Bonfire in the sunset

One of my favorite things I did when I was new to Grenada was go to a bonfire with some friends on Magazine Beach.  My [then] Grenada friends and I had several that first term and it was so much fun... and they were all greatly missed at this most recent beach bonfire.
But one of the facts of life here in Grenada is that friends move on and soon you're the only one left on this island... and you have to make new friends! and then you're the one leaving!
here are my sad goodbyes to some dear friends - Sarah, Amber, and Jessi :(

I'm not ready to leave. not one bit.  I'm trying to find a way to sabotage Lee's 5the semester so we can stay a little longer... haha. not really. and he will absolutely kill me if something does go wrong... and ship me back to America and force me to work.  ugh.

back to the bonfire. 
I wanted to have a get together with some friends and it soon grew into a huge party!  I was so surprised that so many people came... I'm used to the SOs not wanting to come out to anything.. and here they all were with bells on!
We met so many new people I'm still struggling with names... but it will all come together soon, just in time for me to board that plane back to North America and kiss my dream life goodbye...

Lee burning his notes from previous terms!! O happy day! 

picnik :)

Here's to many, many more bonfires with all my new friends!

!

revisting some favorite spots

Since there has been a new wave of friends on the island I have been introducing them to some of my favorite places nearby.
Yesterday we explored the conch shell graveyard (read more about here in a previous post) and then wasted a few hours on Grand Anse beach searching for sanddollars and enjoying the beautiful day.

Today we went to one of my very favorite places, Magazine Beach to snorkel. I've written many a blog posts about Magazine Beach read about them here)  It has the BEST snorkeling!
Today was another beautiful day, including the rain that came up and soaked us!

 raindrops on the water

beautiful

On Sunday I went with my friend Sonia and her husband Michael to Magazine Beach to go snorkeling because they had not been there before. When we arrived we were greeted with HUGE waves, which quickly dashed my snorkeling hopes, but it was still so beautiful and the sound of waves crashing is so relaxing.

These are a few of my favorite pictures from the day....

Busy busy busy!!

Sunday, after Lee led worship at church, we spent the day at Aquarium/Magazine Beach. Every Sunday the Aquarium Restaurant has a BBQ.  The food was great, the service was beyond lousy.  I know it's Caribbean and things are slower and blah blah blah but it sucked.  We got water when we first got there and were never asked again if  we wanted something to drink or a refill on the water... the only time someone came to the table was to drop off the food, and we asked for the bill 3 times.   I had chicken kabobs and a baked potato, Lee had jerk chicken and salad, Lynda had salad, and Peter had swordfish. It was good!
Afterward we went snorkeling and spent time on the beach and I got to use my underwater camera!

The restaurant is built right against the rocky hillside 

BBQ right on the beach

I look kinda weird here... but you can see some of the restaurant

in the middle of the picture you can see a fish-thing sitting on the bottom, after I took this it swam at me!

I want to learn how to make this baskets!!! I know how to make a fish out of the palm fronds already...

Monday we spent the morning at the University Club at the pool and we went kayaking and had fresh coconuts picked for us!  Lee had class at 1... and his parents came to the orphanage with me in the afternoon!  It was fun, the kids love to have new people around, and they like to have men around to play with, so they really liked Lee's Dad.  In the evening we went to the restaurant at the Flamboyant hotel, I think it was called Beach Side Terrace.  Monday night was pasta buffet night... and it was delicious! the best food I've had in Grenada!! I even ate corn chowder, it was so good.  My favorites were the Nutmeg Potato Pie, the sauce for the pasta, the chowder soup, and the eclairs we had for dessert... and the Bentleys we had to drink... it's their homemade version of the LLB soda, lemon, lime, and bitters.

after dinner we went down to the Owl, which is the Flamboyant hotel's pub.  Every Monday night they have hermit crab races!! It was pretty cool to see it, although after 2 races I'd seen enough.  

Our friend Timothy climbed right up the tree after coconuts! 

friends at the crab races!

Today we relaxed a bit.... I was pretty worn out!  Lee and his parents went to Limes with me today to see what I do all the time!  It was fun!  I didn't take pictures though because I forgot my memory card.  Afterward we had Chinese food from the bus stop and went shopping at the Spiceland Mall... which had about 2 stores and the IGA open....

