Finale.

I write this final Grenada blog post from my studio on a very rainy, cold November day in Maine. Friday in Grenada was so full and fantastic I didn't manage to get the blog up before hitting my pillow - I slept outside beneath a full moon in a lovely breeze, heart full with the day’s adventures and the bonding we shared over our slideshow of photographs from the whole week.

A brief recap of our Friday (I’ll let the photos do most of the talking this time!):

We had a lovely 1.5 mile swim along Ile de Ronde. It began the swim with anchor antics by Zack and Jason, and a visit to the island dog with some scraps from dinner. From there we took the time to explore reefs we’d missed on our long swim here earlier in the week. So many fish and healthy corals, and water even more clear than earlier in the week. Delicious. 

Back on board we readied the yacht for the long sail south, but made a brief stop at the Sisters - two adjacent rock promontories. Here, Zack, Fitzy and I jumped in for a quick cave explore, involving a free dive down about 10 feet and surfacing in the darkness - a leap of faith on our first go. As we bobbed in the electric blue water below the darkness of the cave, swells pushed sea spray through a blow hole in the rock wall around us. It was dramatic and the change in air pressure was enough to pop my ears. Wild and wonderful.

A long, luxurious sail brought us back to Grenada, where we moored in Grand Mal Bay just next to the sculpture park. Here I made underwater portraits of each of our lovely swimmers. This is a tradition I have come to love at the end of a trip. It feels like such a meaningful way to mark a week at sea together. 

And so the evening went from there...fantastic dinner and slideshow bonding and a little more UNOflip and one last nighttime jump in. 

Saturday was a hectic travel day for everyone, but we set the tone right with an early morning swim before returning to the dock. It’s something to be able to start a day in the sea and end it almost back home.

It’s never easy to say goodbye to a place, especially after two weeks of full immersion. Grenada was new to us, and we feel so glad and grateful to have landed there. We will be back next spring, and will likely return each spring after that. I’ll admit to a few tears on departure, but knowing I’ll be back in less than four months helps a lot.

Thanks as always to my fellow guides and crew. Our little swimming company could not survive were it not for the generous efforts of such talented people. Special thanks to Captain Jason, without whom we might never have discovered the gems of Grenada. Thanks to Greens for welcoming us with open arms and warm waters.

Most especially I thank our lovely swimmers who held on through months of being grounded to come and shake off the dust with us in this new place. You definitely made our maiden voyage to this part of the Caribbean something we will never forget.

Soon I’ll be back to the sun in the British Virgin Islands, but my memories of Grenada will not fade.

Love,

Heather