The Garden at Castaways

Having no money is always a good reason for not doing something costly however important it might seem. So it was with our garden.
A few rocks and some soil had been gathered from the surrounding hillside shortly after the house was finished and couple of tiny ‘make do’ flower beds created and planted up with some scruffy plants. But nothing more than this since funds were exhausted.
But we both like gardening so we planned on our return for the 2019/20 season to get something sorted for which we had found a modest budget of about £12K
Our brief experience with the make-shift garden and scruffy planting had showed us some things we needed to consider with the ‘garden proper’.
Firstly, the garden design had to kill the strong sea breeze in some way because while the house itself gave some protection, things we planted any distance away from the house got quickly battered by the wind which was occasionally very strong and gusty. This wind also picked up dust necessitating the back terrace be swept every day since a layer of fine sand was constantly being deposited onto everything outside.
Secondly, the design had to stop goats and sheep from wondering up the side of the house or coming up the precipitous slope at the back and gobbling up whatever got planted. This also applied to iguanas and manicou (opossum) we later found both of which were much harder to keep out.
Finally, we decided after going in our friends’ pool that a small plunge pool (or cocktail pool as they are sometimes called) would be a very welcome addition for cooling off and especially for drinking cocktails while watching the sun set out over the Caribbean Sea.
We set to and after a while (and a few arguments) we had a design. I planned to provide all the pool equipment from the UK and despite knowing nothing about pools, was planning to plumb it all together to save some money. Even with my involvement and the supply of all the pool equipment the quote for construction from Sky our builder seemed very expensive at £45,000. 
Driven by a need to cut the cost drastically, the garden was redesigned in a way that would enable me to undertake most of the work. This meant having fewer large raised concrete areas which were both expensive in materials and very labour intensive to cast.
A few more arguments later we had the new design. We were still in the UK at this stage so I set about educating myself in DIY pool construction and buying the things that would be needed.
The revised design also took greater account of the logistics of the project. All the materials had to come up the roadway slope at the side of the house and so the work needed to be scheduled to work backwards towards the top of this slope. Nothing could be delivered if the area immediately at the top of the slope was done first. Furthermore, as things progressed, less and less space would be available within the garden as a whole meaning that if a substantial delivery was necessary towards the end of the project there might not be space enough for a lorry or truck to offload materials and then turn around in order to go back down the slope (reversing down was definitely not a good idea).
As much as possible was decided before travelling back to Carriacou and the pool supplies of pump, filter, pipes, skimmer and mosaic tiles for the water line were all purchased and shipped off in barrels. Also we decided to buy a breaker hammer (pneumatic drill) for digging into the rocky ground since we didn’t know how available a digger might be to undertake this work. 

