My Travels

July 15, 2012

Island Hop to Carriacou

Yesterday, we island hopped to Carriacou! Carriacou is a dependency of Grenada, and it lies to the north of Grenada, but south of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where there is another PO Team stationed.

Our trusty driver Bassanio came to pick us up at our pre-determined time in the morning at our guesthouse. As we were heading towards the Carenage to board the ferry, we received a phone call from the union representative who was to escort us to Carriacou. Apparently, he had car troubles that morning and would be late. Since we were already on our way, we decided to move forward with or without our guide.

The scene at the port was chaotic! There was a haphazard lineup to purchase tickets, a large pile of luggage waiting to be moved on board, and cargo being loaded into the aft end of the ferry. We waited to be last in line, that way if Mr. Late was to show up, he would make it in the nick of time to purchase his ferry ticket. But as the minute hand ticked twenty minutes past nine, we decided it was now or never. It cost 960EC (East Caribbean dollar / CAD = 2.6) for all 6 of us return.

Everyone sat on the upper deck to soak up the sun, but I opted for the indoor, shaded seating area with A/C. I've been adverse to the sun ever since I found a very light sunspot in the middle of my upper lip! My dermatologist gave me two options: shave it off at the clinic, or laser it off - both would kill like a mofo. So ever since that visit, I use a 20 UVA/UVB stick on my lips and SPF 60 everywhere else.

While on the lower deck, I did not notice any life vests or any signage indicating where they were kept. When travelling abroad, that's one thing you have to be prepared for - the safety standards of other countries may pale in comparison to what we're accustomed to in North America. I quickly scanned my exit route, popped a Gravol, and napped all the way there.

On Carriacou, we were met by 2 members of the teachers union. We guessed that the lady wearing a literacy t-shirt was one of them. Enoch and Theria took us to the Jerk Centre in the main town of Hillsborough for some lunch, and we had none other than jerk chicken, and passion fruit juice. Since none of us have had adverse reactions to ice cubes thus far, we have ice cubes in all our drinks now.

We were met by a driver to bring us on an island tour. The terrain was hilly, with very lush flora. Sort of eco-rain-foresty, reminding me of the rain forests of Belize, which is a No-No for me (bug bites). But anyway, since we were sightseeing from a vehicle, I figured I'd be fine. We visited the high point where the Princess Royal Hospital is situated. The hospital was initially built there to isolate patients with malaria.

By the afternoon, we were hot & tired. The ferry only departs Carriacou, once a day, for Grenada. We boarded the ferry and went back home. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant in Grand Anse.



Jerk Chicken, Rice & Peas, Plantains


View of Petite Martinique

Princess Royal Hospital


Carriacou Harbour


1 comment:

  1. Sounds like you're off to an exciting adventure Deb! Best of luck! I'm looking forward to all the updates and photos along the way! xx jfo

    ReplyDelete