Prickly Pears and Cocktails Named for Remote Islands.

I don’t guide every SwimVacation trip, and sometimes we will have a guest do three or four trips without crossing my path. Guest Natalie is one of those people, as I have only read about her on the blog and through Heather. I finally got to meet her on this trip, and everything I heard about her was true. Strong swimmer, loves to climb up rock faces, generally exuberant and easy to be with. 

Natalie (left) and Judy (right) have become fast friends on this SwimVacation for two.

We woke in Grand Mal Bay off the big Island of Grenada but quickly weighed anchor for a quick sail to Halifax Harbour for our morning swim. We haven’t been running trips in Grenada for so long that we know every inch of the place, so sometimes we head in a direction we’ve never swum before. We did that this morning and saw some very healthy coral and a lot of juvenile fish. Good signs. We do our best to protect reefs wherever we go, using reef-safe sunblock, anchoring in sand, not touching it with our hands or feet or anything else. 

We set sail for Isle de Ronde, the first in the chain of the Grenadines. Once we left the protection of Grenada, the wind and waves picked up and we had a wild ride between islands. The catamarans we charter are really stable, so we didn't get knocked around too much. 

Our swim at Isle de Ronde brought us along a reef with a cantilever shelf that holds lots of wildlife. We swam right up to some breaking waves, treading in deep water as the waves pounded the reef just a few yards from us. At the other end of the bay,, we walked a black sand beach while Zack picked some prickly pears from the local cacti. It involved a rock climb and some invisible prickles in his fingers. Lisa said we can have them for breakfast in the morning, sans prickles. 

We explored the black sand beach of Isle de Ronde and Natalie lead the climbing charge.

Cocktail hour! When trying to decide what to make, Lisa listed off a bunch of potential ingredients and somewhere in there she mentioned grapefruit and honey, which made me think of the Brown Derby, a drink from 1930’s Los Angeles clubs. I substituted a hearty rum for the bourbon. Here’s the recipe:

(Isle de) Ronde Derby

2 oz gold rum

1 oz grapefruit juice

1 tsp honey, more or less depending on the sweetness of the rum and grapefruit.

Combine the ingredients before adding ice or the honey will stick to the shaker. Stir or shake well with ice then serve in whatever glass happens to be on your yacht. I served this one on the rocks because it’s hot out. Grate some fresh nutmeg on top. 

Lisa continued the West Indian culinary theme with a heaping dish of Chicken Pelau, made with rice, pigeon peas, local green sauce, onions cooked in nutmeg, and potatoes. Authentically fantastic. Dessert was a pile of yummy crepes with nutella, bananas, butter, lemon. 

Millions of stars overhead as we hit the bunks. Alone in this bay, Yacht Antares rocks crew and guests to sleep.

Hopper