Category Archives: Beauty

Three weeks ago, we were in Bridgetown, Barbados

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One of Chris’s favorite things to do in speech with me is to tell me that a week ago, we were doing this, or two weeks ago, we were doing that. Today, he said to Kaia and me during dinner, “Just a week ago, we were coming back from Tobago.” The Friday before that, we were in St. Lucia exploring Castries Market and buying lots of local exotic fruit (including three different types of mango!) and enjoying Pigeon Island. And the Friday before that, we had just started our summer trip in Barbados and were enjoying the fish fry scene in Bridgetown, with a super delicious and succulent grilled whole red snapper with lick-your-fingers-good Bajan seasoning. Every year I get older, time seems to move that much more quickly. All these new, fun, happy, learning, cultural, exciting moments seem to come and go just like that. And it further makes me realize how precious all our moments are together, whether that’s exploring a new place, having a meal or bite of something together, or just sitting in the same place at the same time enjoying the exact same thing. While Kaia is 4.5 years old and always wondering when the next thing is happening or, “why are we walking for so long?”, it almost feels sometimes like I am grasping at straws to make these happy moments last longer. It’s like those sentimental sayings and quotes I’ve oftentimes been served since pregnancy and first becoming a mother: sometimes, you just want this moment, this stage, to last forever. But, if it lasts forever, then you never get to enjoy the next great thing that will come!

Time is precious, life is precious, and our moments together are precious and finite. I think about all the experiences I’ve had in my life to date, whether it’s the places I’ve been privileged to go to and see, the foods I’ve eaten, the people I’ve built lasting relationships with, the marriage and life I’ve built with Chris, and having Kaia Pookie as my sweet baby, and I just feel so thankful and so lucky for this life. Life is good. And our memories are sweet.

Reflecting on kids clubs at hotels

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The first time I encountered and looked at a kids club was when we stayed at a hotel property in Cancun over an extended Memorial Day weekend in 2023. Kaia was just shy of 1.5 years old then, and it was the first time I ever thought about childcare at a hotel. There is usually a minimum age for kids clubs (age 3 or 4) at hotels that offer them, but I remember wondering if we’d ever use one for Kaia, even if just for an hour or so at some point.

The opportunity presented itself twice at two all-inclusive hotels we stayed at — the first was in Barbados, and the second in Grenada. At both properties on the day I took Kaia in, no other children were there. In Barbados at a sister all-inclusive resort we hung out at for a full day, Kaia refused to let me leave her there, so we ended up playing together while I spoke with the childcare provider. There, she made a little bracelet complete with two “very special” charms that Jengsel, the childcare provider, presented to her: one was a silver seashell, and the second was a little crystal heart with a pink heart inside. Of course, Kaia loved both because she loves shells, hearts, AND the color pink. So she savored this bracelet and kept talking about it.

At the Grenada resort, I actually did bring Kaia there twice on two separate days for about 2-3 hours at a time. There, she was completely comfortable being on her own with the childcare providers. The first childcare provider, Shenique, was the kind of babysitter most parents would dream about: she was extremely hands on, had lots of conversations with Kaia, did multiple activities with her, and gave very frequent Whatsapp reports back to me, complete with photos and videos showing what Kaia was up to. With Shenique, Kaia made another bracelet, one that truly looked like it could have been made professionally and purchased at a boutique. It has beautiful turquoise and orange stone-like beads with silver accents. Kaia loves both and keeps talking about her bracelets from Barbados and Trinidad. And she still mentions Shenique’s name despite their limited time together.

Now that Kaia is older and more verbal, she can always share what she does and what happens with us, so there’s not as big of a mystery of what goes on with babysitters or at kids clubs like this. She genuinely enjoyed her time there, which made me feel good. I was also happy to have the chance to take advantage of “free” babysitting (I mean, is it really “free” if you are paying all-inclusive rates…), even if it was just a couple three-hour bursts. It was a very positive sign to hear that she wanted to go back the second time in Grenada, that this showed what a good time she had and how much she liked the childcare providers. As another childcare provider said at this kids club, “In Grenada, we take good care of our babies here! We love them all!”

Mangoes with black spots = sign of ripeness in other countries, but a sign of rot/”bad” in the U.S.

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One thing I noticed while eating the many varieties of mangoes we were lucky to taste across four Caribbean islands on this trip was that many of them are ripe when they have black spots. This is actually a good thing, not a bad thing: it signals to us that they are ready to eat, and we should eat them right away! This was the case for the Julie and mango longues, and especially true for the starch and dodo mangoes. We got told from multiple vendors, as well as our smoothie guy who gifted us the five cutlass mangoes in Port of Spain, that black spots were a positive thing. The funny thing is that I told Chris that this would absolutely not fly in the U.S. You could never have a display of mostly black spotted mangoes in the U.S. and actually get those to sell — no freaking way!

