The Spice Isle: Making the most of a cruise stopover in Grenada

by Alison Brick on

It’s official — the cruise season in Grenada has begun. Actually, the first day of the season fell on a day when I was there recently. I might’ve missed the influx because I was across the island during most of their 12-hour stay, but I saw the big boat sail in during my breakfast, and sail away during my dinner.

Ideally, you’d want several days on the island where you could see waterfalls in the inland mountains, leatherback turtles off the northern beaches, and French and British influences in the capital town of St. George’s. But if you plan it right, you can see some amazing things in the short amount of time.

Get out on the water:
I know. You might be thinking that the last thing you want after being on a cruise ship is to get on another boat. But a Grenada Seafaris boat isn’t just any boat. When it powers at full-speed, it’s a fun wind-in-your-face ride. And it stops for snorkeling at the underwater sculpture park, designed by Jason de Caires Taylor. The 2.5-hour tour also includes off-coast stops up the west coast and discussions about conservation and local marine life.
Enjoy the market in St. George’s:
Meandering through the two-block stretch of market in St. George’s is my kind of Saturday morning. It’s actually on every day, but Saturday is the most bustling.

One portion focuses on products and catering to tourists, selling spices, T-shirts, and hats. The other portion sells produce, mostly to locals: yams, onions, okra, oranges. My favorite finds seem to be exotic items in abundance: a cart piled high with young coconuts (and a floorful of tops that were chopped off), and overwhelming bundles of plantains.

I’d recommend taking the time (and eschewing any shyness) to talk with the vendors — that’s how I learned how to ripen the cherry-sized governor plums (roll them around in your palm for half a minute). Get to the market early to avoid the crowds and heat.

Let an expert show you around:
After arriving in a new port, it can take a half-day to orient yourself. In the same amount of time, you can let a guide drive you to some of the must-see sights.

Several tour guides — including Mandoo Toursand Sunsation Tours — are available with great half-day itineraries that hit these hot spots:

Concord Falls — A medium-sized waterfall and pool that makes a good choice for a swim
Dougaldston Spice Estate — An historic plantation/museum where cocoa and spices are grown and processed
Grand Etang — A national park in the inland mountains of the island that’s home to a rain forest, hiking trails, and lake

Walk the island’s longest beach:
The two-mile white-sand Grand Anse Beach offers up plenty of opportunities to enjoy the waterfront, whether you’re dipping your toes in the Caribbean-blue water, sitting on the sidelines of a game of beach soccer, or watching the sun set just behind Quarantine Point. If you make your way down the beach, you can check out one of the hotels along the stretch or see the work of craft artisans at the vendor market.

It’s easy to get to from St. George’s. Just catch the #1 bus (small, private minibuses, really) in either direction for EC$2.50 (US$1).

Alison Brick traveled through Grenada on a trip sponsored by the Grenada Board of Tourism. That said, she could write about anything that struck her fancy. (And it just so happens that these are the things that struck her fancy.) You can read more from her The Spice Isle: Grenada series here.

The Spice Isle: Grenada moves on past Hurricane Ivan

by Alison Brick on

I didn’t know a lot about Grenada before visiting recently, but one name was familiar to me: Ivan — the hurricane that came through with force in 2004. So once I got there, I wanted to find out two things: what’s it like during a hurricane? And how does the country look now, five years later?

You first have to realize — the hurricane was a fluke. The reason some residents were actually excited to see a hurricane in person was because hurricanes come so infrequently and Ivan would be their first. (The previous one was Janet in 1955.) Located 12 degrees above the equator, in the southeast part of the Caribbean, Grenada sits outside the hurricane belt.

By all accounts from the stories I heard, “Ivan the Terrible” was a rager. News had been as moody and unreliable as the hurricane itself – first saying that it was coming, then saying it wasn’t – before Ivan struck soon after. Winds blew 130 mph strong, making it a category 3 storm, as it made its way to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Florida. 28 people in Grenada were killed, 18,000 people were homeless, and 90% of the buildings were damaged and 30% were destroyed.

All important things to realize. But even more, from what I’ve seen and heard, Grenada should be known for overcoming these things as much as enduring them.
The people have proved themselves to be resilient. During the storm, many held tight in their own homes, and others took refuge in shelters like churches, all while roofs were being torn off and water was coming in. With 90% of the buildings damaged and 30% destroyed, the people pulled together — cohabitating in the homes that were intact, and helping to re-build together the ones that weren’t. A man who was lucky enough to not have to repair his roof told me “everybody had to do SOME construction.”

One quote on a wall near the northern town of Sauteurs caught my eye: “God has not promised to keep us from life’s storms, but he has promised to keep us through them.” It’s hard to believe, but these folks had a repeat performance soon after. Hurricane Emily came through in July 2005 — a mere 10 months after Ivan.

No one’s going to say that the hurricane was a blessing, considering all of the damage, but it’s because of that damage that building codes have improved. Schools – which had been in need of rebuilding – have also been improved. The tourism industry was rebuilt (often better than before, like the amazing Spice Island Resort on Grand Anse Beach) — though I’m happy to hear that nothing can be built higher than 3 stories. A new National Stadium, home to cricket and soccer matches, was built to replace the destroyed one.

