St. Vincent Tour

We have been serving our mission for almost two and a half years now and have not taken time to see many of the beauties of the West Indies. So we are trying to spend a few hours here and there with the senior couples and share their favorite sights. Today we drove with the Hattons to see a little of St Vincent and then got to finish the day with a baptism in the sea - perfect!

Driving in St Vincent is scenic but challenging


Sister Hatton told me that Elder Hatton has been in the ditch four times during their mission - just like this poor car we passed!


We passed gorgeous vistas and little hidden beaches


Our first stop was Wallilabou Bay - where Pirates of the Carribean was filmed. Do you recognize this distinctive rock from the first movie?


We stopped to see the Layou petroglyphs - aren't they amazing? I have seen petroglyphs all over the West Indies and in Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah - all of them very similar - so odd.


We passed a long wooden waterpipe stretching for miles.


Elder Hatton called this leak the 'drive by car wash'


Our final stop was Dark View Falls - gorgeous!


To get there we had to cross this bamboo bridge


Sister Hatton is a pro


We climbed through a bamboo forest


Until we caught our first glimpse of the falls


It was definitely worth the effort


I was surprised when the Hattons said there were even more falls up above. We hiked up and were rewarded by this

Grenada Tour

Have you ever wondered what these little islands in the Caribbean are really like? We have about 6 hours a week that are referred to as preparation day in which we like to get a feel for the local culture.

From Grenada Color

Elder and Sister Wood took us on a tour around Grenada yesterday. What a gorgeous place!

First we had to get to Grenada Friday - I was able to handle that

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Travel is challenging in the West Indies (in fact Diane types this sitting in an airport as she waits on a very delayed flight)

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Here are some glimpses of Grenada

The island is mountainous and full of lush forest, rivers, and waterfalls. It is known as the spice island because of the huge variety of spices that grow on the island. They are particularly known for nutmeg.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Grenada is at the southern end of a string of small islands called the Grenadines. You can see them from the coast.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Travel is actually pretty good compared to other islands, but still a bit scary. Elder Wood was a pro piloting our bulky beastly truck on the twisty turny narrow roads.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

How will we fit?

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Our first stop was Annandale Falls

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

It is in the midst of a forest full of fruit and spice trees

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Banana

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Papaya (called paw paw here)

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Pink Ginger

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Poinciana

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Do you like my new tropical tie?
Heliconia

From Sep 08 family

We continued our drive, stopping at the Grand Etang national forest where we were supposed to see these monkeys

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

But they decided not to show up. Sister Wood even tried calling them in monkey talk - didn't work. (I caught a video of her but decided she wouldn't be too pleased if I shared)

We drove around the island to a cocoa factory where we were going to see how the delicious Grendada chocolate was made - no luck - it was closed. I began to wonder if p-days were for us. We haven't taken many during our mission and maybe that's for the best. I did get to see a 'golder apple' - known as pommier de cythere in the French islands.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

I love the juice from this fruit and I am not a juice fan. It is green, tart, and full of flavor. Missionaries tell me it tastes like grass - I guess I like grass.

We continued our drive seeing sights such as these:

'the' dog?

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Popular local snack of roasted corn

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Many glimpses of the laid back Caribbean lifestyle

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Lots and lots of little children

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Tiny houses

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

and giant trees

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sep 08 family

And if the gorgeous natural beauty isn't enough, the Grenadians decorate everything possible with their colors!


We stopped and saw two 'Carib stones' - petroglyphs named after the Carib Indians who lived in Grenada from the time of Christ to the 1600s. Petroglyphs are quite fascinating by the way - Diane has seen them in Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, and all through the Caribbean. The odd thing is - they all look similar.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

The highlight of our day was our visit with Henry and Avis Ferguson - two newer members of our church who are suffering from poor health. They live in St George's

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Here is the view from their house

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

They lost their original home, just above where they are now, in terrible hurricane Ivan that devastated the island. They stayed in the lower level during the storm and said 'thousands and thousands of prayers'

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Elder Wood always makes people laugh - not the best for Brother Ferguson's hernia - he had to wrap it and go to bed after we left but he still made it to church with his wife the next day and bore his testimony about the Lord's blessings on his health.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

We couldn't get away without receiving gifts - of 'havocats' (avocados) and a sweet called tamarind balls. When I thanked him, Brother Ferguson said, "anything you see here that you want is yours."

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

At the end of our day we had dinner at a great spot on the beach - called the Beach Club. Take a look at Sister Wood's dinner companion

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

We fell into bed that night completely exhausted and decided preparation days are hard on us.

The Woods have too much energy!

Maybe that's because they get go home, sit here, and relax on their front porch.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

A tour of Grenada wouldn't be complete without a picture of the missionaries. Here they are at the church on Sunday - Elders Parrish and Williams - the only two young missionaries on this entire gorgeous island.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Removing the dog that moved in and called himself to be the official Sunday greeter

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Future missionary?

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Primary

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

The church

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

What a view, eh?