The strange thing, though, is that black spots with mango varieties readily available in the U.S. — so Ataulfo (champagne, our default from March to June) and Kent — actually are not good when they have black spots. For these two mango varieties that come from Mexico, black spots are a sign that they have really gone bad or are about to go bad. I know this after peeling and cutting hundreds and hundreds of mangoes over the years. Sometimes we don’t monitor the mangoes closely enough, and the black spots appear. And once the spots appear, this is truly a sign of rot. Those parts don’t taste good, or they actually smell off. Some of them become mush in the parts where the black spots are.

The American public is quite superficial when it comes to produce. Everyone wants picture-perfect fruit and vegetables, oftentimes at the expense of taste, flavor, and even nutrition. It’s partly why mainstream supermarket tomatoes look super red and plump but often taste like nothing or are mealy in texture inside. So I doubt that even if Trinidad and Tobago could export mango longue or starch mangoes to the U.S. that they would do well from a sales perspective outside of ethnic markets in neighborhoods with a large Caribbean population. That is sad, a real loss for someone like me who wants every single mango variety possible at the tips of her fingers!

Orange-winged amazons outside our window in Port of Spain; warnings around the world from well-meaning older ladies

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Today was our last morning in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as our last day of this trip before flying home. From our hotel window, I watched as many orange-winged amazons flew in pairs around the large trees along Queen’s Park Savannah. From what I can remember, this is likely the most fascinating bird watching area of the world I’ve ever been in. I’ve already lost count of the number of different, colorful, and gorgeous bird species I’ve been lucky to see here. Even Kaia has gotten into it: she also loved watching the orange-winged amazons fly around in Port of Spain. In Grenada, she pointed out new birds she noticed. And just two days ago, she excitedly pointed out a little kiskadee, which is considered the best known bird of Trinidad.

“It’s yellow! It’s yellow!” Kaia kept shrieking delightfully.

Kaia noticed the little kiskadee because of its bright yellow breast. It had a black and white streaked face with a brown back. These birds are known to be very loud chirpers and have fearless behavior; it didn’t seem to mind us being so close. I’m not that excited to go back to New York and mostly see pigeons and seagulls again — the freaking rats and roaches of the bird world. I suppose the sparrows and the occasional American robin are fine.

We had limited time in the morning before we had to head to the airport, so we took a quick trip to Charlotte Street, the main drag of Port of Spain Chinatown, to browse and also finally buy a magnet for this segment of our trip. Saturday morning is a great time to be in Port of Spain Chinatown, as all the fruit and vegetable vendors have their little stalls set up so you can buy their fresh produce. Lots of people were walking the streets to buy food; it felt like we may have been the only tourists there. We saw piles and piles of scotch bonnets, pimento peppers, papayas, multiple mango varieties, and other fresh fruit and vegetables waiting to be purchased. I crossed a street to take a look at a bakery I noticed, and as I was leaving the bakery, an older Trini woman, likely in her late 60s, stopped me and got close to my face.

“I’m a Trini woman, born and raised here,” the older lady started with me. “And I can tell you that these streets are not safe for someone like you. Why are you here? There are other places for you to go and see!”

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been stopped by well meaning older women who tell me that I shouldn’t be in a certain area, with my phone or camera in my hand. They’ve told me that I should stay and walk close to my husband, that someone will easily hurt or rob me in a given place.

“Why am I here?” I wrinkled my brow at her. “I wanted to come see the fruit! What’s wrong with this area? I am perfectly fine!”

“You want to buy fruit? Then you should go down that street over there!” She responded, pointing out Independence Square. There were very, very few fruit vendors on that next street…

I told her I was walking across the street, and she said that she would walk with me. I had no idea what she wanted from me and why she was being so forceful. When she saw that I was meeting Chris and Pookie, she started telling Chris to not let me walk on my own, to always stay close to me, that it was dangerous to let me walk by myself along that street. Chris insisted to her that I was fine and everything was good. She finally relented and walked off.

I know all these ladies around the world mean well. But what they may not realize they could be doing is inadvertently perpetuating the potential perceived notions of their countries being dangerous places to be or visit. That’s not really a great way to market your town or country.

Trini mango varieties at a wholesale market and the most delicious “buss up shut” roti of my life in Port of Spain

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After chatting with our smoothie guy about Central Market and Chinatown as being the best places to get local fruit, we made our way to Central Market this morning. It’s a wholesale market that runs late at night, with peak times being around 11pm, then again at around 4am. These are not times I would ever be at any market, so when we went this late morning, it unfortunately was not surprising to see that a lot of vendors were sold out or already gone for the day. However, we did find vendors selling some mango varieties that we had not tried yet, and did not even know about. We sought out and got five starch mangoes for $20TTD, and we also picked up some mango vert (vert means “green” in French, but these are actually yellowish green). The teeny tiny mangoes that were next to the mango vert were “dodo” mangoes, named because of how small they are; four can comfortably sit in the palm of your hand! They are very sugary sweet mangoes that are considered “snacking mangoes” here given their size. Each mango can yield about four small bites before you hit the pit. Of all the mango varieties, this was likely the most one-dimensional tasting one — just straight forward sweet with zero complexity. I would not get those again.