I'm excited for the rest of the week!  It should be busy as well!

your sins are forgotten.. they're on the bottom of the ocean floor

Lee has midterms this week & I cannot believe we have already been here for 2 months and we only have 2 more months until we have to leave for summer :( I don't want to leave!!!!

Yesterday was such a fun day.  A groups of us went over to Magazine Beach to snorkel because Alfonso and I told them how awesome it was.... well it was still awesome, but not so much for snorkeling.  The waves were so big we couldn't snorkel very well.... but we still had fun, and what little snorkeling I did I found a pair of sunglasses on the ocean floor... and turns out they are a really expensive pair of sunglasses! like $150usd! they're Miu Miu brand and were in great condition!

We spent the morning running from and jumping in the waves and as always my friend Amber Gazo took the best pictures! 

joe, alfonso, sarah, me, amber, and shereen

we also had fun climbing the rocks at the end of the beach... 

Sarah took this one :)

The mistakes I've made
That caused pain
I could have done without
All my selfish thought
All my pride
The things I hide
You have forgot about
They're all behind you
They'll never find you
They're on the ocean floor
Your sins are forgotten
They're on the bottom
Of the ocean floor
My misdeeds
All my greed
All the things that haunt me now
They're not a pretty sight to see
But they're wiped away
By a mighty, mighty wave
A mighty, mighty wave
Your sins are erased
And they are no more
They're out on the ocean floor
Take them away
To return no more
Take them away
To the ocean floor

The best beach in the WORLD... at least MY world!

haha... that is a bold statement, but Magazine Beach / Aquarium Beach is the best beach I've ever been to! and I've been to a few beaches, at least in the western hemisphere....
Waikiki & Hanauma Bay in Hawaii
Nassau, Bahamas
Cozumel, Mexico
Pensacola, Florida
Virginia Beach
a couple other beaches on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic
and I'm even putting it above Grand Anse beach which according to the Travel Channel is in the top 10 in the world and the #1 beach in the Caribbean according to many other polls.

Magazine Beach is a lot like Grand Anse because it's on the same side of the island & only about a mile or 2 apart... just separated by Morne Rouge Beach & some rocky piers. 
It's the same in way that.....
The sand is perfect. I've never felt such soft, cushy sand and it seems like it never gets so hot you can't walk on it.... you know how some beaches you can't walk across the sand because it scorches your feet? not here.... you can just plop down in a big pile of sand and sink in and be so comfortable, well until you get up are covered in sand.  There are shells, coral, and rocks, but not enough to cut your feet or hurt you while swimming.
The water is the most gorgeous shade of turquoise blue.  This is true of most places in the Caribbean.  It still takes my breath away every single day when I go outside.
The waves are just about the right size most days.  Occasionally there are days with bigger waves, but for the most part it's just enough waves to make it look, feel, and sound like the perfect beach.

So, why is it better a mile down the road??

1. The snorkeling was mind blowing! haha seriously.... I'm not kidding.  I've never been snorkeling like that before.  I understand why it's called Aquarium now.  It literally looks like we were put in a well stocked tank.  The reef was covered in coral and urchins and fish of every size and color!  We even saw 2 octopi! and what I'm still claiming as a sea snake.. everyone said oh you probably saw an eel, BUT what I saw looks nothing like the eel's on google images and exactly like a sea snake. it was LOOOONG. probably 5 ft and really skinny like a snake. it was scary.
and to go snorkeling you don't have to go out far to see good stuff, it's 10 foot from the coast line

I didn't take these.... these are pictures I found by googleing "Aquarium Beach Snorkeling Pictures" But it's exactly what we saw!

We saw this same piece of coral today!!

there were tons of this black spiny urchins

We saw an Octopus just like this! and we saw a whiter one

sea snake!!

2. We found really really nice shells!

3.  The only other people we saw while we were there were 2, 80yr old Canadian couples, a father and son taking a walk, and about 3 Grenadians.
So we acted completely silly and took a million pictures!! It was so much fun :)
and when I say we, I don't mean Lee & I.  He unfortunately was in lab and class all morning while I was out having the time of my life.... but I want to take him here as soon as I possibly can!  Instead I went with my friend Alfonso, another SO, who is lots of fun and is always up for going on crazy adventures with me.

♥ paradise