Saved on Sifnos - a travel story out of the Aegean Sea that includes little harbours, sleeping villages, several tavernas, a ferry onward, a Greek cultures festival and a room with a view, travelogue, trip, travel, Greece, Cyclades, Sifnos, Kythnos, ferry, island-hopping

 
 
 

 







Snapshots of the Caribbean
Part 1:
Towards the Dash 8 Turboprop

Friday afternoon and we are sitting in the departure lounge of Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados. I feel like a teenager who has skipped school, as I have left work early in order to catch the flight to Grenada. The airport is busy, with British and American tourists waiting for flights home, and Bajans headed to neighbouring islands for the weekend. This weekend, St Lucia is holding a jazz festival, and when a flight to St Lucia is called, I recognise a couple of people from my office - they have left work early too! We all smile conspiratorially at each other.

Liat flight 380 to Grenada, Tobago and Trinidad is called, and we all make our way outside towards the Dash 8 turboprop. Although it is 5pm, the afternoon is still hot and humid, and I begin to question my decision to wear jeans. My friend, who is a nervous flyer, has never been in a propeller-driven aircraft before, and we try to distract her by speculating where the other passengers are going. The tall Indian man with the briefcase must be staying on to Trinidad (which has a large Asian population and is a regional centre for industry). The couple that look like newly-weds are probably going to Tobago for some relaxation on the beach. A German woman travelling alone has us confused - we do not often see Europeans here, except for British and Irish people.

The flight is smooth and on the way to Grenada we pass over
St Vincent and the Grenadines. Like Grenada, they are densely forested islands, green and mountainous, which contrast with the flat coral island covered in sugar plantations that we have left behind.

We have booked the cheapest accommodation available, and it shows. The hotel room has dirty furnishings, although thankfully, the bathroom is OK. One of my friends (who is used to more luxurious surroundings) condemns it as the worst place she has ever stayed in. I reserve that title for a particularly interesting hostel in Hungary, but it's still not terribly pleasant. Within minutes of arriving, I have three new mosquito bites, and we decide to go out to eat. On the way out, we go to look at the beach in front of our hotel. It is a pretty bay, although the sea is not very clear. As the sun sets, we see local teenagers kicking a football around, cows grazing beneath the trees, and crabs scuttling across the sand.

We eat dinner in a nearby restaurant. Grenada's tourism industry lags behind that of Barbados, and we struggle to find a bar to go to after dinner. Eventually we give up and retire to the hotel.


Part 2: Breadfruit and Mangoes


this travelogue is part of the subside travelzine
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