Leapers Hill
Driving to
the north of the island we went in search of Leapers Hill. North of the town of
Sauteurs is a steep cliff face that descends vertically for more than a hundred
feet. This historic landmark is where the remaining Carib Indians leapt to their
death rather than surrender to the French in 1651.
"Parking"
was a rather optimistic claim given the width of the entrance road - perhaps it
only refers to bicycles!
The story goes,
the French gave the Caribs a few bottles of Brandy and some beads in exchange
for the right to settle in Grenada. When the Brandy was finished and the Caribs
grew bored with their new shiny trinkets they attacked and killed several
Frenchmen. The angered
French decided to wipe out the Caribs. The Caribs last stand
was refusal to surrender and instead leapt over the
precipice. The
French called the place Le Morne De Sauteurs, meaning Leapers Hill.
We paid our
£1.25 each to enter the very smart Interpretation
Centre.
There are Carib artifacts, paintings and
information
A model of a Carib Village
A look out platform has been built over the spot where the
remaining forty Carib Indians jumped to their death. Bear
looking out to sea and taking in the rough beauty of
the place
The steep drop down to the sea
Sauteurs
- the town around Leapers Hill. Next we drove on to Munich
Munich is a
special village because of the history of its origin. It is said that in
1807 a slave ship set out from the coast of Africa. While it was still on the
high seas, the slave trade of Grenada ended, so when the ship arrived in 1808,
the "passengers" became ex-slaves. These free persons established a free village
in what is now present day Munich. As keepers of the drums, they alone were
allowed to have the "talking drums" of the Nation Dance, a sacred celebration in
homage to the ancestors of the dispersed African nations. To this day, the
residents of Munich grow manioc (cassava) and prepare it in the traditional way
in the coppers, large pots used in plantation days for boiling cane.
This village
has its own particular rhythm and beat. It is said that the tune for the song
Amazing Grace hummed by the slaves on the slave ship was instrumental in the
conversion of the captain, John Newton, an English slave trader, who not only
wrote the lyrics after surviving a violent storm at sea, but also ceased to
trade in slaves.
Driving through Munich there is a huge variety of
houses
Bear
particularly liked the gas cylinders that marked the edge of
the road - great crash barrier, there
was a sheer drop the other side of them. I liked this little
Berger Paint home
We were in fits when we saw this sign off the side of the
road. Behind it the world seemed to disappear a very long way
down
The view to the sea from Munich
ALL IN ALL A VERY INTERESTING
