Small Country ~ Big Sadness

February 28, 2020 by Candi Licence Leave a Comment

Our gorgeous Grand Anse beach and the beautiful mountains of Grenada

Grenada has approximately 110,000 residents, so it’s easy to feel like you know almost everyone. 100,000 sounds like a large number, but when you consider a lot of cities in the US have that many people (or more), it puts things into perspective.

The idea of 6 degrees of separation says that all people are six, or fewer, social connections away from each other. I think it’s probably 3 degrees of separation here. It’s a small country, people live in a concentrated area (over 80% of the island is still undeveloped land), and many people are related.

It’s fun to feel so embedded in the community, but it also means that events feel personal. When someone dies, you might know the person, their family, or at least their close friends.

Grenada has had the shock of four prominent deaths in the past month.

Denis Noel

Denis Noel, relaxing at his magnificent Balthazar Estate in the rainforest.

Denis Noel was an island icon. Denis studied agriculture in college and worked in the Ministry of Agriculture for 22 years. He also held a variety of government positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Junior Minister of Agriculture, and Junior Minister of Communications and Works. He might be best known for managing his family’s famous estate, Balthazar, where he developed a pain relief product called NUT-MED, which harnessed the therapeutic powers of nutmeg into a spray and crème.

Located in Grenada’s rainforest, Balthazar Estate is Grenada’s largest commercial grower of cut flowers. In addition to the many varieties of Gingers and Heliconia’s traditionally grown here, he and his staff hybridized exciting new varieties. Denis was part of the Grenadian team that exhibits at the famed Chelsea Garden Show in London each May. He was instrumental in providing the bulk of the magnificent flowers, year after year, that helped Grenada win 15 Gold Medals in 21 years of competition.

Michael and I had the privilege to meet Denis and receive a private tour with him just three weeks before his death. In the 2 hours we spent together, walking his fields of flowers, our biggest impression was this was a man of grace and humility. He clearly loved his ancestral estate. I had phoned him saying that I was writing about Grenada’s participation in Chelsea and asked if we could have a tour. He graciously invited us to come the next day. I didn’t find out until after we parted that he was retired and no longer did tours. I’m humbled and grateful that I was able to meet this gentle man and gentleman.

Andre Cherman

Andre Cherman, the friendly owner of Coyaba Beach Resort. Photo credit – Barnacle News

Andre Cherman was a shareholder, Chairman of the Board, and served as Managing Director of Coyaba Beach Resort for the 32 years it’s been in business. Coyaba is a top-rated hotel located right on Grenada’s magnificent Grand Anse Beach.

Through his guidance, this family-owned beach resort established itself as a favorite for both guests and staff. He was also a leader in community outreach, supporting charities, aiding local schools, and sponsoring the New Dimension steel band.

I did not know him personally, but he was a leader in the hotelier industry and the community.

Accolades and condolences have been pouring in from all over the world, citing his warmth, commitment, and graciousness. His family will continue his legacy, but he will be deeply missed.

I’m sorry that I never had the opportunity to meet him.

Lydia Whiteman

The sweet and wonderful Lydia Whiteman

Our good friend, Lydia Whiteman, recently passed away from cancer. Michael and I met Lydia and her husband, Joslyn, somewhere around 1990 when we were looking for property to purchase in the parish of St. David’s. Joslyn was the government Minister responsible for St. David’s. Together, as a couple, they continuously traveled throughout the parish to meet with families, listen to their concerns and worked tirelessly to help wherever they could – both professionally and personally.

I was struck that no matter where we went, everyone would come and greet Lydia and Joslyn. In return, Lydia and Joslyn would ask after the person’s children, parents, and neighbors. The interactions weren’t casual. It wasn’t ‘How is your mom’, but ‘How is Margaret’s arthritis doing this week? Did the NUT-MED help? Is there anything else we can do?’ ‘How is your son’s reading going? I heard from his teacher that he was making good progress.’ ‘Were you able to get your roof repaired?’ They knew every person, understood their struggles, and clearly cared about them.

Lydia was always cooking big pots of food to distribute to whatever community they were visiting. Oil down, Goat Curry, Rice & Peas, etc. Has your government representative (or their spouse!) ever done anything like this for you?

My strongest memory of Lydia is that she always wore her pearl necklace. It didn’t matter if she dressed up for a fancy event or she dressed casually while walking the streets of one of the villages visiting with families. This memory, more than anything else, epitomized her strength, grace, and compassion. My heart is heavy from her death.

Sir Royston Hopkin

Sir Royston Hopkin, the face of Spice Island Beach Resort

Sir Royston Hopkin passed away due to complications from a medical procedure he had a few weeks back. Sir Royston was the owner and face of Spice Island Beach Resort, one of the leading hotels in the world. He was a recognized champion of the Grenadian people, and he supported a wide variety of individuals, charities, and provided scholarships for needy children.

Sir Royston enjoyed honors and awards from all over the world. Royston became a “Sir” in 2004 when Queen Elizabeth knighted him for his outstanding contributions to the tourism industry in Grenada and the Caribbean. He received three Lifetime Achievement Awards – from the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, and the Caribbean Hotel and Resort Investment Summit in Miami. Most of us will never receive even one Lifetime Achievement Award.

Under his leadership, the resort has also consistently won a tremendous number of awards. These include the AAA five Diamond Award, (Spice Island is the only Caribbean owned 5-star hotel to make the cut), and, for the 7^th year, the Six Star Diamond Award by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. In 2019, the resort ranked fourth out of 25 luxury Caribbean hotels in the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards. US News & World Report recognized Spice Island as one of the “Best All-Inclusive Resorts in the Caribbean”.

Royston was an ambassador for ‘Spice’ as well as Grenada. He was always walking the resort, talking to staff and visitors to be sure the highest quality of service was delivered. He was always gracious and often invited guests to his home for cocktails.

I was continually impressed with the quality of my interactions with his staff. They were always friendly, warm, and highly professional. One time a friend and I stopped by the beach bar for a drink. I had my dog with me, and he was sitting next to me. A server came over, welcomed us warmly, and complimented my pooch. Then, ever so gently, she asked if we would mind moving to another table that had a one-foot high divider separating the bar from the beach. She explained that our dog shouldn’t be in the bar area. However, if we sat there with him on the other side of the divider, he would still see us, feel like he was with us, I could easily touch him, and there would be no intrusion for the other guests. She so skillfully and professionally managed the situation that I remember it years later as unparalleled service. I know this high level of service emanated from Sir Royston’s vision of a stellar experience.

I had to be told three times that Sir Royston passed away. I was so shocked. His death is an enormous loss to his family and friends, staff and guests, Grenada and the larger Caribbean.

Life goes on. But for many Grenadians and me, we have lost several prominent individuals that we genuinely cared about, and we are grieving. Separately and together, they demonstrated the warmth, caring, and integrity of the Grenadian people. They were role models, leaders in their fields, and friends to all. Rest in peace, my friends.

Planting Seeds and Creating Sparks ~ Art and Love in Grenada

May 22, 2019 by Candi Licence 7 Comments

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Roxi painted this village scene of Mount Moritz when she lived in Grenada in the 1990s

As Hurricane Ivan tore through Grenada in 2004 destroying over 90% of the island’s infrastructure, Roxi Hermsen worried about her friends. She and her husband had lived in Grenada for a year in the late ‘90s in the Mount Moritz area, just north of the capital city, St. Georges. They fell in love with Grenada and had quickly become part of the local community. She impatiently waited for word about their former neighbors. Finally, word got through – no deaths in the village, but massive destruction. Roxi started painting and planning.

An Artist by trade, Roxi sent paintings to Byron Campbell to sell and raise funds to replace the damaged water system at Mount Moritz Anglican school. She also wanted to send seeds to her friend Ashton Goddard, a local farmer, so he could begin replanting his garden and have food to eat and sell. Little did she know that her idea would transform into a massive relief project.

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Work in Progress – Portrait of Ashton Goddard. Artist Rebecca Shepherd

Roxi went to her local Canadian seed distributor, Pacific North West Seeds, to buy some seeds for Ashton. The owner generously gave her all his leftover seeds. It was the end of the season when stores return their unsold seed. Seeds can’t be resold the following year, so the owner had a glut of unsalable seeds, and Grenada had an immediate, desperate need. Roxi left with boxes, and boxes, and boxes of seeds. Her next step was to organize seed packing parties.

Roxi hosted parties, inviting friends to pack a variety of vegetable seeds into Ziploc bags that could easily be distributed to different families throughout Grenada. Now she had to figure out a way to get them from her small hometown in western Canada to Grenada.

