Grenada Tour
Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Thu 16 May 2013 18:08
|
Thursday 16 May 2013
We set off with 5 people from three other boats on
'Cutty's Island Tour' in his minibus. We did one of these years ago but
Cutty was much more knowledgeable and made it an interesting day.
The first stop was the capital, St Georges where we
were told about the 1983 rebellion which led to the US invasion in 1984.
We were shown one building which the US soldiers attacked believing it to
be army barracks. This was another triumph for military
intelligence because the building was a mental hospital and 11 inmates
were killed in the attack.
Looking down on St Georges from just outside the
hilltop prison:-
 Cutty stopped often at the roadside to point
out flora and fauna and often got out to pick a leaf or a plant so we could look
and smell them. This was done a little too often for my liking as the
cooling airflow in the bus would stop. I did feel we were seeing every
type of leaf on the island at one time but Lin loved it.
One of the 'trophies' plucked from the roadside was
this cashew nut complete with fruit. The nut is not to be eaten as it is
poisonous until roasted:-
 We stopped at a 'Plantation' which looked like
a disorganised collection of trees and bush to many of us on the bus who
expected organised rows of planting. It soon became clear that there was
much more to see than was possible with the untrained eye and the apparent
disorder was deliberate as much of what was growing depended on eachother for
their success. Cutty took us a few paces away from the road and we stood
in a small clearing surrounded by lots of green stuff. Close around us were turmeric, nutmeg, cinnamon, bananas, cocoa,
ginger, cloves and more. Cutty pointed out each to us in turn. It
was fascinating and it wouldn't have been possible to recognise most
of it without his trained eye.
A cocoa pod:-
 There are several waterfalls in Grenada and we were
taken to one of the more accessible. As was the case last time we were
here there were a nmber of vendors and a couple of guys who were offering to
jump off the falls 'for our entertainment today'. We all managed to skip
the pushy entertainers and several of us had a swim in the cooling fresh
water.
One of them was Lin who didn't scream very
much:-
 Then on up to Grand Etang Lake which has been
formed in the crater of a volcano:-
 We travelled through the centre of this very
picturesque island to a Cocoa Processing 'factory'. Grenada is placing
much more emphasis on marketing it's cocoa credentials and is selling it's high
quality beans to France and the US. The facilities are somewhat
basic:-
 Cocoa beans left out to dry. These large
trays are moved on sliders back under cover when the rain comes:-
 The warehouse:-
 Then on to Grenville, the second largest town
on the island, where we were taken to a 'Nutmeg Station' where all the farmers
bring their product for processing. In September 2004 Hurricane
Ivan destroyed most of the Grenada's nutmeg trees and the island is still
only just recovering.
The nutmeg is inspected, some rejected and the
rest graded. Nutmeg separated from the mace:-
 Still in it's shell:-
 The sorting is entirely manual. We were told
that 'about 20 women' sit on these stools and sort the nutmeg into
different sizes. The 'about 20 women' bit sounded somewhat dismissive and
was said without a second thought - as if who else would do it?
Sexual discrimination is alive and well in Grenada!
 We were taken on a short walk through the back
streets of Grenville for lunch. This was a perfect example of why these tours can work so well. We
almost certainly wouldn't haven't spotted the place for lunch and if we had
we probably wouldn't have gone in. But it was full of character and the
food was good.
Then on up to the north of Grenada to see the River
Antione Rum Distillery. Apparently the oldest in the western hemisphere
(1785) this is the last distillery with a working water wheel used to crush the
sugar cane. The water comes down from a nearby lake and is piped to the
top of the water wheel - the water is just about visible here:-
 The business end:-
 We were told that the product is not refined and
it's all sold on the island. We tasted several examples and can
confirm there was nothing refined about it. One was 150% proof and
reminded me of Nitr-O-Mors (a paint stripper). I speak from experience
having once touched my gloved hand to my mouth before wiping away the paint
stripper. A couple of our fellow travellers bought bottles
though.
We had a long drive back to our pick up
point. It had been a long but very interesting day and Grenada is a
naturally beautiful island.
|