Posted by Our summer in Grenada 2023
It is probably known to you after this long that we spend most of our summers—hurricane seasons—up north, in the U.S. Not this time! No, instead, we’re staying in the Caribbean, at one of the furthest south islands. This is Grenada, where we arrived in late May. As we approached the bay where we would stay for the summer, we took note of the possibly treacherous reef that lie outside Secret Harbor. But it was even harder to ignore the beautiful jungle that appeared to cover the island. Our marina was somewhat difficult to enter, but before we knew it, we were secure with no need to leave. The bay was surrounded by hills, and reefs guarded the entrance to what seemed to be a reasonable hurricane hole. Here, we stayed for about five months in a small marina with any accommodations one could ask for. We had water, electricity, Wi-Fi, a pool, and most important of all, a good space to work out. Mom left to work on getting a stay-at-home job not that long into our stay, so Dad, Alex, and I explored the island without her. One of the most important things to do was the Hash—one of the reasons we chose this island. You may or may not know what this is, but it’s basically a run, somewhere in Grenada (although it isn’t limited to Grenada, but actually pretty much worldwide), changing locations and trails every time. Here, we had most Hashes in the state of St. Andrews, about an hour away from Secret Harbor. For the first two or three, we stayed together, but we eventually decided to let Alex—who is a superstar runner—go ahead of us. He and a group of men formed a tight bond, and after a single conversation with one of them, we knew we were leaving my brother with kind and genuine people. I never met anybody at the Hash who I ran with a lot, but when I did talk to other adults or play with the kids, I was further reminded of how amazing the people of Grenada are. Other than the Hashes, which were on Saturdays, we worked out in the marina. We had a group of kind and athletic people who were always down to work out with us, consisting of me, my brother, my parents, a few other parents of more boating kids, and one Grenadian woman who used to be part of an Olympic swimming team. Our marina had two great spots to work out, and two equally great places to go for our runs. This isn’t where the fun ends. Grenada is known to be a well-desired island for cruisers looking for a safe spot from hurricanes, and many boats from the northern islands ventured here to stay for the summer. This included a large concentration of kid boats. Within the first two months, reading and writing clubs were established, soon followed by chess and art clubs. I met many kids my age, and learned of many new books in this time. The book, reading, and chess clubs weren’t the end of us seeing fellow youth. The organization “Get Grenada Swimming” was basically where people would teach children and adults to swim. Luckily, with a talent for swimming, my age didn’t matter, and I could be a teacher! This was an amazing experience, and I taught several students, ranging from elementary school to teenagers to early forties. My brother even got an email praising the newfound swimming abilities of one of his younger students. It was amazing, and I haven’t even finished my list. Just after my brother’s birthday, Alex, Dad, and I flew up to the United States to do the one thing we didn’t have in Grenada: mountain biking. The three of us flew to Washington, and stayed for three weeks, and we could hike, mountain bike, and run as we pleased. It had been about a year since any of us had been on our bikes, so the trails of Tiger Mountain were paradise. My brother and I were tested by the state of Washington when we were there, too. Later in September, we flew back to Grenada and stayed for a little more than a week, allowing us to enjoy the country for a little while longer and we did one last Hash. We may not have necessarily enjoyed staying in one place, and might say our time seemed to take forever, but looking back, we were never bored.
Sailing Samadhi 