The pool
Back in Carriacou we agonised over how deep to set the pool into the ground. Having the perimeter flush with ground level would mean both having to dig it deeper into the rocky ground and would also leave the pool susceptible to getting debris such as dust and leaves blown in. On the other hand having the pool sitting too high out of the ground meant we wouldn’t easily be able to look out over it to the nice view beyond when sitting on the covered terrace.
The overall size in terms of depth, length and width was also a headache. We’d been told if you are going to the trouble of doing a pool you should ‘make it big’. But this took a lot available water from the cistern to fill it. Plus to circulate the water correctly a bigger more expensive pump would be needed with a greater running cost. And whatever pool finish we chose, tiles or diamond brite, more would be required.
The pool was only really intended for two people or maybe four and only to dip into as opposed to swim around in so we settled on 7 feet x 9 feet and 5 feet deep which would take about 1200 gallons (5% of our full cistern capacity). Various dimensions were debated like how high the water should come when sat inside on the submerged bench and the level and number of internal steps required since we would not be having a ladder type access.
But before anything could happen the existing sparse garden site had to be prepared. This meant gathering up the existing rocks, gravel and soil into piles around the edge of the garden and out of the way of the main work. This material would be used later. But the most important preparation  involved levelling the ground which was about 2 to 3 feet higher at the right side than the left. Thought was also given to how rain would flow away from the almost flat garden area during the torrential tropical downpours that sometimes happen.
We made contact with Maxwell who is the main man on Carriacou if you need a digger, tractor, bulldozer, bobcat or backhoe loader. He had been responsible for the preparation of the site prior to building the house. By chance we also happened across Clarky and Shorn who were general builders and who gave us a very good price for constructing the pool in collaboration with me.
With Maxwell’s son Denzel at the controls of the backhoe loader the garden levelling and pool excavation commenced on October 16. There was a break in the proceedings around lunchtime when a hydraulic hose ruptured so Denzel had to disappear for an hour and half to repair it. When he returned with the mended hose he also had an electric pump since one of the digger’s tyres was slowly going down such is the quality of the greatly-used machinery here.
Nevertheless, by the end of the day we had a level garden and, more importantly, a large hole dug.
Next day a rebar frame was created and a base cast inside the hole. From this point progress was brisk and within 5 days we had a completed pool having the feed and return pipework largely contained within the thickness of the wall, a skimmer cast into one corner, benches and steps all ready for me to tile and plumb.
A chinese puzzle of pipes, and lots of tiling later we had something we hoped would contain water without leaking. As it happened, when the pool was filled, the water level did go down slowly by an inch over a day so there must have been a small leak somewhere but we got some leak sealer stuff (uncreatively called ‘Leak Sealer’) from Grenada which sorted it out after two doses.

The rest of the garden
With pool looking oddly bereft with nothing around it we set to creating the pergola and trying to decide a finish for the sun deck that would join the two. Initially this deck was to be tiled since flat natural stone was hard to find on Carriacou. But this meant the surface would need to be perfectly flat to receive the tiles and suitable tiles were expensive. So we settled on casting random slabs of concrete to look like giant crazy paving which could be textured and then coloured to look a bit like natural stone and to tone in with the tiles used around the edge of the pool.
With the pergola complete and the deck in progress, Brian White our garden expert organised a load of topsoil to be delivered along with some spikey plants he called ‘pines’. These were to be planted along the edge to discourage sheep and goats entering the garden. Using rocks, a central bed was created and planted up. There were not enough pines to go along the length of the edge so they were interspersed with bougainvillea. Sadly these just tempted the animals we were trying to exclude and they mostly got eaten until dug up later for hospitalisation. Logs were added to the edge and an area were grass was intended to grow. Despite copious watering this steadfastly refused to take hold so the grass may be replaced in the fullness of time.
The final phase was the wind break wall at the top of the slope which had an entry gateway and a raised vegetable growing bed. All the materials for this wall along with sufficient gravel for a ground covering had to be delivered ahead of the wall being built since once constructed no vehicles would be able to enter the garden any longer.

Cleared garden area
Liz pretending to drive the digger while Denzel was away getting a hydraulic hose repaired
Pool hole ready to cast base
Pool construction under way
Pool as completed by the builders
Tiling and plumbing by me
Filling the finished pool
Pergola and deck almost complete
After the soil arrived
Main bed planted up with materials behind for the wind break wall
Wall under construction
Wall completed with raised vegetable growing bed in front
Current state of the garden April 2020
Happy users

The end of the beginning………?

I knew we wouldn’t be able to resist making another post!

It’s an exciting week for us.  Our new website has finally launched after changing developers 3 times 🙄 – it still has a few minor imperfections but importantly does take online bookings and payments.  Take a look and see what you think:

Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also find us on TripAdviser, HomeAway and Airbnb.

We welcome our first paying guests on 1 December and have one or two further bookings too, which given that we have held off doing much promotional work whilst waiting for the website to come online, we are quite pleased about.

We are only recently back from a few weeks in the UK to stock up and ship a few more goodies for both the apartment and our own home.  Our side of the building feels like it needs some TLC compared to the apartment, which is looking fab!  Once our first guests have been and gone and our barrel arrives from the UK we shall hopefully be able to spend time working on our side – not least, putting up the Christmas tree 😄.  Oh, and I have a birthday coming  up too, so hopefully might be allowed a day off work!

