Grenada
May 19 - June 23 (?)
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| upper Concord Falls |
We left Carriacou shortly after sunrise headed for Port Louis Marina, St. George, Grenada… but first we had to pass the infamous Kick ‘Em Jenny… which there are 2 of.
The first Kick ‘Em Jenny is the ‘rock’. 668 feet above sea level with a shallow sea bed. She produces some impressive waves, fed by a vigorous current for those heading in either direction, less daunting for those heading south (whew). With a following sea we were ushered swiftly toward Grenada with 15 foot swells! Awesome ride.
Not to be outdone by here twin, Kick ‘Em Jenny, an underwater volcano 500 feet below the surface. Thankfully, she was on hiatus from eruptions (the last ones in 1988 and again in 1989)… we gave her a wide berth to be prudent.
Grenada: The Spice Island
12.04 degrees north / 061.75 degrees west
80 degrees +/- F year round. 10 miles wide, 15 miles long, more or less. Mountainous, green in the rainy season (now), many rivers, waterfalls, bamboo and rainforests. Unfortunately Ivan, as he is unaffectionately known here, cause widespread damage as he barreled ashore in 2004. This lovely island was decimated. Trees uprooted, homes destroyed or severely damaged. Roads impassible. Public services cutoff. Shorelines eroded, coral reefs devastated. The island is still rebounding, the islanders resilient like their ancestors.
42 years of independence… 7 February, 1974
Average income per person per year (U.S.) $7,850.oo
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| cacao pods and cocoa bean |
Lost in Grenada…
Over the next 5 weeks we toured the island and tasted lots of fantastic island specialties. Our French friends, Pasquel and Frau Frau met up with us for 2 days of touring, Pasquel the driver of our well worn rental car… a ‘beater’ as we used to call them back home. Map in hand, Jim desperately trying to be the navigator, Frau Frau and I content passengers. We discovered just how friendly the locals really were. The map was useful in showing us points of interest around the island, it neglected to point out that most of the roads have no sign posts. At every crossroad, and there were many! we consulted the map and made guesses as to which intersection we might be at and which way to go… in true Grenadian fashion, the locals ALWAYS came to the rescue. At times quite comical… at one stop we were at an intersection looking for any sign of which way to proceed when everyone at the rum shop on the corner pointed in unison to the right… apparently, we were not the first to get lost there. Another time, a local bus, loaded with passengers, having pasted us, backed up and politely asked where we wanted to go… we told him our next destination, he took a look at our tires and our ‘beater’ then suggested the road to the right since… ‘we would not be able to negotiate the road going left’…
There is a local saying: “you caan’ (can’t) get lost in Grenada” … true ! the locals make sure you find your way home.
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| Sandy |
One of the more memorable stops was to Concord Falls. The lower fall can be seen from directly from the car, no need to exit the comfort of your un-airconditioned beater. … but if you want to see the upper falls, a hike is required; sturdy shoes advisable. Hoping to save a few EC’s ($), we declined the offers from the tour guides. In short order we reached a Y in the path. Starting down the path to the right, we were soon approached by Sandy, a local. “Where you going?”… to the falls, “not that way you not” So, we parted with a few EC’s. Sandy, accompanied by his trusty 20 inch cutlass was our guide. He was soon hacking and chopping at trees, bringing us samples of local produce: cacao pods, mangos, ginger, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, even green-beans, and if we had wanted… some ganga…
Jim’s ‘Fidel’ style hat had been disintegrating over the last few week; too much salt and sun. So he asked Sandy where he got his (same style)… Sandy: I made it! … in prison. Too high of a price to pay for any hat but the question now had to be asked / answered… why were you in prison? “A guy was harassing me and hit me in da head so I stabbed in da belly. 2 years in da pen.” Geez! Here we stand, far into the forest with a guy and his cutlass who had been imprisoned for stabbing someone. He’ll get no hassles from us! We continued on farther into the forest, following Sandy and his cutlass, crisscrossing the stream, hopping river rocks, following the river descending from the upper falls (we hope). Sandy proved to be a gentle sole, very passionate and knowledgable about the area and the products harvested from it. Money well spent.
*Our arrival in Grenada coincided with the last few days of the Grenada Chocolate Festival! Several locations hosting music, jewelrey and fashion shows and of course ! chocolate sampling. At one of these events we met Barbara, Stephano and daughter Sophia, here on a six month sabbatical from Switzerland. They turned out to be great company with the added bonus, tour guides! Stephano had worked for the cruise ship companies during high season as a local guide.
Family, the best kind of company!
A much overdue vacation brought son Stephen and his wife Amanda all the way from sunny, hot Florida to sunny, hot Grenada for a whirlwind 6 days in Grenada.
