Wed DECEMBER 26, 2012 - BOXING DAY IN GRENADA, CARIBBEAN
arrival 8am all aboard 945pm
When we looked out of our porthole shortly after 6am, all we could see was the concrete wall of the pier -looks like we were docked! After checking the news (several channels available depending on the satellite including BBC, MSNBC) we had a leisurely stroll up for breakfast arriving to blue skies and sunshine just as a passing shower passed by! We wiped off the seats while PUTU wiped off the glass topped tables with a squeegee, and positioned our chairs to keep the sun out of our eyes while we ate breakfast enjoying the views of the hills of St George's Grenada all around us.
After breakfast we sat at the back of the ship at a table bringing the last of the blog up to date so that we could use the WIFI in St George's. In this area at the back of the Wind Spirit starboard side is the only place where the passengers are allowed to smoke. I was surprised at how many folks came for their morning fag - and amongst these several young folks. Being a Christmas Cruise there are many multi generation families on board - Grandparents, children and grandchildren. The youngest grandchildren are in their late teens or early 20's and there must be at least a dozen amongst the families. The majority of the passengers are from USA and Canada, with much smaller numbers from UK and Switzerland.
Anyway - we are docked at the old main pier (not the new cruise ship terminal) where we first docked in January 1998 with Mom and Dad - we were here for their 50th wedding Anniversary. Docked behind us is the Voyager from the Voyages of Discovery cruise line. We hear there are more cruise ships docked at the main cruise ship pier on the other side of the harbour. We are now about to head out and explore!!!
We walked around the old Harbour (saying No to all the taxi drivers - no problem they were just looking for a fare, not aggressive) and took photos of St Georges- it is a really pretty half moon shaped harbour, with lots of colourful buildings around the harbour and going up the steep hills behind the harbour. St Georges has quite a history from invasion to a devastating hurricane in 2004. Columbus "discovered" Grenada back in 1492 on his 3rd voyage but the indigenous Carib Indians were most unfriendly so it was not colonized until 1650 when the French founded St George's. Then the island went backwards and forwards between the British and French until Grenada became a British Colony in 1783 and remained so until independence in 1974. There was turmoil in 1983 when it was invaded by the USA due to what appeared to be a communist takeover in Grenada backed by Cuba. This was an overnight invasion, over as quickly as it started, and that was the end of the Cuba communism supported threat in Grenada - now it continues as a beautiful, if small, 21 miles by 13 miles island (population 110,000) known as the Spice Island - the biggest nutmeg producer in the world and also a myriad of additional spices including cloves, cocoa, ginger, vanilla and every fruit you could think of.
Touring the island is not fast due to the mountains and narrow winding roads. Grenada is situated in the Southern Caribbean about 100 miles north of Venezuela and seldom sees hurricanes, but in 2004 Hurricane Ivan devastated St George's which is home to about one third of the population, 35,000, and destroyed almost 90% of the buildings which are slowly recovering but it has been a long slow process.
The harbour entrance was protected since the 1700's by two forts and we had visited the larger Fort George on a previous visit - located high up with wonderful views. Due to the long way around from the old harbour to the newer harbour (where the cruise ship pier is located) a tunnel was dug through the mountain making this a pleasant walk. Essentially nothing was open in the Old Harbour and the only stores open on the other side of the tunnel were the stores in the cruise ship pier - there were a couple of large cruise ships visiting (a big Celebrity ship and the Silversea Silver Spirit). Given that it was Boxing Day it's amazing that any stores were open! We also found free WIFI outside the LIME communications centre and managed to sendoff a couple of quick emails and update our blog.
Wandering back through the tunnel we headed for BB Crabcake, a small local restaurant on the waterfront that came highly recommended. We were looking for a cold Caribe beer and our timing was perfect. We had no sooner had the ice cold draft Caribe $8 US for two half pints) than the rain started and it was a tropical downpour - very heavy and quite short, just long enough to enjoy our beer while we watched every table in the restaurant moved inside and wiped down while everyone waited to sit down again! Then we wandered back around the harbour which looked freshly painted with vibrant colours after being washed down by the rain. All the local fishermen were back in port for the Holiday Season and we enjoyed a conversation with 3 locals, including Captain Willy and a young Rastafarian, eating lunch on the deck of their boat which had seen many years of service. Captain Willy told us they go out for two weeks at a time fishing then return to St George's to sell their catch: red snapper, tuna, mahi mahi.
Back at the Wind Spirit we ate a light lunch and enjoyed a lazy afternoon looking forward to the BBQ on deck that night. The BBQ was excellent, especially for me the crab salad in avocado and the grilled lobster - I had seconds that lobster was cooked to perfection! Just as enjoyable was the Angels Harps steel band (known as the best in Grenada) who came on board and played for over two hours - just great music and smooth - wonderful music! They headed off around 930pm and then it was line dancing! The Wind Spirit does this perfectly - a good number of staff members have learned the routines - so they all get up and start dancing - this encourages the guests to get up and join in since there is already a good crowd on deck! Everyone had lots of fun and after several tunes there was a long conga line around the deck. Then the anchor was raised, the Wind Spirit turned towards the harbour entrance, and the sails were being raised as we slipped away. Vangelis 1492 was on the speakers as we sailed away from St George's, Grenada and before long the twinkling lights were fading away on the horizon and all we could hear was the wind in the sails on the Wind Spirit. The full moon was out too with clear skies and all the ships flags over the deck. The best relaxation anyone could wish for before retiring to the gentle rolling of the ship on the swells of the Caribbean Sea.
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