Can you believe we've been here a FULL month already? I know I can't. Part of the problem is that I frequently still feel new, lost, and/or unsure as to location or availability of things on the island. I suppose it has gotten better. I have learned a few things though.
1. Nearly everything is available on the island. The question is how much you're willing to spend to get it.
2. Driving is always a gamble. You never know if it'll be an easy drive or if your car will break down yet again. I would like to believe that I am a little bit of a better driver than Tony, but I think that's because I remember directions a little easier than the ex-delivery driver who always used GPS.
3. You can escape the heat! How would you like to do it? Easiest is taking a quick cold shower and dry off using the fan. Or you can go to the clubhouse pool (so clean!) or any of the nearby beaches. The beaches are nice, I just don't always like getting sand everywhere or giving Bear a bath every single time. I think Bear is beginning to enjoy the water and realizes its purpose: to get cool. He'll walk in the water all the way to chest level and even wants to be carried out further sometimes.
4. Bugs are sneaky little devils. In our first week we had found two full-sized cockroaches and one of those poisonous centipedes in our bathroom. We cleaned and cleaned our house- we know it wasn't our fault for those initial ones. Then, for about the last two weeks we've been bug-free except for the random tiny, baby roaches that show up in the tub. I can kill those. I cannot tell you how much safer I felt being at home. However, Saturday I went into the bathroom to remove my contacts, opened the bathroom cupboard, and a HUGE cockroach fell right in front of my face, landed in the sink and began running and running around the sink. Needless to say I would not re-enter the bathroom for the next two days without having Tony check every nook and cranny. I would say this has been the most trying part of being here. I knew I could just live in a shower to escape the heat, but I always figured that I could just keep a really clean house to keep the bugs out. No matter how much I've kept things clean bugs come in randomly and it totally shatters my safehaven of a home. It makes me feel dirty and unsafe. I will never ever live in another area that has a common problem with roaches. Even parts of New York I may have to say no to.
Today we took a campus-directed tour of two local tourist attractions: the Mt. Qua-Qua hike to oversee the Grand Etang National, and to see the Annandale Waterfall. It was a lot of fun. We lucked out in being allowed to come because there had been a sign up for it that we didn't actually sign up on. We showed up at the correct time with the hope that 75 seats had not been filled. They hadn't and the tour guides were very nice about allowing us to join.
The roads were narrow and curvy to get up there, but I think I remember the way so that I can take up any visitors/friends we have that want to go up there.
*Note to self: Go up toward SAM''s, go straight through the roundabout. Follow till you get to the 24 hour gas station, turn right. At the striped-pole round-about turn left. Follow all the way up. There will be a Y division- one to go up goes to Etang, down goes to the falls.
 |
| Tony liked this tree. It is super smooth and looks like it has been painted on with water colors! Naturally of course! |
 |
| Known as "1910" this is the highest point on the island where you can drive. |
The Grande Etang (grand ee-tang) National Forest is a rehab program meant to regrow the dwindling tree count of several indigenous trees in the area. Supposedly the nutmeg tree, the most famous of the Grenadian spice trees, has been over picked and therefore are dying out. There are also Mona Monkeys that live right on the ledge of the forest that come right up to visitors if you hold up a banana or fresh fruit. No one from our group had any fruit, so no monkeys visited.
Just outside of the forest there is a mountain called Mt. Qua-Qua (kwa-kwa). It is a hilly, steep, but fun mountain that I wouldn't mind doing again. Yes, I even did it being 8 months pregnant, so it wasn't that bad of a hike. The hardest part was the mud. It made you slip and slide all over the thing. It was the kind of mud that could literally suck your shoes off, so make sure you pack shoes you don't mind ruining, okay parents? I did surprisingly well despite my larger frame- I think the extra weight/size helped center my gravity. Tony didn't fall either but plenty of the others in the group did fall. It was hilarious.
 |
| The butt slider. |
 |
| Brown shorts guy- took off his flip flops after a while and did the hike barefooted. I didn't blame him. |
 |
| Notice the hand print on the shoulder. Haha. |
Supposedly at the end of the hike (we only went about halfway), there is a rock where people write their names and it has a really cool view of the island. I want to visit this graffiti rock just to see all of the marks. There had been a guard's shelter on the Great Wall of China where everyone wrote our names- I thought it was neat there too. Maybe I just like the idea of vandalizing things. Ha.
Along this mountain there is a lake where you are not allowed to fish or swim. The urban legend is that the lake is bottomless and if you swim there, you may end up in different parts of the world like Mexico, Australia or the Great Lakes. Kind of like a Bermuda Triangle, but Grenadian style.
The waterfall was pretty cool, maybe another 5 minute drive after visiting the forest. It's definitely a touristy place though- as soon as you begin walking there's a guy with a monkey that will let you take a selfie with it for the price of 5 ec ($2). The monkey was pretty cute though- he'll climb on your should and lean against your head for a short time. Then there are two-three spice vendors selling little spice variety packs exactly like what you can find in the spice market for prices marked way high. Along the path there was a guy playing a guitar and singing about the tourists as they walk by. Tony got compared to Kevin Spacey and Tom Cruise haha. And finally there are "professional jumpers" who will walk up to the top of the falls and jump into the water from the dangerous heights, then ask for donations. It was cool and dangerous for them, I guess I don't believe that provides much of a living, nor does should it constitute for a job. But what do I know?
The falls had surprisingly shallow floors. It did make the professional jumper seem more dare-devilish, but again, that's their own fault. There is a little ledge where normal people can jump from. You can swim a little bit, but most places you can stand. Since today was a holiday (Carnival) there were LOTS of people there. I guess it's not usually as packed as what we saw.
Sorry this is sideways. I wanted to get the whole waterfall.
 |
| Isn't he good looking? <3 |
Overall it was a fun trip. I'd recommend it for anyone new.
We have a very good nice place in a safe neighborhood, with very little insect problems. I am grateful for that. Do I still miss home? Terribly so. I miss being able to text whomever I want whenever I want. I miss not fearing mosquitos- I killed 4 today- one of which was striped meaning it carried the dengue fever virus. I miss fast food. So much. And most of all I miss the thriftiness Walmart offers and how it carries everything you could ever dream of at normal prices. haha. Look at me, regarding Walmart as my dream shopping area. It wouldn't be so bad if we were only here for a few months. It's two years. It's like going on a mission where your purpose isn't really justified nor motivated. Well, that's for me at least. Tony has all the motivation, drive, and reason to be here. I've never seen him more dedicated to a purpose. But for me, I feel like it's just a little more than what I really want.
I haven't learned to love this island yet. So many of the SO's (significant others) talk about how they love it here. And they've only been here 2 weeks! We've been here 6 weeks, and I haven't said I love it yet. The beaches are beautiful. The economy is tolerable. The stores are fine. The company is not my family nor friends. I'm trying though. My body is become more acclimated- I'm not overly hot all the time- just sometimes. I successfully made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Tony every weekday last week, so that was a huge accomplishment for me.
