Out and a boat

Last week I went with Owen to his friend Josh's boat. Josh lives on the boat with his little brother, mom and dad. Josh is friends Owen because they are in the same class at Beacon.

To get to his "house" you have to through Woburn which has a stinky, stinky mangrove. The day we went it smelled like egg salad threw up on cow paddies. It was STINKY!

When we arrived at the dingy launch Josh and his mom, Kate, were already on their way to pick us up. Once they picked us up we headed back toward their boat. To get to the boat you have to navigate through a maze of other boats. On the way we saw boats from pretty much everywhere. I also saw my friend Noa's dad heading to the launch.

Josh's Boat.....just kidding. But the same harbour

Getting on the boat means you need to climb up and over the side of the boat. It was a lot of fun to do. Their boat was blue and had two masts. There boat (house) is a lot more compact than I thought a boat could be. I had no idea you could fit some much stuff into 15 meters (about 50 feet). It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room and living room (these are all together). There is an other dining area on the deck.

Once aboard we went to the bow (front) and jumped off. Kate went over to Noa's boat (Noa is my friend from Switzerland who is in my class). Noa was doing his French (which is his first language) and he said he would catch us later.

So then Kate took us to Hog Island to play. We played on the swings and there was a Cabana to hang out in. We also played Bochi ball, it was really fun. About 45 minutes later Noa caught a dingy ride to Hog Island to join us. Then we went around the corner of where we were and went snorkeling. The snorkelling was really good, except it knee deep water for about 100 meters, so that was a bit tricky. But then it dropped off to really deep. Everyone had a really good time.

When we got to the boat we had sandwiches and chips. We watched a movie and I showed Josh how to do some things in Minecraft.

When my mom and dad came to pick me up we dropped Noa off on the way to the launch.

It was a lot of fun. We plan on having Noa and Josh over during the holidays- but after Auntie Ceilidh leaves.

The five things I want to do before I leave

Today there are only 100 days left before we leave. These are the five things I want to do and why:

1. The sulphur springs- I want to go to the sulphur springs because we have been told the mud is yellow.

2. Belmont Estates (again)- Belmont  Estates own the Grenada Chocolate Company and also has a huge acreage with gardens, goat petting zoo, and a talking parrot.

3. Petroglyphs- I really want see these because I have only seen petroglyphs once before in Canada and they were very cool. These glyphs belong to the Caribe and Arawak Indians.

4. Black Bay Beach- I have really wanted to go ever since we went to The Spice Basket, mainly because it is a volcanic beach and has gold in the sand (very small amounts).

5. Seven Sisters Waterfalls-The seven sisters waterfall is a stream of water that falls over a cliff seven times. We haven only been to one of the seven sisters because it is a 90 minute hike (1 1/2 hours).

I really hope we get to do all of these things before we leave.  

Me with my family doing one of my favourite things- going to the beach

Field trip number 2!

On Friday the 13^th I went on a field trip with form 1, 2, 3 & 4 (grade 7, 8, 9 & 10). The trip was to help with our history and IT class. We are studying the Mayan, Incas, Caribs and Arawak indigenous peoples.

The first place we went to was the Grenada National Museum in St. George. It has artifacts like canoes, spears, axes and pottery belonging to the Arawak and Carib Indians. They came from South America to the Caribbean using drought canoes. They carve them by burning the tree and then using a flint knife to scarp the insides out. The Arawaks were relatively peaceful but the Caribs were violent and chased the Arawaks all the way the through the Caribbean Island chains.

The second place we went to was Diamond Chocolate factory where they make Jouvaye chocolate bars. This was near Victoria in St. Mark’s parish. I liked it. I learned how they make the different percentages of chocolate. To do this they add sugar to the mix. So if you want 60% (which is my favourite) you add 40% sugar to the mix. This chocolate is not exported you can only get it in Grenada.

The next place we went to was Leaper’s Hill in Sauteurs. This where the Caribs did not jump to their deaths. This is because Mr.Peter’s, a historian, told us that they jumped at the other church because when the British took over from the French they kicked them out of their church. So the Protestant church used to be the Catholic church, which is where the Caribs really jumped. But the monument is at the “new” Catholic church. Either way the last of the Caribs all died at Leaper’s Hill.

Now to Belmont Estates which is in St. Patrick’s parish. Belmont Estate is an old planation which now has a chocolate company, restaurant, and gardens. Here I learned who the cocao beans are processed in chocolate. It was a really confusing process, it takes a really long time, requires heating, moving, drying. They also had baby goats and a talking parrot.  They weren’t as cute as the one we saw on the Hash though!

Then we went to a bakery in Grenville where I got a cinnamon bun and a cupcake. It was really good!

From there we went over Grand Etang and got home around 5:00 p.m. We were supposed to be back at 3:00 but of course, Caribbean time is always different than what you expect.

All in all it was a really good trip expect for the headache that the bus gave me.

If you are coming to Grenada I recommend Belmont Estates.

 

Field Trip

On Friday I did not go to school because the day after sports (track and field) there is no school at Beacon. I was thinking I was going to get to stay home and do whatever I wanted... but no! My mom dragged me all around St. George's for NEWLO's field trip.

