Fat Tuesday morning
After making the last of my coffee and seeing the empty state of my cooking supplies, I knew I’d have to head down into town today. Since the buses weren’t running on this local holiday, I opted to walk down the hill. The main road between Hillsborough and here is closed to traffic due to construction, but open for pedestrians. It is much shorter than the twisting and winding road that one needs to take with a car. I was about a third of the way down the almost-completed road when I caught my first glimpse of Hillsborough from above and also got the first bass notes from the celebrations below. As I got lower the volume went up and I knew it was going to be pretty loud down there in the midst of the action.
Hillsborough
I had missed the Shakespeare Mas portion, where locals clad in Pierrot-like costumes would read passages from Shakespeare (I believe either from “As you like it” or “Macbeth”) and any errors in the reading or quizzing would result in getting whacked on the back with a stick. The costumes conceal thick burlap bags protecting them from really getting hurt and the whole procedure is unique to Carriacou.
Most of the main road in Hillsborough was roped off to traffic and the town was buzzing with visitors from the main island of Grenada and a couple of tourists. All the booths were selling BBQ food and cold drinks and were quite busy. Large stacks of speakers blared out Soca music, only to be drowned out a couple of yards further on by the next rack of speakers playing another song.
Parade
The parade and procession soon started and scantily-clad locals competed for the best costumes, most dancing energy and (I assume) the loudest music. Each group was preceded by a commercial truck loaded with generator sets and stacks of speakers. Some of these were so loud that I felt my body fluids compress with each beat of the bass and felt like my pulse was changing to match the rhythm of the music.
Of course every single grocery store or place where I could buy coffee was closed. I should have known. I walked back the way I had come, and was fortunate enough to catch a bus going up the hill, making the return trip less strenuous than I’d expected.