And where there is a wholesale market, there must be ready made/made to order food. So we popped into the indoor area where vendors had different stalls. Most were closed, but a couple were open, including one that had a promising “fish broth” sign. Given fish is part of the market, we thought this could be really good. The older lady operating it said she’d add a fish steak to my soup, so she asked me to give her some time. When she presented the massive bowl with the fish steak on top, I couldn’t believe how massive it was. Good thing this was going to be shared among three of us! The vendor called the fish salmon, but it actually wasn’t salmon: it was a white sea trout. In Trinidad, as I later learned, people refer to sea trout as salmon, but I’m unclear why. It was very flaky, meaty, and lean. The fish broth was really rich, likely made with endless fish bones!

Our next stop was at Dobson’s Roti Shop, which is a popular institution amongst locals and tourists alike in Port of Spain. Our driver for the Caroni Bird Sanctuary told us it was her favorite roti shop. So while you may be familiar with Indian roti, Trinidadian roti is slightly different. Trini roti is also referred to as “buss up shut” roti, derived from their accent when they say “busted up shirt” (this really makes me chuckle), a paratha that is super soft, flaky, and endlessly layered. The name is perfect to describe its appearance because while cooking the roti on the tawa, it is “crushed” and beaten a few times with metal spoons/spatulas to separate its delicate layers. So in the end, it really does resemble a “busted up” shirt! This roti was originally brought to the Caribbean by East Indian indentured laborers, and is known as one of the THE foods representing the multi-ethnic culture of Trinidad and Tobago. Like in India, this roti is used as an edible utensil to sop up gravies, stews, and curries.

We got to the roti shop just ahead of prime lunch hour, so we ordered a beef curry roti with no line. The roti came hot and steaming, wrapped in foil, alongside a big styrofoam takeout container which included a huge portion of curry beef, mashed spiced savory pumpkin, chickpea curry, and a very thick mango chutney, complete with its skins and all. When I unwrapped the roti, I knew it was going to be good: it was this HUGE piece of paratha, with layers that basically draped and fell all over the place. Kaia was obsessed and kept reaching for more roti between bites of beef and channa. I’m honestly not sure what I liked more: the doubles from the previous night or this insanely delicious roti! Roti was definitely meant to be taken away or eaten on the go, as we had the only two seats at the one tiny table in the front. But we were thrilled to see they had a tiny little sink with soap for us; roti is meant to be eaten with your hands – definitely not a fork and knife situation!

After lunch, we stopped at a nearby shop for some ice cream and got soursop and peanut flavor. Peanut flavored things are huge here: you can see lots of shops selling chocolate candy bars with whole peanuts, peanut punch (peanut butter, whey protein, milk, and sugar!), and peanut desserts like this one. Of course, soursop is huge here. The soursop ice cream was very good — the cream and sugar rounded out some of the “oil spill” flavor I tend to get when I have soursop straight as a fruit, which makes me a bit wary of having it as fresh fruit. Since soursop has a high concentration of natural sugars, when the fruit becomes overripe or sits too long at room temperature, wild yeasts on the skin can break down these sugars. This process produces ethanol and other alcohol byproducts. So, in concentrated amounts, this chemical fermentation smells and tastes intensely sharp, similar to turpentine, gasoline, or nail polish remover. This is the flavor I unfortunately get frequently when trying fresh soursop fruit!

We have to wake up for a 6:30am ferry to go to Tobago on a day trip tomorrow, so our dinner tonight ended up just being a bunch of the mangoes we got at the market, along with the cutlass mangoes gifted to us. Kaia loved the mango vert and the starch. “I WANT VERT! I WANT VERT!” she kept yelling. I love seeing her get into all the Caribbean mangoes here, especially after she refused to try a single mango variety our entire time in India together just three years ago. It was a very delicious day in Port of Spain, for sure.

Beautiful birds of the Caribbean – more birding on our last day in Grenada

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Since we’ve arrived in the Caribbean, I’ve tried to keep my eye out for interesting bird species. While I didn’t get to see many unusual birds in Barbados, I was able to see one in St. Lucia, the Antillean crested hummingbird, while on the Tet Paul Nature Trail in Soufriere. And in Grenada, I was lucky to see quite a handful of different birds — just on our hotel property, the Royalton Grenada Resort. The hotel is right on Magazine Beach, so it has a combination of beach coastline, coastal vegetation, and landscaped gardens and man-made lakes that attract all types of birds. A number of the birds I was able to see were either right from our balcony or just sitting around on the property and looking out the window.

