It was an amazing crush of people, body to body, making their way along the stretch of road surrounding St. George's Bay, Grenada. They were covered with paint from the paint trucks, most of it self-applied, as they shuffle danced to the unbelievably loud soca music coming from the DJ trucks inching along with the crowd. The soca beat is primal.
JUST A SMALL PART OF THE CRUSH OF PEOPLE
THE RED AND YELLOW PAINT TRUCK
ONE OF MANY DJ TRUCKSThis carnival event is the Jouvert (pronounced 'jouvay', coming from Jour Overt, meaning 'daybreak'). The participants start partying on Sunday night and keep going till the Jouvert parade officially begins at 5 am. Then they slowly parade/dance their way into town. They were still going strong at noon. Clearly exhausted, but clearly exhilarated.
THE JOUVERT CONGA LINE
JOUVERT DIRTY DANCING?The Jouvert is truly a marathon. And yes, there's plenty of drinking. Beer and rum is handed out from some of the DJ trucks, and there are kiosks with food and drink all along the parade route. The blue smoke in the air brought back memories of the 70s. But despite the 'partaking', or maybe because of it, the mood was always relaxed.
ANYONE FOR A COLD CARIB AT 8AM?
I GET THE CARIB, YOU GET THE SPRITE.It's hard to describe the atmosphere. For every smile there seemed to be a serious face. The combination of raw intensity and joyful energy was compelling. We were spectators most of the time but occasionally joined in.
JOUVERT SMILES ......
...... AND JOUVERT INTENSITY.The Jouvert belongs to everyone. The locals own it and love it. There are bigger and better organized Carnival events - steel band competitions, Carnival King and Queen pageants, costume parades - but the Jouvert captured us.
And the final parade didn't disappoint. Our two favourite pictures from that day say it all. Enjoy. We did.
THE CLASSIC MOMENTS WERE EXPECTED ......
...... BUT THE UNEXPECTED ALSO DELIGHTED.
Love the new blog! It's almost as good as being there with you, almost!
ReplyDeleteJim & Wendy
"Merengue"
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ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic guys! I've been living vicariously through your adventures (thanks to Bob and Vickie). What a fantastic year you've had. I LOVE the blog, WAY better than the emails.
ReplyDeleteJudi (Beulah)
Congrats on entering the blogosphere, love it! About time.... we've added your link to our blog.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing you in Trinidad!
Rock on!
ReplyDeleteI love your new Blog. I folow a number of other cruise blogs similar to yours, so find the transition easy and welcome.
ReplyDeleteIt's a cold windy weekend in Toronto, keeping almost everyone in port.
Looking forward to many more of your enjoyable ports and voyages.
Ken
we love show and tell - it's great - looks very perfessional - keep 'em comin'
ReplyDeleteMan, your tour from boat to bus left such memories. Didn't you just love that dingy dock. I wondered if they ever fixed it up and the answer is no. Does Steve still serve breakfast there, have a washing machine and computer room or is that all gone. Don't you just love the bus rides, better then going to the fair.
ReplyDeleteImpulsive 111. we love your blog and remember it all.
ReplyDeleteSitting here in Fiji reading your blog and I want to be there!!! (no boat here, just the Sheraton, it's not the same!)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy every minute! Paul and Crew of Ohana
I finally had time to sit down and go through your whole blog. Wow, isn't it fun. Every picture in the caribbean brought back memories. Whenever I wonder if I want to go out again, I look at your blog and the answer is a definite yes. We will be out there again. Don't come back as soon as we did. Stay out there even if you have to live on bark. Melinda and Harry
ReplyDelete