The wires have now been installed on the verandah and balcony after a lengthy wait – unfortunately there was a mix up and only sufficient arrived to do the apartment, so we still await them for our house.  But at least our guests will be safe!

Martin has worked hard on the small garden area outside the rear of the apartment and it is now looking quite pretty, with potted plants dotted about.  However before Christmas it should look better still as we have appointed a local guy, Barrington Jobby, to pave the area with pebbles – we have seen his work on Facebook and it looks super!  We can then start thinking about what to do with our own garden which currently looks like an unpaved carpark!!

So, a few finishing touches to complete over the next couple of days and then we will be keeping everything crossed that our guests like it here as much as we do.  Wish us luck!!

 

 

And so, the final post …….. (probably!)

In the month or so since our last post a lot has happened, not least, WE HAVE MOVED IN!!

The biggest blocker to moving in was needing to get wifi installed as without that, we were not just cut off from friends and family at home but I was unable to work remotely as I have been doing in order to keep the finances ticking over.  Because of our location up the hill Flow could not provide a service to us and so we applied to Digicel (who provide an aerial transmission, rather than cabled service) in mid May as we are in line of sight of their aerial.  A week or two went by and we had heard nothing so we chased up ………and chased up…………and chased up!  To cut a long story short we finally got connected on 8 August, around 3 months after applying and are both convinced we would be waiting still had it not been for them getting sick of our daily calls, texts and emails!

WiFi at last!

It was then all systems go and 3 days later we celebrated finally moving out of our little studio apartment and into our brand new house.  OK, so we were lacking our bifold doors which had been delivered previously but with a manufacturing error meaning they could not be installed, but these were due any day (or were they?).  It seemed only right to celebrate our first night at “home” with a glass or two of bubbly.

Cheers!

Moving in also meant a big day for our cockerel and hens who were finally able to free range.  I mentioned them in an earlier post – they were gifted to us by one of our friends here and whilst we knew (know!) nothing about chickens, Martin set about building a suitable coop for them (in the midst of trying to complete as many important jobs on our own house as possible at the time).  The trio were named Cliff, Cilla and Lulu (showing our age!) and we have got used to and amused by, them meandering around, and disappearing altogether for extended periods.  Eggs were regularly provided (2 per day) but then stopped , until we found a whole clutch of them in a corner of the garage!  Captivity was required again for a while recently to try and break Cliff’s and Lulu’s new routine of trying to roost up a tree for the night!   I confess to feeling a little sorry for Cilla as I get the impression that two’s company and three’s a crowd!  They are behaving themselves again at the moment so finger’s crossed it continues!

From the left – Lulu, Cilla and Cliff

We are also regularly visited by sheep and goats which roam the hillside and seem unable to accept that this bit of the hillside is now ours.  They provide us with entertainment with the lambs springing about until Mum comes along with a head butt to the rear to restore order!

Two of our daily visitors

Shortly after moving in, Martin decided to prune some dead wood off the trees sitting on our western side – as you can see it was no easy feat and had me googling emergency numbers just in case they were needed!  However, the job was safely completed and the trees have been suitably tamed!

Tree pruning!

On a more relaxing note, the second day of the Round Grenada Regatta set off from Tyrrel Bay recently and we had a grandstand view of the start as we sipped our morning coffee!

Round Grenada Regatta

Welcome diversions of hens, sheep and yachts aside, we have been working very hard, long days since we moved in, completing a myriad of jobs to make the place somewhere we can be comfortable and enjoy spending time, and that paying guests will, we hope, be eager to come and see for themselves.  With this in mind, we are well on the way towards our full website launch which will also see us introduce our new branding.  We are really excited by this and, whilst we have done much of the work ourselves in terms of taking photographs and writing text, we have got a website designer involved to help with the functionality.

