Grenada Hash House Harriers: Hash #661

Yesterday I went on my very first hash!  What is a hash?  Dating back to 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, hashing is an event where participants (hashers) run, walk, hike, jump and slide through a trail that is usually cut or made just for the hash.  The trail is marked by mounds of small strips of paper.  At some points along the hash the strips of paper are set out in a large circle, marking that the trail has split and you must choose a way.  Choosing the wrong way will lead you to an "X" (also made of the strips of paper), and choosing the correct way will lead you to another mound of paper strips.  If one is unsure of which way to go they call out "Are you?" and wait for the response of "ON! ON!", which means that they have chosen the correct way.  If the response is "ON BACK!" they must go back to the circle and continue down the other way.  At the end of a hash the hashers participate in social drinking, eating and celebration.

In Grenada a hash last a little over an hour, is about four miles and is followed by a party where hashers eat, drink and haze the new hashers, which are referred to as virgins.  Grenada hash #661 was my virgin hash and I am now an official hasher, I got hazed (sprayed with beers) and I have a certificate to prove it!

We set off from St. George to the Sauteurs in St. Patrick at the north end of the island.  Our hash was up Mt. Rodney and ended back on the beach of Sauteurs. This was 661st hash by the Grenada Hash House Harriers.  The 25th anniversary of hashing in Grenada is coming up on the second weekend in October.

Misha and I on the bus to Sauteurs

The rest of the bus (it was very crowded)

The beach in Sauteurs, St. Patrick

The start of the hash

Our team of virgins...all first time hashers

It really isn't a "trail", just a way of getting through the jungle, slightly chopped by machetes

A mound of paper marks the way

A glimpse of the "trail" conditions

A Grenadian millipede

We started off on the beach, at sea level and went straight up

Jungle view

The ocean on the horizon

What goes up, must come down

Starting down the steep, slippery, muddy hill

Coming back down to sea level

A really cool tree

A local cow

"Bad dog" warning

The house that the "bad dog" was guarding

The "trail" came out on a cement road which led us the rest of the way down to the beach

Grenadian dirt crabs

Back down at sea level

After completing our virgin hash

I tried some oil-down (the national dish of Grenada), with callaloo, carrots and breadfruit

I am officially not a virgin anymore!