While the boys were braving the open seas with the local fishermen, the kids and I decided to test our own strength of will.  We decided to take a bus to Grand Anse, a beautiful crescent-shaped beach south of St. George’s.  We headed out of the marina and started walking along the road.  In Grenada, walking along the road is how you hail a bus.  “Just start walking along and wave down any bus that happens to come along,” we were told.  “And good luck,” was always added.  Technically, there are “official” busses on “official” routes, but in reality, just about anyone with a van seems to be a bus driver here.  We started walking towards Grand Anse and hoped that a bus would come along soon, because there was no shoulder and the road was dangerous.  I was also lugging all our beach stuff.

After walking up two windy hills and across a busy intersection, a bus finally saw us and stopped.  The bus driver wouldn’t talk to me, so we just climbed inside and he took off.  I had heard about the less-than-helpful attitude of the bus drivers here, so I asked a fellow passenger how much the fare was and requested that she let me know when we got to Grand Anse.  She was helpful, and luckily, I had exact change in EC (Eastern Caribbean Dollars).  The kids raised their eyebrows questioningly as they looked around the bus.  The entire ceiling of the bus, from the windshield to the back, had a GIANT graffiti-style painting of Jesus Christ on it.  Around the edges of the ceiling, it said, “God & Me”.  The kids looked at me as if they were going to start making comments or asking questions but luckily they held their tongues…

riding the bus

We hit the beach and it was just as sweeping and lovely as the guidebook said it would be.  Having an adventure to get to a place always sweetens the prize.  We met several couples on the beach who wanted to know who we were and what we were doing.  Since it was not a typical U.S. vacation week, we stood out to the vacationers on the beach.  They were all lovely and intrigued by our story of living on a boat and exploring the world with our children.  They had lots of advice on what to do on Grand Anse, but I had an agenda: eat at Umbrellas and get a massage.

having cheeseburgers in Paradise

We had done schoolwork in the morning and the travelling took longer than you would expect, so we were ready for lunch.  We walked down the beautiful beach, which was lined with shady coconut palms.  Visitors and locals alike sat under them, enjoying the gorgeous view.  A few couples waded in the water.  We found Umbrellas, which reportedly had great burgers and a fun vibe.  We found both to be true and Bryson, who has never ordered anything BUT a cheeseburger at a restaurant, deemed it the “best burger of the trip”.

Soothing Touch Massage

After our filling lunch, we walked along the beach and discovered a lovely place for the kids to play: right in front of Soothing Touch Massage.  We swam in the water together for a bit and then they were happy to play in the sand while I had my massage.  Wendy and I had been tipped off about this place.  I’m not sure who started it, but several blind people of Grenada had been trained in massage therapy in order to give them a way to support themselves.  What an amazing idea that I was eager to support…The building was modest but clean.  The treatment rooms were small and the dividing walls didn’t go to the ceiling, so the environment wasn’t completely ideal.  But the people were absolutely lovely and the massage was amazing.  To top it off, the cost was $30 for a one hour massage.  If the kids weren’t playing by themselves on the beach outside, I would have stayed till quittin’ time!

The kids play in the sand

We were all a little anxious about taking a bus again.  As we passed through the parking lot, we ran into the couple we had met at the pirate party back at the marina.  They stopped to say hello and then offered us a ride.  How lucky!  We all piled into their car.  I think there were six of us in the back seat!  It was great to see our new friends again and the kids looked forward to playing together once we got back to the marina.

their fort village

Once back at Patronus, we met up with Chris and Anything Goes to hear about their fishing adventure.  They were so excited to share their stories with us and proud to show us their catch: buckets of conch, some huge lobsters, and several snappers.  We had a delicious lobster dinner that night to top off an exciting day for everyone.