During the strong wind, big sea phase we took the opportunity to tour Grenada with Rock the taxi driver we had been introduced to.  His knowledge was phenomenal and there is a great deal to see so we had a cracking day.

First the nutmeg co-operative where growers bring their nutmegs every day to be weighed and graded.  They are paid in cash there and then and so will sometimes return day after day with very small amounts just to keep the cash flow going.  They are not farmers necessarily but small holders who happen to have some trees.  The nutmeg business had flourished but was decimated by Hurricane Ivan and is taking time to recover.  But it is recovering and the nutmegs and mace are sold worldwide.

Nutmegs in their shells once the mace has been removed……

The mace is dried for three months during which time it goes from orange to yellow with the consistency of hard plastic hence the need for grinding before use!

They are then graded by hand and sold.  The whole process took place in a very dusty, open sided warehouse-like building where nothing had changed for a very long time, but the process worked and we left feeling that we ought to be paying an awful lot more for nutmeg such was the care and attention that went in to producing it. 

Next stop the rum factory of which there are several on the island.  This one still used all the original equipment and consequently had a rather lower production than the others. 

A water wheel turns the sugar cane crushers.

Then on to the stills and into the bottles.  Their main production was 75% proof which could only be sold locally so they made a more dilute version that would be allowed through Customs for the tourists.  We had a taste.  It was fairly rough and fiery to say the least.

Next the cocoa plantation.  Again run as a co-operative where the growers bring in sacks of cocoa beans which are green and very sticky.  They are left in wooden bins for about a week to ferment under plantain leaves and hessian sacks.  Very low tech they simply let nature take its course.

The fermented beans are then spread onto trays and dried in the sun. The outdoor trays are on rollers so they can be hastily put away when rain threatens.  The remainder are indoors in the greenhouse behind. 

Once dry the bean is the colour of chocolate with the texture of a roasted coffee bean.  Best of all it tastes of chocolate!

The chocolate making process was done elsewhere and we didn’t include that on our tour but we still managed to buy five bars of the very delicious finished product.  We visited the old airport, a very green and lush but still obvious volcano crater and some waterfalls before getting back to the boat knowing a great deal more about Grenada.  Strongly recommended for a holiday.