Grenada West Indies!

We arrived in Grenada - the island of spice - on March 29. We stayed for two nights in a two bedroom suite until our one bedroom was available.

Grenada is further south than Barbados, and is located about 150 km north of Venezuela and Trinidad. Grenada is filled with hills and mountains that were formed by volcanic action from about 2 million years ago... lots of steep hillsides with homes on them.

Grenada is just south of the 12th latitude above the equator. Being this far south, Grenada is situated below the typical hurricane tracks that flow through the Caribbean each year. Apparently, many yacht owners come to "hide" from hurricanes as they almost always pass north of Grenada. There have only been three hurricanes to hit Grenada since 1944.

The short stay we had in Toronto (12 hours) was enough to remind Cyndi that we have made the right choice, and she is once again grateful that she can stop feeling cold. She never breaks a sweat....

Our first week in Grenada has been an easy transition, mostly because we got used to Caribbean living while in Barbados.

We like our new place as it is bright and has a balcony to sit and enjoy our morning coffee and a view of the steep hillsides. This photo is the view from our balcony.

It was nice to unpack our suitcases again and get settled into our new closets. We have easy access to token operated laundry machines ($5 per load) and they work great. The management and staff in our building are very friendly and helpful.

Internet and TV are part of the package and so we didn't have to arrange any of that. It took 15 minutes to get new sim cards for our phones so we are all set up for that too.

Our apartment is a bit small - only one bedroom with a small kitchen - but it provides what two retired folks need. We had to close the curtains for this photo as the sun is very bright...

There is no pool in this apartment complex but the beach is a five minute walk away and we go out every day for a nice cool dip. Lounge chairs and umbrellas are available at the beach and they can be rented at $20 per day.

We will probably buy some folding beach chairs and take them with us - there are many shade trees along the beach. We are careful about using sun screen every day. We try to find a bit of shade when we have a break from our hectic schedule and get something cool to sip on.

We took our time to find an apartment where we could walk to go grocery shopping, and also be close to the beach without having to navigate any hills. We have two grocery stores within a short walk and have shopped at both of them. We were used to Barbados prices and costs being calculated in $/kg. Here they seem to use $/lb for groceries and meats. When you look at sticker prices, it seems at first that prices are about 1/2 price... this can be deceiving... It will take a bit of checking, comparing and shopping around to see if our budget will stretch here too. So far we can get everything we need. I will update my detailed spread sheet so we can compare costs properly with everything converted to Canadian dollars. Grenada dollars (EC$) have a value of about $2 per $1 Canadian.

The bus rides here are more manageable for those of us who have high blood pressure. The buses are typical vans and they hold about a dozen people. The drivers are careful along the narrow roads and no one stands up. Much more enjoyable than a bus ride in Barbados or in Puerto Vallarta. It costs EC$2.50.

A walk through St. George's is less hectic than it was in Bridgetown, as people here seem to be more relaxed. They drive on the left side of the street so we still need to be careful about crossing roads.

There are many places to see and visit here and many islands that need to be explored. We are going to have a busy calendar...