Island Life October/November 2018

Travel
other holiday destinations, the
planners have ensured that
these remain inconspicuous
and do not mar the landscape.
The culture in Grenada
incorporates a blend of African,
French and British, with West
African influences especially
found in the food and music of
the sister island, Carriacou. Many
place names are French and
some dialect words can be traced
back to the time of the French
rule. Initially inhabited by Caribs
when Europeans arrived, Grenada
thereafter was passed between
French and British rule until it
was ceded to Britain in 1763.
The most famous of all the
crops on the Island is nutmeg,
and the fact that Grenada is the
world’s largest nutmeg producer
can be seen represented on its
national flag. Independence was
finally declared in February 1974,
a revolutionary Government
took control in 1979, and
in then1983 a second coup
prompted intervention by
the USA, when Constitutional
Government was reinstated.
In September 2004,
hurricane Ivan hit the island
causing loss of life and severe
damage – an extremely rare
occurrence since the Island
sits south of the hurricane
belt, and so rarely experiences
such extremes of weather.
There is so much to do and
to see on the island in addition
to just simply relaxing and
enjoying the stunning scenery
and beautiful unspoilt beaches.
Cocoa and chocolate production
is widespread, and there is now
a total of five ‘tree to bar’ cocoa
producers on Grenada. The first
was the Grenadian Chocolate
Company founded in 1999. The
big annual Chocolate Fest is
celebrating its sixth year in May
2019, and would be well worth
a visit. Visitors can spend a day
on a cocoa farm, tasting cocoa
direct from the tree, followed
by a journey from harvest to
fermentation and drying to the
chocolate making itself, and
then head off to the Belmont
Estate to see the Cocoa Estate
Factory. Grenada Chocolate
Company recently opened
a new Bon Bon Boutique by
its factory in Hermitage.
Like many of the Caribbean
islands, Grenada also boasts
excellent rum, there being three
distillers on the Island that have
remained pretty much unchanged
since their construction in the 18th
century. Sugar cane and water
from its fields make the rum, and
the distillery is run by a watermill.
Tours and tastings are free.
If you are looking for spices,
then Grenada is one of the
finest places in the world to find
them, with an amazingly wide
variety that includes nutmeg,
mace, cinnamon, ginger, allspice
and pimento, all grown by local
farmers and families and on sale
islandwide. You will also find
nutmeg in many of the local
recipes, from salad dressings
to ice cream, and it is usually
grated on top of a rum punch.
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