What’s for Dinner in Carriacou?

Despite the beautiful views of Union Island, it was finally determined that a change of venue was in order. Most boat projects are completed until parts arrive with our next guest in March and the anchor chain algae has almost grown enough to harvest. A sure sign that residency is the next step if we don’t move on down the road. Even the local vendors no longer try to sell us anything, we are fixtures. 

I could spend all day admiring the gorgeous orchid I finally coaxed into bloom after four years and thousands of miles, but it is time the captain says to follow the next rainbow. 

A quick three mile sail to Petite Martinique and then Carriacou.
Petit Martinique is the northern most island of the group of islands that make up the country of Grenada. With a population of only one thousand, trade and boat building are the main forms of economy. 

Trade boats from Venezuela come with cheap diesel, coffee, and dry goods, making this an ideal spot to top off. Designated a duty free port, I wouldn’t say the wine, rum, and tequila were cheap, just cheaper. It’s the Caribbean, what it lacks in affordability it more than makes up for in visual stimulation.......

Carriacou is the next in the chain, close enough to Union Island you could hit it with a baseball and a majestic backdrop for the colorful fishing boats at anchor. 

After a rolly, north swell exposed night off the main town of Hillsborough to clear customs, we quickly headed to the natural and protected harbor of Tyrell Bay. 

Grenada and Carriacou are located below the accepted latitudes for hurricane season so there is a large community of transit yachts here in Tyrell Bay.

Many are fresh out of the storage yards of Grenada, others are full time cruisers, and there are many charter fleet boats headed up to the Grenadines for a quick winter's vacation as well.

Carriacou is only seven miles long and has a rich boat building heritage. 

Colorful small boats always draw my eye and we will definitely be making a daytrip to the west side where the boatyards of the early Scottish settlers are located. 

There is an enclosed mangrove bay here where oysters are harvested and boats can run and hide when necessary. With a small haul out facility, dive shops, reasonable local restaurants on the water, a book exchange, laundry, and harbor wide wifi, Tyrell Bay is definitely a cruiser’s hangout.

One of the reasons Don and I love this lifestyle is the daily opportunities to experience other cultures, interact with people whose frame of reference is so different from our own, and of course....... the menu. Don's favorite saying is …”I came for the food”! 

But the cupboards are bare of all our Puerto Rican provisions, good coffee, rice flour, tofu, and chocolate, gluten-free crackers, olive oil, and organic raisins.  

The French cheese and wine have long since been consumed, I think there is only one can of pate left and Daisy is keeping a very close eye on that.

Trying to eat as local as possible, provision with what is cheap, healthy, and available is what allows us to stay in our budget and stay off dry land. This has become an interesting challenge as we try to avoid meat that is not free range and attempt to consume produce that has not arrived on a jet. Don and I also avoid wheat products whenever possible, very difficult in countries that produce such excellent beer, divine French bread, and mouth watering rotis.

The saving green grace down island in addition to locally grown lettuce has been the discovery of callalu. The green part of the dasheen root, leafy and fibrous, you know it must have all the calcium and iron one needs. 

Learning how to prepare it with all the local condiments has been a boon and I love the aromas in the galley! 

Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, garlic, scallions, ginger, Scotch bonnet peppers, thyme, okra, and coconut all combine heavenly together, and all available on every island. The work is in the prep and the reward is in the rich colors and taste. 

Combined with brown rice and pigeon peas, Xaymaca barbecued tofu (last box!), and callalu run down, the only thing missing to be classified as a completely local meal is a few steamed dasheen roots or sweet potato.  

We tend to skip the hefty portion of home baked macaroni and cheese and large piece of fried or barbequed chicken or pork ribs as the latter usually has been flown in frozen from somewhere else. It's a mystery to us, everywhere there are free range goats and chickens, and yet the staple is frozen Tyson type chicken. 

As ship's stores are out of rice flour I am also starting to experiment with farina. A combination of cassava flour and salt, gluten free and abundant, it is  good for breads and dumplings. Although, without all the preservatives, if not consumed while still fresh, would make an excellent second anchor! I am still in the R&D stage on that one.

For dessert......more orchids!