**19 August 2016**

We experienced our first HASH today.  A Hash is a weekly event in Grenada (and several other places as well) where people gather for a run or walk through a wooded area of the island.  In the late 1930’s in Indonesia a group of British Officers formed a group that met weekly to socialize and walk off the weekend’s excesses.  They called themselves the Hash Hound Harriers and began a tradition that has spread worldwide.

In Grenada the Hash Hound Harriers (or HHH) meet on a weekly basis at a different spot on the island to continue the Hashing tradition, except that the gathering also includes some drinking along with the other activities.  Many cruisers join the local participants, both individuals and families and numerous pets, to enjoy some fresh air and exercise as well as the social interaction that takes place both before and after the 2-3 mile trek.

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Without prior experience we quickly found ourselves near the rear of a rather large pack of walkers and consequently the “trail” they left behind was extremely muddy and torn up.  Both Carrie and our friend Marie temporarily lost a shoe in the muck, and all of us were covered in mud by the end of the afternoon.  Any future Hashes will find us pushing for a spot towards the front of the pack.

Personally I’d prefer a quiet hike through the hills with a smaller group, but the gathering was fun with food and drink available as well as a chance to see old friends and make more new ones.  Several veteran Hashers commented that we picked a particularly difficult trail as our first Hash, so we may have to try another one to decide whether to become regulars.