We have fallen from our lofty accommodation heights of resorts with in-pool bars, nice restaurants and televisions in the room.
We are staying at what can only be compared to a prison. The University Halls of Residence; two single beds, a bathroom with a shower that fills the bath as you use it. No telly! No fridge! No glasses to drink water from, no cup of tea facility!!!
This is all in a three level concrete building of identical rooms. No common room, no proper food facilities. The barbed wire fence and the guards patrolling at night with dogs makes you wonder what might happen.
The main problem is that our cell is costing Reuters around $200 (nz) a night. And according to the Cricket Logistic people who organised all media accommodation, there is apparently nowhere available on the island for the same price or less (which is a lie as I hear from other journalists who are in proper hotels for less). If it was $50 a night it would be harder to complain.
Anyway, it has free wireless internet in a little office downstairs. But thats the only good thing about it.
Grenada itself is very very pretty. The main city is built around a natural harbour and its very colourful and quaint. Lots of little houses and wooden buildings in different colours. Very calm still waters.
Reminds me of a little English fishing village, except it has blue sky, sunshine and lots of the buildings have no roof. Thats a hangover from Hurricane Ivan.
There are hills surrounding the cricket stadium with tiny little wooden houses perched on them. can't see any roads up there though.
The main roads are amazing here. After being jiggled and jiggled by every pothole imaginable in the other islands, these roads are smooth as silk.
Its very hot here. Even for me. Its humid and the humidity never goes away. Its hot all night and by 6am you need a swim. Probably because we're so close to the equator in comparison with the other islands we've been to.
I like the island so far, despite the crazy accommodation and the overnight loss of luggage. And it could all be a lot worse. Couple of our friends who went to Guyana have lost their luggage and there is no guarantee when it might arrive. And some other Kiwi journos got robbed at gunpoint in Antigua the day we left by a little kid on a bike. So we've basically got nothing to complain about at all!!!
Of course the Kiwi cricketers have loads to complain about right now. They're getting slaughtered by the Sri Lankans. Hopefully things will get better in the second innings.... fingers crossed.
