Saturday 3rd February - St George's Grenada

One of the beaches on Grenada's coastline.  Very pretty

Another hot sunny day on another hot sunny Caribbean Island.  This is the life isn't it.  We were supposed to be parked on the pier in Grenada, 'cept some hulking great Yank ship has taken our space.  The captain told us a couple of days ago that CMV booked the slot and has confirmation of the booking, but apparently money talks.  The Royal Caribbean ship is much bigger, with more passengers, so the Grenada authorities decided to allow them the berth and make the little Magellan anchor out in the bay, so everyone has to tender across.

We're escorting again - Discover Grenada - a tour of 4 1/2 hours.  It's mostly scenic driving, firstly around the coast, then through the the spice and banana plantations in the middle of the island, along the edges of the rainforest and back out to the coast and Fort Frederick.  There are a few stops thrown in of course.

The buses are quite small, only 20 seaters.  It was chaos loading them - I ended up on bus number 11, but my CMV paddle said number 8.  We were late getting to the buses anyway, and then we had to wait for about 20 mins for the final passengers to turn up because they had missed the tender boat that the rest of us were on. We were easily half an hour late starting

Our first stop was at the Dougaldston Spice Estate, where we were first shown how cocoa beans are turned into chocolate, and then given a brief show and tell re the various spices that are produced in Grenada.  I was that impressed with what I'd learnt, I ended up buying some of the pure chocolate that is produced in the area to use to make drinking chocolate.  Apparently I have to dissolve it into boiling water, simmer for 5 mins, strain, and then add milk and sugar.  I'm told that I'll know that it's the real thing due to the oil of the chocolate on surface of the cup.  I can't wait to try it.

This is how the cocoa bean looks when the pod is first cut.  A bit ugh! actually.  The farmers can tell when the pod is ready, because it starts to heat up as the beans start to ferment.  So there you go. 

Then the beans are fermented for a bit longer - 8 days they told us.  After the fermenting bit, they are dried on tables like this.  When the beans are dry and you bite into them, they really taste of chocolate, not quite Lindt or Cadbury's, but chocolate nevertheless. 

Driving through the countryside was pleasant.

And Annadale waterfall was nice.  The island has had an unexpected amount of rain in the last month, so the falls were full, and young men took it upon themselves to leap into the plunge pool in the interests of photography and making themselves a few bucks.  I missed the picture though.

Annandale Waterfall

We finished at Fort Frederick, with these excellent views.  As usual, I managed to find an lizard of some sort.

Our excellent view included being able to watch the Royal Caribbean block of flats sail off.  Unfortunately, logistics prevented the Magellan from being able to move in and take up the berth.

Another lizard.  I have no idea what type though. 

As I said, the tour was supposed to last about 4 and a half hours.  We set off late, and then we had the easy, relaxed, no worries attitude of the Caribbean driver to contend with, add a return tender journey, and we didn't get back to the ship until nearly 3 o'clock.  Everybody was starving and ready for afternoon tea. We worked out that it wasn't worth trying to get back to the island for the remaining time that we had, because the tenders would add an hour in travelling time.

So that was our day in Grenada.  Tomorrow we are in Barbados.  

Monday 30th January. St George's Grenada

The nation of Grenada is made up of three islands.  Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada is the largest of the three, and St George's is the capital of Grenada.  Famous for the production of spices, particularly nutmeg, the island is described as "One of the most beautiful and scenically varied islands in the Caribbean where mountains, crater lakes and rainforests give way to mangroves, stunning beaches with vibrant coral reefs and brilliant blue seas."  Well, we didn't get to see a beach today, but we did get to go a little way up a mountain to visit Sunnyside Gardens, cos we were escorting.

So the ship docked at about 1pm, and we were straight off to find our buses.  They don't use coaches in Grenada, only minivan type buses, which seat up to 19 people, although I don't think I would like to be in one that was full.

It was very hot, with the stunningly bright blue sky and white sun that you see in all the brochures (it's the Caribbean innit?). The drive up to the gardens was a little scary, as every time we passed a car going the other way, it felt like we were going to be forced off the road.  I breathed in a lot.

The gardens were nice enough, made all the more interesting by our guide.  He was the son of the owner and very knowledgable about the plants and the history of each one.  He was also quite a character, he was so laid back we weren't sure if he was overflowing with the Caribbean relaxed attitude or Caribbean rum.

After the garden tour, we had time to ourselves so we went for a  wander around the old bay.

We know of a german restaurant and bar there, which is upstairs and has a balcony overlooking the sea.  We sat and enjoyed the view, watching the goings on of the public for some time.  Very relaxing.

