Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten of 2009

Happy New Years from the Crew at Hop & Jaunt Travelouges!  We’re excited about the new adventures and travels that lay ahead in 2010.  But before we jaunt into the last year of the decade, lets hop back and take a look at some of our favorite experiences from the past year.   Its Hop & Jaunt’s Top Ten Favorite Adventures of 2009.

10.)  Beach Bumming at Roger’s Bar on Hog Island, Grenada

Roger’s Bar on Hog Island was our first Caribbean experience after joining Alyson’s parents on Quercus.  Roger’s ramshackle beach shack not only had the appearance of being thrown together with driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves, but it literally was put together with nothing more than driftwood, bamboo and palm leaves.  Many afternoon ’sundowners’ turned into late night ‘howl at the moon’ sessions underneath the glow of the single 12 Volt powered light bulb.  Live reggae music, sand between your toes and always a cold beer set the perfect mood for mingling and socializing with the  locals and sailors from around the world.  To read more click here.

9.)  Baby Sitting a Whale in Curacao

While boat sitting in Curacao we decided to try a little baby sitting as well.  We volunteered to watch after a 10 foot baby pilot whale that was being nursed back to health.  Sully the pilot whale was beached by his family after becoming too ill to keep up with the rest of his pod.  Efforts by local marine biologist and volunteers helped to restore the baby whale back to full health.  We spent a few nights lying by Sully’s pen keeping him company as he vied for our attention by requesting several belly rubs.  It was an experience we will always remember.  Unfortunately efforts to integrate Sully back into the wild have failed, and there are talks that he will be moved to a tank in Sea World, San Diego.  For more click here.
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Oildown in the Jungle

It’s not what you may be imagining. Oildown happens to be the national dish of Grenada. Last Friday John and I went on one of best adventures since we got to Grenada and our lunch that day was an Oildown deep in the jungle by the river. Let me tell you what happened. A few days before a friend of ours was organizing a “tour” of the island for when his girlfriend flew in. We signed up immediately. Though I have gone on a personal guided tour, and we both created our own tour with the buses, a chance to romp around the island with a group of friends our age just sounded too good to pass up on. At around ten that morning Ian and his girlfriend Lauren came by our boat to pick us up. Ian has been living in the Caribbean for a while with his family and had met Lauren at a sailing regatta in St. Maarten a few months back. We went to another boat and picked up Alex, our ever cheerful and fun “local” cruiser friend and Ian’s little brother Jim. At the docks we met up with a lovely English couple who have been here about the same time as us on their boat fixing it up to head up north, Eddy and Meredith. With Andrew and Sheldon as our “official” driver/guide (these guys are a regular over at Hog Island) this ragtag group were ready to head out. Though we were expecting a van Sheldon showed up with his five seater truck. Thus with an even ten people split between the front and the cab we headed off towards a river off of Grenville.

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Island Tour and other Tales

A few days ago Alyson and I decided to do a tour of the island. It was a very windy day on the boat and conditions weren’t really good for doing any of the boat jobs we had planned for the day. As we get further into the summer months the winds have seemed to pick up much more here. The Skipper decided to give everyone a rest day in which we could do whatever we wanted. Alyson and I had talked about going around the island and taking in the sights, so we decided that we would go ashore and do a little exploring of the mainland.

Our plan was really vague. We weren’t sure where to start. We could hire a driver or rent a car of our own for around $100 US, but we eventually decided it would work out cheaper for us to just take the bus. We threw a few personal items into a backpack (camera, sunglasses, sunscreen, towels) and Donna gave us a ride to shore. There is a small town on the east side of the island called Grenville. We decided this would be our first stop although we weren’t really sure what we would find there. (more…)

Cruising People

We are heading into our final week(s) here in Grenada. Everyday we have been working on the boat and finishing up final tasks to prepare her for the passage. We have also been trying to get online for the past week but every time something has thwarted our attempts, so we will keep trying and will be posting as we catch any internet signals! We are heading south west hitting La Blanquila, Los Roques, the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) and eventually to Cartegena, Colombia.

But the plans of sailors are even more prone to change than those of average mice and men. The first leg of our journey will take us on a 30-40hr passage cutting across the southern Caribbean above Venezuela. What is ironic is that we are skirting above Venezuela and heading towards Columbia. What I mean by that is only a few years ago Venezuela was the hot destination point for most cruisers and Columbia was a must miss. However the world never stands still and the recent rise of pirates and political unrest in Venezuela combined with the increasingly calm and stable atmosphere in Columbia is reversing the tide of visiting cruisers. Cartegenea has been especially proactive in trying to create a peaceful atmosphere in order to entice visitors. There will be many stops along the world famous islands along the way and we will be looking for wifi to share the pictures and stories as we go.

While we spend most of the daylight hours working on the boat and occasionally jumping off the side to cool off we have been hanging out on the beach at night listening to the stories of other world travelers and cruisers. What makes travel by boat so unique than any other form is that each boat is its’ own little universe, and the people on them always have such distinct and fascinating stories. Take for example this Italian woman we have met anchored off the beach of Hog Island. (more…)

Life as Crew

From the crazy pace of “normal life” John and I are rapidly adjusting and enjoying the different tempo that is Island Time. We have been in Grenada for over a week now. We have been living aboard a 38’ sailboat anchored off a little island with a tiki hut bar and a white sandy beach. So far so good, ehy?

Let me try to break down our “normal day,” not an easy task as you’ll see. The sun in Grenada rises at 6 am and sets at 6pm. living on a boat your days begin to rotate around this schedule. We normally wake up around 7:30 and turn on our VHF to listen to the “net.” It’s a news/weather station of sorts, run by the local cruisers where people can radio in news and issues that concern them. A simple technology and system with instant user-feed back that makes all the new social networking media seem slow on the up take. The captain and crew will normally be drinking coffee and reading a book while listening to this. We may have a quick bite to eat. This week marks our first official week of being “crew” and not just guest. Deck call is around 9am where we discuss the jobs and tasks that need to be done. The plan is that we will be heading out west in the next couple of weeks and the boat needs to be in ship-shape condition before we head out. Today was our first full day or work. I worked on the deck while John loaded our dingy (a small inflatable boat used as a means of transport to and from the boat. It’s a similar to being a cruiser’s car.) He headed out across the bay to fill up our jerry cans with fuel and water. By the time I was done and he got back it was time for a break. (more…)

Grenada “the Spice Isle”

Two days ago we left New Orleans and flew to Grenada. Our good friend Scott who lives in downtown N.O. put us up for a few days and drove us to the airport. Grenada is a small little island in the Caribbean down near the end of the Lesser Antilles. Its also know as the “Spice Isle”.
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