Grenada - Island Tour

We decided this year we would both go on an island tour. Last year I went on one with Randy and Aleitha while Griff stayed behind to organize the boat work. So decision made we contacted Cutty, the cruisers’ favourite taxi driver and tour guide and off we went. There were 11 cruisers that went on the tour – Teri and Jan on KIVA, Rik and Annette and guest on KOOLAU, Lew and Lyn with 2 guests on SILVER WING and us. We set out at 0845 and didn’t return until 1730.

We started the tour driving along the centre of the island, south to north. The road gave us a good view of St. Georges and our anchorage. Along the way Cutty told us about the various buildings that we were seeing and the damage they received during hurricane Ivan in 2004. We were aware of the churches, but he also mentioned the schools and prison. One interesting fact he mentioned was that most of the houses that were badly damaged still had recognizable bathrooms – toilets, sinks etc intact but not working. A lot of reconstruction has been done since Ivan, but there are still a lot of buildings that look the same as they did after the hurricane except for the plant growth that is taking over. It was also interesting that a lot of the rebuilding was done through Canadian funding or expertise. The first school to be rebuilt and reopened was done by Canadians.

Our first stop was by the side of the road to learn about some Grenadian plants. Cutty showed us Grenadian saffron (turmeric), cocoa pods, nutmegs/mace, callilou, and papayas.

Next stop was at Anandale Falls. Here most of the group went in swimming. Some of the more adventurous, read Griff, jumped into the pool at the bottom of the falls. Not quite as adventurous as some of the locals who were jumping from the top of the cliff into the pool. There was an older fellow there who was doing his laundry in the stream that ran out of the pool. Cutty said that it is quite common for people to do their laundry in the waterfalls.

Griff at Annandale Falls

After that refreshing stop we went on to Grand Etang Lake, a crater lake that provides the southern part of the island with fresh water. The attraction at the lake is the monkeys. As we were driving towards the lake Cutty was busy beeping his horn. By the time we arrived at the parking lot there were two monkeys sitting on the railing waiting for us. Cutty got out the bananas and we fed the monkeys, had them taking candies out of pockets or sitting on shoulders looking for bananas.

Next stop – Carlton Cocoa Station. This is where farmers bring their cocoa beans in for initial processing. The beans are stripped from the pods, placed in bins and covered with banana leaves where they ferment for 1 week (they are turned every day). After fermentation they are moved to the drying racks. The drying process is done by the sun and takes about a week depending on the weather. In case of rain the drying racks can either be rolled inside or covers rolled over the larger racks. The beans are mixed and turned every hour – this is done by a woman shuffling through the beans. Once the beans are dried they are put in the polisher to shine them and then packed for shipment. Most of the beans from this station will be shipped to Holland. Seeing this part of the cocoa process could almost turn one off chocolate – certainly nothing sterile or even clean about it.

Next stop – lunch and a tour of the River Antoine Rum Factory. This factory has been in operation since 1785 and still produces rum the traditional way from sugar cane. They produce the power required to crush the cane by a water wheel which since it is the rainy season was operating full tilt. The cane syrup goes into boiling kettles where it is reduced in volume and then into fermenting vats. From there it passes through the distilling process. The resulting rum must be at least 80% alcohol before they will bottle it. They produce approximately 2000 bottles of rum per week and it is for sale only in Grenada. They bottle 3 strengths of rum – 75%, 69% and a rum punch. Only the 69% and rum punch can be taken out of the country by plane unless you are leaving by boat then you can take the 75%. Again, as with the cocoa process, seeing rum made in the traditional way could turn you off rum. All the kettles and vats are open to the air and the only sterilization would be the distillation process where the fermented syrup is heated and turned into steam and then distilled.

Throughout the day Cutty was telling us about the nutmegs. BI (Before Ivan) Grenada was the second biggest producer of nutmeg in the world (they are now 3rd behind India). Ivan destroyed almost 90% of the nutmeg trees. We stopped at a Nutmeg Station, similar to the cocoa station except for nutmegs, to see how it operated. BI they processed 6 million pounds of nutmeg per year, now they process 600,000 pounds (10% of previous production). BI the station had 100 people working there now there are 12. It brought home how much devastation a hurricane does and not just to the physical aspects of an area. Homes and buildings are destroyed, but livelihoods are also lost. It takes a minimum of 4 – 5 years before a nutmeg tree will start producing and 8 – 10 years before it would be starting its prime production. A nutmeg tree produces fruit all year, not seasonally like our fruit trees, and can live for up to 100 years.

The last stop of the day was at La Sagesse Nature Centre. This is an estate that was owned by an Englishman who stopped access to La Sagesse Beach. The locals rebelled, tied him to an almond tree and forced him to provide access to the beach. This happened in the 70’s. The estate has changed hands, but the beach access remains. Finally back to the yacht club, into our dinghy and out to the boat. A very tiring, but satisfying day.