Roxi contacted the Spice Isle Relief Organization in Toronto, a group that was coordinating hurricane relief supplies to be shipped to Grenada. The former Council General to Grenada happened to be in the office when she called. He asked her where she had lived and, of course, knew her former neighbors Tanty Deli and Uncle Everest and said they were ok. He was also able to tell her more information about her other friends in Mt. Moritz. He paved the way for the seeds to get through Customs and the Agricultural inspection without delay or charges.

Roxi then contacted WestJet Airlines. The owner, Clive Beddoe, agreed to fly the seeds to Toronto at no charge if Roxi could get the seeds to the Kelowna airport in British Columbia. Caesar’s Trucking stepped up and trucked the seeds to Kelowna. It took two WestJet flights to get all the seeds to Toronto.

Once in Toronto, the seeds would ship via container to Grenada. Spice Isle Relief added buckets, shovels, and other farming supplies to the shipment so families would have everything they needed to replant. Roxi’s cousins added their support by sending large plastic containers filled with medical supplies, water purification tablets, baby formula, diapers, school supplies, etc. Everyone was willing to pitch in and help.

While this was happening, Roxi contacted her friends in Grenada to let them know about the seed project. They used their farmers’ network to inform the farmers that relief was coming and to start cleaning up and preparing everyone’s gardens to receive the seeds.

The Mt. Moritz community pulled together after the hurricane to make sure everyone in their community was taken care of. They started by making sure all the elderly people had shelter, then they began pooling food and supplies and distributing them based on the size of the family. Last, they made sure everyone’s garden space was prepared for the seeds to arrive. It’s heartening to see how Grenadians pull together in their tight-knit communities and support each other.

Roxi had always dreamed about coming back to Grenada. In 2017, she met a fellow Artist, Rebecca Shepherd, at an elementary school in Canada. Artists were showcasing different kinds of art so kids could see the many ways art can be expressed and have a chance to try things out. They became friends and then collaborators. As they were co-painting a large canvas, a seed appeared in it, and Roxi spoke about her dream to return to Grenada. Rebecca said, “I’ll go with you.” In January 2018, they hatched a plan to raise funds by selling their artwork. They had a show in Kelowna, Canada that filled a 70-foot wall at Buvez Wine and Art Bar. By August, they had saved enough money for the airfare, and they purchased their plane tickets.

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Rebecca and Roxi at their house in Mount Moritz – where I interviewed them for this blog post

They were now committed. Roxi and Rebecca created an art workshop for 16 women to raise additional funds for lodging and food. The local Arts Council in Enderby, graciously sponsored the workshop. The Enderby and District Arts Council paid for the room and paint supplies and provided refreshments. The workshop proceeds covered their rent and paint for the murals while they were in Grenada. Finally, it was time to return to Grenada.

Roxi and Rebecca arrived in Grenada on February 5^th and, once again, found a home in Mt. Moritz. It was only one house away from where Roxi had stayed the first time she lived in Grenada. They immediately started painting so they could have an exhibition at Aquarium, a favorite beach restaurant and place Roxi had shown her paintings 22 years ago.

This is a sample of five the paintings that were for sale at Aquarium Restaurant

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At the same time, Roxi and Rebecca created a large mural in a private home, something they wish to do more of, either in private or public spaces. They planned to paint three small murals and one large mural at the Mount Moritz Anglican Elementary School to brighten up the school. They started designing the murals and working with the school staff to determine where the art would be installed.

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One of the beautiful murals at The Mount Moritz Anglican School

Next, it was time to begin painting the murals. They painted during the school day, and the kids were excited to see the art emerge before their eyes. Roxi said it was pretty chaotic and also lots of fun with children exclaiming each time a new ‘creature’ appeared. As Roxi and Rebecca painted a reef with fish, octopus, crab, and shells, the kids cheered them on and made suggestions like adding a shark to the mural. Roxi said it was like painting on demand. The hardest part may have been keeping the kids from touching the murals until they were dry. The refrain “Is it dry yet?” was heard over and over.

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Another mural with a specially requested shark. Is it dry yet?

Picking out the future Artists was easy. While all the children were engaged watching Roxi and Rebecca paint, a few Artists at heart sat completely still, mesmerized at the magic appearing before their eyes. One boy sat with a serious expression on his face. Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore and grabbed the paintbrush from Roxi’s hand and started placing dots on the mural.

Roxi and Rebecca just laughed. They understood his artistic desire. They said they were planting seeds with this project and creating sparks of creativity that might take years to develop and bloom. Roxi has taught Art, Drama, and Media in Canada. One of her former students has become a respected movie producer, another has won an Academy Award for scenic painting, and a third student has opened a successful Dinner Theatre. I wonder where this boy’s passion and talent will take him in life.

A third mural combining art with math

The teachers were also happy and excited about the project. Schools in Grenada, tend to be pretty sterile environments. There is barely money for necessary supplies. Parents buy all the school books and are often asked to contribute basic supplies like copy paper, tissues, and toilet paper. Funds for ‘decorations,’ even educational ones, are nonexistent. Everyone was thrilled with the colorful upgrade to the school walls.

The magnificent mural highlighting the school seal surrounded by Ginger Lilies

The highlight of the murals was a large painting of ginger plants surrounding the school seal. Each ‘flower’ was a handprint of an individual child. Roxi and Rebecca rolled each of the children’s hands in red and white paint and had them stamp their handprint at the top of a leaf. The principal and teachers got involved and added their handprints to the masterpiece as well. The finished mural was both beautiful and touching. Everyone was uplifted by the new art and was proud to have their personal contribution as part of the mural.

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A close up so you can see the individual handprints that became the Ginger Lily flowers

After the murals were completed, Roxi and Rebecca realized there was a good bit of paint left over and had the idea to paint the school’s playground space. The playground was basically a large, empty concrete space. During recess, the children just ran around unfocused, they had no way to direct their energy. Roxi and Rebecca wanted to create a virtual playground with hopscotch, jumping jacks, square ball, race tracks, and circuit circles with run here/hop there sections. Roxi engaged her friends in the community to help paint the playground to create local ownership of the project, and then the community would take over the ongoing maintenance of the playground.

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Roxi transforming the bland concrete recess space into a virtual playground

The next Sunday afternoon, members of the community turned out to paint the virtual playground. Roxi was the mastermind and determined where each painting/play area would be placed. I was impressed with how she could sketch out the designs using a long stick with a large piece of chalk taped to the end. Rebecca was the detail Artist, defining all the outlines, painting numbers, and then adding splashes of color and shapes to the completed works. The community members filled in the blocks of color and, as they got more confident, they added lines and decorations like dots and stars. It was a collaboration of ideas that meshed seamlessly.

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Rebecca adding numbers to the hopscotch board

Now the students had fun ways to interact.

This was definitely a group collaboration and effort.

Creating colorful stairs to play upon.

Everyone worked hard and had a great time.

Adding the finishing touches

And of course, there had to be a heart – One Family, One Love – Grenada’s mantra

The Transformation was Magical

As the afternoon wore on, a few children patiently watched the playground come to life. Later, they became the first ones to try out each play area, running, hopping, and skipping through the games. They had either huge smiles or determined faces as they tried their best to jump the farthest or run the fastest.

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Run on the Spot!

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If the footprint fits, JUMP!

Roxi and a village girl playing mirror me.

Look at that smile!

Posing in the heart.

One of the community members who helped paint the playground, Kwabena Amen, is an instructor at Marryshow Community College (MCC). He was impressed by the teamwork, the enthusiasm of the school staff, and the joy in the children’s eyes. He plans to encourage his MCC students to help other communities around the island to recreate murals and virtual playgrounds in other elementary schools.

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Everyone joined in the fun, trying out the new playground

As Roxi and Rebecca’s visit came to an end, many townspeople stopped them on the street and thanked them for their gift of art.

I know that Roxi and Rebecca are already dreaming about their next trip. I can’t wait to see what they plan to do when they make their way home again to Grenada.

Photo credit: Photos without the CandiandMichaelontheMove.com logo are courtesy of Roxi and Rebecca.

Artists comments:

Roxi and Rebecca wish to thank those who helped them along the way, Byron Campbell, Ashton Goddard, Kwabena Amen, Pip Stokes, Gylfi Hilmisson, Raymond and Lady C.

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Rebecca, Roxi, and the community members who painted the virtual playground. (Left to right – Ashton, Rebecca, Roxi, Lady C, Kwabena, Raymond, Gilfi, and Pip)

Pip and Gylfi run Attach a Leg Grenada, a non-profit organization which provides a cost-efficient and high-quality service for amputees. Through serendipity, they met Roxi and realized they owned one of her paintings that she created 22 years ago. Both Roxi and Rebecca donated paintings to Attach a Leg, to help in their fundraising efforts for their worthy cause.

