HODOPHILES AT HOME!

HEDGING ON MONOPHOBIA
A Hodophile is someone who loves to travel. That is an apt description for your intrepid trekkers here at Vacations From Home Central. Our adventures have taken us to quite a number of places near and far over the years and we get nervous when we aren’t planning for the next trip.

Blaise Pascal

Even being cooped up with the COVID pandemic didn’t stop us and we managed to hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and travel to Sandals Jamaica South Coast, along with several day trips in our area.

But, now that we have this COVID nonsense behind us, empty dates on our calendar give us agita, and gasp, we were looking at one that stretched for several interminable months!

Mind you, it’s May 31^st and we’ve already traveled to Tenerife, Canary Islands, and Grenada, and we are sailing through the islands of Fiji in September.

MONOPHOBIA

You fair reader may accuse us of monophobia, which is the irrational fear of being alone. You may say take a “F-ing” breath already and relax. You may accuse us, wrongfully, of the inability to sit quietly in a room alone, to paraphrase the quote of the French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who claimed all of humanity’s problems stem from this inability.

Who wants to sit in a room quietly, there’s too much to see out there?

FILLING THE TIME

St Mary's Nantwich, Chesire

So, confronted with “SPACE” we recently booked a trip in mid-June to Wildwood New Jersey for three days. We will get to NJ via the Cape May / Lewes Delaware Ferry after visiting friends in Delaware. Then in July we’re off to Colorado to visit family there. Christmas and New Year’s Eve will be with Janet’s English family in the lovely Chesire town of Nantwich. You haven’t lived until you danced in a cha-cha line at midnight as the bells of St. Mary’s church in Nantwich chime in the new year.

Don’t worry we’re already trying to figure out February 2023.

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg

© 2022 Gregory Dunaj

BEYOND SANDALS

GOING OFF CAMPUS IN GRENADA
There really is no reason to ever leave the enveloping embrace of a Sandals resort. It is an indulgent, thought-activated vacation where drinks suddenly appear as you laze about by the water’s edge pondering the gently lapping waves trying to decide on how many lobster tails you will order for dinner that night.

Indulgent? Yes. Boring? After half a day, yes?

You can wile away part of the day waiting for coffee at the Café de Paris, or you can engage in a spirited game of shuffleboard, or you can shuffle along the grounds exploring the opulent world in which you have chosen to alight for week.

Or, you can plan an excursion. 

We like diving, and it does take up a goodly amount of the day. In our first three trips to a Sandals, we never even considered going anywhere but diving in the morning and then hanging around the resort the rest of the day. The sport isn’t for everyone though and Sandals offers a myriad of daily excursions, depending on your interests. In Grenada they offered sports fishing, river tubing, tours of the island, tours of distilleries, hikes to waterfalls, trips to botanical gardens, etc. with prices ranging from under $100 to $350 per person, but be aware that not all the excursions are offered every day.

Except for the Sunset Cruise, offered three days a week, the tours leave around 8:30 a.m. The excursions were very popular in Grenada and each morning we went to the dive shop we had to wade through the hordes gathered at the front desk awaiting their departure.

BAY LEAVES SPICE MARKET

PLAN THE WEEK

Your time can slip away doing nothing but lounging, so in case you’re interested in doing something more…plan your week.

Tours

The first day you arrive you should go to the tour desk and see what’s offered, and when it’s offered. That way you can sign up for trips that might catch your fancy. Fit the tour(s) around your schedule. The excursion you are interested in may not be offered on your planned day.

Restaurant Reservations

Some of the restaurants at Sandals require reservations, so it’s important to not to chance it. We’ve seen people without reservations having to wait for a table. There is usually a "dining" concierge for planning your meals. Of course, there is no penalty with changes, or simply not showing up, but we are considerate whenever plans change.

along the Carenage

Dive Shop

If you intend on the diving, make sure you put your name in at the dive shop for the next day. That way they can check your dive log book. Diving is an extremely popular sport, especially in Grenada, so spaces fill up, but, heck if you’re a diver you know this already.

Remember, if you’re interested in a particular excursion, make sure you sign up for it, they go out diving every day. Skip a day, for once!

