How Things Work, Grenada-Style

7/15/2023

Whew, we are getting acclimatized!

On our travels on Wild Horses this year, we have come to expect one of two situations for getting our groceries and supplies when we get to new ports (usually in new countries). It is either (1) walkable and fairly easy, or (2) non walkable and requires more effort or doing without.

The first situation is great. Who doesn’t love things to be easy? We just dinghy up to the beach or to the dinghy dock and make our way to the grocery store, marine store, or hardware store. Throw in a bakery and an electronics store and we are in heaven 😊. Getting fuel (gas, diesel) is also manageable by taking our jerry cans to a marina fuel dock. We usually get this kind of access when we are close to major cities. We tend to take advantage when things are this good because often we are faced with the second situation i.e. not much within walking distance. Actually, there is usually a small convenience-like grocery store available in most places, but the items on the shelves tend to be offered at a premium price. In those cases, we either do without (if it isn’t urgent) or we rent a car or grab a taxi (if it is urgent). We usually see this in out islands or in small villages.

How we get around to places - by dinghy! (Puerto Real, PR)

Sometimes we can rent a car for big provisioning runs (Beaufort, NC)

Fueling up is done by jerry cans (Fort de France, Martinique)

Luperon was great but we still had to rent a car to go to Puerto Plata for lots of groceries (Luperon, DR)

Some stores are little more than someone's house with a few stocked shelves (Farmers Cay, Bahamas)

And sometimes there is no shopping at all (La Parguera, PR)

When we first arrived in the Grenadian islands, we made landfall in Tyrrell Bay, Carriacou (the small Grenadian island just north of the main island of Grenada). Tyrrell Bay is a small town but with a large cruising community. We could walk to get our basic needs met (a few grocery and marine stores, fuel dock and a few hardware-like stores) but did without for those things that were not readily accessible (actual hardware stores and fully stocked grocery and marine items).

Then we arrived at the southern coast of the main island of Grenada, very close to the city of St. Georges. Our expectation was that we would be able to get everything we need here. They have lots of grocery stores, fish markets, pet stores, hardware stores, veterinarians, dentists. Really everything is here! But, none of it is walkable from most of the southern anchorages and a dinghy ride is nothing less than “extremely salty”.

And renting a car? Yikes. That would be an exercise in fearlessness that we just don’t have in us. Left lane driving + narrow, winding and hilly roads + no discernable speed limit = Complete Terror as a passenger. I cannot imagine being the driver!

Things here don’t exactly fit into our nice little categories of “easy access” or “no access”!

So, where does that leave us? Well, Grenadian ingenuity has this figured out. There are “grocery buses” (aka mini vans) that run on regular schedules taking people to all the usual haunts – the IGA grocery store, Budget Marine, ACE hardware and a local wholesale warehouse, all for just 15 EC ($7 CAD) a person. If you have a specialty place you need to visit, then you can get a taxi (aka mini van) and pay 80 EC ($40 CAD). Even better, local entrepreneurs also come to us! They drive their minivans and cars along the remote roads into the secluded Secret Harbour Marina property, bringing with them fruit, fresh herbs, vegetables, breads, ice cream, propane and wine. Gas and diesel are also on site.

Somehow, when you mix all of this together, well, we manage to get everything that we need albeit in a very unique way 😊.

Pam (Kemana) picking up fruit at Jenny's pop up market at Secret Harbour

Walking along the paths of the Secret Harbour Marina where we picked fresh mangos

Mike in a mango tree, collecting fresh mangos!

A locally sourced breakfast on Wild Horses - starfruit from Jenny's market, local eggs and a mango we picked off a tree

Mike and Ocean waiting for the shopping bus to arrive

The local discount marine store "Treasure Trove"

Of course, when we can walk, we do. This week we were told of a great “shortcut” into Prickly Bay, which is the next bay to the west of Secret Harbour. Prickly Bay is wonderful as it has a marine store, butcher shop, coffee shop and a few great restaurants. The “shortcut” is truly short, thankfully, as it is commonly over 30 degrees Celsius here and much of it is very hilly. Sweating is a national pastime! But the walk to Prickly Bay was worth it. We started through beautiful residential streets, passed a scenic public beach (where Ocean got to have a quick swim to cool off) and finally ended up at the West Indies Brewery, the local pub/brewery that serves up cold, flavourful micro-brews and delicious bites to eat. A great walk that ends with a beer – perfect!

Walking along the streets

The scenery along our shortcut was lovely

Ocean resting at Prickly Bay Marina

Ocean cooling off at the beach on the way to the brewery

Victoria enjoying a micro brew

The brewery kettles

One really great stop!

It has been a good first week here, figuring things out as we go and getting a few boat projects started. Our days are busy but we always leave time for exploring or hanging out with friends. We see several fun months ahead of us here!