03 May 2024

Grenada

We offer a wide choice of cheap flights to Grenada together with Grenada hotels, tours and self-drive itineraries.

Other Caribbean Reviews

Call me Anneka Spice

The TV presenter discovers that the gorgeous island of Grenada is every bit as eccentric as it is exotic

Grenada - Proudly displaying their catch

1 A roadside BBQ in Gouyave 2 Proudly displaying their catch 3 The pool at Spice Island

TWO YEARS AGO during the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, my most glamorous friend Tim Rice took a rather grand boat for the season, in the way other people take cottages in Cornwall.

Each night as we slept it purred its way to the next island and the next match. We had a grand tour of the Caribbean, starting in Antigua, popping into St Lucia, Bequia, Grenada and Barbados.

Grenada captivated me and I couldn’t wait to return. It is stunningly beautiful and friendly. Known as the Spice Isle, it is actually made up of three islands: Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Grenada is the largest of the three at 120 square miles but its volcanic origin has produced a topography that makes little of it accessible.

The land soars from the coast to almost 3,000ft and is a tumble of rainforests, waterfalls, windy roads and lush fauna and flora. Exotic fruits, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, cocoa and nutmeg spring from every shoot.

Rhythm of the day is natural

On my recent return, another glamorous friend and I stayed at the Spice Island Beach Resort, an all-inclusive family-run hotel owned by Sir Royston Hopkin. It is a gem, friendly and discreet.

The hotel, and most of the island, was flattened during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Grenadians stoically see it as an event that brought everyone closer together and an opportunity to embrace a new era of tourism.

The newly-renovated Spice Island Beach Resort snuggles among the mangrove trees lining Grande Anse beach, a two-mile stretch of glorious sand.

The accommodating staff found me a bungalow on the beach, with French windows opening straight on to a terrace, a day bed and hammock, and the sea sparkling in front of me.

At dawn I could see the fishermen bringing in the morning’s catch. Visitors here are in the minority and the rhythm of the day is natural. Beach sellers wander by very occasionally but with no expectation of tourists buying anything.

We went to explore the capital, St George’s, with Geoffrey, our driver. The town is considered the most beautiful in the Caribbean. Houses painted pastel pink, blue and green tumble down the hillside.

It was 4pm and the streets were ablaze with children in pristine blue and green uniforms, spilling out in long crocodiles along the narrow streets. We passed a funeral by the old fort, with prayers being said outside at a spectacular hilltop cemetery. The scene all at once could have been Mediterranean, passionate yet respectful, against a backdrop of Georgian, Victorian and Regency architecture.

Food and wines were exceptional

Grenada finally got full independence from Britain in 1974 and in the capital’s museum is a gift from the British Government, a tea set laid out in a rickety glass cabinet. Five years later, a communist government had taken over and in 1983 there was a dramatic invasion by US and Caribbean forces. But despite their trials and tribulations, the Grenadians have remained gentle, tranquil and charming.

Grenada has 156 inches of rain a year and most of it seemed to fall on our heads as we went hiking in the rainforest with our amazing guide, Mandoo. Bamboo and ferns were steaming in the gentle drizzle and we saw birds of paradise, herons, and startling pegonias and hibiscus.

Mandoo stopped at a nutmeg tree and scraped back the pulp for us to taste.

We ate guavas and admired the pink ixoras and ginger flowers.

We saw avocado trees, 300-year-old silk cotton trees and the ubiquitous cocoa trees. The bright green sap everywhere was vibrant against the red earth.

At the hotel, the food and wines were exceptional – but we did have two memorable evenings out. One was at a restaurant called Patrick’s, on the road to St George’s. There was peeling paint and two tables on a rickety veranda.

Patrick settled us down with lethal rum punches, perhaps to steel us for the giant feast of home-style dishes to come. We had swordfish floaters, fried jacks, curried goat, conch salad and marlin as part of an 18-dish feast. After paying the bill we were given our instructions: ‘In the morning you will suck an orange.’ So we left clutching our oranges, confused because he never explained why we needed them.

Afterwards we headed for the Dodgy Dock Bar, about as far removed from Patrick’s as you can get. It was the Grenada Cricket Classics weekend and there was a bit of a party, or ‘a lime’, going on in this restaurant set on stilts over True Blue Bay.

Beautiful young people wafted around, swaying to the reggae. We found out that they were medical students from St George’s University. What a place to become a doctor.

One of the most endearing things about Grenada is its big nightly get-togethers. If it’s Monday it’s crab racing, Tuesday is poetry night and on Friday, in the town of Gouyave, it’s fish night.

Our journey to Gouyave took an hour along mountain roads, through tiny hamlets. Gates and walls were bedecked with green, yellow and red paint. It is a matter of national pride to graffiti your village in the most creative way possible - the government even supplies the paint.

It was party time

In Gouyave chefs had set up stalls selling every conceivable type of seafood, from sizzling shrimp kebabs to lobster and jerked marlin.

Locals and visitors were all mingling and swaying to the steel band, steam rising from barbecues and vast vats. The Carib beers were cracked open and it was party time.

During our stay we also went to Carriacou, which is 90 minutes away by ferry. Or it should be. Every now and again the regular boat is serviced and a juddery supply vessel takes over. When we arrived two-and-a-quarter hours later, we were directed by a friendly jogger to an idyllic beach, with soft white sand and shoals of colourful fish swimming in the clear water.

We then walked back along the beach and found the Sand Island Cafe. ‘You want fish lunch or chicken lunch?’ asked the owner. We opted for both and I had the meal of the week – red snapper fried in garlic with rice and plantains.

We’d had our adventure, and back at our perfect hotel it was again hard to drag ourselves away for the rest of the stay.

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