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.
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| 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.
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| 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 40th
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.
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| 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..
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| "Wrinkle Room" in Grenada |
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
I think I’ll now have to put this on my list of destinations!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Grenada is a beautiful, lush island and her people are very friendly.
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