Black Bay Adventures

I've written about my love affair with the sea on many occasions. While I'm not totally a beach bum, enjoying the many beaches in Grenada is a special treat.

All that stopped when Covid-19 hit and the government closed the beaches. We could have sneaked undetected to the small, rocky beach on the bay below our house, but I'm so spoiled, I decided I didn't want to do rocks! I like fine sand. So, we watched and waited as each update slowly eased the emergency protocols.

After several weeks the beaches reopened from 5 am to 11 am. Life became much better. Before lock down, I'd read about a place called Black Bay, north of where we live. I had never heard of it, which surprised me as there aren't many places on the island I haven't explored. The aptly named bay hosts Grenada's only black sand beach. The path from the main road to the bay follows a river and has gorgeous, lush tropical vegetation. 

En route you pass what's left of an old sugar plantation, with the remnants of a water wheel and an aqueduct, now barely discernible through the dense vegetation. The beach is secluded, the water placid and the sand is a deep black color. What a sight! I had only experienced black sand once before, many years ago on the island of St.Vincent. 

So black sand looks fascinating but just try to get rid of it when ready to get changed. Getting black sand out of clothing and body is a whole new experience.

Apropos changing: there are no changing facilities at Black Bay. I had to do my best with a beach towel wrapped around critical body parts. My friend Janet, is very adept at this and hubby being a man, has no issues but I presented a pretty funny picture. Balancing on one leg, I attempted to wash my feet off in the river where it runs into the sea, while trying to get a bra on my still wet body. No problem though, as the beach was deserted, or so I thought until I looked up and saw that a fishing boat had pulled in at the end of the bay. I can only imagine what the young men must have thought of my display.

Our adventure continued as we tried to walk back to the car. While swimming, there were intermittent, light showers, which makes swimming fun. As we started walking, a downpour hit us. We sheltered under a huge French cashew tree, but it soon became obvious that this was country rain and it would probably go on for some time. Since we were already wet, we decided to walk in the rain; Janet with her umbrella, me with my beach towel draped over my head and back, Dick with just his hat on. I hate rain anywhere, any time, but the spectacle we presented to the villagers we passed was so funny that we ended up laughing too.