Any discussion of the island nation of Grenada really needs to start with geography. Yesterday I spent some time writing about how hilly Barbados is, but the hills of Barbados pale in comparison to the rugged terrain of Grenada. During our four hour bus tour of the island I can’t recall seeing a single square foot of naturally occurring flat land. Our tour guide told us that the flat section of St. George’s, the capital (see photo below, the area right along the water), was artificially created from land reclaimed from the sea. There’s an airport at the southern tip of the island, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they did the same thing there. Our driver performed one miraculous feat of driving after another as we careened around narrow, blind curves, scaled ridiculously steep climbs, and plunged down the opposite sides. Oh, and did I mention that there are speed bumps everywhere? Or, as they call them here, sleeping policemen. When we were done I felt like I had just spent four hours riding the Space Mountain rollercoaster at Disney World. Anyhow, enough about the terrain. You get it.
St. George’s has a population of 33,000, and among them they must have 70,000 cars. At least it seems that way when you drive or walk down the town’s main street. The traffic is stop and go, bumper to bumper chaos, and yet no one seems to be frustrated or impatient. We could take a lesson in driving temperament from the Grenadians.
We started our excursion with a drive up to the top of the hill overlooking the harbor, where the French, then British, built a large fort. Today Fort Frederick is being restored, and it provides marvelous views of St. George’s and the harbor. The fort is just one of several that existed on the island at one time, providing visual evidence of the period when the European powers fought over control of the Caribbean. And no, I’m not incarcerated in a Grenadian jail cell in the above photo. I’m at the entrance to an amazingly long tunnel that runs from Fort Frederick to another fort on the next hill over. As you might guess, it was used to move men and supplies from one fort to the other as needed.
Speaking of the Caribbean, Grenada, like Barbados, lies at the easternmost end of the Caribbean, with the Atlantic Ocean on its east and the Caribbean Sea on its west. And like Barbados, the waters on the Caribbean side are much calmer than those on the Atlantic.
After spending some time at Fort Frederick, we drove to the top of the island’s second highest peak, 1900 feet above sea level, where we got a glimpse of Grand Etang Lake, which fills the crater of an extinct (they believe) volcano. It’s been quiet since the last eruption 12,000 years ago, which is certainly reassuring. It’s a pretty spot, though we had to view it from a distance since we didn’t have time to hike down the path to the lake.
We concluded our tour at Annandale Falls, a pretty waterfall with a pool at the bottom that makes for a spectacular swimming hole. Like the rest of the island, the falls are surrounded by lush, green vegetation, and Grenada comes by its reputation for natural beauty honestly.
We really enjoyed our day in Grenada, though I will leave future visitors with this one tip. Be aware that island tours that involve travel of any distance from St. George’s, especially across the interior, may leave you feeling like a James Bond martini, shaken, not stirred.
As I write this our ship has left the Caribbean and we are in the Atlantic, beginning our journey down the east coast of South America. Tomorrow is a sea day, and on Friday we will stop at Devil’s Island, the former penal colony off the coast of French Guiana. I’m especially excited about this destination, because, as something of a history buff, I’ve long been interested in l’Affaire Dreyfus. More about that on Saturday.
Until then, best holiday wishes from Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas.
St. George’s, the capital of Grenada, from our cruise ship. This photo only hints at the ruggedness of the island’s terrain.
Fort Frederick, which is under renovation, overlooks the port.
Sorrel (the red plant in the foreground) is edible, and that’s papaya in the background. Typical scene as you drive along Grenada’s narrow, winding roads.
Cacao tree, shot out the window of our bus. Breadfruit trees are everywhere too, but I didn’t manage to get a photo of one.
Grand Etang lake, 1900 feet above sea level, fills the crater of an extinct volcano. This was as close as we had time to get.
Grenada has lots of wild monkeys, and they often visit the park around the lake. We didn’t see any today, but Michele and I enjoyed the lush vegetation.
Grenada is known as the spice island, and Michele picked up a sampler of the spices that are grown and harvested on the island.
The rainbow eucalyptus tree is native to Indonesia, but was imported and does just fine on Grenada. The bark is very cool.
Annandale Falls. I really like this photo. The interior of Grenada really is lush.
Back on the pier next to our ship. Proving that I’m not the only boobie on Grenada, this is a brown boobie, in my opinion one very cool bird.
And finally, this is me getting conned. I was assured by the bartender that I was sampling a local Grenadian brew, only to find out when I did some research back at the ship that Stag beer is brewed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by the Pabst Brewing Company.
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