ON OUR OWN

Having been to Grenada previously we wanted to get a taxi to take us into St. Georges so we can visit the Carenage and Spice Market again. Janet still talks about the massive bay leaves she purchased there the last time, but we didn’t want to go on a tour.  

The Carenage, St George's

It’s not that simple to get a cab at Grenada Sandals. You have to go through the tour desk. Citing safety concerns, the attendant said there’s a private company that they funnel all the rides through….at $65. I got a blank look when I asked if that was in Eastern Caribbean Dollars which would have made it under $25 usd.

We told the desk and then the driver where we wanted to go and afterwards there were no deviations. He dropped us off a block from the market and we settled on a time for the return. As we passed the Grande Anse Beach, considered the best on the island, or mentioned a distillery, Joe the driver quickly said that would all be extra. We did not deviate, but we tipped him well anyway. Sandals offered various tours that would have taken us to several different places, but they were at least $130 pp or they weren’t offered on the day we wanted to see St. Georges and the spice market again. In hindsight it was best to go with a tour, I suppose.

The market itself was empty with just a few stalls open. There were no cruise ships scheduled for the day. The immediate area was crawling with cops, but just a block away it seemed a bit edgier. Nothing dangerous, but we hugged the perimeter of the market, nonetheless. Janet bought her bay leaves that were the size of small condos, some cumin and curry and little rattan gift boxes decorated with shells that had inside small portions of spices in little plastic bags.

Across the street from the market is the Foodland Market Square supermarket and prices are much better for spices and sauces. We didn’t see the bay leaves Janet wanted to come here for, but we didn’t look for them. Instead, we bought hot sauce that were half the price in the spice market just across the street.

FOODLAND MARKET SQUARE

We walked down to the Carenage where our ship the Yankee Clipper, had moored overnight so many years ago. Many local fishing boats were docked, but the storefronts looked derelict, the tourism industry had not yet fully recovered from the COVID protocol closures.

We found the Nutmeg Bar, but that too was closed. It overlooks the port and we had gotten hammered there years ago on their rum punches!  We walked as far as the Christ of the Abyss statue before turning around.

We opted for a drink at the CityInn473 on Young Street after shopping for batik products at Art Fabrik just across the street and the House of Chocolate Museum. We had already been through a demonstration of making chocolate from pods while in Costa Rica a couple of years ago, so we were more interested in buying some chocolate to take home.

It was good to see this town again. Joe picked us up at the prescribed time and we were back at the ranch for a late lunch.

Breaking News

Today it was determined that the three people who died at Emerald Bay in the Bahamas succumbed to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Sandals said this is an isolated incident and that moving forward Sandals will install Carbon Monoxide detectors in every room throughout their family of resorts.

Thanks for reading

Love Janet and greg

© 2022 by Gregory Dunaj

SANDALS SAPPHIRE MEMBERS

(DON’T TELL ANYBODY)

Since December 2018 we have traveled to four Sandals resorts and we have now stayed with a Sandals resort for 28 days. We are now “Sapphire” members. Why am I telling you this? Because, THEY keep track.

If you intend to travel more than once to a Sandals, (or shudder a Beaches) resort, make a point of signing up for their Select Rewards Program. With each visit Loyalty Points are earned which can be applied to future savings, among other benefits. We are mainly interested in the “Returning Guests Appreciation Dinner,” where you get a “free” bottle of rum to take home.

The more you stay (and spend) the more you rise in their tier structure. We’re at Sapphire. The next is Emerald which weighs in as 45 nights at a resort. It rises all the way to 400 nights and the “Ambassador” level. We, say “whatever” as long as we get our bottle of rum.

SANDALS SELECT REWARDS

FREE WEEK!

Now what makes this little chase for nights interesting is Sandals rewards your loyalty with a free week if you stay 70 nights. That’s right…7 days free. That’s a new wrinkle we learned about just on our last trip. We enjoy coming to Sandals enough that this is just an added plus for us.

Also, if you book a future trip with Sandals while still at the resort, you get discounts on the future trip, plus you lock in today’s prices. Once you depart though, the discounts go away. We’ve taken advantage of this perk every time we’ve traveled to Sandals, so we are always booking next year’s trip.

Next year we are booked … twice!