Thank you to Rachel Forte at Mt. Moritz Anglican School for being open to art and allowing Roxi and Rebecca to show the community how art can make a positive change with color and uplifting imagery.

If you might be interested in a mural, please contact Roxi and Rebecca directly. Their websites are listed below.

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This is the mural Roxi and Rebecca painted at Byron Campbell’s house.

To see more of Roxi and Rebecca’s artwork, check out these websites:

www.RoxiArtwork.ca

www.rebeccas-art-studio.com

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The Stairway to Heaven and to the new virtual playground

Coming Home ~ Sweet, Sweet Home ~ First Impressions

March 6, 2017 by Candi Licence Leave a Comment

We were on the road for 4 and a half months. This was a different trip for us filled with Family, Friends and Fun AND a lot of moving around. We headed to the US in June for Michael’s Goddaughter’s wedding in CT and then migrated to Vermont, Maine and then onto Toronto for a Jazz weekend and then Caribana (Toronto’s Carnival). From there, Michael jagged back to the Caribbean to shoot Grenada’s Carnival while I spent time with his family at Big Moose and, together again, we headed to Cape Cod to catch the last taste of a New England summer, then off Italy for 3 weeks, more visiting and now we are back in Grenada. Lots of stories, insights and reflections which will be shared in other posts, but for now ~ WE ARE HOME!

Sunrise from our patio

Day 1 ~ Sitting on the patio, gazing at the horizon and writing for the first time in a long time. I’ve missed blogging but was too busy ‘seeing’ to be to be able really write in earnest – time to begin again.

Below is a random listing of my first impressions after being gone so long and seeing the house mostly complete for the first time ….

~ The welcoming feeling of coming home

~ Sunday ~ A day of rest and quiet ~ a perfect way to settle back in

~ Stunning views of verdant green climbing up the hills and mountains

~ Palm trees swaying and dancing in the breeze

~ Sounds of water land boat motors running – daily life happening

~ Hot 90’s and a soft breeze, enhanced by a lazy fan twirling above

~ Freshly squeezed fruit juices in the refrigerator. Plus freshly baked coconut bread and sweet bananas

~ Michael’s hammock is already up!

~ Mick settling right in, in his hammock bed, getting treats

~ Everyone is relaxed

~ Our pool. Glistening, clear water, wiggling waves from the breeze ~ a little ‘cold’ !

(86 degrees if you believe the thermometer. Need to turn on the solar heater. HA!)

~ Micks’ first dip in the pool, then splat! as he runs on the newly waxed living room floor – splayed out and wondering, What just happened?

~ A clean, neat, organized house. Thanks to –

Nadica – my Grenadian best friend and our housekeeper

Sheila – a wonderful new friend and our groundskeeper

Antonio – our terrific general contractor

Kim – our fabulous house manager and ‘go to’ person when we are off island

~ Thank you all for taking such great care of us ~

Thinking about people – Wanting to reach out and make contact

~ Karen, Boots and Ruby – our favorite restauranteers

~ Spencer and Ovis – our neighbors across the street

~ Rain – good friend and chef extraordinaire

~ Seeing our “completed” house for the first time. There was still a lot of work to be completed when we left Grenada in June. Michael had a sneak peek when he was back in August but it is all new to me.

~ Greeting the house like an old friend who has new secrets to share – new spaces, finishes completed

~ Discoveries – We shipped 5 barrels of ‘stuff’. Items tucked everywhere – waiting for their new homes

~ Places to sit! Lots of new cushions ~ a whole other story

~ A new big office – so large I just want to dance in it. A space of my own. Finally!

~ Maria’s glass waterfall displayed on the floor of the living room – looking magnificent and wrong on the floor instead of flowing down the patio wall

~ Sleeping in my own bed ~ delicious and heavenly!

~ One of our favorite restaurants, La Boulangerie, is closed. So much disappointment…. Another failed business and if rumors are true – the owner left the island without paying the workers or back rent. Heartbreaking all the way around.

~ Carib Sushi – Our favorite sushi restaurant ~ just the same – same wait staff, happy to have us back and the wonderful Sushi chef who likes me because I like him. Feeling welcomed and spoiled.

~ Thinking about priorities and contemplating what to do first? How to design my life now that the house is basically complete? What DO I want to do when I grow up?

Coming home ~ celebrating

Coming home ~ a feeling of endless time

Coming home ~ Feeling settled – home, sweet, sweet home.

One Roof On, Another Roof Off ~ And Other Changes

March 11, 2016 by Candi Licence

Finally, we are ready to finish the living room roof. YEAH!

We put up scored plywood for the ceiling (so it looks like individual boards) and then a layer of aluminum metal roofing is being applied. The metal cleared customs a week ago Tuesday so, fingers crossed, we’ll have a finished roof by the end of the week.

Our new ceiling. Here, you can easily see how much higher the walls are and the roof goes up to as peak from there. We now get plenty of wind in the living room so this has been a huge success.

Our regular team put on the wooden ceiling and they are doing all the work to prep the roof for the metal that will go on top. The company that is providing the metal will also provide the team to attach it to the roof. This is great for two reasons – they have the most experience installing these roofs and will guarantee the workmanship AND it means our regular team can keep moving their parts of the project forward.

Ecstatic Note: We had a large rainstorm recently (the first and only one since the end of December) and the only evidence was a small puddle in the hall where the roof and wall haven’t been sealed yet – the living room floor was DRY!

Our custom made louver for the front of the house was delivered and it looks great. I love the dark mahogany finish.

Our new Louver which will be placed in the front of the house above the Arched doors.

It was quite the experience watching it get installed.

Lifting the louver into place was a simultaneous combination of pulling and pushing.

Lifting the huge louver into place was a simultaneous combination of pulling and pushing.

One man was on the outside of the building on a scaffolding, three men were on the inside on a different scaffolding and two men were on the ground. Thick, long pieces of canvas were tied to the louver and the other ends were thrown up to the three men. They pulled the canvas “ropes” tight and then they pulled up while the men on the ground lifted the louver as high as they could. Then, with poles, the louver was pushed up so the bottom sat on the scaffolding. With the great teamwork, this heavy louver was set into place in about 5 minutes. Then the louver was leveled and held in position while it was screwed into the concrete. Ten minutes later, it looked like it had always been there.

View from the courtyard.

View from the inside. The living room is so big, that the louver almost looks small. That is unless you compare it to the size of the men lifting it in the picture above!

Now, our team is split. Some workers are focusing on prepping the roof for the metal and the rest are focusing on the patio area where we are removing part of a wall to square off the space. We are also completely removing the patio roof and supporting structure so we can put up a new roof that will be mostly flat with a minimal pitch for drainage, removing all but one floor post and then replacing the stationary glass with windows that will open. If you remember back to the start of this project, the two primary goals were –

Raise the living room roof up so we’d have great airflow to cool the room and
Reconfigure the back patio to make more usable outside living space (by bumping out part of the side wall to make the room rectangular) and to change out the funky triangle, fixed glass with larger windows that open to allow for controlled air flow.

The back of our house faces a large bay so we can get a tremendous amount of wind if the prevailing wind is blowing, but it can also be very calm on some days. We are putting in tiered “walls” of awning windows. We think awning windows will be best because we can control the angle and amount of wind that can come into the patio and we will also be able to keep the windows open during rain storms. These windows will need to be able to withstand strong winds that will be pushing against them when they are open so Michael is committed to purchasing local windows in case we need warranty replacements or repairs. It’s enticing to think about purchasing windows in the US where they will be less expensive but then we are essentially on our own if anything goes wrong. There is always the consideration of buying local verses importing from abroad for any large dollar purchase.

Here is what the patio area used to look like. Notice how the room is “bumped in” about 5 feet next to the bar. We will square off the room, giving us more covered space under the new patio roof.

As soon as the windows were taken out the view really opened up. We’re trying to have as much glass as possible to retain unobstructed views but need the windows to be functional and strong enough to withstand the torque from the strong winds so no one window can be too large.

This is a similar shot after the windows were taken out. The concrete pad will be incorporated into the living space. The new windows will give us a much bigger view.

We are also cutting down the back wall, facing the view, to about 16 inches. We will continue to have a rail at waist height and will run wire cables between the wall and rail for safety. I can’t wait to see this part completed and to have a fairly unobstructed view to the water.

These are the old supports that held up the patio roof. The new roof will only have one support.

