A Life Update: Reconnecting and Rejuvenating in Grenada

We strongly believe that when plans aren’t working out, and life isn’t flowing smoothly, it’s time to take a step back and follow the path of least resistance. Our path this last year was a bit of a roller coaster, and although it was full of exciting and adventurous times, there were quite a few uncertainties and it just felt like something was missing.

Thankfully, we’ve found that something.

Where Should We Go?!

While we were in Manzanillo, Mexico and not too impressed by the city, we were debating where to go next.

Not knowing which direction to take felt unsettling, and was a pattern throughout the past year. While visiting with family in Mexico, doubts about our next movements were constantly in the back of our minds. Trying to decide where to travel is simple, but finding somewhere that checks all of the boxes when it comes to living for longer periods of time, that’s easier said than done.

We were back and forth in our minds between Asia and Europe and at one point, we even thought about staying in Mexico due to the fact that we couldn’t come up with anywhere else that felt right.

Why were we trying to force living in Europe when it wasn’t working out? (We almost got scammed over $3,000 when trying to book a place in Lisbon!)

Why were we considering flying from Mexico all the way back to Southeast Asia?

Why stay in Mexico when we felt like it was time to move on?

Eventually, we decided it was best to return to Grenada, a destination that we know and love. We booked a flight from Manzanillo and after a couple of days, we touched down on the Isle of Spice! As soon as we landed and were greeted by our friends and dog, we knew we’d made the right decision. This little Caribbean country was the answer all along, and was the missing something.

Why Did We Choose The Island of Grenada?

If you’ve been following our journey, you’ll know that we fell in love with this West Indies island back in 2014 when we came for our first pet sitting job. With its rocky coastline, hidden beaches, lush jungle and colourful towns, Grenada is a gem.

Since we’ve spent more than 1.5 years in Grenada in total, we feel more like residents than tourists, and always enjoy finding local things to do. A good friend of ours recently said “In Grenada, you must make your own fun”. This is true in that there aren’t many “typical” things to see and do – historical sites, large shopping malls, squares, plazas, museums, cafes and pedestrian streets are lacking on the island (although, as of recently there’s a bowling alley and a microbrewery!).

This is fine with us though, as there are numerous adventures to be had if you’re willing to find them, which we are. We love liming with friends at a secluded beach, going for a picnic at one of our favourite spots, or searching for new jungle hikes. To us, Grenada is all about the nature and this time around, we’re looking forward to revisiting our secret hangouts, and discovering new ones with our friends.

Not only are there a lot of outdoorsy things to do in Grenada, but the island is rustic and unpretentious, and has an authentic Caribbean vibe, which is what we love most about it.

The vast majority of the population here are descendents from Africa, with a small amount of indigenous Arawak and Carib people. The rest of the population is mostly comprised of Indians, French and English. Unlike many islands in the region, Grenada still retains its Caribbean charm – complete with traditional food, architecture, music, dance and festivals. We love the spicy meals, national dishes and fresh produce, and of course, the soca & steelpan tunes and the crazy Carnival season!

While there is a wonderful local and expat community, there’s also a really eclectic mix of people who temporarily live and visit this island. There are thousands of students (predominently American) who are attending the SGU Medical University, “yachties” and sailors who dock here during hurricane season, all-inclusive tourists who visit the resorts, Grenadians from abroad who are visiting their native country, and finally, cruise ship travellers who call to port here for a day.

It’s definitely an interesting mix!

Grenada will always feel like our second home and we thank the locals for accepting us and welcoming us as “Canadian Grenadians” every time we return.

House & Pet Sitting in Grenada

Last year, we decided to take some time off from housesitting to appreciate spontaneous travel and to be available for tourism marketing campaigns (which we are hired for because of this travel blog) if they came up. While we did enjoy a commitment-free year, and were able to take part in some incredible press trips, we were longing for “our” dog and the island life.

Unfortunately, we missed out on our two regular pet and house sitting assignments here in Grenada due to our inability to commit in time. And sadly, other pet sitters have been hired for the job. But, as things seem to go with us, everything is falling into place.

Just the other day, we’ve been hired for a month-long house and pet sitting job, which is just down the road from where we currently are! It’s a beautiful home with fantastic ocean views. We’ll be taking care of two rambunctious, adorable 3 year old dogs, while receiving free accommodation and a vehicle for our use. We’re looking forward to more downtime on our favourite island…but it may be hard to leave the house with a view like this:

Although our next home is luxurious, where we’re staying now is a dream and it’s exactly what we needed after overeating, overdrinking and overdoing it in Mexico.

The property is peaceful and idyllic. We’re literally surrounded by jungle on one side and the ocean on the other. We’ve been enjoying the silence and reconnecting with one another. Our bodies are rejuvenating and cleansing from the months of neglect, and we’ve been eating wholesome foods, drinking much less alcohol and taking care of ourselves. This place has been a little retreat, and is somewhere we’re going to miss when we move on to our next locale in Grenada.

By the time we move on to our pet sitting job, we will have stayed at this “wellness spa” for a little over a month. It’ll be really sad to say goodbye to our friends who own this place (and our dog!) who have so graciously hosted us. We’ve been invited to stay here longer, but we don’t want to overstay our welcome and want to give them back their privacy. Although an incredibly generous offer, it’s time for us to go.

Our Remote Work Lifestyle

As you can imagine, moving around the world and taking a 2 month hiatus from online work in Mexico meant that our website was somewhat set aside. Rather than writing, marketing and optimizing our blog, we were busy eating tacos and drinking margaritas on the beach.

Thankfully, since we’ve created a passive income model for our business, we didn’t suffer too much financially, but we haven’t progressed as much as we would’ve liked. Numerous projects were put on the backburner and emails weren’t replied to on a timely basis, sometimes costing us thousands of dollars.

The work was “piling” up, which was a big factor in us wanting to stay put for a while here in Grenada.

When we sat down and thought about where we actually lived this past year (as opposed to travelled), the list of destinations was pretty short, and the duration even shorter. In 2017 we spent 2 weeks in Valparaiso, Chile, 10 days in Brighton, England, 1.5 months in Koh Samui, Thailand, 2 months in Canggu Bali, Indonesia and 1.5 months in Manzanillo, Mexico. The remaining 6.5 months were spent travelling from place to place.

Our time in Bali was broken up by a 2 week scuba diving press trip, a week of visitors and my unexpected return to Canada for 2 weeks. In Manzanillo, we were there strictly to spend time with our 15 family members who came to visit us during our stay.

We are more than ready for some laptop time!

We love our job and the fact that we can’t wait to get back to work is something we’re very grateful for. Being able to live where we want, while setting our own work hours is an incredible feeling, but experiencing this journey together is the icing on the cake.

Our to-do list of things we want to achieve on the blog while we’re here in Grenada is fairly long, but we are looking forward to all of it. We have no plans to leave the island anytime soon. The only plan is to enjoy the company of our friends and each other, explore the island, write some killer posts about our recent travels and about the digital nomad lifestyle and let our minds and bodies rejuvenate for a while. We’re going to just “be” and see what happens. We’re feeling healthy, happy and alive. We’re thrilled to be back “home” and know that it’s where we need to be right now.

Have you ever felt a little burned out from too much travel or from visiting friends and family for a long time? How did you overcome it? Comment below!

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