SPICE IT UP IN GRENADA!

 Grenada

Monday, April 4, 2022

85F and sunny

According to Wikipedia, Grenada is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea.at the sosuthern end of the Grenadines island chain, located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela.   It is 134.6 sq miles and has an estimated population of 112,523 (2020).  Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmet and mace crops and more.

Before the arrival of the Europeans in the Americas. Grenada was inhabited by the indigenous peoples from South America. Christopher Columbus sighted Grenada in 1498 during his third voyage to the Americas. Following several unsuccessful attempts by Europeans to colonize the island due to resistance from resident Island Caribs. French settlement and colonization began in 1649 and continued for the next century. In 1763, Grenada was ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris. British rule continued until 1974.  In 1974  independence was granted.

In March 1979, the Marxist-Leninist  movement overthrew the government in a bloodless coup d'etat and established the People's Revolutionary Government. The leader was later arrested and executed by members of the People's Revolutionary Army, prompting a U.S. led invasion October 1983. Since then, the island has returned to parliamentary representative democracy and has remained politically stable.

 

Today the island seemed quite peaceful, and I was happy to return because I like buying spices here.  We started looking for my favorite spice shop by the old port. Walking through the Sendall Tunnel is a bit of a challenge because there is no sidewalk. Thankfully the roadway is one way, but it is sort of narrow.   

Sendall Tunnel

History of the tunnel

As we reached the old port area in about 15 minutes, we did not see the shop. A taxi driver told us the owner had passed away two months ago and the shop was closed. 

Old port

 

We walked back to the new port area where there were plenty of vendors selling spices and I made multiple purchases-- nutmeg, ginger, whole cloves, ground cinnamon.

Enchanted Princess is on the right, Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas.

 

Back on board the ship we had a little lunch. The ship left Grenada at 1:30 p.m., a short stop.  We met up with Lawrence and Donna for euchre on the pool deck– things evened up a little and TK and Donna won two games. We started a third game, but two hours flew by and it was time to get ready for dinner. What could be better than a listening to a great band like “Static,” while playing Euchre and watching the island float by.

 

Tonight’s dinner was at Crown Grill, a steak house, the best meal so far: crab cake, shrimp bisque, ribeye, baked potato, and apple/rhubarb dumpling (my choices).

 

I will say this is way too much food for us.

 

TK’s Takes:  The island did not smell of spices when we disembarked [usually it does!]  Playing a lot of euchre. The ship’s casino was open while we were in port—never saw that before.  Saw a Navy veteran with a U.S.S. Columbus hat, TK's Navy ship. The first time that has happened in all the years since 1972.  [this man, who served a little after TK, was a machinist below deck, TK was a boiler tender below deck].