On Sunday morning we stocked up on a few groceries as stores all shut down for the last 2 days of Carnival. Ester, the clerk at Foodland, asked us if we would be attending Mas……now to me I did not think Carnival was affiliated with the Catholic Faith so I asked her what it was. Mas as it turns out are parades and street parties that take place during Carnival, Grenada’s summer festival. Flatbed trucks are outfitted with enormous sound systems, followed by roving bands of people singing and gyrating to thunderous rhythms. Each band is sponsored by different local businesses. We were informed that the first of the Mas Parades began at 5:00am on Monday morning. We set the alarm for 3:30am and put on some old clothes. We joined others in the streets some of who it was obvious had been up all night. We grabbed a couple of beers and downed a shot of rum. This has to go on record as the earliest in the day I have ever started drinking! The DJ trucks were keying up the music followed by pickups carrying large vats of different color body paint. Each band of Jab Jabs was represented by a different color. The Jab Jabs (or devils) main goal is to catch unsuspecting persons and smear them with paint, hence the old clothes, or in some cases used motor oil…..we tried to avoid those guys, we were only partially successful. The crowds were an amazing, sometimes hilarious mix of party goers all enjoying themselves and happily mugging for the camera. After the first couple of smears of paint, I took the old point and shoot into the crowd and tried to capture some of the spirit of this high energy event. After enjoying this Halloween Rave on Steroids the sun peaked over the island and the end of the parade passed us by. We made our way back to DD for a swim and a scrub with the loofa to erase from our bodies but not our memories the experience of this unique introduction to Carnival Mas.
Living the Dream 