Category Archives: Beauty

A question I’ve never been asked before

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“Yvonne, who does your Botox?”

I wrinkled my brow and was completely caught off guard by the question. “Excuse me?” I blurted out. Did I hear this right?

“Who does your Botox?” my friend asked again with a smile on her face.

“Oh, I don’t do Botox!” I said, surprised. Then, I got confused. Does it look like parts of my face don’t move “normally”?! “Why, does it look like I do Botox?”

“No, not at all,” my friend insisted, still smiling and now laughing. “Your skin just looks so good. I thought you did Botox. In fact, doesn’t everyone do Botox?”

I laughed at this and paused. “Actually, I don’t think I have any friends who do Botox,” I replied to her.

She smiled even bigger this time. “Yes, you do. You have me.”

That’s when I was even more shocked. She does Botox?! She doesn’t look like she does it. As I’ve gotten into my mid-30s and am now 40, I can spot Botox on people’s faces pretty quickly. Some people are more obvious than others. But you can usually tell when you look at people who have been doing it for a long time. Their faces just do not move as naturally as they should when they smile or laugh. The tops of the cheeks and the foreheads that never move are usually the dead giveaway. She pointed out the three parts of her forehead where she’s been getting it done over the last year by her doctor friend, who shares a vial of Botox across three friends and splits the cost. I suppose she is an example of someone who does Botox where it actually looks natural.

“Well, if you ever change your mind, (friend’s name) hosts a Botox party about every three months,” my friend said. “And you are always more than welcome to join!”

In general, I’d always been against cosmetic surgery for things like eyelids surgery (UGH), boob jobs (except in the case of breast cancer related breast reconstruction, which frankly I do not consider “cosmetic”), face lifts, and anything related. I just think we have what we have, and we should work with what we have. On the other hand, I’m all for people getting things removed they do not like that really bother them (e.g. moles, sun spots, freckles, permanent body hair removal. Contrary to what Chris thinks, those procedures are not “cosmetic surgery.” They are cosmetic removals). And as we age, in general we should embrace the gift of getting older by taking care of our bodies, which includes our skin and hair. I’m a huge advocate of sun protection/sunscreen. I believe in regular exercise and eating well. And I believe in trying to reduce stressors, which all lead to a healthier and hopefully happier life and health span. And I’ve been pro retinol, vitamin C, and other skin nourishing ingredients forever. But outside of that, I never really considered any cosmetic surgery like Botox, fillers, or the like.

But then when my friend mentioned Botox, it started making me think of actual numbers. And that’s when I asked ChatGPT to give me a breakdown of usage: It shared that about 5 percent of the U.S. population aged 25 and above uses cosmetic Botox. The breakdown is estimated to be: 20% Baby Boomers and older; 39% Generation X; 35% Millennials; 6% Generation Z and younger. So that’s about 12 million people in this country — not a small number.

As I’ve gotten older, while I still do not think any of those cosmetic procedures are right for me (and more so, I absolutely am not willing to pay any of those prices out of pocket!), I’ve relaxed my general stance on them. At the end of the day, people have to do what they are comfortable with, and if they have the time and money to spend on these procedures, and they make them feel good about themselves, then all power to them. Plus for women especially, the beauty and “youth” standards are so stupid, senseless, and unrealistic that I totally understand why some women would just default to Botox, fillers, etc., once they get to a certain age, assuming they have a certain level of means. Yes, even today, the ageism against women continues to be that worse versus for men. So much for the equaling of the damn sexes.

Kaia raises her hand to do chores

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In the last several months, we’ve been trying to encourage Kaia to do little chores to help out. Some tasks are very basic, such as putting her dirty clothes from the day into the washing machine, adding her socks into her zipped-up sock laundry bag (okay, this was really meant to be a lingerie washing bag I got as a freebie many moons ago, but I don’t wear delicate lingerie, so now you can see how it can be repurposed so we don’t lose tiny socks!), and taking off and tucking her shoes into the closet when she comes home.

There have been other areas where she’s proactively asked to help out. The biggest one that gives her lots of pride as of late is watering my plants. I have three plants by our kitchen window sill, plus my money tree right by the TV. The money tree is unique in that the directions say you shouldn’t add water to it, but instead should add two ice cubes to the pot once a week. That way, the water slowly but surely seeps into the soil and evenly spreads across the money tree’s roots. When we returned from our Caribbean trip, the money tree was very, very upset with me. It hadn’t been watered in over two weeks, and every single leaf was drooping down. So I made sure to give it extra ice cubes. Kaia noticed this, and she asked if she could water the money tree from then on forward. That led to her asking about my other plants, and so she knows how I water them and approximately how frequently. She also knows which vessels I use to water them.

