The first night on Carriacou. The night came early around 7ish, wind howled outside and you could hear the sea washing against the rocks. Perfect……..The only disappointment was we couldn’t get Wifi here which we had understood to be available.
We got up very early on Wednesday morning (5am) and sat outside drinking coffee as we watched and listened to the wild life on our door step: the call of birds which I caught glimpses of every now and again, a small lizard hardly distinguishable from the branch it was on, several goats tethered up on the plot next to us gave a soulful baaaa every now and then, a cockerel somewhere told the world he was there every few minutes (and had been doing so for the last TWO hours).
Mike remembered a beach close by so we set off to look for it. The terrain was rough in places but we followed a definite path that ran parallel with the shore passing two or three houses where chickens and dogs were running around. Three fishermen were laying nets 20 meters off shore.
The beach, when we found it, had shrunk considerably because of erosion, large chunks of earth had been misplaced and there was now barbed wire to restrict our path which had been bent low to allow you to pass over it. Mike recalled the last time he had been here with his aunt over 45 years ago.
On our way back the fishermen had come ashore and were cleaning out 2 fish. One of them shouted out a greeting to us asking where we were from and as we got talking it turned out that they knew the Jacob family (everybody knows everybody here on this small Island). One of the fishermen, Castor is actually a distant cousin of Mikes.
We chatted whilst walking back along the path. Castor’s house was one of those we had passed on the way to the beach. As we said our farewells he offered us a bag of mangos which we gladly accepted.
Back to The Green Roof Inn at breakfast we met a couple from Middleton in Manchester who we had seen on the boat coming to Carriacou, they were here for 3 weeks. Small world.
Turns out wifi is only available in the main house…..we agreed to change rooms, I could unpack at last !!! (Mike is ok living out of a suitcase but I’m not).
The reason we are here in Carriacou is to attend the funeral of Mike’s Uncle Sydney. We spend a few hours every day at the family home which is situated just across from the primary school and all day people are calling in to pay their respect.
The temperature is hot but there is a nice breeze. The family sit on the veranda, which is on two sides of the house, and reminisce of times gone by. Sheep wander everywhere, some of them have long rope attached around their neck but have gotten free from their tether long ago. They stroll lazily up the road giving off an occasional bleet, meandering in and out of peoples gardens trying to find that last green shoot of grass but everything is brown and dry.
You have to conserve water here so no watering gardens!
Up the road on the way back to where we are staying Road Island Reds (hens) strut around the garden. From under the hedge chicks scamper in and out of the undergrowth pecking at the ground. I stop and gape in awe at how cute they are and the householder knows I am not a countryman, I wouldn’t be able to kill the chickens to eat…….. I could seriously become a vegetarian.
Back at Green Roof Inn the sun has lost all it’s power and the day is cooler. Our accommodation consist of three rooms; two bedrooms and a bathrooms. We chose to use the middle bedroom next to the bathroom but would you believe it – we can’t get wifi in there, but can in the other bedroom! We sit outside our rooms watching the world go by.
Bananaquit (a bird the size of a blue tit but with a yellow breast) kiss and canoodle in the nearby Bougainville, a tiny hummingbird flits from one flower to the next, occasionally taking a rest from its strenuous activity and you get to see how small and thin it is.
The Carib Grackle is a noisy bird (the size of a blackbird) whose call reminds me of Punch and Judy. It’s tail fans up, instead of sideways when it calls and it is quite friendly, thinking nothing of coming onto the breakfast tables in the morning.
Thursday came, we decided to follow the coast path into Hillsborough. The way was passable but we wouldn’t use it again. In places the path had eroded and a bit of climbing down and then up again was required which wasn’t easy in the sandals we both wore.
The beach we landed on after about 20 minutes, consisted of black and silver sand.
After lunch we found a shaded place under a young coconut tree on the beach, stripped down to bathing suits and tried the sea for the first time. Mike had a swim but I just lay there and let the small waves crash over me.
There was a small pontoon 40 yards out to sea and several Pelicans rested there. A gull came flying along the shore with what looked like meat or intestines hanging from its beak.
Several other gulls mobbed it and the gull dropped whatever it had in its beak onto the beach 6 yards from where we sat, another Gull picked it up then out of the blue a female Frigatebird was in on the action weaving and diving to try to get whatever was in the gull’s beak.
I had seen several Frigate riding the warm thermals on our journey from Grenada to Carriacou, you could tell they were big, the males have a wing span of up to 7+ feet.
Seeing one close up was breath taking, only wish we had the camera with us at the time, but that memory will stick with me forever as I thought she looked stunningly beautiful with her sculptured wings and fork tail.
Later
Katy Crunch.
Photo Frigatebird – Bajabirds.com
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