The Grenadines...... Like the Caribbean but not it seems. The people are very chilled and relaxed. The sun is hot, the sky is blue, the sea is beautifully clear and the town of St Georges is a very pleasant place to be. I think the main difference for me in comparison to some of the Caribbean islands we've seen, is that St George's is cleaner, with much less rubbish and generally better maintained.
The day started with us not being able to fit into the new quayside due to it being occupied by a couple of larger cruise ships. Good news for us because we got to dock on the side of the old town, which, like all old towns, is very picturesque. It is also appreciated by the more affluent members of society too, judging by the very expensive looking yachts in the marina nearby.
We were soon ashore and had a wander around the quayside. I was fascinated by the clarity of the water and the colourful little fish I could see. It reminded me of the tropical fish tank my mother used to keep. We'd decided we wanted to first have a look around the town, and then go for a swim. So we walked from the quayside through the tunnel which joins the older side of the town to the newer one.
Grenada is known for it's spices, and if I hadn't read that information before I got off the ship, I was certainly made well aware of it during our walk. Everywhere, everyone was trying to sell us spices. In the nicest possible way, we were harassed with "You want to buy some spices, honey?". The market vendors and the street touts were very polite and didn't push when we said "No thank you", in fact, they were quite lovely, but the question was constant.
Over and over again we had to politely refuse. The colourful market sold mostly spices, which smelt gorgeous, and was surrounded by various craft and gift shops. We managed to find Peter some new sunglasses which proved to be a hilarious exercise. I really should have taken pictures of him wearing the various styles.
There is a fort which can be reached by walking a steep hill but it was far too hot to do that, after our spice dodging, we returned to the quayside, hoping to get a water taxi to our chosen beach, only it wasn't there......... Fortunately Peter managed to find a taxi driver to take us where we wanted to go for the same price as the water taxi, and then we were on the beach and in the water. We spent a wonderful hour and a half there. White sand, hot sun, beautiful scenery. Idyllic.
Our taxi driver collected us and took us back on ship. A quick rub down and dry clothes and we went back ashore, not wanting to stay on board when we didn't have to. We soon found a little bar with a balcony view of the quay. As usual, a fair number of the Marco Polo passengers had already taken up residence, and we joined them for a beer and a chat until we'd run out of money and it was time to go. A great end to a relaxed and enjoyable day.
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| St Georges Quayside and Marco Polo from our balcony view |
St Georges, Grenada 2013
St Georges, Grenada 2014
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