Tomorrow we get to visit two Caribbean islands, St Vincent in the morning and Bequai in the afternoon. Class eh?

Day 28 - Saturday 1st Feb - St Georges, Grenada

We've had a day at sea, and now we are here, in the Caribbean, hot sun, blue skies, white beaches and all day to enjoy it.
The first island of our four days here is Grenada.  Peter and I have been here before, and since we don't have any tours to escort, we get to do what we like.  And what we wanted to do was have an afternoon on the beach, swimming and generally chilling out.

That's our beach ahead.

So directly off the ship, through the terminal and turn right to where the water taxi is ready and waiting to take you to the .  It's only a few dollars each and a 15 min ride around the corner.

Once we were there, we hired a couple of loungers, got a couple of drinks from the bar, and then just had a brilliant afternoon.  We swam, sunbathed and snorkelled.  I loved the snorkelling part, especially has I found a shoal of silver white fish near the pier.  They just kept swimming around me.  Seeing the crabs and the spiny sea urchins, and so many different types and colours of fish amongst the seaweed on the sea floor was my idea of heaven.   I could have stayed for days.

But eventually it was time to go back, so we caught the water taxi back and got caught up in the dismay of four of the crew.  They were late for their shift, but the water taxi wasn't going to go any faster.  They were off the little boat before it even docked, running as fast as they could to get back to the ship.  I hope they didn't get into too much bother.

Our plan now was to go back to the ship for a quick shower and a change, and then go back into town and find a nice restaurant for our evening meal.  We had one in mind, Sails.  Sadly, everyone else had the same mind, and when we got there it was fully booked for the evening.

So we tried a place called Nutmeg, encouraged in by a few of the Marco Polo staff who were already sitting at a table.  What a disaster!  1 person had about 90 mins between starter and main course, another got her starter and main course at the same time, (but at different times to the first person), and everyone was made to wait.  Not recommended.

After the meal, we returned to the ship, and shortly after that I began to feel very unwell.  Unfortunately, I'd caught the bug that's being going around the ship.  We had to notify the medical centre, and were subsequently confined to the cabin for the next 48 hrs.  We were going to miss the next two Caribbean islands, which I had really been looking forward to.  Peter was absolutely fine, and I learnt although the bug could be considered highly contagious, not everyone gets it, probably due to their immune system.  I also learnt that the incubation period is up to 48 hrs.  I could have caught it two days ago!

So, disappointingly, we had two days in the cabin when everyone else was enjoying the sun, beach and rum punch.  Then we'll be in Bridgetown, Barbados, which will be my last day with the Marco Polo.  Sadly, I have to fly home and go back to work.  I'm not looking forward to that.

St Geroges, Grenada 2012
St Georges, Grenada 2013

Wednesday 30th January, St Georges, Grenada

Kingstown, the bay of the old town.  Quite, quite lovely.

We arrive in Kingstown at about 1 o'clock.  Peter and I were looking after some domestics, in as much we were selling watercolour painting sets, then there was lunch, and then we got off the ship. We knew we were gonna be in port until 10pm, so we had plenty of time.

First things first though.  The Beach!  The taxi service here is brilliant, they agree to take you to wherever, and back, at a price.  In our case we wanted a little more than an hour on the beach, so the taxi driver took us to the wonderful white sands in the picture below.  Then came back for us at the specified time.  Thing is, you don't pay them until they've collected you, so you know you won't be stranded. 

The beach was excellent, as you can see from the picture below, we spent a little time in the water testing the snorkels and goggles again. 

T

A wonderful afternoon on the beach.  To the left, you can see the P&O ship Azura, in front of it is our little Marco Polo, looking like a lifeboat.

Then the taxi driver picked us up and took us to the Bar Grill in the old town, a place Peter remembered had wi-fi.  The views from there are wonderful, it's cheap, the food looks brilliant, and we spent a happy hour or so there.   

Then it was back to the ship for the evening meal, and more importantly, the school disco.  Everyone was asked to dress up in school uniform. The passengers that did dress up were cheered and clapped as they appeared, some of them had made a fantastic effort, proving they didn't take life to seriously as they joined in the dancing and mucking about on the back deck.  A really good night. 

Tomorrow is Kingstown, St Vincent, and we're in for a bit of a treat, courtesy of the hard work of the excursions team.  I can't wait.

St Geroges, Grenada 2012
St Georges, Grenada 2014

St Georges, Grenada

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.  

St Georges Quayside and Marco Polo from our balcony view

St Georges, Grenada 2013
St Georges, Grenada 2014