On our first day, I got to see a very happy and hyper bananaquit, with its cute bright yellow belly. In front of our hotel, I saw a chipper little Caribbean elaenia, a little flycatcher bird that measures no taller than 14 cm. They have olive-brown backs and grayish white underbellies. The one I saw had a pale yellow wash on its belly. And after dropping Kaia off at the Kids Club for a couple hours this morning (she insisted she wanted to go back; I guess the activities and care providers were that fun and good to her!), I walked to the man-made lake of the property, which has several large trees that attract birds. There, I saw over two dozen cattle egret, which are small white herons that are about 46-56 cm/18-22 in in length and weigh between 270-512 grams/0.6-1.1 lb). One of them caught my eye because it was not only white, but the top of its head, neck, and wings were colored with a pale-pinkish orange hue. I watched them for a while and wondered if this was actually a different bird species from the rest. Later, after Claude correctly identified what bird species these were, it also told me that this specific pinkish-orange winged one was colored as such because it was in its breeding stage of life and “showing” it off. I never knew that a bird’s appearance could change in this way due to breeding stage; it’s actually called “breeding plumage!”

I went back to our room to look up more birding facts and parked myself on the balcony to enjoy my balcony access, enjoy the view of the beach, and savor our last few hours in Grenada. While there and stationary, I saw even more local birds:

Lesser Antillean bullfinch: A small, dark bird endemic to the region. The males are entirely black with a neat patch of rufous-red directly under their chin. I saw a male one! The little red throat was so adorable. The guide I read said that the Grenada subspecies is uniquely smaller than those on neighboring Caribbean islands.

Grey Kingbird: Another flycatcher, grey kingbirds are often seen around towns and mangroves in coastal areas. It is grey above and white below and has a dark mask—a distinctive, but faint, black band extending from the base of the beak through the eye. These little guys are known as “energetic insectivores” and can get quite feisty fighting birds, dogs, and even humans if they get too close to their nests!

Broad-winged hawk: The Royalton has lots of beautiful flamboyant trees, also known as Royal Poinciana or Flame Trees. Given we are here in the summer, this is the peak season to see these trees in all their “flaming” floral glory, as at this time of year, they explode with large, vibrant blooms that range in hue from scarlet red to reddish-bright orange. When I look out our balcony here, I can see these trees directly outside our window, then the beach. As I looked closer into one of the trees this late morning, I noticed a larger bird eating… a small animal that may have been a frog? It was hard to tell given the distance, but whatever animal it was eating definitely had two legs. Based on my description, Claude thinks this bird was a broad-winged hawk, which is the most common bird of prey in Grenada. It actively hunts during the day and is notorious for sitting quietly on a tree branch, hidden by leaves, before dropping down or reaching out to snatch a meal. The broad-winged hawk is a relatively small Buteo (medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors; I used to have this misconception that hawks were all very large!), with a body size from 32 to 44 cm (13 to 17 in) in length and weighing 265 to 560 g (9.3 to 19.8 oz). I am not sure why, but it’s always a little engrossing to watch an animal eat another animal. Maybe it’s because of innate human instinct, how satisfying it is to see one type of animal dominate another?

When I saw this hawk eat what I think was a frog, it reminded me of our first full day in Grenada when we dropped Kaia off at the Kids Club in the morning. The caregiver took her out to feed the birds by the water. While Kaia enjoyed this process, she was especially engrossed watching a bird eat the fish. She kept talking about it over and over after we picked her up. It clearly fascinated her and piqued something in her mind, as it was likely the very first time she had watched an animal eat another animal. Even my sweet Kaia Pookie at 4.5 years of age gets this fascination!

Off to the St. George Spice Market, The Carenage, and De La Grenade Nutmeg Garden

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Of the four island countries we are visiting on this trip, I knew the very least about Grenada before this was all booked. And lo and behold, Grenada seems like the most expensive of the four, at least from a tourist transportation standpoint. Many fixed tours/plans are done by the hotel, but they run only on certain days and also require a minimum number of people (usually 8-10) to run. Given we’re in low season, on many days of the week, the tours do not run at all if there is a lack of demand/interest. So the original underwater sculpture snorkel excursion I wanted to do would not run due to a total of zero other people wanting to come. So when I asked the excursions specialist about spice garden tours/farms, she said that their specific fixed tour including several spots on my list would not be running Monday, as in today, our last full day. But, she said, we had the option of spending $375 for a private driver for up to eight hours; that’s a LOT of money! Like in St. Lucia, distances are very deceiving because the actual drive time can be quite long due to road conditions and congestion. Most of Grenada’s major national parks, waterfalls, and larger spice gardens/farms are at least 45 minutes to 1.5 hours away from us. So we had to construct our own Spice Isle excursion today, centered on local spices, foods, and culture and rely on the local ride app.

Our first stop was at St. George Spice Market. No cruise ships were scheduled to arrive in St. George today, so we were lucky and got to experience Monday morning calm at the market. I also read that vendors typically increase prices when cruise ships dock, and they don’t do this otherwise. Either way, I had a ballpark in my head of how much each spice I was interested in should be, so I’d know whether someone was trying to rip me off.

