Helen: Just getting ready to leave Trindad - off course we didn't have all the right forms when we went to customs so it's taking slightly longer than we'd hoped, but we should be in Grenada for Christmas day. No Xmas pud or mince pies and not a turkey in sight...but we do have a bottle of bubbly so not all bad.
The boat is great - she's pretty roomy for 40ft and we're both looking forward to doing some 'proper' sailing - you know, pulling ropes and that sort of thing rather than just pushing buttons like on the last boat which was pretty much automatic...
We tried to get into the hills yesterday but totally failed to hire a car (it appears everywhere was shut cos it was nearly christmas - how does that work!!?? Shouldnt that be the busiest time of year?) So we went to Port of Spain (TT's capital) instead. LP said that the city isn't for tourists (they've got oil money so don't need tourist dollars) and that it's big, bustly and a bit dodgy - having spent the last couple of weeks being hastled by street vendors on tourist beaches it was actually quite refreshing to just hang out with normal people! We didn't see any other tourists (although it's harder to tell here as at least 20% of the population is white - v disconcerting to hear them speaking with broad caribbean accents!) but bumbled along through the noise and busyness of the Xmas street market. I even bought myself some typical 'Soca' music (mix of Calyspo and soul) and had the yummiest honeyed cashews ever. Hmmmm.
The day before our P.o.S adventure we went to a shopping mall/supermarket and got stuck in a 2 hour queue (line) for the tills. People were fighting for trolleys Bonkers! I guess it was just because of Christmas, but still, it's funny to come half way round the world, and find out that, perfectly reasonably, people do just the same stuff that they do at home - go shopping, get stuck in queues and traffic jams (we ended up in jams on both Gran Canaria and St Lucia - both made worse by the fact that both islands only have one road all the way round so a jam really does block everything up! the one in St Lucia wasn't too bad though as it was moving so slowly we managed to hop out and get beers from a passing pub :)
Right, gotta get back to customs
Hxx
PS we've been keeping a look out for crazy signs, and think these two might make Olly, Bob and Will smile - we found 'Cock flavoured soup' in the supermarket (yes, I know it's childish but it's still funny), and also 'Extra concentrated Joy' in a bottle (Joy is a brand of washing up liquid). Gimme some of that for the festive season!!
HAPPY XMAS all :)
2 comments:
Good to hear from you yesterday! Happy Christmas from a far from sunny clime - in fact, wet and windy sums us up. Father contemplating walk, while I am thinking of reasons not to set foot outside (not sure that I will succeed in this endeavour and imagine that come mid afternoon we will be braving the elements in the High Street). Hope cat scratches and mossie bites subsiding - if you can get hold of witch hazel gel that usually subdues inflammation. Take care Susan xx
i just read some about your crossing, and joel has told me few funny things, but i will wait to hear the whole story from u....
in grenada now, i will be in martinique for the 10th gen, see ya there i now a very nice little place where we can have a great dinner and tell each other all our adventures!
big hug
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