BreatheSailDive

Walking and public buses are two of our preferred ways of touring many islands. They allow you to see and interact with locals, and get a good feel for the island. Today we walked from Tyrrel Bay to Paradise Beach. The beach has previously been named the best beach in the Caribbean and is located in the village of L’Esterre. We stopped at a local container store, FIDELgrenada, where Monica and Teresa both found gifts. Outside the store is a #10 bus stop, which quickly whisked us to the Hillsborough Bus Depot. We walked the streets and stopped for lunch at Original Sunset Jerk, a little local beachside restaurant just Southwest of the pier. Back to the bus depot and jumped on the #11 bus to Windward. The bus stopped at Sunrise Disco Club/Supermarket, and we walked north to the sloop building facility. Looking out, you can view the northeasternmost point of Carriacou and across Petit Carenage Bay to Petite Martinique. The amount of sargassum on the windward side is overwhelming, both in quantity and smell. It's truly a shame for these islands. After about a 20-minute wait back at the disco, another bus came, and we were soon back in Hillsborough. Surrounding the Hillsborough stop, there are multiple fruit and vegetable stands and several small groceries. #10 buses were waiting, and we hopped on one and soon were back in Tyrrel Bay. The buses are typically $3.50EC per ride, so the 4 bus trips cost $14EC per person, which is currently about $5.18USD.

Hurricane Beryl was an extremely rare and destructive hurricane in 2024.

It was the second named storm, first hurricane, first major hurricane, and first Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. Beryl broke many meteorological records, including being both the earliest-forming Category 4 and Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean, and the strongest hurricane to develop within the Main Development Region of the Atlantic before July.

Beryl developed from a tropical wave that left the coast of Africa on June 25. After forming on June 28 in the Main Development Region, it began rapidly intensifying as it moved west through the central tropical Atlantic. On July 1, 2024 Beryl made landfall here on the island of Carriacou, Grenada, as a Category 4 hurricane.

Damage and casualties were widespread, damaging or destroying 99% of buildings and many boats. One of our sister boats was in the mangroves, flipped, and burned - a total loss. So many boats were damaged, with masts and rigging lost, and many have now become homes for locals and others in the anchorage.

The island continues to rebuild, and we were pleased to see no visible wrecks in the mangroves. The mangroves were severely impacted, and you can see many have perished. These mangroves were previously considered a "hurricane hole" for boats.

The residents are friendly and resilient. They appreciate us visiting their stores, fruit stands, and restaurants. We look forward to continuing to explore the island and the remainder of Grenada.

After we arrived in Carriacou we had 3 tasks - check in, lunch and groceries. We first went to the dinghy dock by the ferry terminal to check in. We learned that we actually had to go to the customs
and immigration next to the Carriacou Marina across the bay. We dinghied over, tied up to the dock and waited our turn to check in. Check in was easy and we had a nice chat with some other cruisers while we waited.

After check in we walked next door to Las Iguanas for lunch. It was delicious. Jason had fish tacos, Teresa and I split a Callaloo pizza. After we dropped off lunch for Chris we went back to the dinghy dock by the ferry and went to 2 groceries and 2 fruit and vegetable stands. Everyone we met was very nice. Carriacou is still recovering from hurricane Beryl.

Happy World Ocean Day!!

We had to get back in the water and Monica floated along without fins (her knee felt ok in the water!). We were quickly greeted by a Reef Octopus and saw many species.

This morning, Teresa, Chris, and Jason met Alex and a few other cruisers on the beach for a hike up the mountain and across to Ashton. It's a steep walk up a rocky hill surrounded by acacia and cactus. Many larger trees have been uprooted and blown over by Hurricane Beryl. He can see all the brown on the hillsides in the photos. We saw Alex's home, which is still being repaired from Beryl and restrooms being built. The small market in Ashton is more like a very small convenience store with almost no fresh veggies or fruit. It's a good stop for a beer, soda or water.

Chatham Bay in Union Island lies only about 6 miles from the Tobago Cay Marine Park. Unfortunately, we found the sea life at the park very disappointing. We weren't expecting much in Union, as it was even closer to Hurricane Beryl, and is "not protected". However, snorkeling the North wall of the bay, out to the westernmost point, we found lots of fish life and many small corals, gorgonians, and sponge varieties rising up from the rubble. It was nice to see new growth, although the bottom is covered in green and brown algae in different sections. We spotted at least 5 octopus, including the Brazilian and Common octopuses. Coney's were everywhere - I've never seen so many in group after group. Many species were represented here, at it was wonderful to see multiple adult drum fish. We'll be back snorkeling some more tomorrow.

Alex grew up on Union Island and was a history school teacher. He says the kids are too unruly these days.

Now he helps bring business to a Chatham Bay beachside restaurant, teaches history to cruisers, and provides other services such as hikes. He paddled on his kayak to our boats and we had him and Chris & Teresa over for a “happy hour” history lesson. Very interesting time!