Grenada Round One

Grenada 2018 was full of friends, festivals (Helloooo Carnival!) and exploring by water and land.  We found waterfalls, danced in the streets, joined a scooter gang and shared a few too many cocktails with so very many boats in every anchorage.

Grenada 2021 is a whole different beast.

2018’s Round 1 had us on the boat for 19 months straight.  We learned in that year and half that, as much as we absolutely love living on our boat, we need Boat Breaks.

August and September in Grenada are hot.  I mean H.O.T.  I cannot explain just how miserable, cranky and exhausting it was to be on the monohull that summer.  But let’s just say we learned our lesson and knew that if we headed south again for hurricane season, we’d be saying goodbye to Grenada for the month of September. Or renting an apartment for the month.  One way or another, we were having air conditioning.  (Literally the only time I’ve ever missed AC is sleeping on the boat in Grenada in September)

Doing it Differently

With Mark opening a business in St. Thomas last season, with some fellow cruisers (STT Marine Services) we were able to stash away money for that return trip to the States

It just so happened that Luna Sea needed a haul, some maintenance and a little spiffing up after purchasing her from SunSail last fall, so the timing was great.  Haul the boat for September, head back to the States and the Land of Air Conditioning – then come back and knock out the bottom job etc when the worst of the Grenadian heat passed.

We sailed south in June – but not in the typical cruiser fashion.  There were no stops in St. Martin for boat supplies and provisions.  No trips to Martinique for laid back anchorages, hiking volcanoes and stocking up on amazing French foods.  No hopping through the Grenadines – by far, one of our top 3 favorite cruising grounds. 

Instead, because of the insane cost and hassle of Covid testing and regulations, we made a straight hop to Grenada.  

Four days, and US$600 in tests later, we dropped anchor at the Grenadian island of Carriacou – an island that, to that point, had remained Covid-Free.

In August we began prepping to haul the boat.  By the end of the month we were ready to haul  her – and I had completed hours of online research to figure out just exactly what is needed to return to the US from Grenada – and more importantly, what was required to return to our boat at the end of the month.

Just days before our flights to the States, Covid reached Grenada with a vengeance.  

Carnival – the most glorious of times in Grenada in normal, pre-Covid times, is in August. They banned it last year.  And again this year.  BUT.  Did they really?  

There were major parties, referred to in some articles I’ve read as “house parties”. (um, watch that video – because that is one serious “house party”) And at some point, as nationals returned for their beloved celebrations – and gathered in the streets with dozens of Police in attendance, Covid made it’s appearance.  

And like the crazy virus it is, it spread like wildfire. 

The vast majority of Grenadians were/are not vaccinated.  Hospitals are high quality here – but very limited in capacity.  

As a result of the alarming rate of spread through the small island, the government announced Lock Down measures.  These were scheduled to go into affect on Friday Sept 3. We, conveniently, flew out on September 1.

From Carriacou we took the 6am ferry to Grenada, then took a bus straight to our appointments for a rapid PCR test (required to enter the States). Then it was a walk down hill to the Mall to pick up some snacks at the grocery (all restaurants were immediately converted back to Take Away only) then a taxi to the airport for our flights.  We landed in Oklahoma City, OK at 11:30pm and crashed in a crappy Motel 6 for some much needed rest. (We had to book last minute for the hotel, since we were not sure we would actually make it out of Grenada. Like, so last minute that I was calling when we landed in Miami and were running to catch our connecting flight, last minute…)

While we spent the entire month with family, shopping, enjoying some favorite foods we missed and selling the RV – I also spent a silly amount of time listening to the Prime Minister’s updates on the state of Grenada and reading all I could find regarding our imminent return. 

Infections soared.  Deaths increased. The curfews and total lockdowns on weekends went into and are still in effect.  

But here we are, on a plane – flying right back into it.

 

Hoops Required:

• You must be fully vaccinated
• PCR Test (thankfully these are free in the States)
• Pre-Paid Covid tests to be administered when we land at the Grenada airport ($150/person)
• A travel authorization to be completed before your flight
• Pre-booking of an approved “Covid Hotel” for 2 nights minimum for quarantine 
• 2 days in hotel while you wait on the PCR results (Nightly rate + Food)
• Approval for travel on ferry back to Carriacou

Head to the Grenada Ministry of Health website for up to date travel information.

Thankfully I was a Master Scheduler in a previous life (for real, that’s a thing) as navigating all of the websites to first learn the necessary steps, and then implement those steps in the correct order, was no simple feat. (Oddly, this is one of the few times I spent a significant amount of time on FB – as both Grenada’s government and the Grenada cruising community are doing a great job of spreading information there)

We are currently on our first of two flights back to Grenada.  We received our US Covid results yesterday and loaded them into the Verifly app.  Our Travel Authorizations are printed, as are our approval letters to travel to the quarantine hotel.  Apparently there are road blocks throughout Grenada checking for authorization letters.

We need the hotel (La Helicondia; adequate and affordable -that’s all I will say about that hotel) to print out our approvals for the Friday ferry back to Carriacou as well.  That’s one of the last hurdles to jump (after making our connecting flight in Miami with only a 45 minute layover 😬)  But surely this Covid approved hotel will be used to this process.

Currently the mv Dolly C is only running between Grenada and Carriacou on Mondays and Fridays at 4pm (3hr 15min).  So fingers are crossed that we get our Wednesday test results back in time for approval to travel on the Friday ferry – and enough time to actually get to the ferry terminal from the hotel.  If not, then we will enjoy 2 more nights at the hotel while we wait for the Monday ferry.  If so -at least after we are released from quarantine, we can enjoy the hotel pool etc.  

This weekend is another scheduled total lockdown – so Stay at Home orders will be in effect, regardless of whether we make it to Carriacou or not. 

While staying in the hotel two more nights will cost money, the alternative is that we head back to Carriacou and stay on the boat, in the boat yard.  Either way, we will be happy.  

From there, I’m booking a local Carriacou hotel room/studio apartment for a week or two while we do boat work.  I almost booked it before we left – so that we could go straight there from the ferry – but per the hotel’s policies, if we missed the ferry we would not be able to adjust our reservation.  Being the cheap frugal person I am, we are just hanging out on the boat until I can book a room when we actually know we’ll be on the island. 

Travel these days, my friend, is not for the faint of heart.

And neither is cruising during Covid, if I’m being honest.  But that’s a story for next time. 

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