The bifold doors were finally installed 2 days ago, much to our relief, as without them we had been unable to keep our living accommodation properly clean or secure, and all cooking had been done in the apartment.  Somehow, whatever it was you needed was always in the other side of the building 🙄.  The doors were certainly worth waiting for, we are very pleased with them and we are now fully installed in our side of the building, just in time to welcome our first friends to visit from the UK this coming weekend – we are so looking forward to this, not just because we can’t wait to see them but also so we can have a rest for a few days. 😂

Long awaited bifold doors!

There is still much to do, not least a lot of landscaping and planting, but the build is really complete now, so with the imminent launch of the website, maybe this is the time to bring the blog to a close.  We’ll have to see – maybe we won’t be able to resist adding to it at some point – but for now au revoir.  We hope you have enjoyed reading about our journey and that you will decide to come and stay with us and find out what Carriacou has to offer for yourselves.

Carriacou Regatta – its all about sailing, right?

Now Martin and I are not sailors so, having never been to a Regatta before, we weren’t sure what to expect, we just knew it was a big thing for the island.  We did our preparation and consulted various published itineraries for the weekend which were a little confusing as they did not generally bear any relation to each other, either in terms of events or their timings and so we were not sure where to be, when!  However Saturday saw us set off into Hillsborough for 10am as one of the itineraries suggested that the first race would start then.  We couldn’t find any evidence of it!  So we headed off to Windward – after all this is where the boatbuilding, for which the island is well known, is done, so something must be happening there.  Indeed, we found a small clutch of people on one of the jetties, and a number of yachts milling around at sea so we sat around for a while, until a flurry of excitement told us that the race had started.

The boats set off from Windward

As soon as the boats had set off everyone decamped and headed back into Hillsborough, as did we.  Sadly the heavens opened for the remainder of the day so we headed for home.

Sunday was a much better day, and on returning to town, everyone was in high spirits, whether racing, swimming or just “liming”.

Monday was a Bank Holiday and the last day of the Regatta.  We had heard that there would be onshore activities so went to take a look.  We hadn’t anticipated having so much fun – Main Street was closed to traffic and the islanders were out in force and determined to enjoy themselves.  Here is just some of what we saw:

Yes – the musical chairs was for adults, although they did eventually let the kids have a go for one round!

The Greasy Pole competition made for entertaining watching and a few “ouch” moments as the guys fell off time after time, not always very elegantly!

The Greasy Pole competition drew the crowds!

Spectating the Greasy Pole competition from the water

And my personal favourite – The Donkey Derby, look at them go (well some of them!!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLj78Js1NS0

By the time the last one came in, I’d stopped recording 😂

So that was our experience of Carriacou Regatta – we have no idea if it is typical of Regattas generally, but suspect not!  However it is the longest running regatta in the region so they must be doing something right – and we, at least, will be looking forward to next year!

The end is in sight

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, we are now at a point that is not so much the beginning of the end but more the end of the beginning.

The house build is entering the final phase with Sky having virtually concluded what he was contracted to do and me taking over to finish my part of the work.

Main kitchen being fitted

One of the showers

My work is fitting the kitchens and bathrooms including all the plumbing and electrics throughout the house. Much of this has already taken place in parallel with Sky’s work and we currently await inspection from Grenlec and installation of the electric meter to swap power from Sky’s temporary supply.

There have been things like tables and chairs we brought over from England to be given a coat of paint in a more Caribbean colour. There has also been masses of flat-pack assembly which Liz has mainly done, becoming an expert in the mysteries of IKEA’s international pictorial instructions and a dab-hand with an electric screwdriver. Along with unwrapping and hanging the numerous internal doors we shipped this has resulted in a huge amount of packing and cardboard waste. Sadly Carriacou has not yet latched onto the international effort to recycle so instead of this all going to the local landfill at Dumfries we chose to burn it.

Packaging bonfire

Other work will be longer term such as the landscaping with steps, paths, gates and fences to put in place along with planting shrubs and trees. Returning our surroundings to the lovely green hillside it was from the baron building site it has recently become will take a while but at least everything grows quickly in the tropics.