I didn’t have to worry much, though, in terms of vendor interaction. All the vendors I interacted with at the spice market were quite warm and friendly. Some let me haggle a little with them. All of them asked me questions about me, Kaia, how long our trip would be. One of them even kept a close eye on Kaia and kept letting me know where she was hiding, as she predictably ran amok through the aisles of the enclosed section of the spice market. While there, I picked up some spices I had on my shortlist that Grenada is known for, including the obvious, which was whole nutmeg, whole nutmeg wrapped in mace, black peppercorns, dried Grenadian bay leaves (which are actually distinct from the typical Mediterranean bay laurel; it’s more aromatic and complex, offering notes of allspice, menthol, cinnamon, and even citrus!), and ceylon cinnamon (real cinnamon, which is rare, as most places that grow or sell “cinnamon” are really using cassia, which has a stronger, pungent, spicier taste). Ceylon cinnamon is rare, as the majority is grown in Sri Lanka (hence its name given Sri Lanka was a former British colony), with small amounts grown in places like Madagascar, The Seychelles, and the West Indies (this includes Grenada!). So it was interesting to be able to find it at this market. I also did a subtle “test” to see if the cinnamon really was cinnamon by gently pushing down on the sticks to see if they would break. Real Ceylon cinnamon should break, whereas cassia pretending to be cinnamon will be really hard to break.

We also found several vendors selling mangoes, which was also my list of things to find and eat here. We picked out four ripe Ceylon mangoes (also originally from Sri Lanka, brought over by British colonizers from there), the only variety that this one vendor had. I was thrilled to try mango varietal number FOUR on this trip now. Ceylon mangoes are known for their smooth, stringless flesh, and intense, sweet flavor. Some locals even find the mango too sweet, so they will balance the flavor by squeezing fresh lime juice over the flesh while eating. We got four ripe Ceylon mangoes for 5 XCD/$1.85 USD, which to me is quite a good deal!

After we left the market, we had a chocolate tasting at House of Chocolate, bought a bunch of chocolate as gifts and our own at-home eating pleasures, and walked the Carenage, which is the historic horseshoe-shaped natural harbor right in the center of St. George, the capital of Grenada. The Carenage is extremely picturesque, with a large promenade and a working port. There are many brightly colored 18th century colonial buildings with lots of red-tiled roofs. It all looked like the perfect postcard to market Grenada. The promenade, staying true to the Spice Isle nickname of Grenada, is even lined with hanging metal renditions of painted split nutmegs, complete with red mace enveloping them.

We had a quick lunch spot at a local open-air restaurant and then made our final stop of the afternoon, which was at De La Grenade Nutmeg Garden, where we did a private tour of the gardens high up in the hills (benefits of low season!) and got to see and learn a lot about so many varieties of fruit and spices. In preparation for this trip, I had read that nutmeg syrup was very popular here, But to be honest, that did not excite me too much because all I could think of was how potent nutmeg (the seed) was as a spice; a tiny bit goes a really long way. What I didn’t realize before coming on this tour is that when nutmeg syrup is made, the nutmeg’s fleshy outer fruit, known as the pericarp, is used for the syrup, which is much subtler and almost fruity in flavor. The whole idea here is to have zero waste and to use as much of the fruit as possible.

This is a description of how the nutmeg fruit anatomy breaks down by part:

  • The Pericarp: The soft, fleshy outer fruit –> This is what is used for local nutmeg syrup.
  • The Mace: The bright red, lacy, web-like membrane (or aril) that covers the shell.
  • The Shell (Endocarp): The hard, dark seed coat underneath the mace.
  • The Nutmeg: The actual seed inside the shell. –> This needs to be cracked and grated to make the nutmeg ground spice as we know it.

After the garden tour, we did a tasting of every product they offer, ranging from the nutmeg syrups, jellies, and jams, to pepper jellies, hot sauces, rum punches, and local Grenadian liqueur. And one of the most unusual things we tasted was something I’d seen at the market stalls back in Barbados but wasn’t so sure how it would taste: sea moss. It usually appears pink or yellow and is sold dry by the weight. The description for sea moss said that it was high in minerals, like iodine, magnesium, and calcium; helps hydrate the skin and promotes natural glow, and even strengthens hair and nails. It is usually consumed by being blended into flavorless gel that thickens smoothies, teas, and desserts. Our tasting guide served the sea moss for us with a drizzle of nutmeg syrup. It was thick, gelatinous, and a very different experience; I could actually taste bits of the ocean in it! Since it had nutmeg syrup on it, Kaia was quite happy to eat her sample up quickly!

We ended up buying the nutmeg jam, rum punch, and Grenadian liqueur. When planning this trip, I had a feeling that if there was one place we’d bring home souvenirs or consumable goods from that it would be Grenada given its reputation. And it looks like that feeling was right. We had a really well spent, enjoyable day without a private driver, and learned a lot about global food versus what we’d known before. I love learning these bits about food and the world when we travel — we’re still always learning.

