Another Circle Tour!

One thing we have discovered about Grenada is that you can't really get lost - there are dead end roads - but for the most part, all roads eventually lead you back to where you started!

Today, we decided to tour the St.Paul area and the roads from the interior to the east coast. First stop, Fort Fredrick & Fort Matthew. These were built after Fort George, and were build beginning about 1790 - and built by the French and the English - depending who was winning the war.

It is a pretty typical fort, but the view of Grenada was even better than at Fort George. We could see Carenage and over to where we are staying - the Caribbean and the Atlantic from one vantage point!

From the Forts, we headed northeast towards St.David, and stopped at De la Grenada, where the famous Nutmeg products are produced. Not only jam and jelly, but syrup and liquor as well. We got to see the manufacturing floor and taste the products. It was very interesting - and tasty too!

Next, we headed towards Marquis, which is the arts area of the Grenada. Somehow we didn't find the Marquis Art Centre, where there are artisans. We will have to go back again:) From Marquis, we headed to Battle Hill, which although some fierce battles were fought there in the 1700's, has a more peaceful feeling now. There is a Catholic Church there, as well as a shrine to the Lady of Fatima - and each year the faithful from Grenville make a pilgrimage to the shrine. I thought the church itself was very interesting - other than cornerstones and a roof, the walls were lattice - so you could see the whole church just standing outside. It would be nice and cool in there!

From Battle Hill, we headed north to Grenville, where we turned west back towards St.George. We stopped at the Spice Basket Cultural Centre to see if the Cricket Museum was open  - and were able to tour the museum. It had a great display on Cricket, and lots of information on the Island's history - both of land and people.

While at the Spice Basket Cultural Centre, we met up with Leah - a member of the Royal Grenada Police. We met her last week and she invited us to attend a community event this coming Sunday. It is part of a community policing project she is in charge of - and part of the project is providing hampers to some of the seniors in Happy Hill. We picked up a few things to help out - and Leah lives in the area - so it was easy to drop our contribution off. Tomorrow we are meeting with Leah in the evening to sample Sorrel juice, which she makes and wanted us to try. Grenadians are very generous and we learned early on it is considered rude to turn down the offer of fruits, vegies or traditional food - we really don't want to be rude!

From there, we headed back towards Grand Anse and decided to stop at the beach and watch the sunset. It was very pretty tonight - a good end to a full day!

North Island Circle Tour

Today we decided to check out Annandale Waterfalls and Grand Etang National Forest. 

We headed northwest from Woburn and then east from St.Georges. It is a narrow, winding road - but in good condition - just watch out for the buses!!

The waterfalls are very pretty - and there is a tropical garden as well. Our guide took us through the garden and to the waterfalls, where we watched some local young men jump off the top of the falls.

From the falls, we made our way to Grand Etang Forest and Grand Etang Lake.  The visitor centre is very pretty and has history of the area. The lake is more like our Otter Lake than Okanagan Lake, and due to the heavy rainfall in the last few days, the trail around the lake was not accessible.

Grand Etang is a bird sanctuary and forest reserve with miles of hiking trails, lookouts, and fishing streams, and home to the Mona Monkey. Unfortunately, like the elusive Grenada Dove, the Mona Monkeys were no were to be seen when we visited.  Grand Étang Lake is an expanse of water that fills the crater of an extinct volcano 1,740 feet above sea level. Although legend has it the lake is bottomless, maximum soundings are recorded at 18 feet.
 
From Grand Etang, we headed east to Grenville, then north to Pearl. Pearl has important historical significance as it is the site of the first airport in Grenada. It was used until 1984, and now serves several purposes - it is used as a roadway linking Upper and Lower Pearl; on Sundays, it a race track (Barry says it would be a great demo track); locals use the airstrip and surrounding area to graze their cattle and goats. Talk about a multi-purpose facility!

The wreckage of a Soviet and a Chinese plane are also located in Pearl, a reminder of the 1983 conflict - or Revolution as Grenadians refer to it.

Next stop, River Antoine Rum Distillery. This is the oldest distillery on the Island, and is the only Organic distillery. The tour was very good - showed us all the steps from crushing the sugar cane right down to testing for quality - and I tried two different rum punches - both very good. Unfortunately, you can only buy this rum on the Island - as they sell it all to locals and visitors. I guess I will have to bring home a bottle to let you taste it:)

From here, we were pretty much done with tours for the day, but decided to follow the sun and take a scenie route back to Woburn. From River Antoine, we headed north to Sauteurs stopping at Conference Bay, Bathways Beach and Levera Beach on the way. We also took a break in Sauteurs at their beach before heading south towards Gouyave and then to St.George's and Woburn. It was a long day - but so much to see!

Conference Beach aka Conch Shell Beach!