Grand Anse

Today Sean and I decided to catch the sgu bus and head to Grand Anse, where the grocery, hardware, and linen store resides.  Did I mention our favorite beach is next door too?  So we decided to go swim for a little bit, and then we would head to the grocery store. 

 Sean had the camera, so sorry for the terrible photos.

 Just to show how clear the water is.  I was about 20 feet away.

 You can rent sail boats.

 There are a TON of fish nibbling at your feet. 

 This school was swimming around us all day

 So after we had been floating for a little while, I noticed a group of girls eating little green lime looking things.  They looked delicious, so I asked them what they were.  (Creepy picture of the girls before we met)

 The girls were very nice, and offered to let us try some.  They are a fruit which grow in their back yard.  They are called Guinep, and they are wonderful! They were jelly inside, and really different, but good. 

   Here we all are with our fruit.  Laurel- our new friend is next to me.  We sat and talked with her for three hours, causing us to burn.                      Here is the inside of one.  Odd looking?  They taste like a peach and a Chinese jelly.

 In the middle of our wonderful conversation, it started to pour.  Rain comes out of nowhere here, I just don't understand it.  Here is a picture of the offending cloud which caused a 20 minute downpour.  Looks innocent and white and puffy right? In the USA that would be an innocent cloud, but here, that little cloud will attack without warning.  This picture was taken vertically mid downpour. 

 Here is our next fruit that our new friends let us try.  This one is an apple/pear mix, but was bright red and looked almost like it would be a citrus.  It is called a mountain apple. 

 And here is a picture of our last fruit.  They called them beach grapes, and picked them right off a tree at the beach.  They had a taste of tomato, and were very interesting.  Overall, our experiences meeting locals here has been wonderful.  Everyone has been very kind, and went out of their way to share their culture with us. 

 Anyways, after our time at the beach we went to the hardware store and the mall.  You can buy Alaskan cooking knives!

 Here is the mall.  There was not a ton in it, but we did find a linen and things which was very useful.  We needed a carpet mat for our hallway, and got that for 7$ us, along with 4 plastic bowls for 3, and cutting board for 5$.

 Here is SGU's bus stop at the beach. 

 The coca cola products here are also made in Grenada, which means they use real sugar cane.  It tastes very different!  After the hardware store we went to the grocery store, and grabbed lots of chicken, spices, and veggies.  In the middle of the grocery store, there is a single tv, and all of the employes and the customers had gathered around the tv to watch the Jamaicans run in the Olympics.  It was amazing how the entire store shut down to watch.  There were about 100 people crowded around the tv, and when they won, the whole room exploded. 

I had my first real cooking disaster the other day, which is why we decided we needed to go to the grocery store.  I decided to cook chicken with curry. How hard could that be?!  So i put chicken cutlets in the pan, and poured an entire packet of curry on top.  It turned into a nasty, grainy mess, and therefore I decided I needed some premade spices and sauces to cook with.  Lesson learned- half a cup of curry on chicken does not equal anything edible. 

 Here is a picture of the ec money.  I gave the guy at the hardware store 20 US, and got 30 EC back.  The little things I find very entertaining. 

 Pretty houses on the bus route.

 People commonly sell home grown fruit on the side of the road, I have not been able to go to one yet, but I am excited.

And to leave you off, here is a picture of us at the bus stop today