But the real work of turning the building into a viable business by promoting the rental apartment to holiday makers looking for ‘a taste of the real Caribbean away from the tourists’ has to now begin in earnest.

We are starting to work on our website, with suitably enticing pictures to attract guests, and as we shall be living in the apartment initially we can ensure the accommodation works for visitors on every level.

We have wheels!

Last week we went to look at the fairly limited number of suitable cars for sale on Carriacou.  The most important factor was that the car could get up our hill, and that immediately ruled out one of them.  Of the others, we decided on one, a Nissan X Trail, which we thought would be the best option.  It was a little nerve wracking as we really didn’t know the process for buying a car over here but, following a little haggling over the telephone on Friday, we met the owner, Gladstone, at the garage at 9am yesterday, where he was having 4 new tyres put on for us.

From the garage Gladstone drove us into Hillsborough in his truck.  First stop was the Post Office to complete the  ownership transfer documents.  The entire record of cars on Carriacou is maintained on cards, neatly filed in a cardboard box!  Paperwork completed, we paid the required fee and then went over to the insurance company.  Having presented ID, driving licences (brief interludes whilst I went to the police station to get my Grenadian licence and Martin went into Flow to get a utility bill as part of the ID requirements) and filled in the necessary forms we went on our way, having been told that we could come back after 12 noon to collect the insurance certificate.  Then it was back to the police station to get permission to move the car to the inspection centre as its licence had expired – the necessary form was issued, giving us roughly a 3 hour window to get the car through its inspection.

Paying the car tax in the Post Office – the white cardboard box on the desk in the centre of the photo appears to contain cards representing every vehicle on the island – updated by hand when ownership changes. An efficient and refreshingly technology free process!

Paperwork!

Back at the garage we picked up the car (still accompanied by Gladstone) and headed to the inspection centre via the local car wash (meeting Tavon there, who apparently is Carriacou’s Mr Clean, and a potentially useful guy to know).  The  inspection is equivalent to an MOT in the UK (in some ways!) and required before the car could be licensed and driven away.  The test appeared to consist of a check of the lights, indicators, horn and windscreen washers – it didn’t appear to involve any requirement to look under the bonnet (hood – if you prefer!) nor did it matter that it had a large crack in the windscreen (new windscreen on order) but it had to be clean, hence our stop at the car wash.  It passed!!  However we couldn’t be issued with the licence until we could present the insurance details.

At the inspection centre.

Having returned to the Post Office to pay the inspection fee, we were feeling very pleased with ourselves as all was going swimmingly!  Checking back with the insurance office in case the certificate was available early (it wasn’t) we let Gladstone go on his way and adjourned to the Kayak cafe for a celebratory glass of soursop juice whilst we waited for the insurance.

The rains had arrived the previous evening which were very welcome:

However it turned out that this had had an impact on the insurance company’s internet connection and so when we returned to the office for the third time they were unable to guarantee when they could let us have the certificate and policy details.  We had a car ready and waiting to drive home in but seemed to be about to fall at the last hurdle.  Frustrated but undeterred, we cancelled that insurance application and went to a second insurance company down the road.  The kind lady in the Antillean General Insurance office postponed her lunchtime break (I think she took pity on us when she heard we needed to be home in time to see England play their first game in the World Cup!) and after about an hour we left the office with the required insurance details, headed back to the inspection centre and were issued with the licence to place on our (cracked!) windscreen – we were legal and mobile!!

P 738 – the newest member of the family!

We made it home in time to see England win (just!) their match against Tunisia – then we drove up to the house in our own car for the first time, considerably easier than going by bike and on foot!!

It will also make it easier to go and collect our cockerel and hens – but therein lies another story . . . . . . . .

Busy, busy, busy!

Back to posting about the build after our little diversion to Tobago Cays!

