You could say that Alan and I were novice travellers the first time we set foot on Granada and the pressure of the offers of taxies, walking tour guides, buy this spice, come over here, taxi, taxi, taxi…….overwhelmed us so much, we returned the ship in jig time. We did peak out again before we left, but were always uncomfortable about Granada and really didn’t care if we ever returned.
But we also knew this was not fair, it was us not being familiar with the Caribbean and the experience of being offered all the opportunities to see these beautiful islands. Most of them depend on tourism and the season for cruise ships arriving is not very long. In addition to this, we have heard others rave about the beauty of Granada, so we knew we had to discover this for ourselves, and we did this time!
Arriving at Granada, there is a lovely mall, which seems bigger than I remember and a darling spice market right outside. Across the street and up a hill is another lovely market, again with spices and also fruits and other things. But the main thing travellers see when they get to this mall is the army of taxi drivers!
When you think of taxies, it is probably just a normal taxi and that is not what i mean, these are mini-buses, seating 10 or more and they all need passengers. Many times you can negotiate a better price than the first one offered and sometimes, alter the route if there is something specific you want to do, or just go to the beach.
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| Ken Campbell |
We found Ken Campbell and, along with Anne and Colin, joined a group of folks to begin our official introduction to this amazing and beautiful island.
The port is in St George’s and has two parts, the part easily accessible from the ship and the Carenage on the other side that you reach by using a tunnel, which allows one way traffic for a single lane of cars and the people walk on the left hand side. If we are ever back, I would like to take this walk and spend some time in the Carenage. (I also love how, two islands spell this inlet of water differently!)
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| Cocoa Pod with Cocoa Beans inside |
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| So many spices, so little time! |
Our first stop was at a little shop where we got a demonstration of how the spices grow and how to use them. Since most people my age probably grew up only seeing spices in jars, to see how mace grows around the nutmeg, or how to grate cinnamon and nutmeg instead of just shaking it out of a jar was a fabulous introduction to this beautiful spice island!
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| View from Fort Frederick |
Above St George’s is Fort Frederick, this is a steep hill and I am glad we had the taxi to take us up here for the amazing view.
One difference of our tour today and the one in Dominica, is Ken took us to these places and we had the choice of paying admission, or not. The 3 places he took us cost $2 entry fee and were worth it, except for Crater Lake!
The third place we had to pay admission was to Annandale Falls and, again, well worth the price. There were also a group of young men called the Annandale Jumpers Association, who climb up to the top of the falls and literally jump in! That was absolutely amazing! Ken, our taxi driver, told us he did that when he was about 15, but is not so adventurous now!
All these places have gorgeous women with fabulous head dresses made of fruit, flowers and leaves, or guitar players or the falls jumpers, and each one just wants a dollar so you can take their photo. Many are worth it but all these dollars added up too!
Returning to St George’s, we walked to the larger spice market and one of the stall holders was so friendly and genuine that I was literally stopped in my tracks and made the intended spice purchases from her. The funny thing was, she had been talking to Anne, not me. But her approach was fabulous and she stole my heart!
I am so happy we gave Granada another chance. I knew it was our own inexperience that caused us to be so uncomfortable on this island, and I would come back here any time!
From the Back of Roland’s taxi:
"Love is a long journey, so travel light."
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