earlyoungnz
- Jul 4
- 4 min read

# 6: Grenada, "The Island of Spice"

Yesterday was a day at sea and while it is great visiting the beautiful Islands, a day at sea every now and then is a great way to recharge the batteries, (so to speak) and prepare yourself for the next 6 Islands all day after day. We're getting used to the cruising lifestyle and Mary and I both love it. We're also getting very familiar with the surroundings now and pretty confident of not getting lost on the ship, which certainly happened more than once on the first couple of days! We spent yesterday around the pool and in and out of the water just to cool off. To secure a deckchair in a handy spot the secret is to go down early in the morning and leave a towel and a book on the chair, it's not often that anyone will move your stuff so you can generally go away and come back later to retain your spot. Chairs with nothing on them are open slather.

This morning, I sat on my balcony with my morning coffee and enjoyed the view of our latest adventure, St Georges, the Capital on the Island of Grenada.

Grenada was formerly owned by the British Commonwealth but gained its independence back in the mid 1970's. Due to this history English is their main language so certainly no communication issues today! Following a communist uprising in Grenada in 1979, resulting in many political prisoners, the US under instruction from Ronald Reagan undertook a dawn raid on the Island in 1983 and regained leadership and democracy returned.

Compared to many of the other islands in the Caribbean Grenada is relatively poor and apart from the export of many spices, (hence been known as "The Island of Spice") they rely totally on tourism.

Today we decided, (along with Karen & Dave) that we would hire a minivan and driver to give us a tour of the Island. In every port you arrive at there are dozens of locals there to offer you everything from guided tours to locally branded clothing and any other tourist item that you can think of. Because of this we didn't pre book anything and just took potluck on arrival. Our plan was to spend the morning touring the Island and then find a nice beach reasonably close to the port to relax until it was time to head for the ship.

We were fortunate that the driver we selected had a nice reliable vehicle and he was very knowledgeable, and he gave us a great tour of the Island. We started out by visiting Fort George, this is an amazing old fortress set high up on the hill above the port and was obviously strategically placed to protect the main harbor from any potential threats to the Island. From there we visited a rum distillery and although it was still pretty early in the day, we felt obliged to have a few samples! 😁. Rum is certainly not my tipple of choice, but I must admit that the different samples we tried were very tasty indeed. We left there, (feeling very warm inside after the sampling) and headed into the hills to a spice farm. As we travelled inland, we couldn't help but notice how lush and green everything was and very tropical. On arrival we were greeted by the sound of the local band playing for all the tourists and shown all the plants that the spices come from, and the drying process involved to turn these into the spices that fill our cupboards around the world. The main spices produced and exported are Nutmeg and Mace but cocoa and cinnamon are also widely produced for the export market.

I couldn't keep her locked up for long, Fort George

Joining in with the band at the spice farm.

The Island people that we've met, (not just here in Grenada) have been super friendly and extremely welcoming, always smiling and wanting to assist in any way they can. You can sense their angst because of lean times ahead as the cruise ship season is close. In some of the Islands we visited, we were the last ship, and you can see the disappointment on their faces, many with tears in their eyes as they wish us farewell. The level of unemployment rises to around 50% in the off season, so the reactions are totally understandable!

With a few hours left before heading back to the ship it was down to meet up with the others at Grand Anse Beach. This is a fantastic beach and regarded as one of the best on the Island, and it's not too far from the port so nice and handy to get back to the ship. This was a beautiful way to end what had been a pretty busy day, tepid clear water, a nice deck chair and a few cold Heinekens! Bliss!

We got back to the ship in plenty of time and briefly went back to our cabin to put the days mementos away, we then went back up on deck. We decided to meet the others up on the pool deck to have a drink and watch Grenada fade into the distance as we sailed away.

From there it was the now usual practice of shower, Ice Bar and restaurant, this certainly isn't a lifestyle for anyone who wants to lose weight! 😁

Another great day and night had by all, time for bed now so we can get up and do it all again tomorrow! Tomorrow is the Island of Barbados!

Lifes good!