The site has been a hive of activity over the last few weeks.  The painting is virtually completed and the tiling is almost there too.  Our tiler is a very cheery guy called Roger – so known to us as “Jolly Roger”!  He is doing a grand job.  He had to leave tiling yesterday as he was tasked with the unenviable job of cleaning out the cistern.  This involves spending the day ankle deep in dirty water in the virtual dark with only mosquitos for company whilst he chips away loose concrete and general debris.  The dirty water is then pumped out, final cleaning takes place and then it is sealed up and we wait for the rains to arrive to fill it up with nice clean water we can use for all purposes, including drinking.  Bottled water is available for those who prefer it but we have never had a problem with drinking the tap water here – and Martin has just taken the UV filter up there to be fitted so our water will be particularly delectable!  The rains are late this year and everyone is getting a little anxious, but the forecast for later this week suggests some is on its way, so maybe all the rain dancing is finally working!!

Floor tiling in the main living area

Tiling – main living area into kitchen

We now have one patio door installed and once a few more of these and the windows are installed later this week we hope (as protection from the rain – when it turns up) we can bring all our belongings out of the garage and start to construct kitchen units, wardrobes etc.

First set of patio doors installed

The stairs in the apartment have now been constructed by our chippy Crate, ably assisted by Wendy (nice to have another lady on site!) and it is great being able to use those rather than clamber down the outside of the apartment to get from one floor to the other.

Apartment staircase

Apartment staircase

The bathrooms are coming on well – the “blue” bathroom is the main (family) bathroom in our side of the house, and the other one pictured is the ensuite in the guest apartment.

The Blue (family) Bathroom

Shower in the Blue Bathroom

Apartment ensuite bathroom

Apartment ensuite bathroom

Martin’s electrics are all working which means the guys can actually plug their tools in to the sockets rather than constantly looking for extension leads, and 2 air-conditioning units have now been installed.  Jolly Roger likes to work in the cool of the evening so he can now turn the lights on and work later – and Martin and I were thrilled when we first saw the lights on in our house from our apartment down in Tyrell Bay – you have to celebrate such momentous events (usually with rum!!).

We have lights!!

Whilst the driveway is pretty much laid, the area in front of the cistern, where we plan to put the pool, has been left untouched.  We have decided to put the pool on hold until the house is completed and we can give it more detailed thought.  The plus side of that is that the money not immediately required for a pool  can be used to purchase a car instead.  We have test driven one which was quickly ruled out as it couldn’t cope with our hill, but we have 2 or 3 more we hope to look at this week.  It will certainly make life considerably easier so we are hoping we find something suitable.

Driveway almost laid

The rain blowing in from Tyrell Bay

Rain out at sea.

So all in all, the moving in date of mid July is looking more feasible than it seemed 3 weeks ago – and we can’t wait!

A Grand Day Out

For a change we thought we’d do a post which is not related to the house build.  We had a day off yesterday and went on a wonderful trip courtesy of Sherwin at Lambi Queen – all in the name of research of course!  

Leaving Tyrell Bay by boat we picked up 2 other guests from Hillsborough and then headed out towards Union Island and the Grenadine archipelago.  Kenneth piloted the boat with expertise and proved to be a friendly and informative guide, regularly checking we were happy (which we were!).

Our transport for the day

First stop was Palm Island for swimming.  Palm Island is an exclusive resort island where there is no internet or telephones and guests request services by putting up a flag over their villa.  Given guests are paying US$1000 per night we could go no further than the beach to avoid trespassing on their privacy and chose to move on fairly quickly.

Palm Island

Palm Island

Passing Petit Tabac (the island on which Jack Sparrow was abandoned in Pirates of the Caribbean) we arrived in Tobago Cays Marine Park (http://www.tobagocays.org/).  Having moored up, we first did a light hike (in flip flops!) to spot iguanas and admire the stunning views.  

Petit Tabac (or Jack Sparrow Island!)

View over to Canouan

Returning to the boat we donned flippers and snorkels and had a fantastic time swimming with turtles and admiring huge starfish on the ocean bed which looked like elaborately embroidered cushions.  It was wonderful to see the turtles quietly grazing on the seabed and looking, quite rightly, at home!  An under water camera is definitely something we want to take with us next time to capture these beautiful sights – at least it gives us an excuse to go back!