Grenada: The Spice Isle, and a brief return to the all-inclusive resort lifestyle

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Yesterday night, we arrived in Grenada, just a 30-minute flight from St. Lucia, also known as the Spice Isle. Grenada is also a former French and British colony, a former sugar plantation turned spice economy. By the early 20th century, nutmeg and mace (the “lace” that wraps around the nutmeg), became Grenada’s dominant export. Today, Grenada is the second leading producer of nutmeg, second only to Indonesia. For an island country with a population of about 118,000 people and a total land area of 131 square miles/340 square kilometers, this is a really impressive fact! Nutmeg became so embedded in the island country’s identity that a split nutmeg is featured on the left side of the Grenada national flag; look very closely, and ye shall see! Grenada is the only sovereign nation in the world to feature FOOD in its national flag! I love this fun fact so, so much. The closest other country would be Canada given a maple leaf, but this isn’t technically correct because we eat maple sap, not maple leaves.

During our three nights in Grenada, we’re staying at an all-inclusive resort again for the second time ever, as well as the second time on this multi-segment trip. While here, we thought we’d try to see if Kaia would be willing to go to the Kids Club this time. While we tried to take advantage of this benefits while at the sister property of our hotel in Barbados, Kaia did not want me to leave and was very clingy. Instead, I stayed with her there, and we spent about an hour in their Kids Club playing with fake food, cars, and making a beaded bracelet. At our current hotel in Grenada, we have access to a Kids Club that runs daily from 9-1, then 2-5. We took a peek inside today, and when Kaia saw all the endless toys, books, fake food, and the big play structure outside the club, she said she wanted to stay — and didn’t mind if I left this time.

Kaia was a very mature big girl: “It’s okay, mama,” Pookster insisted to me with big, brave, happy eyes. “Just make sure to give me a big hug and a big kiss before you go!”

Shanique, one of the Kids Club employees, took great care of Kaia. The Kids Club accepts kids ages 4-12; with these kids, it’s a “kid-only” zone meaning they don’t want any parent or guardian there. A younger child may come, but needs to be accompanied by the parent the whole time present. One other child who was about 2-years old came with her mom, who said they’d stay for a little bit. But they left, and eventually it was just Kaia being tended to by three different employees. The Kids Club workers were extremely hands on and attentive with her. The scheduled activity of the day was a nature walk and bird feeding. So Shanique took Kaia out for a walk and gave her bread to feed the birds. She sent me so many photos and videos documenting what Kaia was doing as they went about their 3.5 hours together. Kaia told Shanique that the bread would make the birds sick (she remembers that I told her this before!), to which Shanique just laughed. For Kaia as she reported back to me after, the highlight of the nature walk was that she got to see some big white birds eat some fish out of the water; she’d never seen this before and was really fascinated! They also played with fake food, went out on the play structure, used beads to make bracelets, and played dress up. Of course, Kaia’s favorite was a sparkly magenta tutu, which she tried to leave the Kids Club with. Shanique said it was fine for her to take it if she was coming back to the Kids Club in the afternoon. But when Chris picked her up, he instructed her to leave it behind since we wouldn’t be returning.

While Kaia was occupied at the Kids Club and on the grounds with our rate-included babysitters, Chris and I tried to figure out our itinerary for our two full days in Grenada. We talked with an excursions specialist and realized that given today was Sunday, pretty much all of St. George, the capital, and the vast majority of shops and restaurants would be closed. Grenada is a very religious nation: over 96 percent of people identify as Christians, so Sunday is taken extremely seriously as a proper day of rest. So our original plan of exploring St. George, was crossed out for us today. Instead, we decided to take advantage of the all-inclusive benefits and stay on the property for the day. It’s been nice to have a couple full or half days when we have absolutely nothing planned. We went to the spa, where Chris got a sports massage, I got a coffee bean scrub/wrap, and we each got a special which included an added mini-facial added to our treatments. I also got to spend a little time in the spa’s steam room and sauna — always good for muscle relaxation, blood circulation, and my skin!

We picked up Kaia from the Kids Club after our treatments, ate lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach just steps away from the property and at the pool. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant onsite that was pretty good (I finally ordered osso bucco, something I never really consider at Italian restaurants, which was pretty well made; hard to go wrong with veal shanks!). And on our walk back to our room, we got to see a full moon and a big, bright, starry sky above. I pointed out multiple stars to Kaia, and she loved seeing how bright they were. We also heard lots of nighttime bird songs as well as the calming, summery sound of crickets.

And to feed my casual birding interest, already during this trip and just on the hotel property, I got to see my first local bird: a bananaquit! This tiny, energetic, fast-moving bird was making a little dance party for us while we enjoye some ice cream at the cafe before heading to the beach. It had a bright yellow breast, a black black, and a single white stripe on both sides of its face. curved beak, and The hotel grounds are known to have lots and lots of birds who come to a specific area to hang out, and so I hope to have the opportunity to see more of these feathered friends up close.