Sapphire 

SPENDING MONEY TO SAVE

We started traveling to Sandals in early December. The prices are cheaper between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We went to Antigua and then the Royal Bahamian, but our third trip to Jamaica South Coast was delayed because of COVID.

Sandals was very helpful throughout the whole process of rebooking, for no extra fees, and setting up testing and contingency plans. For no extra cost our December trip was pushed to April. We’ve just completed Grenada this month of May and we booked Curaçao for 8 days next year at the same time. The eighth day will give us an extra day to explore / dive.

Wanting to get back into the (cheaper) December travel schedule though we then booked another 8-day trip to Barbados. Both Janet and I have been to Barbados, but that was a lifetime ago, before we met each other.

DON’T TELL ANYONE                         

Obviously, we enjoy the Sandals experience and I guess we’re regular customers now. We enjoy it all, the amenities, the food, the service, the diving and, not to mention, the free bottle of rum. As a Sapphire tier member there are all these little perks, but we basically just like to go to the Appreciation Dinner. Sometimes these events include live music, but it is always a great meal and a great way to meet new friends.

The thing is you’re supposed to “sign-in” before this dinner and mid-way through the event get called up and accept a token of Sandals’ appreciation.

It’s that bit we don’t like. We’d rather slip in and out the back door unnoticed with our free bottle of rum, so don’t tell them we’re here.

But, they know!

Thanks for reading (and keeping our secret)

Love Janet and greg

© 2022 by Gregory Dunaj

GRENADA, AGAIN?

 I THINK THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

We have two guiding principles here at VFH central.

One is to “LIVE LOVE TRAVEL”, which is easy and everyone would do well to follow this simple tenet.

Windjammer Barefoot Cruise

Our second belief is more a declarative statement.

 “IT’S A BIG WORLD OUT THERE, 

      SOMEONE HAS TO SEE IT!”

No matter how alluring a destination we often limit our future travel choices to places we have never been to previously. After all, we all have a shelf-life expiration date, so why return to a place when there is so much more out there to see. Even if we have fallen in love with a destination, we know there are so many more experiences waiting for us.  

Grenada is different. We have been to this West Indies Island nation before when we sailed into the Carenage in St. Georges aboard the proud 3-masted SV Yankee Clipper, once part of the now-defunct Windjammer Barefoot Cruises fleet. With her sails majestically billowing we had sailed out of St. Lucia and tacked our way through St. Vincent and the Grenadines, island hopping at previously unheard-of places like Bequia, Canouan, Mayreau and Carriacou before dropping anchor at St. Georges. We were overnight there where we explored the capitol and her Spice Market, before returning to St. Lucia.

sv Yankkee Clipper

It was a beautiful trip, but it was on the return leg to St. Lucia when some lads from one of the islands in the Grenadines approached the Yankee Clipper with scuba gear, and soon I was gliding through some of the clearest water and the most beautiful coral and schools of fish and watching a Manta Ray flit out from under the sand when we approached. That was our first vacation together, and despite our mantra, I have always secretly wanted to return. 

TECHNICALLY DIFFERENT 

Now celebrating their 40^th anniversary the Sandals family has 16 Sandals resorts scattered over 7 Caribbean Islands,  so it’s possible to go to a new island nation for a lot of trips before having to consider another resort chain or start repeating. But, we had heard so many great things about Grenada that we convinced ourselves that though technically it may be the same island, it would be a completely different experience.

Sandals Grenada was a small and intimate resort, tucked away at the extreme southern tip of the island. The grounds were lush and though small we never felt crammed at all. We had a one room walkout at the Lover's Hideaway Village and from our little porch there was a pond with prancing waters and lilly pads.. 

The food preparation in Grenada was perhaps the best out of the three other resorts we had visited previously and we liked their Butch's Chop House, and their sushi restaurant, Soy, but the food was great everywhere. 

Welcome Home!

There was just one “party pool” with a swim-up bar, but the pool right by the beach was quieter and necessary libations could either be poured at the bar in Neptune’s Restaurant right on the beach or at the “Wrinkle Room” our euphemistic term for the piano bars we have found throughout the Sandals resorts. 

Usually very quiet and tucked away from everything else, these piano bars would attract an older crowd....hence "wrinkle." 