Only a few repairs will have to take longer, even after five years. The 128-year-old Church of the Immaculate Conception is still roofless, while the congregation continues to raise funds for construction.

I’ve been told that NADMA (National Disaster Management Agency) became better trained and equipped with proactive education and response systems.

The land itself has gotten to work repairing itself — although it takes more time than anything else. From my untrained eye, I was struck by the thick vegetation — fronds and branches, growing from all of the indentations and slopes of the country’s inland mountainscape. But I was told that for all of the places that I saw green, it was equally as gray after the hurricane — where winds stripped trees and shrubs down to the bark itself. Because the hurricane wiped out most of the country’s nutmeg livelihood, more wind-resistant nutmeg trees were planted.

These folks may now be well prepared for another hurricane, but let’s hope they’re not put to the test again anytime soon.

Alison Brick traveled through Grenada on a trip sponsored by the Grenada Board of Tourism. That said, she could write about anything that struck her fancy. (And it just so happens that these are the things that struck her fancy.) You can read more from her The Spice Isle: Grenada series here.

The Spice Isle: Where trails are paved with nutmeg shells

by Alison Brick on

“You can use it for tea” he says after picking the small leaf and handing it to me to smell.

There doesn’t seem to be anything that Telfor Bedeau doesn’t know about Grenada’s plants. In the past 50 yards alone, he’s pointed out trees that would’ve gone unnoticed as anything other than anonymous tropical trees. But now they’re recognized as some of my favorite things in the world: guava, mango, cinnamon. I’m already imagining my next supermarket trip back home going a little differently.

Telfor would be considered spry for any age, but especially since he just turned 70. He celebrated the day by doing what he seems to do (and love) best: hiking up to the top of Grenada’s highest peak, Mount Saint Catharine (2,757 feet).

It was his 157th time.

Known as the “Indiana Jones of Grenada,” he reached the milestone of having hiked 10,000 miles throughout Grenada in 2005. Guiding since 1990, he hikes in jellies (plastic sandals) while everybody else on the trail relies on treaded sneakers and walking sticks. He’s easy to extend a smile to everyone, and a hand to anyone who needs one.

It’s not that I’m writing this to flatter him — there’s little chance that he’ll read this, since he doesn’t use a computer or have email. No doubt it contributes to his youthful appearance. That and all the hiking. And the fact that his diet solely consists of raw fruits and vegetables.

So it was with intrigue –- both in my hiking guide Telfor and the trail –- that I hiked to the Seven Sisters Waterfalls in Grand Etang National Park.

%Gallery-77232%It’s a manageable walk — about 45 minutes one-way. If it’s considered tricky at all, it’s because of the ramped up mud- and slick-factor after a rain shower (and it is home to a rain forest, after all).

After paying EC$5 fee (per person) because the trail is on private property, we descend between plantations that are growing food I’m just getting to know for the first time, like callaloo and sorrel. We continue down steeper terrain where steps are made of large rocks, or clay that’s reinforced by bamboo (which also grows along the trail and creaks in the wind at intervals). The path meanders through lush greenery of all shapes and heights –- ferns, banana trees, strangler figs, palm trees.

Telfor takes a swipe at a vine stock with his machete, to show me its hollow core. “It’ll grow back,” he explains. Such is the nature of these quick-growing plants here — the first to sprout after Hurricane Ivan.

Areas that are muddy are mulched by nutmeg shells — an ingenious use of the island’s abundant throw-away. (You can even catch a subtle whiff of fragrance after the shells break underfoot.)

After rock-hopping across a river, we reach the two cascades of water, each falling into its own pool. There’s room for lounging along the side, but most people seem to head straight into the waterfall of the upper pool. My preferred vantage point: mid-way in the upper pool, looking up at the steep cliffs on either side, covered in a mix of big-leafed, exotic greenery.

The return trip is the same route back. In this direction, you’ll likely use the walking stick (on loan from the start) to help with the upward climb, rather than to navigate slippery sections downhill. I figure that the slower uphill pace gives me more time to look for the rain forest’s mona monkeys and armadillos, but no such sightings.

If you want to replicate the Seven Sisters hike on your own, you can reach it by hiring a car or joining a tour. Or you can specifically hire Telfor as a guide for the day (US$40 for 1 person, $30/each for 2 people, $25 for 3+ people, regardless of how long the day is. Phone: 473.442.6200).

Alison Brick traveled through Grenada on a trip sponsored by the Grenada Board of Tourism. That said, she could write about anything that struck her fancy. (And it just so happens that these are the things that struck her fancy.) You can read more from her The Spice Isle: Grenada series here.

The Oasis of the Seas: designed to keep your dollars captive (and “dumb down” the travel experience)

by Jason Cochran on

Royal Caribbean’s $1.4 billion new ship, the Oasis of the Seas, is notable not just because of its measurements. They’re extraordinarily impressive measurements, to be sure: 20 stories high, 1,180 feet long, 2,700 staterooms, 225,282 tons. But for its guests, the even bigger story is what those measurements do to the traveling experience.

