We made it to Grenada!! YAY! It took a lot of work, but we are over the moon!!! It only took an 8.5-hour flight from Gatwick to St. Lucia followed by a 45-minute chartered plane to Grenada…easy! Phew.
The airport procedures were smooth and simple with numerous staff about to help facilitate our quick transit in St. Lucia and our arrival in Grenada. After a short drive from the airport in St. George’s we arrived at True Blue Boutique resort and received a very warm welcome, oh and a huuuge dispenser of rum punch. We like this place already! Of course, you will appreciate that the concoction certainly packed a suitable wallop for tired travellers. I think we’re going to love this trip!
Once we were all settled into our rooms – which are awesome by the way – we all congregated by the pool at about 5pm and you all know what that meant – pool party! A beautiful sunset was our backdrop whilst we all chatted and shared our excitement for the coming days of diving and relaxing. A big buffet dinner followed, and we all made weak attempts to stay awake as long as we could. Jet leg is a tough one, I’ll say! Early to bed meant early to rise with many looking for coffee at 4am! I guess you could say we were excited for the first morning of diving!
8am finally arrived Thursday morning and after a hearty breakfast, we raced to the dive boat with our gear! The Aquanauts Grenada dive centre is on the resort and just around the corner from the restaurant. It’s time to dive!!! The boat was filled with both anticipation and a little apprehension - after all, how long has it been since any of us have been able to dive in warm waters?!?! But the excitement!!! Ahhh! It was a gorgeous day and we were ready to jump in and the conditions were great.
Our first site was a 30m wreck called Veronica. It stood upright on the seabed. Rusty, with plenty of protrusions, gaps and holes that made for some awesome hiding spaces for marine life. A few of us lost our wreck virginity on this trip and we were not left with a bitter taste. Being one of those newbies, I was in awe. I was amazed by the presence of the boat and the marine life surrounding it. Christmas came early for us all when a pregnant seahorse was spotted resting on some coral! Carefully camouflaged, the pink seahorse made it a job for us to find. With some of us not ever having dived a wreck or seen a seahorse, you could say our first dive was pretty amazing.
The second dive was a drift dive along a coral reef ranging from 12 to 20 metres in depth. The biggest lobster I could ever imagine was a highlight of the dive for me. We spotted a few juvenile box fish – one of our favourites. A heart-warming gesture was made by Dean and Mary, as they rescued a little grunt who seemed to be on its last fins. It was upside down and caught on a fishing line. Luckily, Dean from our group managed to set it free and it whizzed off in relief.
An awesome first day of diving is the only way we can describe it. After a nice lunch we all headed back to the pool, eager for the next day of diving, preceded of course by more rum punch!
Oh, and just to add – we’ve decided to rate our drinks everyday so we will be bringing you our Scuba Place Sundowner Cocktail of the day. Today’s drink? The classic Rum Punch.
A staple cocktail when in the Caribbean. A group must-have due to its popularity, a drink you are able to have throughout the trip without getting sick of it. A rum punch where you add the rum, hold the punch. Strong and sweet, a very confident drink. A people pleaser. Rating? A solid 8/10, edged over from 7.5 due to a dusting of nutmeg on the top. A good start.
Measurements to taste (mostly because we have no idea, but we’re certain it’s 85% alcohol):
· Orange juice
· Pineapple juice
· Lime juice
· Rum
· Dark rum
· Grenadine
· Nutmeg for dusting
Special thanks to Rob and Susie for the amazing image of the seahorse!
Stay tuned for more updates on our first holiday in the midst of COVID to Grenada!