Sandals Grenada’s piano bar was not very intimate, but a breezy entertainment center and not quiet at all.. 

"Wrinkle Room" in Grenada

Wherever you’re seated, by the pools or on the beach, someone from Sandals will eventually come up and ask if you’d like another drink.

The beaches had jetties breaking the waves and if you look closely near the rocks, you might be able to see little squid hanging out taking advantage of the tranquil waters.

Of course, the best part of the trip was the Aqua Center. The staff were extremely helpful and very safety conscious, helping (or even carrying some of the older divers) onto the boat. 

There was no dock so you have to wade in the water to get aboard. The crew practically set up our regulators and BCD vests, cleared our masks for us on each dive. Our dive master Jermaine watched over us, helping Janet adjust her vest when she overinflated on one dive, and coming over to adjust my mask strap to get a better fit on another. It's those small attention to details that make our visits to Sandals so enjoyable. 

We were very glad we returned to Grenada, and we're glad you came back to read some of this drivel.

Come again!

Love Janet and greg

© 2022 by Gregory Dunaj

SANDALS GRENADA

BIG LOVE ON A SMALL RESORT
Readers of the blog may have noticed a little gap between entries. (Or at least we hope you noticed.) The last time we posted at Vacations From Home we had announced that we were off to the island nation of Grenada, but then radio silence for nearly two weeks now! 

Sandals Grenada dive map

We thought the better of trying to keep a daily accounting of our trip to the Spice Isle because the indulgent nature of our travels and were afraid we would not give a proper posting of our time there.

WHAT’S RUM GOT TO DO WITH IT?

Traveling to a Sandals is not cheap, but this Jamaican-based, all-inclusive, couples-only chain of resorts, where needs are anticipated and whims granted, is worth the money. I am guilty of the latent tendency while at a Sandals to want to just relax, eat to excess and drink rum and not have to write about it at the time. Besides it’s too difficult to type with one hand, I’m liable to spill my drink(s). Now that we’re home again at our middle-class garret in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and sufficiently detoxed, it’s time to describe (some of) our experiences.

beach

DIVE, BARS

All kidding aside, a huge bonus to traveling to a Sandals is the free scuba diving that is a part of their package and offered to everyone. It is the only resort in the Caribbean that offers free diving (and rum), and it’s a great way to see all the beautiful fish, and coral, and manta rays and reef sharks and lobsters and eels, etc. You can go on a two tank dive every day, except the day before your departure. That way you can safely fly home. Going to a Sandals is like booking passage on a liveaboard diving trip, but you get to eat in gourmet restaurants (and drink rum) and sleep in a comfortable bed.

quiet pool at the beach

All gear is provided, like fins, masks, vest and air. The only charge is if you rent a wetsuit from Sandals, but we just wear UV shirts on our dives. 

Each dive has a divemaster and we keep him nearby and follow his instructions, and he points out critters we might have missed. Overall, the dives are relaxing and yes, the fish are very beautiful, even the reef sharks, and believe me, diving, once you’ve mastered it, is a beautiful sport and it’s a lot easier than snorkeling.

They take very good care of their divers at Sandals and that’s why we keep traveling to this resort chain. 

We average 6-8 dives each visit, but far more experienced divers who come to Sandals dive much more. They even push the 24-hour window of safely flying after the last dive, calculating the risks with their dive computers.  

We are certified “Open Water” with PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), which means we can descend to 70 feet, but compared to these “professional” divers, we are relative amateurs. It can be intimidating with all their equipment and easy natures, but we have never felt humiliated in their presence. They are very helpful with answering questions, offering advice and lending a hand when needed.  I often say I rely on the kindness of divers. 

more beach

Surf ‘n Turf

We love to dive and Grenada has some of the most beautiful diving, but it does take a large chuck of the out of the day. We head out at 8:30 and we’re back by nearly 1 pm, just in time to get back to shore for lunch (rum) time. (I never eat before diving so I’m famished when we return.)

After lunch then the next important decision to make is where we’re going to relax for the afternoon. This is part of the joy of visiting a Sandals, because there’s so many places to swim and relax. Ocean front chaises or “party pools” with swim-up bars, or quiet pools tucked into corners of the resort are common at every Sandals we've visited.

