Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

By John Blanchette

Lying 100 miles off the coast of Venezuela, the Caribbean island nation of Grenada is one of the smallest in the Western Hemisphere. Shaped like a flounder, it measures 21 miles from tail to mouth and spans 12 miles from fin to fin. Grenada is the most southerly of the Windward Islands, just 12 degrees from the equator. It lies at the end of the island chains that begin south of Florida.

For such a tiny swatch of land, the rich volcanic soils have endowed the island with an abundance of flora, fruit, fauna and natural beauty. The interior volcanic mountains that pushed up from the sea floor to 2,700 feet are ringed with a lush green rainforest full of all manner of colorful plants, fruit and nut-bearing trees, birds of all feathers, monkeys, wild goats, boars, fish-filled streams, mosquitoes, and frogs with identity problems who hop up into trees and sing like birds all night long.

Grenada was originally discovered in 1498 by Christopher Columbus, who named it Concepcion, but Spanish sailors renamed it Grenada after the town they felt it resembled in their native land. When the British took control in 1783, the pronunciation was changed to Gre-nay-da. They also encouraged the slave trade that brought Africans to the island to work the tobacco and sugar-cane plantations until emancipation in 1834. Today 85 percent of Grenadians trace their family history to Africa.

Most important to food lovers like me, it's the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, introduced from Indonesia in 1843, and it has sizable harvests of mace, the red covering on nutmeg; cinnamon bark; bay leaves; cloves; turmeric; cocoa; and sugar cane and ginger, which accounts for the nickname "Isle of Spice." Among the tropical fruits that grow here is breadfruit, which was first brought to the island from the South Pacific in 1793 by the notorious Captain Bligh.

Anyone who can climb a tree or bait a hook will never be hungry in Grenada, and foraging is a popular source of food on this island of 100,000 inhabitants. It is generally acknowledged that the best cuisine in the Caribbean is found here. Fish is abundant, and many of the coastal towns rely on the catch as the main source of protein. Fish Friday in the fishing village of Gouyave is a weekly nighttime celebration of everything from the sea. Deep-sea fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving are also important to the economy.

One important development is the growth of cocoa planting and sales. Mott Green's Chocolate Co. has revitalized the industry by producing some of the finest organic chocolate in the world, sought after by Switzerland, Belgium and Austria. At the drying plant on Belmont Estate there is a shop where visitors can taste the finest chocolate in the world and where I spent a good bit of time researching the product. This is an authentic 17th-century working plantation that also has a goat cheese farm and an open-air, wood-ceilinged restaurant featuring local cuisine.

The nutmeg and spice processing plant of Dougaldston dates back to the 1760s and is still functioning. Visitors can take the tour and purchase a bag of nutmeg for a dollar. The River Antoine Rum Distillery, which dates to 1785, crushes the juice out of sugar cane by using a giant water wheel to turn the mill. For $2 it is possible to tour and taste the mega-proof high-octane distillate that is only sold on the island. For a more refined exported rum, there's the island-made Westerhall. The national drink, rum punch, is topped with a grating of nutmeg. Carib lager beer, also brewed on the island, is a pleasant diversion from rum drinks.

But there's more than food to this island. The Concord and Seven Sisters waterfalls, which lie inside the rainforest at the end of somewhat strenuous hikes, are especially inviting after the somewhat strenuous hike necessary to reach them.

Grenada is a former British colony, so locals drive on the left-hand side, and traffic is a nightmare. Most Grenadians walk or take the inexpensive street taxis that offer a wild ride on the curved, narrow and crowded streets. The best idea for seeing the island is to join a guided tour van. Drivers used to the quirks of the road and spatial challenges presented make for a much safer and more enjoyable ride.

WHEN YOU GO

By law no building on this island can be taller than the tallest coconut tree. The peaceful landscaping preserves the integrity of the beaches, which are all open to the public. I stayed at the Calabash (www.calabashhotel.com) and Spice Island Beach Resorts (www.spiceislandbeachresort.com). Both are exceptional properties with spas, lovely grounds, private pools and exceptional dining. They lie on Grand Anse Beach, one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean. Calabash offers tablecloth patio breakfasts and an ocean-side bar.

One of the most beautiful properties is Laluna Resort (www.laluna.com), located in the quiet cove of Morne Rouge Beach. Elegant thatched cottages are sprinkled in the hills above the main activity areas — spa and yoga facilities, a friendly beach bar and restaurant featuring an exceptional Italian chef. Owner Bernardo Bertucci and his wife, Wendy, have hosted such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman multiple times, and Richard Branson and his wife.

An inexpensive option is a house stay. For around $30 a night you can rent a room in a private home. The currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar, about 2.7 to the American dollar, but U.S. dollars are accepted everywhere.

Another elegant dining spot is at True Blue Bay Resort, where guests dine over the water on the resort's wooden pier. Don't miss the dessert course of nutmeg cheesecake or soursop ice cream: www.truebluebay.com.

Two excellent options for island fare are Patrick's and BB's Crabback. Patrick's serves 20-course tasting meals for $23 that include Grenada's national dish, oildown (pronounced oil-dung), which is much better than it sounds. It's a curried stew made of coconut, breadfruit, salted meat and/or fish, peppers, carrots, onions, bitter greens, dumplings, herbs and spices. Also look for the conch salad, goat curry, tasty callaloo soup, chicken salad, gingered pork, chewy fish cakes, fritters, stewed octopus and saltfish.

Brian Benjamin, owner of BB's Crabback, took me on a guided tour of the Saturday market in St. George's, grabbing fresh fruit and vegetables as we moved from stall to stall, including some giant land crabs that would later end up in his signature dish back at the restaurant. His saltfish salad was spectacular.

Belmont Estate: www.belmontestate.com

Dive Grenada organizes tours of the Underwater Sculpture Park, sunken ships and the reefs: www.divegrenada.com.

Caribbean and American Airlines have daily flights from several U.S. cities. From Miami it is a three-hour trip. Delta Airlines also services Grenada once a week, non-stop from New York, as does American Eagle via San Juan.

The Grenada Board of Tourism, www.grenadagrenadines.com or 800-927-9554, provides comprehensive booklets on island cuisine, activities and events, maps and brochures, information on yearly festivals and guides to housing in all price ranges.

John Blanchette is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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