28 March 2011
Port Louis Marina is all we could have wished for, a lovely swimming pool, restaurant and bar, a gift shop, a minimarket and chandlers a dinghy ride away and the town of St. George's a ten minute bus ride. The pontoons are in very good condition with potable water and shore power that does not keep tripping out. It is rather nice to be spoiled for once.
Punch drunk!
Jenny and John gave two rum punch parties, inviting all the World ARC boats over two consecutive evenings. Large amounts were consumed but at least nobody seemed to suffer too much from the after effects. Next on our Grenada itinerary was a complementary tour of the island organized by the World ARC. Our guide Mandu was excellent. They take tourism very seriously and attach great importance to it for boosting their economy. However the island as a holiday destination still does take second place to St. Lucia and Barbados and like everybody else they are suffering from the effects of economic downturn. We have addressed that to some extent and have dined every night in different local restaurants and I have treated myself to a new pair of reading glasses. It is an island of deep valleys and high mountain peaks and for me has great charm. Now that we have crossed two oceans in the last six months, we feel truly grateful for their laid back approach to life and 'island time'. Ooh! The luxury of slowing down a little. Grenada was originally named Concepcion by Columbus, but passing Spanish sailors began calling it Granada because it reminded them of Andalusia. Finally the British gave it the current spelling and pronunciation. They are still recovering from the devastating effect of Hurricane Ivan of 2004, which damaged 85% of the island's infrastructure. Less than one year after that Emily struck. Mandu pointed out "Janet" houses named after 1955 Hurricane Janet, erected in its aftermath. They consist of a tiny one roomed wooden hut many of which are still occupied, but the majority of Grenadians live in generously sized colourfully painted brick built houses. Apart from a few derelict buildings without roofs you really would not guess the way the land was stripped of its trees and vegetation for it has taken very little time to regenerate, it is so wonderfully lush and green. Although it is known as the "island of spice" it could equally be described as a garden isle. Bougainvillea, their national flower, grows in abundance in all its colours and they have the biggest specimens of Heliconia I have ever seen. The coastal areas are quite densely populated with the interior, tropical rainforest. They have no pasture lands so all meat and dairy products are imported. All farming is terrace farming and although the islanders are encouraged to cultivate their land the young people today are not interested, preferring to work in banks and government jobs. As on Tonga the school children were the smartest, kids we have ever seen, shirts, whiter than white, ties, and neatly pressed trousers and pleated skirts. The same applied to the police force. The island does not have a military but a special police force with a law forbidding the wearing of camouflage clothes. The colonial town of St. George's sits on the edge of a horseshoe shaped bay, known as the Lagoon formed by a sunken crater. The waterfront is named "The Carenage", stemming from the time when the ships used to careen their boats to remove the barnacles. Many of its buildings are of Georgian and Victorian architecture, with by contrast modern shopping malls and of course the inevitable cruise ship terminal. Leaving the town we drove northwest plunging down steep Cemetery Hill. The entire hillside is covered in box shaped tombs overlooking three cricket pitches. There is a lovely story that tells of families renting out the tombs so that people could sit on them and view the play in action. That was until The National Stadium was erected when Grenada hosted the 2007 world cup series and spoiled their grandstand view! Men women and children waved to us everywhere we went. Mandu told us he goes into the schools on a voluntary basis to promote tourism and to educate the children about the environment, including not throwing litter. Certainly we did think that in spite of not having any recycling plant and having to use landfill for refuse, it did seem remarkably free from the usual glut of plastic bottles and general detritus that one normally sees. Grenada is a huge producer and exporter of twin spice nutmeg and mace, the lacy red covering on the shell. But it has very many other crops including sugar cane, cocoa, cashew, bay leaves, and cotton which they are trying to revive. Like so many tropical locations Grenada has its fair share of fruit trees. Mangoes, papaya, sapodilla, orange, passion fruit, and breadfruit brought to the island by Captain Bligh as a cheap way of feeding slaves. Its national flag is as colourful as its people. A red border signifies the life blood of the people to survive, green, the lushness of the land, yellow for the sunshine, seven stars for the seven parishes and last but not least a nutmeg. Before Hurricane Ivan the island was the second biggest exporter in the world after Indonesia of nutmeg. So many trees were lost that it will take another four more years for the crop to recover. The River Antoine Rum Distillery dating from 1785 is the oldest working rum distillery in the Caribbean where traditional methods are still used. At first glance the buildings looked far too decrepit for words but on closer inspection clear sparkling water drove the old water wheel. As water came cascading down it made me think of home and the purest highland mountain streams! Now if that doesn't smack of homesickness then I do not know what else does.... The rum produced is powerful stuff, 150% proof! Once the juice is extracted from the sugar cane the dried molasses are used for fuel and fertilizer. All the bottles are filled by hand. A buffet style lunch was taken at Belmont Estate, a cocoa plantation, where we sampled amongst other things lambie, (conch) a popular dish served in many local restaurants but we found it rather strong, very much of an acquired taste. The lady serving in the gift shop hailed from Milngavie (where David grew up)and had trained as a nurse in Glasgow! It is a small world indeed. Our last stop took us to a viewpoint overlooking Gran Etang Lake in the National park, a water filled crater from an extinct volcano which is said to connect to Kick 'Em Jenny an active submarine volcano off Grenada's coast.
Back at the marina the party and prize giving was held that night. Jonjo, manager of the Victory marina restaurant, served a handsome buffet dinner. Jim of Ocean Jasper gave a moving speech paying tribute to our four convoy boats, Basia, Eowyn, Tucanon, Jeannius, with Destiny and Ariane also donating their precious fuel. They were the only ones of the night that we were really interested in, the only ones that really mattered.....
Susan Mackay