We toured the island this time with the help of Stephano and his very comfortable island version of an SUV.
Dougaldston Estate. One of the oldest spice processing centers still in operation; on a small scale. Katherine, our host showed us the many types of spices harvested locally and processed here. To our delight we discovered she could / would make us a Black Cake! Usually made and enjoyed during the Christmas season, Katherine was happy to accommodate us. Black (rum) Cake gets it’s name from the browning of the many fruits and spices in a sugar mixture, cooking it down to a deep, dark, rick, black color, then added to the cake batter with a generous portion (bottle) of rum and baked. We’ll take one please!
In the town of Gouyave we toured one of the Nutmeg Processing Centers on the island: the outer portion of the nutmeg pod (the pariacap ; yellow white fleshy) is used to make nutmeg jams, jellies and syrup. The bright red mace encircling the nutmeg shell is removed and sold separately as a spice. Then the shell is removed to expose the nut itself; the shell recycled for ground mulch. *The shells can also be use to alert occupants of an intruder if scattered about… it makes a loud crack / pop when stepped on.
Duguesne Bay Petroglyphs. This small fishing village is home to the Duquesne Petroglyphs carved into stone along the beach.
Leapers Hill / Carib Leap : Sauteues. Grenada was originally populated by the peaceful Arawaks as were many of the Caribbean islands. The Kalinargo, brutal warriors from South America, invaded the islands, killing off most of the Arawak, forcing selected women to be their wives or … When the islands were later colonized by the French, the Kalinargos (their european name now Caribs) fought long and hard. Many of these fierce warriors refused to be captured and enslaved. They chose instead to jump to their death from the 100 foot cliff now known as Leaper’s Hill. Their defeat (suicided) paved the way for future brutalities in which colonist from many European nations would force African slaves to work their plantations.
We toured Belmont Estate, 300 years strong, where organic, local cacao is harvested and processed into chocolate bars. The pod is hacked from the tree which grow on the trunk and the branches. The pods are cut open and the white (tasty) pulp that encased the seeds are placed in fermenting boxes and turned 2 daily. After 6 -7 days of fermenting, the pulp having been squeezed daily from the boxes; the remaining seeds are moved to drying carts to bake in the sun for 8 -10 days. The seeds are ‘walked’ several times a day to mix them up and turn them over gently… We got to ‘walk the beans’ while visiting, reminding me of ‘I Love Lucy’ and the grape / wine episode.
When it rains, the bean carts are pushed into the sheds along tracks much like trains use. After being sufficiently dried, the beans are transported down the road to be processed into eating chocolate… 100% cocoa content to 60% (more to my liking). Lunch at the estate allowed us to sample many local food specialties: green bananas in soup or boiled (a starchy vegetable), meats of fish, beef and chicken, all local and organic. Mango ice-cream or coconut cake for desert.
A stop a River Antoine Rum Distillery was a throw back in time and history, minus the slaves! The sugar cane is grown on site, harvested manually with cutlasses and delivered for crushing. A giant water wheel fed by the River Antoine powers the crusher, the juices funneled into vats for distilling. Wood and discarded canes fuel the fires. The resulting 171 proof rum taste like liquid fire … It was not kind to any of our pallets.
Stephano led us on an excursion to the Bamboo Forest and Waterfalls, it’s location a mystery even to many of the locals. We climbed, stumbled and sweated our way up, over and down hills, through rivers and groves of nutmeg, cacao, cinnamon, cashew and breadNUT trees en-route to the the falls. The recent rains made the river crossing a bit of a challenge but worth the effort. The bamboo tonk’d and thumped in the wind providing musical surround sound, imaginations running amuck envisioning Mona Monkeys spying on us just over the next ridge… we unfortunately did not see any of these elusive primates on any of our forays.  |
| Nutmeg |
Leather Back Turtles! We hired Shade Man to take us to Leverna Bay / National Park. Shade Man (Patrick) is the go-to guy for cruisers; scheduling tours, shopping excursions and providing local information. The bus ride took us to the north end of the island, 1.5 hours along bumpy, narrow mountain roads. After a quick orientation from our turtle guide we ventured single file along the beach for 1/2 mile where we waited, hoping for the radio call notifying the group that there was a turtle on shore. Within minutes the call came and we were off single file again, red lights scanning the beach for emerging hatchlings. 
