Up, Up, and Away

One should typically plan an international move to a Caribbean island over the first 40-60 year course of their lives depending on their financial achievements. With no such achievements, we managed to land our, soon to be, burnt hides on Grenada in exactly 13 days (two weeks seemed to be a bit of a stretch).

Moving house was our first huge hurdle. We accumulated so much 'memorabilia' i.e. junk. Clearing it all out was actually very relieving. We had quite a dump. Our family and friends really pulled together to make this happen for us; our deepest thanks goes to them for touching every dust-ridden item in our place.

Packing was a whole other story. By the way, should you come to Grenada for an extended stay there are some really great lists of things to bring; what wasn't on the list was a duvet—and perhaps rightfully so, but it's really a tough call. We packed all night. We had two large suitcases each; each of which weighing precisely 50lbs give or take a sock. We then went on to pack our personal items (laptop bags) and our carry-ons about as full as one should and perhaps a bit beyond that. And then we figured out how we would wear all our heaviest items that didn't fit in any other bag. The trick here is layers. I question my reasoning for a sweater and jacket in the mix though.

Without going into the particulars of our entire trip, we flew from Vancouver to Newark, Newark to Trinidad, and Trinidad to Grenada. *Book your trip in advance and you can probably find a great deal to Grenada directly from Toronto. I think the only thing to note here along the trip was the varying American accents we weren't accustomed to, as well as the strange looks we got through each airport security as we put a duvet through the x-ray. It was a very cozy duvet on the plane; the thought of using it now is suffocating, however.

Grenada immigration customs was pretty simple for the most part. I'll be sure to have a return ticket in hand the next time through. They held us up for a short while to prove their point, and then let us through with a slightly earlier departure date then I had requested. This can simply be extended. Lesson learned.

Again, we owe some more great thanks. We had booked a night at a Bed and Breakfast in Lance Aux Epines. The owner's came and picked us up right at the airport, despite our final flight being over an hour late plus our extra hold up with customs and finally our luggage delay. This is really just the tip of the iceberg of their generosity. I urge anyone to stop in at Casa Bella and visit Ray and Odessa. Their home feels like your own except you are in the Caribbean and they serve you unbelievable fresh fruits, juices, and kindness.

Their place has basically been our temporary home while we search for apartments. You may notice the background of this blog is actually the view from where they serve you breakfast.

Stay tuned, betwixt our apartment search, or thereafter, I hope to post our first island experiences—including the non-existent monkeys at monkey point.