These are the supports that held up the old patio roof. The new roof will only have one free standing support.

And this is how the railing area looked. We're cutting down the peaks and will have cables run between the upright posts.

And this is how the railing area looked. We’re cutting down the peaks and will have cables running between the upright posts.

By Friday, the roof should be completed and the living room can start being prepped for painting – YAHOO!

The Best of Grenada Sailing Week ~ The Workboat Regatta

February 26, 2016 by Candi Licence 1 Comment

A “picture perfect”, beautiful day for sailing – glorious sun, good wind and definitely a party atmosphere on the beach as visitors and locals root for their favorite boats.

Crystal clear, turquoise blue water lapping onto 2+ miles of white sand beach, makeshift food stalls with mouth watering smells, vendors selling luscious local food and drinks, other stalls selling souvenirs and local crafts, music blaring from a large sound stage, lots of locals and tourists mingling and laughing while about 40 workboats rest on the sand and get prepped for the intense competition to determine which sailing village will hold the honor of winning the 2016 Sailing Festival ~ known locally as the Workboat Regatta.

The work boats are rigged and line the beach, waiting to be called for their village race. There is tremendous competition between the fishing villages for the distinction of 2016 Champion of Champions.

The Grenada Sailing Week is bigger than this and is actually a week-long event that attracts sailors from all over the world to race against each other in a variety of races and boat classes, each day ending with a party. There are 5 classes of yachts that race and each yacht races multiple times. Results of each race are tallied up to determine the overall winners. Of course, there is plenty of fun, food and partying going on during the races and at the evening parties. It’s thrilling to see these sleek, expensive yachts slicing through the waves but, I have to admit, my heart is with the workboats.

These work boats are owned by the local fishermen and they go out daily to catch "the fish of the day" for the stores, restaurants, lucky residents and savvy visitors.

These work boats are owned by the local fishermen and they go out daily to catch “the fish of the day”. Quite different than the huge commercial ships that ply the oceans. I love the creative names lovingly painted on each boat. (The other side says No Retreat”)

Workboats are the traditional 16 to 17 foot wooden boats that the local fishermen use on a daily basis to bring in the “catch of the day” to restaurants, stores, lucky residents and savvy visitors. They are powered by motors and do not have sails. Certain seaside villages in Grenada – Gouyave, Woburn, Grand Mal and Sauteurs are well known for their fishing culture and there is a friendly, but rigorous, rivalry between them each year to claim the prize of fastest boat and best sailors. The races also attract fishermen from Carriacou and Petit Martinique, Grenada’s sister islands, and sailors from the Grenadine Islands like Bequia and Mayreau. For the day of the races, bamboo masts are cut and rigged onto the boats in a wide variety of ways ~ almost always including a least some duct tape!

This is a great shot showing the condition of the average work boat and their makeshift masts. This is a very typical set up with bamboo booms.

This is a great shot showing the condition of the average work boat and their makeshift masts jury rigged for sailing in this annual race. This is a very typical set up with bamboo booms.

We’ve been coming to the Workboat races for many years and the boats and rigging have gotten much more professional and now specialty boats are being built specifically for the final race of the regatta with traditional masts and bigger, better sails. In the early days, more than half the fun was watching the sailors collaborate (argue) and try to figure out how to jury rig their boats with the bamboo masts and sails and get them to stay upright. Now, it’s more organized and some of the charm and the adventure of rigging the boats from scratch is gone. But the rivalry, excitement, laughing and fun is still there in full measure. It is a great 2 day event. Plus, now we know local fishermen and root for specific boats, as they race each other for the final trophies.

Here, sailors are prepping to sail against each other in acommunity (or village) competition. Thye have pulled and pushed their boats into the surf and are trying to hold them in place until the horn blares, starting the race. Once they hear it, they run pushing their boats into the waves, jumping in at the lasdt minute. The last guy will be almost neck deep in the water when he needs to pull himself up and in.

Here, sailors all from the same village are prepping to sail against each other in a community competition to determine the team that will represent the village in the cross community competition. They have pulled and pushed their boats into the surf and are trying to hold them in place until the horn blares, starting the race. Once they hear it, they push their boats into the waves and jump in at the last minute. The last guy will be almost neck deep in the water when he needs to pull himself up, over and in. Often there are legs flailing!

Our local fisherman, Captain Ray, had one of the boats racing for Woburn. We get the bulk of our fish and Lobster from Captain Ray. He doesn’t carry a phone so Michael or I need to head over to the Woburn dock around 3 o’clock to see what he has caught that day. My favorite is Lobster which is $12XCD or $4US per pound. He has also turned us on to wonderful crab and, on any day, may have 2-3 types of regular fish to sell, as well as lambi (or conch).

Captain Ray, leaning against his workboat, waiting for the village of Woburn to be called. Unfortunately, the Tigre will not place in the finals this year.

Captain Ray, leaning against his workboat and enjoying a rum, waiting for the village of Woburn to be called. Unfortunately, E L Tigre did not place in the finals this year.

Look at the size of this starfish!

We stayed for most of the day on Saturday to watch the races, eat the great Grenadian food and soak up some sun. The food booths all looked great but one booth stood out. Everything there looked fantastic and we got grilled fish, jerk chicken and oil down, Grenada’s national dish. The food was so good, I went back to meet and compliment the chef, Rain. I found out that she serves food at a Vendor night on Wednesdays at True Blue Bay Resort and now we are regulars to her booth each week. YUM! A bonus was seeing a number of HUGE starfish when we were swimming, between races.

On Sunday, the winning workboat and village is announced. Then there is an additional race where the specialty boats race. Each boat is the same and each town nominates a composite, “winning” crew from all their sailors to battle it out for the best sailing team of the weekend. We didn’t attend on Sunday this year and it’s been a trial trying to figure out who won the final trophy, Champion of Champions. There was a lot of local press coverage leading up to the race but NOTHING after to say who won. I checked the Sailing Festival website which again was updated almost daily until the start of the races and then …. nothing! I checked with Captain Ray but he wasn’t sure either. Three WEEKS later, feeling frustrated, I started scouring the internet and, way down in the search results, I found a FaceBook page for the Sailing Festival with all the results ~ Success! Facebook, the great equalizer and disrupter of the tried and true news sources. (I am now following this page).

Last man jumping and diving into the boat as it takes off from shore.

Last man jumping into the boat as it takes off from shore.

Here are the final results. (The list is long but I included the entire list because the names of the boats are as colorful as the paint jobs and I thought you would enjoy them):

Community Class Races – These are the top 3 winners from each village (or island).

Carriacou

Ark Royal — Skipper Vernell Phillips (Boat from Bequia)
Lightning — Skipper Adolphus Forde (Boat from Mayreau)
Wet — Skipper Carl Edoe
“Wet” off to a good start.

Gouyave Canoe

Sonic — Skipper Israel Darangit
Etieron – Skipper Carlyle Joseph
Sky Red — Skipper John George
“Sonic” leading the pack.

Gouyave Sloop

Reborn – Skipper Kwesi Paul
Endeavour — Skipper Javid George
Classic — Skipper Ted Richards
“Endeavor” rushing off the start line.

Sauteurs

Swift — Skipper Christopher Jaheir (Boat from Grand Mal)
No Retreat No Surrender – Skipper Bertrand Noel
Cool Runnings — Skipper Ryan Olive
“Cool Running” getting rigged for its first race with “No Retreat, No Surrender” in the background.

Woburn

Trouble Again — Skipper Allan Noel
LOCAL – Skipper Clinton Brathwaite
Press Play — Skipper Shakeil Gibbs
“Trouble Again” won the Woburn race. I love the graphic on the bow – no messing with these guys!

Just starting to heel and “looking fine”. If you think this is an overloaded boat, I assure you it is not. One holiday, we were invited to a barbeque on a popular island off shore and this size boat was so full it was only floating about 1 inch out of the water ~ and people were still kept getting on! I figured, worst case we’d sink and it was a short swim in warm water to get to the island. We arrived safe and sound, just like the locals said we would ~ AMAZING!

Match Race Finals – This is where each village picked their best sailors from all their boats and raced all using the same type of boat to showcase the best team of sailors. There are 2 classes Junior and Senior:

National Team Sailing – Junior – Sponsored by Budget Marine
1. Team Woburn – sailing in Gybe Talk
2. Team Gouyave – sailing Mr.X

National Team Sailing – Senior – Sponsored by Carib
1. Team Sauteurs –- sailing in Tomorrow’s Worry
2. Team Gouyave –- sailing in Mr.X
3. Team Woburn – sailing in Gybe Talk

A fast start to one of the Village races. It's a miracle they don't all collide as they fight for position.

