bird sculpture.

Cheers!

Happy Thanksgiving, Grenada!

Just some of the spread...after it had be gorged upon: main courses and desserts.

Christina.

Jonathan demonstrates how he utilizes his brand new, screaming pink exercise ball.

Such excitement!

After everyone left, I had a great time hanging out with Jonathan until I needed to pick Peter up from the library (at midnight.) Jonathan tried to get me interested in his favorite past-time by demonstrating the finer points of television watching.

It's the kind of thing you learn by doing. While Jonathan was rather convincing-as I had a ball-it just wasn't the same without him when I tried it at home the next day. Nothing can replace my sweet, sweet radio...which now comes to me via streaming internet. From actual information to bona-fide entertainment (commercial free if you wish) it's my connection to the world.

A great sadness and tragedy visited this week, after we arrived home following Jonathan's Thanksgiving/Peter's study night. As I parked the car, Peter noticed that Ginger, one of Christine's four dogs, was lying in the grass in the middle of the yard in the middle of the night - something he never does. Ginger was completely unresponsive, so we phoned Christine to let her know what was happening. Peter brought out his medical tools and a flashlight to gather some vital statistics, and I spoke with Christine to inform her of Ginger's status and encourage her to seek help, or give us permission to do so. Christine came out and sat with Ginger as I made the appropriate phone calls to get someone to meet us at the University's small animal clinic.

Peter gathered Ginger into the car and we brought him to the clinic while Christine changed her clothes so she could meet us at the office. We three waited for an hour or two while the veterinarian and two veterinary students administered supportive care. We were, mercifully, permitted to stay in the treatment room with Ginger and the support staff, so we could monitor the efforts and offer encouraging words to Ginger. Over time, Ginger's status improved slightly when he displayed some neurological response for a time, but there were no dispositive tests or diagnoses to offer any more insight into how to really help him. Eventually, the three of us headed home for some rest when things seemed as stable as they would get.

I went into work a bit late the next day, and stopped by the clinic to visit Ginger in case he was still with us and alert. He is so painfully submissive in close contact, I knew he would need to see a familiar face in such a strange environment to have the strength to get better. I spoke with the doctor, who gave a cautious report including some positive signs from the morning where Ginger actually made it to his feet briefly. Unfortunately, however, he was unresponsive during my visit.

I visited him again the next day on Saturday, and happened to meet Christine as she was waiting to visit. Ginger was just as unresponsive, and he, sadly, did not make it to the evening.

Ginger (and Frisco and Ancho)

We have since shared Christine's (and Frisco's and Ancho's and Greedy's) grief in Ginger's passing.

Sometimes the most hard-won friends grow fondest in our hearts. Ginger was so shy and passive and intimidated, not letting (even) me even pet him for two months after moving in and offering myself (and my treats!) in friendship, that it was an honor and privilege when he allowed me, and then Peter, closer to him. Over the last year, since he first allowed contact, Ginger came to relish our now trusted attention, even happily demanding as many rubs as we could lavish on his rear hip. In return, we had come to anticipate his excited greetings and beam in the sunshine of the trust and friendship that he offered to us. After he left, I can see now how, in his own way, despite being the low dog on the totem pole, he actually could lead the other dogs and provoke them to action: whether intimidating strangers, or welcoming the three humans he trusted when they finally emerged from the house or returned home. We have lost a special friend.

Saturday night, I had the opportunity to rejuvenate in the company of good friends.
Talk about hitting the jackpot! Noga hosted a fantastic dinner party at her wonderful apartment overlooking...well, just about everything. She fixed up a Middle Eastern feast like no other. If ever I were fortunate enough to have the means to afford a personal chef to do all of that preparation, this is the kind of food I would have every night!

The appetizers alone made for a healthy, hearty meal.

Stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage.

Sitting down to dinner

Britney

Eran and Shirley

Hail to the chef!

Sailboats and snorkeling!

Christina

View of the shore.

Not usually a drinker, Pirate Jonny takes a swig to give him the Pirate courage to brave swimming in the water without a flotation device.

First stop: Flamingo Bay! My favorite snorkeling location. Today, however, was extremely murky, as Grenada experienced some storms the two previous days. Between the waves kicking up detritus and runoff from the land, visibility was not great. However, if you were persistent and knew where to go, there were plenty of wonderful discoveries to behold! This was the first substantial test of the new camera in its underwater setup!

Boxfish and juvenile neon spotted jobbie.

Britney, and what looked to be a very large wrasse.

Greg and Anna.

Butterfly fish. A trumpet fish: the water was SO shallow, and this guy for some reason decided to swim directly under me...but only while swimming on his side so he could keep a very close eye on me.

Branching coral.

A good size school of needlenose fish. A wild cousin of poor "Old Reverend Wilcox" (an unusual algae blenny we housed in our Colorado aquarium.)

Britney and Anna

Next stop, we went to the bay south to see the underwater sculpture garden, which I had never been to. By the time we arrived, it was rather late in the day. The low light, compounded by the very murky water which just reflected the camera flash, made picture taking nearly impossible. It was quite a challenge to locate more than just the sculpture next to the boat. Soon I asked for help, and found myself swimming as fast as my little legs could go, keeping up with one of the boat guides. It was so dark that the last sculpture he showed me was invisible until I swam down about twenty feet or so. The final sculpture that the guide sought, well, he couldn't even find it the water was so dark! I believe I was the only one to see more than the one sculpture next to the boat: I saw six.

Part of an underwater sculpture: it depicts life-size people holding hands in a circle, facing outward.

A flock of pelicans heading to roost for the night.

After I got back on board, my attention was caught by a ruckus near the stern of the boat. Although you're not supposed to feed sea creatures, these seal-like animals were fighting one another so aggressively for some handouts that it seemed wrong not to throw them a morsel. We even got one to take food out of our hands!

Wet and tired, but happily content.