Sunday

Grenada has recently built a new docking facility for cruises ships.  In earlier days cruises came into the same area as cargo ships.  In building the new dock, they reclaimed several acres of land from the sea.  And they put in a huge shopping mall filled with duty free stores – the better to take your money, my dear.

When we disembarked there was a ship of the Celebrity line, “The Millennium,” docked right beside us, both vessels disgorging passengers simultaneously.

Bonnie had picked a four hour tour in an air-conditioned bus, seeing the major sites of Grenada and it was excellent.  We remarked later that the roads reminded us of those we had traveled in England – very narrow, barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass, and at times one vehicle had to pull over and give right of way to the oncoming traffic.  The only things that were missing were those great English hedges.

In addition to our skilled driver, who went by the nickname of “Flintstone,” we were accompanied by Louise, a lady of incredible knowledge and grace.  She obviously enjoyed telling visitors about her home, and made no apologies for anything in its past. Throughout the trip she kept us entertained and informed.  I’ve taken tours where the guides were technically correct, but offered their comments as the product of job, devoid of enthusiasm.  Not Louise.  This is her home, and she is incredibly proud.

At one point she commented about the American invasion of Grenada in 1983, directed by President Ronald Reagan.  Some of the American artillery hit the insane asylum, but she said, it was the fault of the Grenadians, not the Americans, because her people deliberately put those citizens in harm’s way and did not tell the Americans.  She applauded the invasion saying that forces of Fidel Castro had been making inroads into Grenada and were threatening their freedom and independence.

Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 wreaked incredible damage to the island, with barely a building escaping undamaged.  Final figures showed 90 percent of all the structures on the island were damaged in some fashion, with countless numbers destroyed.  Louise said she watched as the roof of her house blew off and she and her children were forced to hide under the bed.  At one juncture she pointed out the hurricane shelter – it was left with only parts of two adjacent walls standing.  The nutmeg trees also took a huge hit – before the storm, Grenada was the number two producer of nutmeg in the world, now it is only number three, but they are working valiantly to reclaim the second spot (Indonesia is number one).

On our tour we saw waterfalls, mountain valleys, rainforests, lakes, and volcanic craters.  We visited Fort Frederick and Fort Matthew.

We stopped at one of the island’s black sand beaches.  In geological terms, a black sand beach is relatively new.  As the centuries pass, the sand gets lighter and lighter until it is glistening, white sand.

The island is filled with incredible plant life – nutmeg, mace, clove, cinnamon, cocoa, cashew nuts, and more.

One of our stops was at Annandale Falls where young men dressed in local costume make a show of diving 50 feet into the pool below.  Here, as elsewhere on the island, they do it for tips.  We saw a man with an iguana sitting on his arm, a man with green monkey, several ladies with fruit baskets balanced on their heads.  Each of them would pose for “a dollar.”  There are road side stands with locals selling fruit, corn on the cob grilled over a charcoal fire, juices made from readily available produce, and necklaces made of a variety of spices (“No charge to look.  No charge to smell”).

Returning to the ship, we had hot dogs and french fries on the Lido Deck, washed down with coke and diet coke, and topped off by ice cream cones and naps.  We were back on deck as the Grand Princess cast off her moorings and headed for Barbados, our next stop. 

And the Steelers, with the return of Big Ben won!

A good day!