A fast start to the village of Gouyave race. It’s a miracle they don’t all collide as they fight for the lead position.

‘Champion of Champions’ Match Race Final – The Skipper & crew from the winning boat in each of the Community Class races, using the same type of boat to determine the ‘Champion of Champions’

Grand Winner for the 2016 Champion of Champions:

“Swift” the winning community boat AND the sailing team that won the 2016 Champions of Champions racing all the other winning villages in competition boats.

First Place: Grand Mal — with a crew from the winning boat Swift — Skipper Christopher Jaheir. Imagine his pride being named the best of the best and winning US$1,000 and a Yamaha outboard motor from McIntyre Brothers This is quite the prize ~ You’ve seen these boats. The cost of a brand new motor is way out of most Captain’s means and $3000XCD is over a month’s wages for a well paid earner. (Compare it to a person in the US making $48K a year and winning $5K and getting a new car – a literal windfall.)

Second Place: Gouyave — winning US$500.00

Feet flailing and the last sailor "dives" into the boat.

Notice the guy hanging off the left side of the left boat – trying to keep it from capsizing as, feet flailing, the last sailor “dives” into the boat.

Third Place: Woburn — winning US$250.00

And there is always bailing …..

All in all, another wonderful Sailing Festival. I can’t wait until next year. And hopefully, we will have some friends visiting – Save the date – January 28th and 29th, 2017

BONUS: Here is a great video of the Sailing Festival that gives a good feel for the event. Posted on Facebook on the Sailing Festival page, created by True Blue Resort, one of the Festival sponsors …. Grenada Sailing Festival video

Walking the Plank ~ to Dinner

February 4, 2016 by Candi Licence 1 Comment

Saturday, January 30^th at exactly 8:43 AM the jackhammering began. We had already planned to be at the beach most of the day to watch the Sailing Festival but the noise and activity was a great impetus to get up and out early.

The start of the jack hammering. Check out the jackahmmer. Can you believe they are walking on top of the rebar? YIKES!

The jack hammering begins bright and early, dropping the rubble into the cistern below. Check out the jack hammer. Can you believe they are walking on top of the rebar? YIKES!

The living room floor is about 8 inches higher than the patio floor so as we move the wall to shorten the living room space, we need to lower the remaining floor to match the patio floor. The living room floor is tiled and underneath the tile is a water cistern that captures rain off the roof and stores it. Therefore, we need to jackhammer the tiles free, remove and then replace the “ceiling” of the cistern in order to lay down a new floor.

By removing the floor, we have effectively temporarily cut off access to the second master bedroom, as well as the patio.

As expected, the jack hammering ends up being an all-day process. There’s thick tile to cut through, heavy cement holding the tile in place, plus a cement floor underneath (or ceiling above, depending on your perspective) and lots of rebar. When I left a short while into the demolition, a medium sized hole had been created. This cut off the access to the second master bedroom and started to cut off access to the patio from the house.

All this rubble which is filling up the cistern needs to be lifted out, wheel barrowed away and then trucked away.

All the floor rubble completely filled up the cistern. It needs to be manually lifted out and then wheel barrowed away.

Since we spend most of our time on the patio, having no access would seriously cramp our lifestyle. The workers promised to build us a bridge to provide access to the patio while they work on recreating a new floor.

There is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to accommodate this “small change” of moving the living room wall. We expect it will take 2 to 3 days to remove all the rebar and cement rubble that now resides at the bottom of the cistern. Then they need to put in new rebar that will reinforce the new floor, build a temporary wooden cistern “ceiling” under the rebar so they have a foundation on which to pour a new floor. The new cement floor will take 21 days to cure.

In the meantime, we have a “bridge” to the patio that is made out of the large rafters that were saved when the living room ceiling was removed. And if this doesn’t feel like I am walking the plank to get to the patio, I don’t know what would. The rafters are pretty solid, but it is a fairly long opening and remember the two floors are at different heights so there is a fair amount of flexing as I walk the plank. Doable, but you definitely want to be paying attention because each plank flexes independently!

Our “bridge” from the living room to the patio ~ hence the “walk the plank” feeling.

The wooden frame hasd been designed to made a molding at the top of the roof line to nicely finish off the new wall.

The block wall has been completed to the peak. The cut out is for the louver which will be installed later. A wooden frame has been designed to made a molding at the top of the roof line to nicely finish off the new wall. I can’t wait to see it unveiled.

We’ve made a lot of progress this last week. Demolition is great because it’s so fast. Construction on the other hand can look almost the same, day to day, as internal infrastructure is created or shored up before new work is visible. The front wall has been completed – the ring beam has been poured, with lots of buckets of cement hoisted up to the peak filling in the concrete block, plus a mold has been poured to make the roofline look nicely finished. The back wall ring beam has also been poured and is curing.

This is the ring beam which will make the house more hurricane proof. It will be completely filled with cement and tied into the other wall’s ring beams.

Here they are starting to build a wooden box around the ring beam that will be the form for the concrete.

Here they are building a wooden box around the ring beam that will be the form to hold the concrete.

Now most of the focus is on building the infrastructure to pour the floor. This is the critical path since there is a long curing period. While the floor cures, work will resume on the roof. And I’m hopeful that we will at least have the wooden ceiling in place by next week.

~ So long to the moonlit living room, hello to shelter.

Taking the Inside-Out Concept to the Extreme – No Roof ( … for now ….)

February 1, 2016 by Candi Licence 1 Comment

(Inside-out is a design concept where your living space feels like you are outdoors)

Believe it or not, this is the view standing in the living room and looking up, between the rafters, at night. At the full moon, the moonlight was so bright, we didn’t need any additional light to see.

It’s all in the perspective, isn’t it? Dancing in the moonlight that filters through the rafters, feeling everything from sultry breezes to howling wind rushing through the living room space, loving the open space concept so much we shrink the living room length by a third and significantly expand the outdoor patio area OR complain that there’s too much dust, rain, disruption in our house and in our lives right now. What would you choose? I choose to dance.

After making the decision in October to raise the living room roof to facilitate more airflow, we hoped to complete the project before we arrived in early December. However, coordinating all the moving parts – design, engineering, figuring out demolition and actual construction times took longer than we anticipated. Therefore, we chose to wait until after the Christmas holiday to start the demolition and construction. I’m really glad we did.

Once the rafters were put into place, the side walls were built taller, the front wall was built up to meet the new peak and the old roof was removed. The team then demolished the complete back wall of the house so it could be rebuilt to accommodate a large opening (16 ft. by 10 ft.) as well as support a huge hurricane shutter. This now opened up the living room space from the front door all the way to the back patio railing – about 65 feet long. Dangerous activity – now we had a huge open space and I was loath to close it off again and wondering if was heading to divorce if I suggested we change our design plans.

This is a view of the front wall, all blocked up. The big opening at the top will have stationary louvers to let air flow through the room. The prevailing wind comes from the sea so no concern about rain.

Fortunately, Michael was thinking the same thing and when I merely mentioned that I hated the thought of closing up the space again, he suggested we rethink the design. Brilliant! One of the very best things I love about our relationship is how aligned we are in our thinking. Again and again, we navigate this fun and crazy life easily as we dip and turn through challenges and changes.

The original back wall of the house, shown here, had an 8 foot sliding glass door and two windows. The new wall will have a 16 foot opening plus two 3 foot doors allowing for a lot more air flow.

We had until early the next morning to make the decision because, in theory, the new wall construction would start the next day. Changing the design to make the outdoor space even larger is more challenging than you might think. Placing the back wall in a new spot was not a big deal but we would also need to lower the existing floor to match the patio floor height, try to find new stone to match the existing patio floor (the quarry is no longer in operation), work around an underfloor cistern and rethink electric sockets and lighting. And, of course, these changes would add more cost and construction time to the overall project. We bounced around a bunch of ideas, decided to sleep on it and decide in the morning.

Michael woke me up around 6 AM and we walked the space one more time, decided to bite the bullet, authorize the change and then figure out the final details later. Michael placed an urgent message into our Contractor, Antonio Fields, asked him to call us ASAP — “no problem, but a major change” – and to be sure to be in contact with us before his team arrived and started working. Antonio looked at his phone shortly after, saw Michael’s phone number pop up and wondered what Michael could possibly want that he was calling so early in the AM.

Here is a shot of the new wall going up. Everything on the other side will be added to the patio space.

Here is a shot of the new wall going up. The floor on the far side of the wall will be lowered to match the patio floor height. This will create a much larger outdoor living area.

