Brad and Roy at "Fish Friday"

Gouyave Fish Friday

Grand Anse Beach

Emma swimming at night!

Last night we went to “Fish Friday” at Gouyave, Grenada’s main fishing town. Every Friday they have a big street “Fiesta” where everyone sets out stalls cooking and selling all different types of cooked fish and other food and drinks. Sometimes there are up to 2000 people at the festival on a Friday night, both locals and visitors to the island. It’s a fantastic event and full of atmosphere, but best of all the food is delicious! There are so many different types of fish and different styles of cooking it…barbequed fish, fried fish, stir fries, fish cakes, everything! There is also every type of fish you can imagine…tuna, red snapper, fried jacks, lobsters, flying fish and loads of others whose names I don’t know! They sell all sorts of food to eat with the fish too, like macaroni pie, fried breadfruit, rice, plantain, green banana, etc. I had fried jacks (about the size of sardines but fried until very crispy and crunchy), macaroni pie and plantains, all washed down with a bottle of cold Carib beer.

We were there with a friend of ours called Roy. Roy runs a little roadside bar near the airport which we like to go to in the evenings. We’ve got to know Roy well over the last three weeks. His bar consists of two wooden tables and a few old chairs and he never has more than two or three people there at a time. He knows them all well and they enjoy stopping for a cold beer or two after work or on their way somewhere in the late evening. We have learnt so much about Grenada from Roy. Grenadians LOVE chatting…it’s probably their main social activity and once the sun goes down everyone comes outside and sits on their front steps or outside the many shack bars, exchanging news and talking about politics, experiences and gossip.

Through chatting to Roy, we have learnt so much about Grenada. We’ve talked at length about what it was like during and after Hurricane Ivan, about the Communist Revolution that took place here in the early 1980’s, about the house he is building for his family (Hurricane Ivan destroyed it a few days after he had bought it but now his family are hoping to move in just before Christmas). He has given us an insight into Grenadian politics and current news stories. We have discussed the forthcoming Cricket World Cup (some matches are being held in Grenada at the new stadium that is currently being completed), the difference between life in the UK and Grenada, agriculture, economies Grenadian culture and the Grenadian outlook and way of living.

Last week we went to Fish Friday with my Mum and Dad as they were over here for a week on holiday. Roy said that he had never managed to get to Fish Friday due to his work commitments (he works full time at the University in charge of maintenance, runs a car hire business with his wife and opens the bar nearly every night too!) He said he would love to go though, so we suggested he come with us when we went back this week. We all had a really good evening, and it was a shame to have to leave early to get back so that Roy could open the bar at 9pm. I could have eaten a lot more fish given a bit more time!

We have had a really nice day today. This afternoon we went to the beach for a few hours and it was as lovely as always. I particularly love the beach at weekends as there is so much more to watch and observe, as so many local people are out enjoying their afternoon in the sun and sea. We spent ages in the sea, swimming and floating about and generally having a lovely relaxing time in the sun. Then we sat on the sand at the edge of where the waves were lapping and I decided we should be kids again and build sandcastles! Why is it that when we become “grown ups” (or even teenagers) we think we have to stop “playing” with things like sand? Wet sand is great fun! I’m sure people walking by thought may have thought we were nuts but I couldn’t have cared less, after all they don’t know what they are missing! I built a rather cool sandcastle and looked up to admire Brad’s industrious work that he had been concentrating on quietly for a few minutes (always a bad sign!). He was looking exceptionally pleased with himself and had a very big, cheeky grin on his face. At that point I realised that he had fashioned NOT a nice innocent sandcastle but two enormous sand “breasts” complete with nipples!! TYPICAL! Blokes eh?! I had to laugh though...and threw lots of sand at him because he deserved it!

I then moved further up the beach and played with the hot white sand that was dry and powdery away from the lapping of the sea. It was so different from the texture of the wet grainy sand and it poured through my fingers and blew away on the breeze. It felt so lovely and hot and fine. I’m definitely going to bring some back with me to remind me of the beach here! I even lay on the hot white sand and enjoyed the feel of it on my skin. When I got up I looked very strange, covered in sand! But I just ran into the sea and washed it all off.

When the sun started to go down we decided to walk along the beach and take some photos. We ended up walking almost the entire crescent of Grand Anse beach, which is a pretty long way! Although my chest is pretty mucky at the moment, it doesn’t seem to make me feel as “ill” as I would in the UK with a similar level of symptoms. I wonder if it’s the climate, the humidity, or being by the sea that has helped with this? We bought a couple of cold bottles of “Ting” from someone on the beach (fizzy grapefruit juice) and as we walked along the beach and back we talked about how much we would love to live here and set up a bar/restaurant or hotel and have a little house here. I love the sorts of conversations you have when you are on holiday somewhere like this. Somehow anything seems possible in the sunshine and bright colours of a tropical island and you get filled with news ideas and possibilities. They are unlikely to be possible, or even practical, but it’s great to imagine and dream and wonder about different things.

We then drove back to the villa and I was so hot by then that even though it was dark, I put on the pool lights and jumped in for a lovely cool refreshing swim. We have bought two objects called “Noodles” which are for use in the water. They are basically long polystyrene tubes that you can wrap round yourself or hold onto and they hold you up in the water, so are great for lying and floating with. I lay floating around the pool and listened to the tree frogs cheeping all around. I love the fact that out here it is NEVER cold!!! Even at 3 am you can get up and sit outside in the garden in a vest top, listening to the sounds and feeling warm! I also saw some fireflies as I floated around the pool, flashing golden lights in the night air.

I so love my swimming pool and will find it so hard to leave behind! My Mum always says I’ve been a “water baby” since a young age and I really do love nothing better than splashing, swimming and floating around in the warm sea or the swimming pool. I also love the freedom it gives me that I don’t get on dry land. In the water I can jump up and down, kick, dance, turn round and round…all with ease due to the support of the water. Doing these things on the land would render me breathless within a few minutes. I also love the feel of being in water and again it brings out the child in me because it’s FUN!!! There’s also nothing better when you are so hot and sticky that you just can’t bear it and then you plunge into cool water!

After a rest in bed for an hour whilst Brad cooked us a delicious supper (chicken in passion fruit sauce, rice and plantains), I had my nebulisers and then we decided to go over to Roy’s for a drink. His friend Peter was there again too and we all chatted away for a couple of hours. We chatted about cricket, football, Peter’s numerous family members in the UK, and also about electricity! Peter is an electrician and it was interesting to hear that in the area where he grew up (just round the corner) they didn’t get electricity until 1985. Also the whole area where we were sitting and (which is now quite developed with shopping malls and main roads) was all just fields of sugar cane back then.

Peter and Roy are planning to come over to England next year as neither of them has ever been (although they have both lived in Canada). I really hope they do come as it would be great to see them and introduce them to the UK in the way they have introduced us to their island.