Shake Your Body

October 29 - November 1, 2014

42 - Grenada  The large green mass is Venezuela.

There is an outbreak of a mosquito
borne disease in the islands,
Chikungunya.  Gail and John came
prepared with DEET and some
lovely head gear.  

John and Gail arrived on time in Grenada, unfortunately, Gail’s luggage was not on the plane.  Since there is only one flight per day to Grenada from Miami, we had to wait 24 hours to see if her stuff was going to join her on vacation.  They had already had a difficult day with flights being changed.  We all breathed a huge sigh of relief when her bag arrived the next night.  

On Thursday we found a very nice grocery.  If you haven’t traveled down here, you can’t imagine what a thrill it is to find a well stocked clean grocery with many of the brands that you are used to. Now, I’m not saying that it was gourmet caliber, but I was one happy camper when I walked in the front door.  Throughout the islands we have found that IGA can usually be counted on  to have the best selection.

The wet cocoa beans in the pod.  Beans are
harvested between November and March.

Belmont Estates had been recommended to us by several people.  It is the home of The Grenada Chocolate Company (an organic chocolate that can now be found at Whole Foods in the USA).  Since we had a car for two more days, we all agreed that traveling to the other end of the island would be an interesting trip.  To get there we took the road that cuts through the middle of the island.  Grenada is quite mountainous (1900+ feet).  The road was very narrow with 
one switchback after another.  Giant ferns, wild banana trees and colorful 

Fermenting bins where the beans stay for 5 - 8 days.
Every 2 days they are shoveled into a neighboring
bin to insure even fermenting.  

foliage lined the road. Men are constantly working with their machetes to cut back the wild growth.  After two hours we arrived at the estate.  It is a beautifully landscaped property.  We took a short tour to learn how raw cocoa beans are processed into chocolate.   Next, there was a short talk about other fruits that grow on the island.  OK, my brain was on overload from all of this information — it was time for lunch!  The dining room with it's high thatched ceiling and wide open walls was delightful.  The temperature must have dropped 15 degrees when we sat down and relaxed. After an excellent lunch, it was

time to head home.  The driver and

Drying trays, that can slide under the building in
case of rain, are the next step.  The beans are on the
trays for 5 - 8 days.  Every 30 minutes during the
day, people 'walk the cocoa' to turn and separate
the beans.  

navigator decided that we should take the coastal road back to the marina. It was nice to follow the coast and the scenery was beautiful.  The road was again very narrow and crowded, since school had let out.  We moved to the edge so a septic pumping truck could pass and hit an oversized curb that was obscured by tall grass.  Luckily we were only moving about 10 miles per hour.  Still, the impact was severe, giving all four of us a big jolt.  An off duty policeman was following the truck and came to our rescue.  He helped Brian move the car out of traffic, changed the tire (which involved getting his jack after the one in our car didn’t work), and then determined that the car was unsafe for the four of us.  He insisted that we get in his car and follow him as he drove our disabled car.  When we were in a safe location, he called the rental company for a tow

'Dancing the cocoa'  to polish the beans

truck.  What a great young man!!!  And, what a blessing it was to have him take charge and assess the situation.  Besides the blown tire, the tie rod was bent and the front bumper was loose.  It sure wasn’t the way we thought the day would end, but we were thankful that it wasn’t worse.  Detective Peters, we will talk about your kindness for years as we tell the story of our day exploring Grenada.   

Lunch time

Delivering Chocolate Monkey drinks.  A combination
of banana, chocolate and ice cream.

The estate was originally founded by a
French family in the 1600's as a
coffee and sugar plantation.  It has only
had four owners.
This bell was cast in the 1600's and has
always hung on this tree.  

The curb we hit.

Assessing the damage.

Policeman Peters -- Our hero!

Riding with the locals

Outdoor and indoor markets

Saturday we found another rental car and after lunch made a second visit to the grocery store.  When Brian picked up the car he ran errands that included ordering a new water heater.  Ours is beginning to leak.  John, Gail and I walked to the local bakery and then to the bus stop.  We took the bus (really a large van) to the local market downtown.  It is a very busy place with vendors, shoppers and people just hanging out and visiting with friends.  There was lots of local color.  On the bus ride back to the marina, they squeezed me into a seat that should accommodate three people.  Unfortunately I was the fourth and one very large woman was taking more than her share of the bench seat.  When someone from the back of the bus wants to get off, those in the jump seats must get off to let them pass through.  As I was getting back on board, I heard the music play “come on and shake your body”.  Before I took my seat I pointed to Gail and sang out “come on and shake your body”!  You would have thought it was the funniest thing ever.  The whole bus erupted into laughter and contininued to

laugh all of the way to our stop! Now I'm stuck with that verse in my head..... 

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!