We then moved on to Petit Bateau and had a couple of hours to stroll around, swim and snorkel before being served a fantastic lunch which included the freshest and most delicious red snapper, marinated chicken and plenty of side dishes.  A couple of rum punches also helped lunch slip down nicely!

Petit Bateau – lunch stop!

There had to be one!

Next stop was Saltwhistle Bay on Mayreau.  Here there were various stalls selling sarongs and t-shirts along with a few bars.  A pina colada at “The Last Bar Before The Jungle” was most welcome, followed by another swim in this beautiful setting.

Saltwhistle Bay

Final stop of the day was at Happy Island which is not really an island, but a bar in the sea just off Union Island.  Inside you can see photos of how the bar has developed over the years from a small pile of stones to the brightly coloured bar and restaurant it is today.

Happy Island

Finally we headed for home – very happy, tired and sun kissed after a truly fabulous day out.  A trip we will certainly recommend to all our guests!  We hope it tempts you to come and stay with us.

Pools, pickle, birthdays and loafing about!

Its about time we brought you up to date since the arrival of the container!

I arrived back on the island around 2 weeks ago, much to the delight of both of us and in time to celebrate Martin’s 60th birthday with him.  We had had a celebration with family and friends before he came out here so we kept it low key, but had a really lovely meal at the local Slipway restaurant.

Work has been progressing well despite the absence of the boss (me! 😄).  The builders have been busy with rendering the walls and stairs and with painting the inside of the roof upstairs which is a slow and painstaking task.  The beams in the ceiling are white, and between the beams is what is called “pickle” here, but what many would know as a “wash”.  They are doing it beautifully which takes time, but as the ceilings downstairs are flat, once they can move down there we hope progress will be faster.  Tiles should start going down very shortly which will be great as we can then start moving furniture into place and constructing the kitchens etc.

Martin has made great progress with the electrics and now wants to crack on with the plumbing and the bathrooms.

We have now settled on some lovely bifold doors for our upstairs living space and are currently discussing with Sky the logistics and finances around having a small pool built whilst the men and machinery are still up on site.  Its going to stretch the budget but we feel it would add to the appeal of our lovely accommodation, particularly as it will be sited with a view over the beautiful White, Saline, Frigate and Large islands.

There is a limit to what I can do to help out at the moment so I am “keeping house” and otherwise loafing about!!  However I am optimistic of having some remote work coming my way over the next week or two which would keep me out of mischief, and bolster the finances.  Otherwise I am just itching to get to the point of being able to turn our house into a home.

Sky has suggested we could move in around early July – we are hoping that is the case although are a little doubtful.  Watch this space!!

Hard at work on the ceiling of the “sunset” verandah

The front verandah looking towards Tyrell Bay

Our living room with door to the upstairs “powder room” and stairwell to the bedroom level.

The front verandah looking towards the islands and Grenada

 

 

Amelia (Boaty)

The Amelia (AKA Boaty McBoatface) is the main cargo boat for Carriacou. Small stuff arrives along with the passengers on the daily Osprey, but anything seriously big or heavy arrives on the twice weekly Amelia which takes around four hours from mainland Grenada (about half the speed of the Osprey ferry).

Last week our container arrived which was extremely exciting to unload it and have all our things along with the stuff we had purchased to finish and kit out the main house and the holiday flat.

My bicycle was among the stuff shipped so I’m now on two wheels when I do my daily and sometimes twice daily trips to the house.

Last Saturday our galvanised metal roofing panels arrived which a team from Grenada are fitting this week.

There are a huge number of colours to choose from and most people here seem to like something bright like red or blue, but we wanted the house the blend in with the hillside so we have picked a greyish green.

Sadly the green we’ve ended up with is rather brighter than the one we chose despite allegedly having the same name.

Such is life that sometimes you just have to concede and chill, it’s still a roof.