November 15, 2024

Super sunny Grenada!

Above is the view from my balcony today. Downtown St George's was just outside the port. We were the only ship in town today, so we had an easy walk from the ship to the terminal to the the downtown. The sun was scorching so I waited till after lunch, to go for a stroll around the downtown. Grenada is a volcanic island and you are greeted by the rising hills as soon as you step out of the port.

As soon as I walked into the terminal building I saw the Christmas decorations and heard the carols playing. It is so odd, when it is so warm here! I also have no perspective on month and season. Just feels like a really long summer vacation has been going on! I walked up some of the hills of St George's to get the view from the top. Schools were letting out, so the streets were busy with everyone walking home. I love the motto " No Success without Effort" ! Oh so true! I wandered into a few shops had some conversations with locals, bought a pool noodle to use on the ship and tried Soursop fruit for first time - was good - tasted like watermelon even though it is small and white flesh, with a pit inside each section, inside green spiny exterior.

GUILIN, CHINA - RED YAO LONG HAIRED WOMAN

By Pat Patrick • September 10, 2026
The women in the Huangluo Village of Guangxi, China are famed and record holders in the Guiness World Records as the Long Hair Village. They grow their hair up to 2.1 meters or 6.8 feet and cut it only once in their lives, at age 17 or 18 when they have a "coming of age" ceramony. We visited the village and went to a performance where they showed us their history and customs.

GUILIN, CHINA - Night Lights

By Pat Patrick • September 10, 2026
Guilin is such a pretty little town; tons of tourist seem to know it too! I really enjoyed walking around it at night! I went for a stroll, along the river, to just soak it all in. I grabbed some street food, kung pow chicken and rice for dinner, that I had back in the quiet of my hotel room and had an early night.

GUILIN, CHINA - Bamboo raft tour of Lijiang River

By Pat Patrick • September 10, 2026
The Guilin area of southern China is known to have some of the most stunning karst rock formations. We took a bamboo cruise boat with a tiny electric motor, from the villages of Yangdi to Xingping this morning. The rafts are limited to 4 guest each - so I road with a Chinese family, there on vacation from the Beijing area, who was very sweet. Mom and Dad spoke no english, but their son, who is in his final year of college study environmental science, was able to converse and intrepret what the driver said to me the whole ride, about one hour.