"party pool" & swim-up bar

Sandals Grenada, a tiny resort compared to others, has just one swim-up bar, but there’s a quieter pool that is right on the beach, and then there’s the beach itself, with staff readily willing to fetch you another rum drink There’s also several smaller pools tucked away. Grenada is a very lush resort and despite its smaller size we never felt crammed at all.

So, you see, with diving and lunch and preparing for dinner, there was not a lot of time for writing. I don’t have a drinking problem, just too little time.

A quiet pool Grenada Sandals

Remember at the beginning of your week at Sandals visit the dining concierge and plan out your meals. Some places need reservations.

My rum of choice is Appleton’s 12 year, on ice with a wedge of lime.

Thanks for understanding and thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg

© 2022 by Gregory Dunaj

OFF TO GRENADA

LIKE SHIPS IN THE NIGHT

So far, this year is quite promising. Travel restrictions due to COVID have eased dramatically, and now the only thing holding us back is the cost of traveling! Our passports are in order, we recently signed up for Global Entry, the government program that helps with border crossings, we’re up to date with our vaccines, and of course the inclination to travel remains strong with us, even if it’s just three weeks since we returned from our last international trip.

COMING AND GOING AND GOING AND COMING…

Too soon?

Given our druthers we would not have planned these two trips so close together, but Grenada was booked and purchased last year and we would not be able to switch dates without a stiff penalty. The Tenerife trip fell into our laps as a gift of time share points, with the timing coinciding with the spring break for Janet’s English grandchildren.

So, still basking in the glow of our time in Spain, the memories of the Canary Islands still vivid, in a few days we’re heading off to stay at the Sandals Resort on the Spice Island of Grenada. 

I know, I know….1^st world problems.

ISLAND OF SPICE

This will be our fourth visit to a Sandals Resort. It’s an all-inclusive, adults and couples only resort chain headquartered in Jamaica. At Sandals you will never hear the word “no”. Accommodating, thoughtful staff, opulent grounds and several swim-up bars make for an indulgent week.

Admittedly I have been won over to the Sandals experience. Before our first trip to Antigua, I had my doubts about resort travel. It’s not traveling but vacationing I would say. Afterall, there’s only so many Dirty Monkeys you can drink or you tire of trying to teach the bartenders how to make a proper Zombie Rum drink. Where was the adventure? The sightseeing? The culture?

JUST BREATHE

What has won me over to Sandals is the free scuba diving they offer. Normally it would cost about $200 to go out on a two-tank dive, but at Sandals they are free! Through the dive centers at Sandals, I have become PADI Open Water certified. Getting certified costs, but that was money well spent. Also, it is not a requirement to be certified to dive at Sandals, you need only take a short resort certification, just so you know how to use your gear. . 

Another major plus of diving with Sandals are the dive masters. Their guidance on the dives takes all the worry out of it. Just breathe and enjoy the beauty that is beneath the surface. Diving is much easier than snorkeling for me.

WHERE AM I?

Because Sandals is a chain there are certain similarities with each location and throughout there are certain expectations to the accommodations and the service, but each resort has its own unique personality. We have traveled to Antigua, The Bahamas, Sandals South Coast in Jamaica and now Grenada.

The grounds of Antigua were spread out and incredibly lush, and restaurants were scattered in different places, whereas The Bahamas was tiny and the restaurants were all clustered together like a food court at the mall, but it did have a private island. In Jamaica there was a two-mile private white sand beach surrounded by a 500-acre nature preserve. There they had an over the water bar with hammocks.

So far, the diving in The Bahamas was the best for clarify and marine life. Sometimes it was a 45-minute boat ride to get to the dive spots at Antiqua. The dive spots in Jamaica were just a short ride off shore where we did drift diving, where we followed the dive master around until it was time to surface and the boat swung by to pick us up.

The first time I ever dove was with Janet in the waters off Grenada while we were on a Windjammer Cruise that sailed from St. Lucia to Grenada and back. The beauty was shocking then and I’m looking forward to diving again in Grenada in just a few days.

Thanks for reading

Love Janet and greg

© 2022 by Gregory Dunaj