Lessons Learned - Apply Sunscreen and Visit Small Towns

The project work has begun.  NSCC Students and my colleagues arrived today.  Mr. Charles, our driver for the next 2 weeks picked me up at the hotel and we met everyone at the airport.  It was a long day of travel for the team.   I was fortunate enough to travel a few days ahead of the group so my unpacking and preparations were done over a course of a few days and I was able to go to the beach and explore.  I also had time to adjust to the heat and humidity which was nice.  What I haven't been able to do well is apply sunscreen properly.  I keep missing parts of my body and it only takes 15 minutes of direct sunlight and I will burn.  Take a look at my arm!

Here is where I took my morning walk today and this was at 9 am.  I burned my arm on this walk.  I get puzzled over how this beach remains so quiet.  Grenada is not a popular tourist destination, and the government is trying to change this for economic reasons.  Who wouldn't want to visit here if you are a beach person?

If you are not a beach person, there are so many small communities to explore.  I had a chance to do some travelling around the island on Friday and had a short visit in a small community called Gouyave.  The town is named such because it has an abundant supply of guavas ("goyave" is guava in French).  Historically, Grenada was divided into French Quartiers, but when the British arrived in the mid 1700s, the French Quartiers were renamed parishes after Saints.  The people on Gouyave accepted the Parish name of St. John, but refused to change the town's name to Charlotte Town (the British liked Queen Charlotte), so the French name Gouyave remained.  There is so much more to the historical story, but you will need to research it on your own.  Here are some good sites:
About Gouyave
Gouyave - Outdoor Life

Gouyave also has a famous athlete...Kirani James.  Everyone in Grenada knows this man.  Grenada became a well known country when this Gold Medal Olympian made history in the last olympics. There is great hope that he will repeat his win this summer in Rio.  Kirani James Bio

One more fact about Gouyave...it is know for a weekly Fish Fry which brings everyone to the community for drinking, eating, dancing and partying.  If you want to experience Grenada with a very local flair (no tourists), then the Fish Friday in Gouyave is the place to be.

I took a short video of the town as we drove through the main street: