Hello again!
I know that Fenton has already covered this and the event happened a million years ago but I wanted to share my story from J’Ouvert (ju-vay). That morning was definitely one I will remember forever. I’m very glad I chose to go. It was a last minute decision on my part. I mean let’s be honest here, “Hey Heidi, wanna come with me to get covered in grease and listen to music that’s playing way louder than it should be all at four in the morning?!” Um yeeeah no thank you. But if you think about it, this is a once in a lifetime experience I don’t want to miss. And the stories that come after. It’s a new culture at their most exciting time of the year. It was all worth it.
We (Dad, Fenton, Lucy {she decided to skip it} and I) planned our “outfits” the night before. This included a very old way too big pair of shorts I had never worn that I could very easily part with and a large white t-shirt I’m not too fond of. All on top of a swim suit just in case we needed to take our clothes off for the dinghy ride home. We woke up the next morning way earlier than any human should have to wake up at and the music was already blaring. So loudly we could hear it from our boat before we left. The sun had not yet risen but being very pale cruisers we put on our sunscreen and dish soap. Dad figured that Joy would help rub off the greases that we were to be covered with. So we loaded up the dinghy and headed off, stopping to pick up a few more boat friends along the way.
And then, the most terrible noise came out of the seventeen year old sitting next to me in our small boat. A strangled cat mixed with a breaching whale scream accompanied the flopping sound coming from the bottom of the dinghy. The flashlight was whipped out and we caught our first dinghy fish!! Quite the way to start the crazy morning.
We made it to the dock with no further excitement. The music got louder and louder and we could kind of make out the clusters of dark oil covered people. We docked and locked the dinghy and moved about two feet before hitting the wall of people. The streets were filled, jam packed, completely full, hundreds of thousands of loud, crazy, messy people everywhere. Everywhere. Our small group stood and stared for a few minutes, trying to take in the entire scene. We finally decided to try to make our way through the mass of human bodies. We moved about a foot and were stopped by a man with a gallon of white paint. He smeared some on Dad’s face and continued walking. Lemme point out here that this isn’t face paint. This is full on paint-your-walls stuff. Anyways, we decided to make a go for it. We stepped into the streets and the music pounded through my body. My chest thumping to each beat of some of our new favorite songs.
It is practically impossible to stay clean in this setting. Even if you don’t cover yourself in oil, like us, there is no way to walk down the packed streets without being brushed up against. By the time we had moved maaaybe two feet, we all had some sort of coloring on us. We stopped for a minute to enjoy the music and partially because we physically couldn’t move anywhere. The speakers were moving in and out with the music (just like in all the cartoons!!!) that seemed to get louder as the day went on. Then, this man with his buddy stopped in front of us. One of them holding a five gallon bucket of grease and the other with a grease covered piece of seaweed. If you haven’t imagined this already, he dunked his seaweed in the bucket and dripped the slimy plant all over our necks and for me, all in my hair. We moved about a total of ten feet in our entire experience. On a short dash to the next “open” spot, I was stopped by a big orange paint coated hand on my face. After getting some more grease and paint thrown on us, we stood back and just watched.
It was truly the craziest event I have ever been to. The entire island was going insane. Partying hard. And all at four in the morning.
Grenada, you really do have an amazing culture. I feel so special and lucky to have shared J’Ouvert 2018 with you. Thank you for an awesome carnival.
More soon,
Heidi
P.S. The dish soap definitely helped with the aftermath of the morning. Only a few ocean showers after we were cleaner than before.