My Island of Grenada

Ann Barber on 08 May 2008
I’d love to tell you a little about a wonderful island that I personally discovered only this year.

Many times my good friend and fellow travel agent Chris has told me about her love affair with Grenada, an island in the Eastern Caribbean just 100 miles north of Venezuela………so in May 2008 we decided that was where we would take our holiday.

The island is small, roughly 21 miles long by 12 miles wide and inhabited by some of the friendliest people in the Caribbean and that is really going some. Originally occupied by Arawak and Carib Indians it was known as Camerhogue, but when Columbus arrived in 1498 he renamed the island Conception……this was not to last as when the Spanish arrived, they thought that the wonderful lush and hilly area closely mimicked the Andalucían city of Granada so that was it’s name until the French decided that the name of La Grenade was more appropriate and we changed it for the last time to Grenada.

The most popular tourist area is around the beautiful Grand Anse Beach where you can hear the wonderful sound of the local people laughing whilst taking their early morning and evening exercise on the beach as well as the tourists chatting to the local beach vendors. These people although obviously wanting to ply you with their wares, will always accept a polite ‘no thank you’ even though with a little bit of haggling you can get yourself a bargain.

I would strongly recommend that when you visit Grenada, you hire a car. We had a 4 wheel drive vehicle which worked out at about £25 per day and this opened the door to a lot of great trips for us. We drove over to the wonderful La Sagesse Bay in the parish of St David’s where there is a small mangrove nature area and a lovely small hotel and restaurant where they specialise in seafood dishes cooked by their wonderful chef, a local lady, who has worked there for over 14 years, I guess she likes it there !!!!. There is also a nice beach here where you can relax or walk off the wonderful food that you’ve just eaten.

Grenada is known as the Island of Spice and there are old spice plantations all over, some using the age old methods of preserving their nutmeg and other spices. There are also some very old rum distilleries, the oldest being ‘Rivers’ their weaker brew is alleged to be 69 proof; I’d hate to try the strong stuff!!!

Another must see is the Capital of Grenada, St Georges, although I would catch a bus rather than try to find a parking space in the labyrinth of one way streets……. it is well geared up for the many cruise ships that call here, however there are also some nice little shops selling local crafts and artwork. There is also the well known ‘Nutmeg Cafe’ which serves good local food and offers a wonderful view of the harbour of St Georges.

For the more energetic traveller there are some wonderful inland walks and drives and if you are prepared for real hiking, there are several wonderful waterfalls that are not accessible by vehicle and are absolutely magnificent particularly in the rainy season. The forest reserve of Grand Etang is also well worth a visit, you can drive to the visitor centre and then walk some of the many marked trails. There are also lots of wonderful animals easily spotted in their natural habitat around the large crater lake.

With the wealth of flora and fauna and wonderful people……………..it’s a shame just to spend your time on the wonderful beaches of Grenada ……….take a tip, get out and about in this wonderful place and like myself, become smitten. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said 'I'LL BE BACK'