Antonio arrived shortly after, Michael outlined our thoughts and they started to discuss options. The team arrived and his key workers added their thoughts to the discussion. Soon they had the cover off the cistern and were peering into its depths trying to figure out the underground configuration and its impact on our desires. At the end of the conversation, we had a new plan to shorten the living room by about 8 feet.

Most of the work here is done manually. All the cement is hand mixed, poured into buckets and moved by hand. By a smiling worker! To the left, painted ceiling panels covered by plastic and on the right construction rubble which is swept up and removed every day.

Since they had already built roofing rafters all the way to the “original” end of the room, we looked at keeping the original roof line intact which would now provide shade to the “new” part of the patio. Caribbean house roofs generally don’t overhang too much beyond the walls because it provides too easy a way for really heavy wind to tear off the roof. Generally, they rely on a secondary roof to extend out, under the original roof, which can be broken off under high winds without damaging the full structure. Once the wall is built and the hurricane shutter is installed, we’ll determine the best way to add the secondary roof to cover the rest of the patio and tie it into the house.

ANOTHER load of construction debris. Even with the workers saving a lot of wood, there is a huge amount of rubble that is getting trucked out on a regular basis.

ANOTHER load of construction debris. Even with the workers saving a lot of wood, there is a huge amount of wood and concrete rubble that is getting trucked out on a regular basis.

Now the “fun” begins as we blast out the living room floor tiles to see what is underneath, figure out how to reconstruct the cistern and decide how to pull together this new, larger outdoor space.

Confession: I’ve sort of been at loss about how to use the huge living room space since we first purchased the house. A 30 by 30 foot space is big and would be delightful in a traditional home, but we spend all our time outdoors, if possible. Even when it is raining, we generally are out on the patio that is covered. The only time I expect we would use the living room is if it is raining so hard (plus strong winds) that you’d get wet being outside, even if undercover.

The questions that had been running through my mind were – Do we basically leave the living room empty? Do we fully furnish it – (time, money and energy) when we expect to barely use it? Would we really ever use it as a dining space (probably only if a large dinner party had been scheduled and it rained hard) and, if so, wouldn’t we just carry the large dining table inside? Now it will be a much more manageable space, with just the essentials necessary for horrific, rainy day living. I’m going to keep count of the number of days between when we arrived in December and mid June, when we leave, that we need to stay inside due to overwhelming rain (zero so far).

Now the rainy season, July through December, might be another story but we plan to be traveling during that time.

And So It Begins ~ Raising the Roof, Literally!

January 26, 2016 by Candi Licence 5 Comments

We are going to salvage the heavy rafters to make a outdoor trellis. The new ceiling will be white (and peaked)

A “before” picture – Dark ceiling, slanting from 10 feet to about 8 feet over 30 foot span. We are going to salvage the heavy rafters to make an outdoor trellis. The new ceiling will be white (and peaked)

The New Year is here and so the workers are returning from a long holiday break to take off our roof. Our house is essentially three pavilions with separate but connected roofs. The living room is in the middle. Currently the living room walls are about 10 feet tall and there is a low, slanted roof that traps a lot of heat. The walls are going to be extended to 12 feet high, including a ring beam, which will make the whole structure much more hurricane proof. And then on top of the ring beam we will have a new, peaked ceiling with louvers on each end. This will make the house much cooler and allow many more breezes to flow through this large, 30 by 30 foot space.

Grenada is located 12 degrees north of the Equator and hurricanes typically form at 15 degrees and higher so we have a much lower chance of hurricanes occurring here than most Caribbean islands. In fact, Grenada is the first island where boaters can get insurance for their vessels. Every island north of Grenada is 15 degrees latitude or higher and no hurricane insurance is available for boaters. This is one reason Grenada has such an active marina business. Many boats dock here during hurricane season either for protection or to get repaired during this turbulent time.

As you may know, Grenada got hit by a fierce hurricane in 2004 – Ivan. The worst part was that the storm was tracking quite a bit north of Grenada, as would be expected, and turned suddenly – right as it aligned with Grenada and came south. People had less than 2 hours to prepare and it devastated much of the island with 98% of the buildings being damaged. Miraculously, only 2 people perished. The only buildings to pull through relatively unscathed were all newly constructed and had been built to hurricane standards – with ring beams, for example. Prior to Ivan, the last hurricane was Janet, in 1955.

Here we are trying out different colors so we can decide what to paint the ceiling and the rafters.

We debated a lot of options before deciding to raise the roof because of the cost and disruption to the house. Every other alternative that we explored would only partially address the heat issue – maybe – and we thought ultimately we would not be happy with the result so we just gulped and went for the “right” solution. Originally, we hoped to have the new roof completed before December but by the time we got a solid design, coordinated it with some patio work we wanted done and had an Engineer check everything out, we ran out of time to have it completed before we arrived.

The tricky part was connecting the three roofs so there would be no leaking in the future. The roof on the two side wings will be at a different height than the new ceiling roof. The timing concern was that the break for Christmas holiday would interfere and we’d be stopped mid project (with no roof) for a couple of additional weeks. Plus, the rainy season has been going later and later into December in recent years. I think it ended up being a good decision because it rained – a lot (multiple times, every day almost) in December.

Now it is January and the work has begun. The first couple of days were slow as everyone figured out how to do this major construction without completely removing the roof since we are living here during construction. Fortunately the walls are cement and the floor has heavy tiles so we should not have any floor damage from water. We were wondering how level the floor really is and how much water would stay in the room after each rain. The courtyard, kitchen and bedroom entrances to the living room are all 2 steps up so we knew the rest of the house would be protected and there is a straight out exit to the pool and patio and we were hoping, fingers crossed, that the water would run right out the big sliding glass doorway to the patio.

Another "before" picture - you can see the tiled floor, concrete walls and the step up to a bedroom - all good things for a room that will not have a roof for a couple of weeks..

Another “before” picture – you can see the tiled floor, concrete walls and the steps up to a bedroom – all good things for a room that will not have a roof for a couple of weeks.

Here you can see the roof cut away so they can extend the walls to 12 feet, capped with a ring beam to make the structure more hurricane proof.

The first major piece of work was removing the asphalt tiles from the roof and removing about 4 feet of roof off either side so the side walls could be made taller. If it rained, we’d get minimal leakage over the bulk of the roof and the room was only totally exposed the length of the room on the 2 sides. Piece of cake, right? We had a small rainstorm on Friday afternoon and there was only a little standing water after it was over – no problem.

Saturday evening was a different story. We were out on the covered patio having dinner with Nadica and Mikiah, my best Grenadian friend and her daughter (my Goddaughter), when a big storm blew in. I jumped up to close our bedroom windows and started laughing as I approached the living room. As predicted, there was only dripping throughout most of the living room as rain came in between the cracks in the planks but the 2 sides where there was no roof, the rain was pouring in. Plus, because the 2 roofs for the other pavilions are already peaked, all the rain was running down those slopes into the living room on either side. This meant that to get into the bedroom wing I had to walk through the waterfall that was so beautifully cascading into the living room. I was soaked and laughing. Caribbean rain is warm so it is an entirely different feeling to get wet here – no problem.

Most of the water did run out the doorway as we had hoped, but there were a few low spots that collected a good bit of water. Of course one low spot was right in front of the bedroom wing doorway so we had to slog through about 3 inches of water before we reached the steps up. This gave plenty of time for Mick’s webbed feet to soak up a ton of water that could then be dripped everywhere – first order of business for week two was making a platform that would cover any water. This worked perfectly for us but Mick just walked around the platform and through the water to approach from the side. HMMMM. Ultimately, we were worried about having the standing water sit for any length of time because of potential damage to the floor, so we ended up just sweeping out the low spots. Problem solved. Fortunately the rainy season has ended and we have and very little rain since then.

Lots to see in this picture - temporary door so we can lock it at night (since living room is no longer secure), the platform that was built to cover the low spot in the floor (that collects water), clean up every day (so the house is livable during construction).

Lots to see in this picture – temporary door to the bedroom wing (on the left) so we can lock it at night (since living room is temporarily not secure), the platform that was built to cover the low spot in the floor by bedroom wing door (that collects water), and daily clean up so the house is livable during construction.

Construction is such messy work. Lots of breaking up of concrete which means lots of little pieces of rock lying all over and dust everywhere. I hadn’t processed that in order to make the walls higher, they would have to pull off a little of the roofs on either side pavilion so we have had openings into the kitchen and both master bedrooms that lets in rocks, dust and mosquitos. Delightful! The mosquitos this year have been the fiercest I’ve ever seen and I’m hoping as the area dries out, they will die or head elsewhere. In the meantime, we’ve been camping out in our air conditioned office during the day that does not abut the living room so all 4 walls and roof are intact.