Arthur Frommer is one of the last great travel muckrackers in an industry crowded with fawning types, and his latest consumer reporting nugget comes from plain sight: the summer 2010 itineraries of the Oasis. The ship, which will depart from Fort Lauderdale‘s Port Everglades, will be crowding its trips with at-sea days.

On many week-long trips, he finds, the Oasis will spend as many as three whole days, or half its time away from port, out at sea with no contact with any port or culture. On many itineraries, one of the only days spent on land will be passed on the cruise line’s private beach of Labadee, on the coast of Haiti. That makes four out of six days, or two-thirds of the trip, that all 6,300 passengers on a full ship will be Royal Caribbean’s captive audience, only spending their dollars with the company.

On many runs, a fifth day will be spent at Costa Maya, a remote beach location that was largely built and maintained exclusively for cruise ship passengers. The only day on those week-long trips spent at an actual, authentic port of call will be the one passed at Cozumel, which Frommer proclaims “the world’s dullest port visit.”

%Gallery-77295%Which brings us back to those colossal numbers. The term “floating city” has been bandied around to describe many cruise ships, including the Freedom-class ships that are two-thirds the size of the Oasis. But in this case, it seems to fit: The new ship has its own park, carousel, tattoo parlor, two rock climbing walls, a Broadway-size theatre, an outdoor amphitheatre, an ice rink, and a cocktail bar that can travel from deck to deck.

With the aptly named Oasis, you don’t need to leave the ship at all. Up to now, there’s been one vacation company that has mastered the art of monopolizing its customers’ time and money, and that’s Disney. Royal Caribbean’s out-sized shipbuilding brings that sort of business model to the high seas.

The bigger ships get, the more the cruise experience becomes nearly entirely inward-looking, and the old distinction between “traveling” and “vacationing” becomes more pronounced. As the Oasis passes by port after port, please pardon the passengers if they’re not gathered at the rail watching the world pass by. There’s every on-board enticement not to.

“In a recent interview,” Frommer wrote on his blog, “I used the words “a dumbing down of the travel experience” to characterize Oasis of the Seas. I was being generous.”

This isn’t the end of this story. Gadling will be on board for the inaugural cruise of the Oasis of the Seas, and we’ll tell you what it’s like to set sail on this engineering marvel.

The Spice Isle: Nutmeg’s always the answer in Grenada

by Alison Brick on

You wouldn’t know it from the abundance of nutmeg in shops, but Grenada’s production of the spice stopped five years ago. And it’ll continue to be at a halt for another five years. Why? Because of Hurricane Ivan. 82% of the island’s nutmeg trees were destroyed by the 2004 hurricane.

But amazingly enough, there’s still plenty of nutmeg there.

On my recent trip to Grenada, I found it everywhere — mostly whole (as large seeds) and ground. But at any market, you’ll also find it as jelly and jam, as essence and oil, as syrup for ice cream, as a sugary candy (oddly named “nutmeg cheese”), and in everything else from ice cream to coffee. Buy one of the island’s rum drinks from the bar, and you’ll always get a finishing touch of grated nutmeg on top. It even has medicinal purposes –- Nut-Med comes as a lotion or spray to relieve pain in muscles and joints.

Is it just me, or does it seem to make everything happy, like egg nog during the holidays?

Actually, it may be scientifically proven. It’s been said that if you get a big enough whiff of the fresh spice, you’ll get a type of addictive high.

%Gallery-77070%Even despite Hurricane Ivan’s wrath, the country remains the world’s #2 nutmeg supplier (behind Indonesia), because of its stockpile.

The island isn’t known as “The Spice Isle” for nothing. It boasts more spices per square mile than any other place in the world, including cinnamon, cloves, mace, turmeric, and allspice. And no other is more abundant than nutmeg.

Known as the “black gold of Grenada,” nutmeg is so beloved and ubiquitous that it’s on the national flag. But, surprisingly, it’s not indigenous – it was introduced to the island by the Indonesians.

To see nutmeg at its source – and to get some helpful insider knowledge – a good place to stop is the Dougaldston Spice Boucan.

At the boucan (spice-drying shed), guides pass around samples to illustrate that the nutmeg grows on a tree within a pod. You can’t rush the growing – you have to wait for it to naturally split in two, rather than breaking it apart. Inside, you’ll find a hard brown shell that’s the size of a small egg.

At this stage, the waxy fingers of mace that surrounds the shell gets all of the attention. But it deserves to – it takes center stage with its brilliant red color. Take off the mace and dry it for a few days (it’ll eventually change to a dull orange color), then use it to season things like soup and pies.

As for the nutmeg, let it dry as well. After about eight weeks, shake it and you’ll hear the seed inside. That means it’s time to crack the shell and grate the nutmeg.

The Dougaldston Spice Boucan isn’t limited to nutmeg and mace. It gives a good crash course on other things grown and processed on the grounds, like cocoa, bay leaves, and cinnamon.

Alison Brick traveled through Grenada on a trip sponsored by the Grenada Board of Tourism. That said, she could write about anything that struck her fancy. (And it just so happens that these are the things that struck her fancy.) You can read more from her The Spice Isle: Grenada series here.