Another thing she likes to help out with is emptying out the recycling bin and the compost. I use a specific plate for compost scraps, and we have a cardboard box in our front hallway where we keep the recyclables. So when she knows it’s time to empty either out, she rushes to come out with me. I tell her which bin what type of trash belongs in (paper vs. bottles vs. compost), and she tries to remember which one is which each time as she takes one recyclable at a time.

From what I have read, there’s a small window (approximately ages 3-6, depending on how early you start) where kids are happy to do chores because they want to feel like they are contributing to the family. So I’m happy to see that Kaia is interested and I don’t have to force her to do things… yet. The last thing I want is some entitled princess who thinks everything should be done for her. I can only hope this desire to help out continues!

13 years.

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Dearest Ed,

Today marks 13 years since you died. It’s strange to think that it’s actually been that long. But every year when we reach this anniversary, I also think that it feels like just yesterday. They say that when you love someone deeply and were truly connected to them, a part of them continues to live on within you — in the way you speak, hear, listen, see. Maybe that’s why sometimes when I think of you now, my initial feeling is not always of sadness, but rather of a strange joy — a joy that can only be felt and known if you genuinely loved someone to the core. Although I could not always have the types of conversation I wished I could have with you given your struggles, I always knew that you loved me deeply. That’s why it’s painful to remember that you’re no longer here.

For the very first time at the age of 4.5, Kaia has been able to have a real conversation about you with me. I was telling her that today was the anniversary of your passing. She didn’t quite understand what that meant, but I told her that thirteen years ago today, you “passed from the earth” in Chinese. That’s the polite way of saying that someone “passed away” or died in Chinese. She’s been asking more about death lately — about our Nainai dying, about bugs and lantern flies dying. So she understood what I said what I conveyed this to her.

“He died today…. 13 years ago?” she asked me in a whisper today. “That means he’s not here anymore?”

I told her this was true. She responded, “I’ve never seen Jiujiu. I only get to see him in pictures. Is this why?”

My heart ached when she asked me this. I could feel my eyes welling up. These are important things for her to know and understand. I just wasn’t quite expecting this at this moment.

“Why did he die?” she asked me. “What happened?”

The full, unvarnished truth isn’t quite preschooler-friendly. One day, she will learn the full story, but not now… not for a while. For now, I told her that her Jiujiu was sick, and he didn’t get the help he needed, and so he passed.

“Where is he now?” she asked me. She had a deep look of concern in her eyes.

“He’s up there, watching over us every day,” I said while motioning towards the sky. I may not fully believe in God, but given you are a Christian, I might as well tell Kaia something that he believed. “He watches over us, protects us, and loves us. Do you know how much he loves you? Jiujiu would have loved to have met you!”

She nodded her head. “Does that mean he can fly… the way birds do?” Kaia asked me.

“Maybe,” I tentatively replied to her. “Just maybe.”

“But I don’t want to die! I don’t want to get sick and die!” she moaned.

Oh, dear. This was going down not-great territory. I told her that Jiujiu’s situation was a lot different. Not everyone just gets sick and dies. It’s a lot more complicated than that. I told her that she will (hopefully) live a very, very, very long life, and she won’t have to worry about dying for a long, long time. I told her that we’d protect her and take care of her as long as we could.

This seemed to calm her. She snuggled up against me and asked for more cuddles.

I wish a lot of things were true. I wish that you were still here, that you were healthy, of sound mind and body. I wish that you could have a relationship with your niece. I wish she could know you in the flesh and not just see you in photos. But now, the most I can ask for is that I hope you are at peace. I still think of you every day, many times multiple times a day. And while others may have forgotten or try to forget you, I will never forget you. I hope to honor your legacy in my life, and through raising Kaia as best as I can. I hope you approve of how I’ve done so far.

I love you. And I miss you every day. I hope you know that. We had soy sauce chicken to remember you today. I picked it up right before I picked Kaia up from summer camp. She asked me why I got soy sauce chicken, and I told her it’s because Jiujiu liked it. And today, we remember him. Do they make that up where you are? If not, feel free to sneak a bite from the fridge if you feel like coming down. I promise I won’t get mad.

With all my love,

Yvonne (& Kaia & Chris)

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.