As our time in Grenada draws to a close, we decided to join some fellow cruisers on one of the best rated island tours run by Cuddy, who knows his island well.

The day-long trip started with grey clouds and rain but that didn’t spoil Cuddy’s enthusiasm or ours as he kept pulling up at the side of the road to point out, show us and let us taste the abundance of fruits and spices growing everywhere on the island – it’s not called the Spice Island for nothing and as Cuddy said, ‘There is no reason for anybody here to go to bed on an empty stomach’.

We learnt how the bark of the cinnamon tree curls as it dries into the cinnamon sticks that we are familiar with. We’d probably walked past loads of fresh ginger on our hikes but picked straight from the ground, we saw the whole plant for the first time. Golden apples are now in season, and they taste similar to a cross between an apple, pear and nectarine, and are delicious. Did you know that cocoa beans, fresh from the pod before they are fermented and dried, feel and taste like furry lemon sweets.

The day brightened up as we continued our tour across the island to the Annandale Falls and the Grand Etang National Park for a view of the Crater Lake. Our lunch-stop was at the St. Antoine Rum Distillery, where we had a delicious buffet lunch on a terrace overlooking the sugar cane fields before touring the distillery.

The afternoon saw us visiting The Grenada Chocolate Company before we toured the north of the island passing through the town of Sauteurs (French word meaning leapers), where in 1685 the Caribs leapt to their deaths from the cliff rather than be enslaved by the French, and then on to Petit Anse with great views north to Carriacou.

The sun was beginning to set as we drove down the west coast, stopping to admire centuries old petroglyphs (stone carvings) on the way. We certainly packed a lot into just one day but it will be a day that we shall remember for a long time to come.

CRUISERS NOTES
Cuddy. Tel: 473 407 5133. Air-conditioned, comfy minibus. US$25 pp (based on 8 adults) + entrance fees approx.. EC$10 and lunch EC$35.