Pigeon Island and the unexpected free ride back to our hotel

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After a morning walking around Castries and scoring big with local fruit at Castries Market yesterday, we dropped off our massive fruit haul at the hotel before continuing on to Pigeon Island. Just a short drive from our hotel in Rodney Bay, Pigeon Island is an islet on the northern part of St. Lucia. Once upon a time it was a separate piece of land from St. Lucia, but it was artificially joined to the western coast of the mainland in 1972 by a manmade causeway built from dirt excavated to form what is now the modern-day Rodney Bay Marina. Pigeon Island is beloved by locals for offering a calm, clear, and less tourist-infested beach (versus Reduit Beach nearby). It is also known for having two peaks that you can hike, as well as Fort Rodney on top of one of those peaks, which was once used by the British to spy on French ships from the nearby island Martinique.

We had lunch at a local restaurant (which included a delicious breadfruit mash!) on the quiet beach before heading over to the National Landmark side of the island to hike up to Fort Rodney. From this peak where Fort Rodney sits, you can see stunning views of Rodney Bay and the marina, the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, and the northwest coastline of the island country. On very clear days, you can also see the island of Martinique, which is about 25 miles away. What we noticed a lot in St. Lucia is how contrasting the views are of the calm, clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea to the west and rougher deep blue, at times even near-black waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The hike up to Fort Rodney was much shorter than I’d read online, so I was pleasantly surprised when we reached the top of the fort and were quickly rewarded with such stunning 360-degree views. When viewing some parts of the beach from this peak, the water was so clear that you could see the ocean floor!

After we made our descent, we parked ourselves on a shady spot on the local beach to enjoy the crystal clear, calm waters. Kaia had been waiting (impatiently) for beach time, so she was revved up and ready to go. She dragged me all the way across the beach, to where she met a 9-year-old friend and her mother and encircled them until they finally gave her direct attention and started talking to her. The 9-year-old girl, S, doted on her and immediately took Kaia under her wing, showing her different moves in the water and also building sand castles with her. I started chatting with S’s mother, K, who was really personable and friendly, as well. I quickly found out she was not a tourist but actually a local. She had spent some time living in the U.S. and was married to an American who had served in the military. With him, she had two kids, the second of whom was waiting in the car for them to go home. K said she was thinking about moving to the U.S., specifically New York City given how diverse and progressive it is (and the fact that she doesn’t want to own a car ever again because she hates driving and thinks the cost of maintenance is ridiculous). We talked a lot about cultural differences between St. Lucia and the U.S., a (very understandable) fear of guns and gun violence, and how unacceptable it is that some New Yorkers/tri-state people actually think that Coney Island’s “beach” is a real beach. “That water is not any shade of blue…. it’s grey-black, and you can’t see anything in it,” K said incredulously. “If you put your feet in the ocean and you cannot see your feet, that is not a real beach! You should be able to see the bottom of the ocean floor. That is just not right!”

I told her that if she ever decides to move forward with moving to New York or simply visiting, I’d love to see her again and help her out. We exchanged contact details, and as I told her we were getting ready to go back to our hotel, she said it was also time for them to leave, as well. And then, out of nowhere, she insisted that she drive us all back to the hotel. “It’s so close — it’s just right there!” K said. “I will take you. Go tell your husband!”

As this conversation was happening, I saw Chris on the other side of the beach packing up all our belongings and heading over to us. I told him about our new friend’s offer, and he was in shock. But he went along with it. We all got into K’s car, introduced ourselves to her son J. S continued to engage and play with Kaia in the car, which made Kaia so attached to her. And in the end, we got dropped off at our hotel — no Uber ride, just a free ride from a kind, local stranger.

In the last 14-plus years of our relationship (which includes LOTS of travel), this is the very first time that a complete stranger has offered and given us a ride. K said they lived just a two-minute drive from Pigeon Island, but in the opposite direction of our hotel. And given we left during rush hour, K not only was going out of her way given the opposite direction, but she also was adding time to her commute. It was beyond thoughtful, kind, and generous. I thanked her profusely over Whatspp after and also apologized for the inevitable sand we tracked into her car.

In these moments, I am yet again reminded of the famous Blanche DuBois quote at the end of The Streetcar Named Desire when she’s led away to be institutionalized: “Whoever you are—I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” I would actually change this to: “I have always believed in the kindness of strangers.”

And Chris, while very grateful, exclaimed, “She saved us $18-20 USD!”

Castries Market: THE MANGO VARIETIES and the big fruit haul back to Rodney Bay

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I’ll be honest and say that I was disappointed with the Cheapside Market in Bridgetown, Barbados, we visited on our first full day. I was hoping to see lots of different vendors selling specialized fruit and vegetables, but in the end, almost every vendor was selling the exact same spread. No one specialized in a handful of fruits or vegetables seemingly. A lot of the vegetables were wilted or rotting so badly that I wondered how they sold anything to anyone; would they even use these produce that looked so limp? And almost none of them sold any interesting fruit. Maybe three sold the same type of mango (mango longue). So when I read about Castries Market here in the capital of St. Lucia, Castries, it sounded like it would be what I was hoping for: a market with rows and rows of vendors specializing in very specific fruits and vegetables. As soon as we arrived this morning at the market, I knew I was going to be happy. The spreads were quite elaborate and extremely fresh: lots of dasheen (taro!) and root vegetables sold by one vendor, greens (lots of callaloo) by another, mangoes, papayas, and related tropical fruits by another. I knew for sure I’d find the right vendor to get me all I was thinking about and more: multiple varieties of mango, passion fruit, and if we got lucky, guava. And if I could find a new fruit to obsess over, my mind and belly were open to it.

