5th Term thus far…

My Birthday

My birthday was in February, we went to dinner with Derek & Doris at Rhodes Restaurant. This was a much needed relaxing evening with great friends. The atmosphere at Rhodes was very different from what we are used to…there was even a grand piano being played while we were there (definitely not something you see here in Grenada). When we got home Derek & Doris surprised me with a birthday cake. Since I could not be home with my family, this was the perfect way to enjoy my birthday!

Fishing Trip

The weekend after our 1st set of exams this term we decided to enjoy the island and do something we have never done here! Our choice was deep sea fishing!! Derek H. & I were the main 2 that really wanted to go, Derek W. & Doris decided they would go along for the trip. We got some recommendations from some friends and decided to go out with Captain Gary Clifford of Yes Aye. Thanks to Captain Gary and his deck-hand for showing us a great time deep sea fishing.

Here’s our fishing story and pictures…

It was a beautiful day for an afternoon of fishing

On our way out to deeper waters. We were given the option of fishing in shallow water or going deep for big fish…we of course decided to go for the big catch & boy oh boy did we get what we wanted!

On our way out Captain Gary was looking for birds to help him find where the fish were. We came upon an area of about 8,000 feet deep with several birds and the fish struck. It was between Derek H. & I as to who would take the 1st catch, Derek being a gentleman let the lady go first…so I took the first catch. It took me about 15-20 minutes to reel in this 50 lb sailfish. As you can see from the picture it was a beautiful fish (it would have been a nice one to mount)! But, they protect billfish so we could not keep this one. It was a quick catch & release. Not to brag, but after we released this fish the deck hand told me that he has been taking people fishing for many years & he had never seen anyone do as well as I did bringing that fish in. I didn’t bother to tell him that I love to fish and come from a long line of fisherman…I guess he just thought I was a natural.

That catch was a lot of fun but I was afraid we would not catch anything else because Captain Gary told us that if we went deep we might catch something & we might not…the chances of us catching more were unlikely. Believe it or not…we lucked up! Captain Gary told me that we just found the right spot at the right time! There were birds diving in the water & fishing jumping all over the place. We got another strike! This time it was Derek’s turn to reel the catch in. He worked very hard for about 20 minutes, until he started to feel sick & had to trade-off to someone else. This catch was a yellow fin tuna that are known to fight for along time and to fight hard. I thought Derek W. might go next but he wasn’t sure what to do and said since I had such good technique that I could go again and Doris wanted no part of the fish, so, I was up again. I didn’t mind I was looking forward to it but I don’t think Captain Gary was so sure. He looked at me and asked “Are you strong?!?!” I was not sure how to answer this question but there was no one else so I had to be strong…I guess he doubted me because I am a girl. Needless to say, I proved him wrong. After an hour and a half, we finally got this whopping 142 lb tuna on board.

Yet again, the deck-hand was very impressed and told me that he just had to have a drink with me! So a round of beer for everyone on our way back in to the dock. A beautiful sunset after a hard afternoons work.

As we came into the marina they flew these flags to let everyone know that we had a catch…and lots of people came to the boat to see what we caught, thanks to them for taking most of the pictures for us. There was a barracuda flag from their morning trip, a sailfish flag for my catch & release, and a tuna flag for this huge yellow fin tuna.

The 4 of us attempting to hold this very heavy fish…we managed to last long enough to snap a picture.

Me holding the fish up by the tail…yes the fish is as long as I am tall.

We took lots of tuna meat back to campus with us, this is only the tail meat! Captain Gary was going to sell the rest to the fish market and local restaurants. We have a freezer full of tuna, that will last until our time in Grenada is up, and a good story to go along with it!

North End of the Island

The same weekend of our fishing trip we rented a car for the week. Derek & I wanted to rent a car because we were going fishing & it is easier to get to the marina if you drive than having to take public transportation or a taxi. We also wanted to drive around the entire island, we have lived here for almost 3 years & had not had the opportunity to see the whole island. So, one afternoon we took off & went for a long drive. It took us about 3 and a half hours. I really enjoyed it, it was neat seeing all the small little towns and villages. When we got to the very far north end of the island we came upon this really cool beach and decided to stop & take a little walk. It was very long & there were palm trees all over the place. The weirdest thing was that we were on the gorgeous beach and there was no one else around. You typically expect to see such beautiful beaches covered with people enjoying the sun.

I love how you can see the palm trees in our sunglasses in this picture!

It looks like it could be an advertisement for Maui Jim (our sunglasses)!

Hospital

This term as part of one of our classes we get to go to the hospital once a week. This has been a fun eye opening experience. It makes me really appreciate the healthcare we have at home. We have gotten to see patients with diseases that you would only see in a developing country, diseases that we may never have the opportunity to see again in our lives. We have done anesthesia, emergency room, psychiatry, pediatrics, general medicine, surgery, and pathology rotations. The picture below is of the hospital…it may not have air conditioning or private rooms, and it may not be the best of facilities but it does have an amazing view. The majority of the wards have windows that look out over the water. There are windows from the operating room that look out over the ocean and toward Grand Anse beach…what an incredible view to have while doing surgery!! Don’t you think?