Paul and I both have some very good, helpful personality traits that make living on a boat work. But we also have some qualities that work against us. Some of those bad qualities include poor time management, which leads us to shore at the hottest time of the time, not checking locations and hours ahead of time (and being foiled by the Caribbean’s laissez faire sense of business hours), and believing that Google Maps will be able to locate all things for us as we go.
The other day, Paul and I put two things on our to do list. Get some fresh veggies, and refill our soda stream bottle. We’ve been out of bubbly water for over a month, and it’s an essential part of our diet, so we were quite glad to learn that we could refill in Grenada. We found a store called Wine and More that does refills, located them on the map, and then drank leisurely cups of coffee before swimming around the boat. A few hours later, in the heat of the day, we headed to shore.
We decided to go to Wine and More first, and then to the grocery after, so there will be less to carry. We walked in the direction of the store, which included passing by a busy roundabout without sidewalks and then continuing up a road until we located Sugar Apple Hill. There didn’t seem to be any businesses around us, so we just kept walking under the assumption that we hadn’t reached the right area yet.
At this point of the journey, we are both dripping sweat, red faced, and slightly short tempered. We still hadn’t located any shops, or even any sidewalks, so I used my phone to double check the location, and Paul tried calling them. No answer- and the address just vaguely told us, Sugar Apple Hill. We circled back, crossed the highway, walked in some people’s back yards, and then crossed the highway again before I located a small sign for “Sugar Apple Hill”.
Hill might have been a misnomer, because in 90% humidity and 89 degrees with occasional rain, this hill looked like a pretty steep hike. But seeing no alternative (Paul had done some investigative work by triangulating the view of some photos in the google business reviews, and he felt confident it was up there), we began our ascent.
After 10 minutes, we reached a house. Paul wanted to ask them if they were the store, but since they were gated in with a sign reading “Beware of Dog”, I felt it unlikely. We continued walking. We passed the German Consulate. We passed an apartment complex. A dog barked at us through a fence until we reached the top of the hill.
We turned back and started the walk downhill. Eventually, we saw a car pulling out of a driveway, and backing down the single lane drive of the hill. They lowered their windows and I could see they were internally debating talking to us. Paul first asked them “is the wine store close by?” They looked perplexed and worried. “No where to buy wine here….” they told Paul. Paul then asked if there’s anywhere to buy wine in this area, to which they responded “The grocery store sells wine, maybe?”. Then they left, probably wondering why two boozy Americans were strolling around a residential neighborhood hunting for wine.
Paul did more investigative work. He located orange roofs, and verandas, and a view of the road that HAS TO BE from only one location; the German Consulate. I had misgivings about knocking on the German consulate to ask if they will refill my soda stream and shy away from the idea. No one was home anyway, so we descended the hill and decided an hour and more was enough time dedicated to this particular task.
We then tried to find the Grocery. The market. A convenience store. Really, anything that might have a can of beans, or a head of lettuce, or a banana. Unfortunately all we found was local medical students waiting for their shuttle, and geckos skittering away from us. 2 hours and we’re hungry, sweaty, and suspiciously wondering if this isn’t all the other person’s fault. As we approached the dinghy dock, I suggest we give up. Maybe Wine and More will call us. Someday, maybe they won’t. But at least we can go home and drink ice water (flat) and peel off our dusty hiking clothes. we returned in shame, empty handed.
That evening, while eating pasta with onions and pasta sauce (the most appetizing combination of leftover ingredients), we received a message from Wine and More. They are a mobile store- they don’t have a physical location. They’d be glad to meet us at the dinghy dock and take our soda stream bottle to be refilled tomorrow. They’ll even bring wine. I squint and laugh at Paul. Maybe some day we’ll learn to do a little research a head of time. Maybe not.
warmly-hotly really- Paul and Linz
TIBURON MARINO 