Our first turtle was already laying eggs and in a ‘trance’ so we are allowed to touch her leathery shell which was considerable… adult females average 2000 lbs! They lay 100 +/- eggs at a time (2 .5 hour time lapse to come ashore, dig nest, deposit eggs, bury and camouflage the nest, then return to the sea). They lay eggs 8 to10 times per nesting season, at intervals of 6 - 10 days… then head back to the north atlantic for 2 -3 years before returning to the same beach to repeat the cycle… 800 - 1,000 eggs per nesting season! Unfortunately it is estimated that only 2 -3 hatchlings per nest survive till adulthood. Our watch was VERY lucky… in the hour and a half we were on the beach, 7 turtles came ashore allowing us to witness each part of the nesting event. We also got to see and hold one of the hatchlings. The eggs hatch about 65 days after being laid. The leatherback turtles are extremely endangered. It is NEVER legal to hunt them or take their eggs. The beach is well guarded, permits and accompanying guides are required to enter at night. Each turtle is documented, it’s size and condition recored as well as a count of eggs laid. A most humbling sight, this event having been repeated annually since the age of the dinosaurs!
Other discoveries while on the island:
How much tire would fit into the gutter without totally recking the rental, followed by a quick tire change and again a local Grenadian was quick to offer help.
How close can you get to two other cars when passing before actually hitting them, no significant damage...
How many local dishes can you sample in one week? enough to give a belly ache if not careful…
Oil Down, the nation dish of Grenada made of bread fruit and coconut milk, throw in some salt meat (pig snout and tail), chicken, dumplings, green bananas, spices and seasonings…
Rum Shops: NOT to be mistaken for a bar with fancy cocktails! Wooden or crude cement structures… always rum and beer offerings. Intimate. Music. Locals placing dominos. Friends meeting up and limin’…
Handi Crafts:
Black coral necklaces, turtle shell bracelets, bamboo cups and baskets, calabash bowls, and Spice Necklaces: decorations that smell soooo good!
Spices and foods:
Everything spice… packages, sauces, jams, jellies, seasoning combinations
SourSop (anything) ice cream, really good and seriously good for you. Sour sop contains many medicinal health benefits. Tests are underway to cultivate is at a greater yield…
Black Cake, an excuse to ‘eat’ rum!
Doubles (chick pea sandwiches / really messy fast food)
Mangos in hundreds of varieties!
Sea Moss… good for da ‘energy’ a man needs. The local drink concoction is called ‘Stand Up!’
Cola nut.. same energy needs met as sea moss, tastes awful! bitter and dry, sucks the spit out of your mouth…
Chocolate… bars or cocoa tea (hot cocoa) YES
French Cashew… looks like a fruit of the cashew ‘nut’, taste like a tender apple
Rotis! potato curry with chicken, beef fish or lamb (conch) wrapped in a large tortilla like (roti) shell
Mutton, tasty and less bones than goat
Waters, anything soup
other notable happenings…
Steel Pan Bands, mostly for the tourist crowds, with traditional dancers and at least one jumbie! : a ‘spirit’ that makes an appearance for the crowd
Touring Fort Frederick where Maurice Bishop was executed in 1983 followed by the ‘rescue mission’ lead by the U.S.
With all hashers accounted for … the ceremony making the virgins full fledged Grenada Hash House Harriers in which they were cooled down with a healthy spritz of beer… The down the mountain was stalled with a quick stop at a rum shop… serving an herb infused, HIGH octane rum concoction. And finally, a forced stop to do a tire change in the dark… a full days adventure
Goats vs Sheep… the goats and sheep look a LOT alike in the Caribbean, check out their tails: Goats = tail up , Sheep = tail down. The sheep, like goats, are used for meat not for their wool which is less dense and poor quality.
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| Shademan and his bus |
Buses… the buses are a riot. Cheap, reliable transportation. The size of the bus depends on the conductor (door man) who always seems to find a seat for jus’ one more fare, pulling cushions from thin air to bridge the gap between the seat proper and the fold-down seat that allows entry to the rear sections. All play music R E A L L Y L O U D with woofers and tweeters that crack and scratch more than amplify. Want off the bus? a rap on the bus wall / ceiling to notify the conductor or driver. The conductors duties include ALWAYS trolling for riders, taking fares and making change, and of course opening and closing the side door. At one bus stop with two competing conductors, Jim and I were pulled to to different busses in hopes of securing one more rider. A good laugh ensured and we hopped the same bus home…
With hurricane season fast approaching and vacations ending…friends and family found if necessary to say farewell… for now
Pasquel and Frau Frau home to France
Stephano, Barbara and Sophia returning to Switzerland
and Stephen and Amanda back to the Florida… luckily they left in the cover of darkness so my blood shot eyes were mostly undetected… but what a great time we had!
As for Jim and I… we have another week on Grenada to ready the boat for an overnight passage to Trinidad, maybe a few more adventures in food and frolic…
June 1 starts the official season of Hurricanes, our insurance company requires us to be out of ‘the box’…. where there have been any hurricanes in recent years… so, we’ll another country to add to the passports
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