So we stumbled upon one vendor who looked like she had everything we could possibly ask for: three varieties of mango (Julie, Graham, and Mango Longue), starfruit (a surprise for Kaia, as I knew she’d get a kick from seeing fruit in a perfect star shape), passion fruit, and multiple varieties of tropical bananas. And all the fruit were organized by ripeness. She had a large tray at the front of her stand where all the ripe, ready-to-eat-today fruits were grouped together by type. All the fruit that needed time to ripen before eating were in huge piles in the back. So, I kind of went to town on her fruit, but in piecemeal because I was so overwhelmed by the variety that I would miss something else she had that we would like. We bought four Julie mangoes, three fat Graham mangoes, one mango longue, one starfruit, two small red bananas, and seven fat, heavy passion fruit. We SCORED BIG at this market today!! This place was definitely my vibe and the produce market I was dreaming about experiencing while in the Caribbean.

Here are the Castries Market prices for our incredibly happy fruit haul (which we hope made our fruit vendor very happy that she got an unexpectedly big sale from us!):

Julie mangoes: four for 3 XCD

Graham mangoes: three for 4 XCD

One mango longue for 1.25 XCD

One starfruit for 2 XCD

Seven FAT, heavy passion fruit for 10 XCD

Two mini red bananas for 2 XCD

So in total for a very heavy load of the most beautiful, delicious fruit on earth (and with special gratitude to my fuzzball for carrying this very heavy load for a while all over town!), we spent $22.25 XCD, or about $8.23 USD. If that is what heaven costs, then heaven here is quite a good bargain!!

We had a very juicy, custardy, desserty evening with our mangoes and passion fruit tonight. I was so, so full after dinner and about half this fruit (the other half is being saved for our last day tomorrow before we leave!), but all of us were glowing from how complex and delicious these mangoes were. I can’t believe it took us this long to try the fruit from this part of the world. The closest mangoes we’ve had to this region before this trip have been from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Kaia especially loves the Graham mango and kept going crazy for more bites of it. This is how I know she will embrace food: she names the exact varietal she loves!

“I want the Graham! I WANT THE GRAHAM!” Kaia kept shouting excitedly as I hurried to slice yet another chunk of mango off the skin for her to eat.

And we all know Chris really, really embraced these mangoes because for the first time in my entire life, he actually started using his teeth to take every last bit of mango flesh off the inside of the skin. “You leave too much on the skin otherwise,” he insisted, as he continued his toothy mango eating. Usually in the U.S., I peel the ataulfos or Kents we get, but this was true dedication on his part!

Here is a description of each of the three mango varieties for drooling purposes only:

Julie mango: This is the mango that was talked up by people we spoke with in Barbados and here. It’s the famous “Caribbean favorite” mango, usually more on the small side, a little flat/oblong, and like a lopsided oval. The skin color changes but can be green-yellow to yellow-orange-red. The flesh is deep yellow to deep orange and the flavor is creamy, juicy, extremely fragrant, floral, tropical, and very tangy.


Graham mango: Chris’s mango palate is quite discerning, as when we cut the mangoes this evening, he immediately said that the Graham was the “partying version of the Julie.” He was right in that Graham is actually a Julie seedling from Trinidad, so the two are related. But these Grahams are significantly larger and more rounded and oval than a Julie. It ripens to be a deep orange/yellow with some pink/red. The flesh is rich, aromatic, sweet, dessert like. The flavor is multi-noted. A description I read about Graham said that it can be considered “Julie’s larger, slightly more robust cousin: still fragrant and dessert-like, but often less sharply tangy/floral than the best Julies.”

Mango longue/ Mango long: We first had two of these in Barbados. These are small, elongated, narrow, and have a citrusy, sweet-tart flavor, and are extremely fibrous. They are juicy, so juicy that the juices will run down your arms when eating them at their peak!  

In addition to all this fruit we hauled back (on Chris’s shoulder), at Castries Market, we also tried “cherry” juice, or acerola fruit juice, which was orange in color and a lot more citrusy than the bing cherries we are used to in the U.S.. We also bought and shared a golden apple ice pop. Golden apple is also known as a June plum or pommecythere; it looks nothing like any apple you’d find in the U.S. and looks more like a plumcot. It tastes like a mix of apple, mango, pineapple, with a citrusy finish. Both treats were delicious and added to our list of new fruits and varietals we’ve enjoyed on this trip!

Now I know that even if I don’t see the best produce markets on the Grenada or Trinidad legs of our trip that my heart and belly have been satiated with fresh, local, tropical fruit here in St. Lucia. And now when I think about it, why would you choose to come here when it’s NOT mango season…?!! What a true loss that would be!