Carnival!

We decided on a whim really to travel back down to Trinidad for two reasons....we had a friend making land there from Las Palmas and it was Carnival time! We had a cracking sail down there from Carriacou we went down the Atlantic side of Grenada and sailed all the way even hitting the Bocas de Manos at the right time so the current was with us, something we have never managed before! we had hoped that we could keep our arrival a secret from our friend, Tree, on Mr Blue but she arrived on Saturday and in the end we decided it was best to come clean! We took her lines and gave her advice on how to manage customs and immigration. This can be a bit tricky in Trinidad where you have to submit three or four copies of everything and all the crew have to show themselves at immigration. In Trini carbon rules ok at the customs and immigration and should you happen to make an error you can get lumbered with an outrageous fine as our friends Richard and Kay found out to their cost when they found themselves on the wrong side of a $tt3000 fine. 
Mr Blue arrived safe with no problems and we enjoyed a pleasant Shark and Bake meal with Tree and her crew at the Wheelhouse Pub. 

Carnival

We had already booked them on the bus for the big Carnival parade on Shrove Tuesday and what a parade it was! Jesse James, the OCC port officer took us in  one of his taxis at 6.00 am to get a seat in the stand. This enabled us to ensure we had a seat out of the sun and we could come and go as we pleased throughout the day. All down Arripita Ave there were bars, stalls selling food, security and toilets! Everything had been thought of. The parade started about 9.30 and it just kept coming....the outfits were spectacular and Avenue was divided into half, down one side of the road were the trucks laden with speaker boxes and guys shouting and getting the guys in the the parade revved up whilst the groups performed in front of the judges stand to the carnival theme ...'Like a boss'. This soca classic was infectious and by the end of our seven hour marathon we knew most of the words! the trucks were interspersed with booze trucks for those on the parade and ...porta loos!! Though how some of those on the parade would have managed in their costumes ...Lord knows!!

There is a lot of talk about how Trinidad is dangerous and of the crime and murder that takes place but I never felt anything but safe. There was a big police presence but this was not overbearing. One of the crew on Mr Blue fell asleep in the sun and John and I watched over him for a while but then a very pleasant Trini lady told us not to worry she would see he came to no harm and nap over he returned back to the stand safe and sound. I can recommend this day out, food and drink was very reasonable cheaper than in Chagauramas and not the Carnival rip off we would find in the UK and Jesse delivered us back to Powerboats safe and sound at exactly the time stated. 

Carriacou

I enjoyed my birthday in Prickly and joined a group of yachties on a stroll down to the West Indies Beer Company where we introduced our friends to the place. Half the way through the afternoon John bought out a big chocolate birthday cake from the kitchen....real ale and chocolate cake you can't beat it!

We have left Prickly Bay for a while and moved north up to Carriacou to try to catch up with our friends Resolute of Thames who are waiting in Bequia. More jobs on the boat have been completed and we have finally managed to order our sails....Yippee. I did have one minor mishap dropping my wallet with all my cards in the drink as I was getting into the dinghy with the shopping. I did not hear it plop into the sea but assumed that that must have been what happened! After cancelling all my cards and ordering a new drivers license I got a call on the VHF from Margi on Peregrina to say that there was a poster in the marina office about a wallet that had been found! The Diver had been checking the Marina lazy lines when my silver,shiny, wallet caught his eye and he handed it into the marina office. Amazingly all the cards were dry and intact....but alas cancelled! Never mind ...as John and I always say ' nobodies dead, nobodies injured' so it's not the end of the world ....worse things have happened at sea!!

Carriacou

We are now in Carriacou which is a small island belonging to Grenada. It is peaceful and the water beautifully clear. In Tyrell Bay there are many small restaurants and last night we ate at Luckys basic  BBQ chicken and chips (x2)but with a quarter bottle of rum and two mixer drinks and 4 beers it cost the princely sum of 60ec .....just under £15 good value or what?! The number 10 /11 bus will take you all around the island for 3.50ec and John and I have walked over the hill to catch some really great views South of the island.
There is a really interesting boat floating here in the Bay ...basically it started as a monohull, two further hulls were added either side to act as outriders and then a workshop was built on top. From here the owner carries out work for yachties in his fully equipped workshop. Fascinating, have never seen anything like it!

It is good to get away from Prickly for a while and sad that over the past few weeks petty politics seem to have raised their ugly head as what I can only describe as a power struggle has developed between the Grenada FB page and the admin of the Cruisers Net. I log on to the  Criusers Page to find out information and listen to the net in the morning for the same reason not to listen or read gripes about who did who to what etc....It is a pity as it sends out the wrong signals about the place and as a cruiser I weighed anchor to get away from such things! However that aside Grenada is a great place, friendly people and lots to see and do and I delete and close my ears to anything that really is not relevant and leave the politics to those who obviously enjoy such things!