The workers have been really diligent in cleaning up the site every day. Everything is carted off, stacked up and swept before they leave each day. I was thanking one man about the clean up one day and he said something interesting … He said of course they were cleaning up so it would be as nice as possible for us but, even if we weren’t on island, they would do it anyway because it was much more motivating to arrive at a clean job site each morning. Makes sense to me AND I really appreciate it.

The workers also worked Saturday to keep the project moving. All the rafters went up in one day. YEAH!

The workers also worked last Saturday to keep the project moving. At 9 AM the first rafter was lifted into place. By 4 PM, all the rafters were completed. (Note the “staircase” erected so workers could get to the top of the peak). YIKES!

Work has steadily progressed and after a few days of lots of activity, but not much visible change, we are now seeing the skeleton of the new roof going up through the peak holes of the roof. YEAH! It’s really exciting to see the progress.

The Calm Before the Storm ~ Christmas Season in Grenada

January 15, 2016 by Candi Licence 1 Comment

Late December is a quiet time in Grenada. Many people start their holiday the Friday before Christmas (this year on December 18^th) and don’t return to work until the Monday after New Year’s (January 4^th). Businesses, banks, etc. stay open but often with limited hours approaching both holidays. Interestingly though, the shops in town stay open Christmas Eve until midnight and there is a real party atmosphere with people doing their last minute Christmas shopping and generally having a night on the town.

And don’t forget Boxing Day, the holiday that happens the day after Christmas. The name Boxing Day came from the UK tradition of servants or tradesmen (who worked on Christmas to support their employers on the holiday) getting the following day off as a holiday. In addition to their day off, they received gifts that they called their Christmas “box” and this day became known as Boxing Day. It is still celebrated throughout England and her former colonies, Grenada included.

Christmas is huge in Grenada. I think in any country that is essentially poor and where there is not a lot of activities beyond the everyday life of work, providing for your family and Church that any cause for celebration is eagerly looked forward to and relished. Plus, Grenada is a very religious country (primarily Christian) so Christmas is a big celebration of Christ’s birth. And because there is not a lot of disposable cash, Christmas has not been commercialized anywhere close to what we experience in the US. It is a time for families and friends to gather together, enjoy each other’s company, eat good food and exchange token presents. Independence Day, Easter, Carnival, Thanksgiving (Grenada’s celebration of the US intervention which stopped Cuba’s takeover of Grenada) are other examples of big celebrations in Grenada, some that last multiple days, and break up the normal work routine.

It is not unusual for people to wish you a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year, starting in early December all the way through the first couple of weeks in January. There is genuine enthusiasm and it is a very intentional wish rather than a fleeting greeting that is mentioned kind of as an afterthought – even if you don’t know the person that is wishing you well. I like it. It gives me the opportunity to stop for a moment, be thankful for my full life and sincerely wish the other person, and their family, health and happiness.

This was the tree that was displayed in our local grocery, pretty cool!

This is the tree that was displayed in our local grocery, pretty cool!

Christmas decorations are also really big here. It’s very different from the US in that the displays are not excessive. Again I think cost is a large factor, but everyone who can, has a little something sparkling in their window. Even the grocery store has a tree beautifully decorated. I’m starting to get used to all the artificial trees that are lovingly trimmed and stand proud into January. I’m always loath to put away holiday decorations and I think they are too!

I didn’t do any decorating this year because we knew the roof was coming off shortly and we were still unboxing, unboxing, unboxing into the New Year, but I have 4 box boxes of my favorite decorations that I stored when we left Jacksonville. It’s going to be great next year when I open them up and rediscover these treasures. Right now, I’m resisting the thought of getting an artificial tree but haven’t come up with a good alternative yet. Stay tuned for the unveiling of … something … next December.

We had a quiet Christmas morning. The house is our present to each other. We went to a delightful party in the afternoon and early evening. Our Attorney, and friend, had a dinner for about 40 (!) friends. She invited us because she didn’t want us to be alone on Christmas when it is such a family holiday. So sweet and typical Grenadian hospitality. We had a great time seeing friends and met many new people, some I’m sure will become good friends. The food was great and everyone had a fun time dancing. I think this is the first time Michael has danced since his knee surgery. We left around 8:30, there were still people arriving and the next wave of food was just being set out. I’m sure if we drove by again at midnight the party would have still been going strong.

Right after we had accepted the party invitation, I saw our neighbor from across the street in his yard. I waved and walked over to introduce myself and laughed when we got close because his name is Spencer and we met him years ago when we were trying to build the resort. The next day, he called and invited us over for Christmas dinner with his family. I love Grenadian hospitality and can’t wait to begin reciprocating.

For New Year’s, we went to the NNP celebration. NNP (New National Party) is the controlling political power in Grenada right now and would be comparable to the Republican or Democratic Party in the US. The celebration was held at the former Governor General’s house (Sir Danny Williams) which is situated high up on a hill and has a commanding view of the sea. It’s a house made for entertaining with a large covered pavilion that can (and did) hold hundreds of people dancing and eating. It was kind of fascinating seeing the Prime Minister and his cabinet of Ministers being an integral part of the event and dancing the night away. The only downside, if you could call it that, was that the music was so loud you couldn’t really have a conversation so we spent a lot of time smiling, waving at people and politely yelling that we’d chat with them another time. Keith Mitchell, the current Prime Minister, came over and introduced himself and we talked for a short bit but unfortunately we couldn’t have a long discussion.

We stood right under some great fireworks at midnight ~ a little intimidating from a safety point of view but spectacular and in the end totally safe because the explosions were so high up in air. Fireworks are another big Grenadian New Year’s tradition with most of the hotels shooting off big displays. There are a lot of places in Grenada that you can go and see series of fireworks from multiple locations lighting up the sky across the island. The old forts are ideal – they are high up above the shoreline and have expansive views. I’ve heard the Rex Grenadian Hotel has the best fireworks and we may try going to the party there next year.

When we were leaving the NNP party, a gentleman flagged us down in the driveway and asked if he could have a ride to Calivigny where he had parked his car. Since it was right on our way, we said “No problem” and had a nice conversation with him during the ride. Turns out he is one of the Ministers of Finance. You never know who you will meet!

All in all a very nice, if quiet, holiday for us. I’m looking forward to next year when we can open up our house for a big party and thank everyone who has made us feel so welcome over the years. This holiday, once again, showcased the Grenadian’s hospitality and generosity. It makes me so happy that we are calling this lovely island our home.

Free at Last ~ Clearing our Container through Customs

December 26, 2015 by Candi Licence 6 Comments

Our container was supposed to arrive last Wednesday, but didn’t. This is not unusual. Freighters have a loose schedule. Ports or times may change as freighters make their way through their planned itinerary and possibly pick up a new load or get a stop added. We called around noon on Thursday and the ship still hadn’t docked. Later, we found out it docked late in the afternoon but our Customs Agent hadn’t been able to make contact with the port. YEAH! Our stuff is in Grenada.

I think this is our freighter, being loaded to go back to Jacksonville

The port is a ‘sea’ of brown containers and I wonder how long it will take us to find ours.

We called our Customs Agent contact bright and early on Friday and they still hadn’t made contact. This is a crazy time of year at the port. Businesses are getting extra materials and ‘stuff’, lots of people are sending down barrels of food and presents for family and more food is coming in for the holiday buying spree. We hung around on Friday, watched the rain, and wished for a phone call to tell us to come to the port to claim our goods, but it never came.

A portion of the line of people waiting to get into the port to retrieve barrels or containers.

The port is closed on Saturdays and Sundays so our next possible date was Monday. Now I’m getting anxious because Christmas is a BIG holiday in Grenada and many people take off at least the whole week before Christmas and often the week after as well. Our construction crew left on Friday (Dec. 18^th) and wished us both a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We won’t see them again until January 4^th!

We got the call around 9:30 Monday morning to come to the port. We are working with a Customs Agent whose job is to work with the port to get the container placed on the ground and in an area where it can be unpacked, provide a port contact to walk us through every part of the process, provide man power to unpack the container and load everything onto trucks, then deliver everything to our house and unload it a second time, into our house. We met the owner and he reviewed all our paperwork before we went into the port to be sure we had everything in order and told us we’d be working with his onsite contact, Kurt.

Standing in line while Kurt arranged for expedited access.

Kurt got us expedited access into the port which was great because there was a huge line waiting to get pedestrian access passes. This is similar to paying airline porters to smooth the way through check in. Once we got cleared, we met with the Customs Officer. He reviewed our paperwork and assigned a Customs Inspector to supervise the opening and unloading of the container. Meanwhile, Kurt has gone to find our container and he met us as we were coming out of the customs office.