My dad drove us through the Sendall tunnel, but traffic wa sso bad he had to drop us off at the edge of the tunnel. Traffic was so slow that we were walking faster than my dad was driving! We were supposed to meet brother Saul at the Fish  Market... but we met up with him at the bus station instead,

About 12 NEWLO trainees, Brother Saul, my mom, Owen and I got on a Grand Anse bus. Owen literally front and centre. I sat behind my mom in the second to last row. In Grenada when someone in your row wants to get off the bus, everyone in that row has to get off. There are seats that fold up to let people out and those those people have to get off too. It is kind of like a tango! I had to get off twice before we arrived.

We arrived first at Sisssons a paint manufacturing plant which was in an industrial park. You can see it from the road because it is painted like a rainbow. There are two large buildings, They didn't look that big from the outside but when I got in they were huge! The first building the place where they made the paint, the second building was where raw materials and cans of paint are stored. They also tint paint in this building, this was very cool.

I felt like Scissons was a very safe environment. They had safety signs, fire extinguishers, emergency evacuation plans and sign saying they had gone 1026 days without a lost time injury!

After we finished there we walked up the road to a place where they made windows. It was interesting. Then we went to a place where they made soap, perfume and other stuff that smells good. They gave everyone an incense, my mom got potpourri as well.

From there we had to take buses Saint Georges University (SGU) veterinary animal clinic. We had to wait for the second bus, so my mom got us chips and ginger ale. Mr. Gay who is the ADP Coordinator gave us a chocolate ball with a nut in the middle. It was sooo good.

When we arrived at SGU, they weren't ready for us so we had lunch. This turned out to be awesome because mom bought us G Burgers, my favourite burger on the island! It was really good. Thank you mom. We walked "down by the bay, where the watermelons grows"...to Moca Spoke. This is where I started the red dress hash. We went back to the little food court and my mom got a cherry smoothie. We had to wait for a bit but it was totally worth it. I got to see cats, dogs, horses and cows!

The veterinarian clinic was air conditioned! YESSS! Most places don't have air conditioning so it is a treat to be in it. The tour was very informative and  learned quite a bit.

NEWLO ADP Trainee, Mr. Gay and Brother Saul

After the tour was over daddy came to pick us up and we went for a swim at Grand Anse to end our wonderful day!

Here are some more pictures.

Houses in Grenada

Construction

Houses in Grenada are made out of either concrete or wood.

Mixed neighbourhood just above ours in Upper Belmont

Concrete houses are owned by the wealthier people in Grenada. Most houses are built on concrete stilts. They build the house from the top down.  Usually the main floor is for the family, because you get breezes through the house and there are more windows.

Then they build down with apartments that can be rented to earn extra income. The apartments don’t have as many balconies or windows because usually the house is on a steep slope and one side will be blocked by the earth.

These houses almost always have glass windows that open. If you are really wealthy you have air conditioning. No one in our neighbourhood has air conditioning. Some house will have metal or plastic shutters to keep the rain out. Many houses (and most schools) don’t have bug screens- which explains the spread of Chickungunya.

Water in houses is not heated (unless you live in a wealthy area). Showers have hot water by using an electric heating coil inside the shower head. Other than that there is only a cold water tap.

Wood houses owned or rented by people with lower incomes. They are also built on concrete stilts but just off the ground, so rain can run underneath. They would rarely have additions underneath.

These houses really vary with windows. From wood boards you can move out of the way to glass panes. It depends what you can afford to upgrade to.

In some of these houses there is no running water. Some of our neighbours have outdoor showers and bathroom facilities. But is it very warm here so it is not like you are getting cold going out.

We are almost 100% positive that the sewage from homes goes straight into the ocean. I don’t think that is good for the marine life.

Our house

Our house is a concrete house with three stories and four apartments. We on the top floor. There

are four exits from our apartment but we only use the front to go out and the back to enjoy the view and the breeze. It has two balconies a big balcony that faces two directions and the one at the front facing the road and the boys. Inside it has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, more bathrooms than our house at home by half. We also have a living room dining room and kitchen. My bedroom has double bed (bigger than my bed at home), a closet and dresser. It also has 20ft vaulted ceilings! It makes the house cooler. My ceiling is also wooden, it is really pretty.

Local house in Belmont

Here the houses range from small and wooden to large with fancy gates. Most houses have gates,

bars on the window and lots have guard dogs. This neighbourhood is a mixed area with high and low income. It is also multicultural, we have people from Cuba, Canada, St. Vincent, and other Caribbean states.

 

Mansions

The places you would find mansions in Grenada are: Lance Aux Epines, Egmont, Fort Jeudy, Prickly Bay, True Blue, and Westerhall Point. But you can find large homes all over the island, but these are the main communities. These homes almost always have ocean views if not ocean front property.

I would go there every day if I could, I love the architecture. I have been lucky enough to be invited into two of these houses. I am really happy I that I got to see these houses.

Destroyed houses

80% of all buildings in Grenada were damaged by Hurricane Ivan and the Emily. Damages ranged  from total destruction like the Presbyterian church, partial destruction like the Anglican church and then varying degree of damage (broken windows, partial roof collapse, structural damage) ect. I feel really bad for the people whose homes were destroyed because they can’t afford to fix their homes. Most people have abandoned them. You see that all over the island.

I also wanted to say it is not too late to help Leshon andhis family. Here is a link to his page.

A New Mexican style home

Everyone has gates, by few are this fancy!



Heading down to Kirani James Blvd.