It’s a gardening tool, not a weapon!

Just as sailors of old frequently carried a cutlass on their hip, many laborers in the Caribbean islands often have one handy. The cutlass, or machete as we would most often call it, is so common place in the Caribbean that we barely ever take notice of someone carrying one. If we were in downtown Toronto and saw someone walking the streets with one, sure, we’d think that was strange. Here, we don’t give it a second glance. Obviously, not everyone reacts the same way though.

In Grenada at least, it is not legal to ride a bus with an uncovered cutlass. If you wrap a piece of newspaper around it, or put it in a paper bag, it’s apparently totally cool.

The day before yesterday, after a beautiful hike around Hassel Island, Rebecca and I decided to take advantage of the light easterly winds and make the jump to the BVI to attend to some business, and complete a bit more recon. We made it as far as St. John, grabbing a park mooring ball in Waterlemon Bay (aka Leinster Bay) shortly before dusk. Our initial intent was to take off to the BVI yesterday but given how beautiful the surroundings were, and the proximity to a hiking trail that we had yet to explore, we decided to stay put for one additional day. It was during a hike on that trail that I was inspired to write this post.

Not more than 15 minutes into our walk, just as we were making our way up the first hill, we passed a couple a bit older than us who were on their way back down. We exchanged pleasantries as we passed, wishing them a good morning. A couple of seconds after we had moved beyond them, the woman called back to us to say that “there are people up there (up the hill) with machetes.” I wasn’t entirely sure why she said that but I expected to see a bunch of young men further on doing some work. Sure enough, about five minutes later, we did find some people working with cutlasses, three to be exact: a young man in a St. John park shirt, a friendly grey haired gentleman and an older lady (I’m not great at guessing ages but by older, I mean a senior citizen). Were we puzzled? Absolutely. I can’t for the life of me imagine that this couple was intimidated by this ragged band of… park volunteers? The funny thing is, had we expected to be hiking on something other than a well maintained park trail, WE might have been walking with a machete of our own! We certainly do hike with one from time to time.

Would you be scared of this guy?

The above reminded me of a funny story that a friend recently shared with us. I’ll leave out his name to protect the guilty but basically it went like this… our friend was driving along a road on some unnamed island en route to a waterfall with three of his friends. As they rounded a curve, they saw that the road was lined with a bunch of young men, each carrying a machete. Not sure what to make of that, they all quickly rolled up their windows, an act that did not go unnoticed by the young men who now were blocking their route, encircling the car and laughing. One of the men on the road ultimately walked to the driver’s side window, knocked on the glass and indicated that our friend should roll it down. When he did, the young man asked him if they were heading to the waterfall. When he responded yes, he received the reply “we’re the guides.” Was our friend embarrassed? No doubt!

Should you be scared of people with machetes in the islands? I would suggest no more than you should be afraid of people with a weed eater or a shovel. Sadly, yes, from time to time machetes are used for violence but then again, so are shovels! Google it if you don’t believe me.