 |
| Since we have been here for a while, I decided it was time to see ALL of this beautiful island, not just the grocery store and ships chandlery. So a few friends and I booked a bus and started our tour high above St .George. As you can see it was a busy day.... the cruise ship was in! |
 |
| Cutty was our driver and guide today. He is quite knowledgeable about everything Grenada. Here he shows us a noni. This fruit is made into a popular health juice but stinks like limburger cheese! |
 |
| North of St. George is the fishing village of Grand Mal. Here are the fishermen hauling in the nets. You'd be surprised at how many larger fish they got this close to shore. |
 |
| Grenada is famous for its nutmeg. All along our route we saw wild nutmeg trees. |
 |
| When the fruit splits the nutmeg is ripe. The red casing on the outside of the nut is mace. The dried fruit and old shells are used for mulch. The fragrance is unbelievable! |
 |
| Cocoa trees along our route. These are favorites of the local children, so much so that they are not allowed near schools! To access the bean you break open the pod. The beans are processed, similar to coffee. I had the opportunity to taste the raw bean and can understand why the kids find them such a tasty treat! |
 |
| Once the beans are removed from the cocoa pod, they are placed on drying beds. We were able to visit the Jouvay chocolate factory. Yes, free samples were included with the visit! |
 |
| The view from Petit Anse, at the northern tip of the island. In the distance you can see Petit Martinique and Kick 'em Jenny rocks. There is also a Kick 'em Jack rocks. These are named after the female and male donkeys. |
 |
| Of course, every island has its rum and Grenada is no exception. The River Antoine Rum Factory has been producing rum for over 200 years and they still do it the old fashioned way. Local sugar cane is gathered and run through the water driven conveyer belt to the crusher below. Here the juice is extracted. This particular rum is agricole rum. It's rough! Unlike many rums, no molasses is used, giving it a taste a step above moonshine! |
 |
| On the way back to St. George we cut across the island and through the rain forest of the Grand Etang Reserve. Here we spotted several Mona monkeys who seemed to know Cutty. Perhaps it was the bananas he bribed them with! |
 |
| Our final stop was the Annandale Falls. Although not the tallest falls on the island, they are quite beautiful and popular with the cruise ship passengers. We shared this beautiful spot with busloads of passengers getting an 8 hour glimpse of Grenada. I hope they enjoyed all the sights, sounds, and smells as much as I did! |