The port is huge and BUSY. There are trucks coming into the port to drop off goods to be shipped, lots of trucks leaving the port with goods being delivered all over the island, there are huge cranes moving containers around and lots of people walking everywhere – Freight Handlers, Customs Agents, Inspectors, people receiving their goods, truckers, loaders, etc. As an outsider, there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason but everything made perfect sense to Kurt who was able to locate our container quickly in a huge mass of containers that mostly looked exactly alike and confirmed that it was ‘on the ground’. This means it was the bottom container and didn’t need to be moved before we could begin unloading.

Kurt cutting the port lock. Even with the huge bolt cutters it took a few tries to cut through the lock.

The container was secured with our personal lock, a special numbered seal and a port lock which needed to be removed, in our presence. Kurt came back with a huge pair of bolt cutters and after a few tries, got the port lock removed. Michael cut the seal and opened our lock. Michael and Kurt unlatched both doors and swung them open wide. I was holding my breath, and yipped with joy as the interior of the container filled with light.

Michael cutting the seal and unlocking our personal lock.

Everything was exactly as we had packed it. This is amazing to me – the container had been craned onto a ship, traveled over a rolling sea for 8 days, then craned off and moved, probably multiple times, within the yard. Michael’s braces held perfectly, it didn’t look like ANYTHING shifted and there was no visible damage to any of the boxes. YAHOO!

Within 3 minutes, three trucks arrived with about 6 guys and they began unpacking the container and loading their trucks. Michael guided them, pointing out things that were really heavy or fragile etc.

Checking off the inventory as it is being unloaded.

First truck is loaded and ready to go! Tarps being pulled over the load to protect it from rain.

I worked with the Customs Inspector checking off each box against my master list. It was invaluable having a really organized inventory – it made everyone think we knew what we were doing and added a lot of credibility. I had everything organized in a formal notebook with tabs for the detailed inventory, the appraisal for our owned goods and Michael’s photography equipment, plus all the invoices for all the new goods. These invoices and the appraisal were cross referenced to the master inventory. In addition to numbering the boxes, I had written the main items in each box which, of course, matched the detailed inventory. After really inspecting the first few boxes as they came off the container, reading the contents listed on the box and then marking the box on the master inventory, the Customs Inspector relaxed and actually let me do the checking off box by box and just helped by calling out numbers. After a while, he even left to oversee the unpacking of another container that was nearby.

Rain break!

At one point, it began raining. Tarps were quickly produced and our belongings were covered while we all took a rain break in the container. We are at the very end of the rainy season and it is still raining on and off every day. Showers are fairly short 10-20 minutes but they are fierce. This was our biggest concern – particularly for the art. We had packed most of the art at the front of the container and planned to transfer it last so it would have the shortest amount of time to be exposed to the fickle weather. By noon, all three trucks were loaded and Kurt escorted us back to the Customs Officer.

The Customs Officer relooked at all our paperwork, conferred with the Inspector who oversaw the unloading of our container, made some calculations and completed some official looking paperwork. Duty is comprised of 4 parts, the duty assigned to each new item, the weight of the shipment, the amount of insurance paid and 15% VAT. He said our detailed paperwork made his job easy and dismissed us.

Mr. George, patiently calculating all the duty, while helping other customers on the phone. He never slowed down and rarely looked at the customs book for prices. Amazing!

Kurt now took us back to his office and his boss, Mr. George, grumbled that the Customs Officer hadn’t calced any of the duty on the individual items in our 106 boxes of new items. It took him probably another hour to calc all the duty. He has a book 3 inches thick that details each item. He rarely looked at it but when he did, he opened the book to within 2-3 pages of what he needed and quickly found the information he was looking for. It was very impressive watching him work, but it was tedious. After he was done, he had 45 categories of items that are all taxed differently. IE – candlesticks that are metal are taxed differently than if they were glass. Black tea is taxed differently than green tea. The amount of detail was dizzying. Finally, all the calculations were done and we knew our number and could head back to the port to pay the duty and get our trucks released.

It’s now 2:30 and we get a look at the line to pay duty. It’s really long so Kurt tries to see if he can work some back room magic but there are no duty cashiers on break that could help us. Kurt then takes me to another office about a block away and there is only one person at the window. Success !?! Or not …. I get to the window and this agent doesn’t have a credit card machine. We really want to pay via credit card because we get 2% cash back and this is a large charge (although much less than we feared). Since we never carry a balance, this is a no brainer discount each time we use our card. We now go to another office around the corner and get on the line there – only 5 people in front of me. The sky is darkening and I’m hoping the tarps will keep things dry if it starts raining again. Once again, Kurt is sweet talking the agents, trying to get us through, but every system is in use and the network speed is really slow with the heavy load.

Michael had called our credit card company to let them know the charge was coming through so they wouldn’t decline it because it was a large, overseas charge. (They know we are in Grenada but the system has arbitrary blocks that trigger from time to time). So when I finally get to the window at about 3:15, I confidently hand over my card. Declined. UGH! Try again, please? Declined. I ask if I can just step aside while this gets straightened out so I don’t have to go the end of the line (about 12 people deep). They agree. I call Michael who is still inside the port and ask him to call Capital One again. He does and finds out they approved his card, but mine has a different number and that is why it was declined. They do some magic and say try again. This time everything goes as planned and I get a magic piece of paper that will allow is to release the trucks …. after one more hurdle.

The trucks, all lined up to pass through the final check point before we can leave the port, FINALLY!

We go back to the main port just as it starts to pour rain and head to the Yard Office. This is where they match the duty paperwork up with the trucks and provide THE piece of paper that will allow the trucks to pass through the gate. It is 4:30. We headed out before we ate breakfast and haven’t had time for lunch. I’m starving and worried about our belongings getting drenched. Fortunately, the truck workers have placed two more layers of tarps over our goods.

The Blue Monster truck I rode in to get to our house. Check out the door!

I get into one of the trucks to guide them to our house. Michael heads out in advance to open the gates, unlock the house and secure Mick. I’m in a large workingman’s flatbed truck – nothing pretty about it – it’s huge, no upholstery, hole in the floor, dented up, shifts horribly, rumbles down the road and I realize I’m on the “other side” of traffic. What I mean by this is – I’m the big, rumbling truck that is hogging more than half the road, with a blaring horn, running yellow lights and making everyone else scatter. Amazing. Between honking for friends, pretty women and other cars, plus grinding gears every several hundred feet we make quite the racket as we lumber down the road.

All three trucks, in the driveway, getting ready to unload. Not much clearance for the red truck and it is the smallest of the three.

I’m trying to figure out how we are going to get these big trucks up our skinny, winding driveway that I cautiously navigate each day and the driver just tears up the driveway – no problem. He knows the dimensions of the truck, exactly, and the only potential casualty is a branch of Frangipani that is hanging too far into the driveway and gets brushed aside by the huge mirrors. Now the unloading can begin.

This is the garage when it was abut half full, more unloading to follow.

It’s getting really dark again and we know the rain will be coming, fast and furious, shortly. We unload the Art and furniture truck first. All this will be stored in the garage until the living room is complete and it’s unloaded fast. The workers are efficient and moving quickly but are also really careful with anything that is remotely fragile. I’m impressed and pleased. They have been a complete joy to work with.

One view of our Office. The other view is piled just as high. Computers, electronics and photography equipment is being stored here.

One view of our Office. The other view is piled just as high. Photography equipment, computers and electronics are being stored here.

Our spacious kitchen, (thank goodness!)

The second truck pulls into position and again unloading begins. I’m at the truck directing where boxes are to go – garage, kitchen, bedroom or office and Michael is everywhere else making sure things are ending up in the right place and are stacked well.

As the third truck pulls into place and we begin to unload, the rain starts. Serious rain is pouring down and the wind is howling. Luckily for us, the wind is whipping from the water and the house is protecting the garage opening from getting wet and we’ve got the truck as close to the door as possible. We are now moving everything into the garage as fast as we can and then organizing the boxes in groups to be moved to the right location. Soon everything is sorted out, moved to the correct location and the workers leave with money in their hands and smiles on their faces. A job very well done.

Michael and I collapse on the patio with sandwiches that Nadica has made for us and big glasses of water. We relax, review the day and start thinking about the huge job of unboxing everything that lies ahead. We are so thankful everything appears to have made the trip brilliantly and they are in our possession once again. Next, unpacking, unpacking, unpacking.

Candi and Michael ~ On The Move

Tales from Grenada and Beyond