Red, green and gold

In October 1983, the Caribbean island of Grenada was invaded by the United States. This military action deposed a Marxist–Leninist government established four years earlier in a bloodless coup. The USA had become increasingly concerned about the nation’s close ties with Cuba, Nicaragua, and other communist bloc countries. Cold War tensions were rising at the time. Months earlier, Ronald Regan had publicly declared the Soviet Union an evil empire, and the Soviets had shot down a Korean airliner over the Sea of Japan.

The invasion marked the first time I recall ever hearing of Grenada. Yesterday, Garry and I visited this island nation as part of our Caribbean cruise. It proved to be another memorable and picturesque port. Our boat docked at St George’s, the nation’s capital, shortly before 9:00am. Once again, the forecast was for warm, humid, and sunny conditions, with a high of 26°C and a low of 25°C.

The island's surprisingly moderate climate gives rise to its reputation as the "Island of Spice. Stable tropical temperatures ensure the success of spice production, its primary export. Nutmeg is a key crop, followed by spices such as cocoa, mace, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon and ginger. Our cruise notes claim its the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg.

After breakfast, we joined a morning tour of the Clarke’s Court Distillery to learn the secrets of making great Caribbean rum. It was also our first formal visit to a Caribbean distillery. Interestingly, we learned that it no longer makes rum from locally grown sugar cane. Instead, the distillery imports molasses from other islands, mainly Barbados. We learned that most distilleries in the Caribbean now use imported rum. Apparently, in the absence of slave labour, sugar cane growing is an expensive exercise that generates relatively poor margins.

Our tour took us through the distillery’s old sugar cane mill. The equipment used for crushing cane and extracting its juice is still maintained in working condition. Once every few months, the ageing machinery is started, greased and left to run for a while. The crusher's massive cog wheels and rotating cylinders are certainly impressive (but weren’t in action during our visit).

Our tour guide then took us up a steep metal staircase to the distillery’s mezzanine level, where it still makes rum. Large, heated vats boil down molasses and prepare it for fermentation. Likewise, several impressive stainless steel distillation plants continue to extract the precious liquor from the fermented product.

As part of the tour, we indulged in a rum tasting experience. Our guide told us we could sample three rums from 16 different options. However, Garry and I ultimately sampled at least five each. Some were wonderfully smooth and dangerously easy to consume. Others had more heat and left their mark as they went down. I bought a bottle of Sorell-flavoured rum. Sorell is a native red flower that gives the liquor a cranberry-like flavour. Who doesn’t like Cranberry vodka?

Our morning tour finished with an excursion to Morne Rouge Beach, where we enjoyed another dip in the Caribbean, a few complimentary cold beers and some sunbathing. According to Google Maps, we were hosted by the Beach X-scape Bar, a simple, wooden pavilion set back from the beach itself. We then returned to the Silver Shadow for lunch, driving along the capital’s scenic waterfront and through the Sendall Tunnel linking its horseshoe-shaped inner harbour with a cruise terminal on the Caribbean coast.

According to Wikipedia, the harbour is an old volcanic crater. Our cruise notes describe Grenada's capital as literally rolling down the ancient crater's sloping hills to an attractive waterfront decorated by floral-hued buildings, Georgian architecture and idyllic terracotta roofs. It's a very apt description.

Sendall Tunnel is a bit of an eye-opener. It’s a historic 105-metre passageway built in 1894-1895. The tunnel is only wide enough for one-way traffic. However, pedestrians happily pass through it in either direction, dodging traffic by staying close to the side wall as they walk. It’s hair-raising stuff.

After lunch, I decided to return to St George’s for a walk along its picturesque waterfront. My sweaty route included a transit through Sendall Tunnel on the way into town and again upon returning to the boat. Grenada’s Independence Day will be celebrated on 7 February. As a result, the town is currently decked out in the colours of the national flag in preparation for the big day. A flurry of red, green and gold was displayed proudly everywhere I walked. 

I made a complete circuit of the inner harbour from Sendall Tunnel as far as Cooper Hill. I then climbed a steep, grass-covered stairway that took me up to Mitchell Lane, a quiet street which follows a ridgeline overlooking the harbour. I had hoped the elevation would give me some memorable views of the town below, Fort George (an imposing fortification on the opposite side of the harbour) and the surrounding Caribbean coast. I wasn't disappointed. The steamy climb was well worth the effort, as you'll see from the images above and below.

I followed the road back down to Roy St. John Field, a large sports field next to the local container port. Local schools were hosting a sports day on the field. Colourful crowds were cheering on the children, while a hyped-up commentator was delivering a rousing scoreboard update. I then returned to the boat, passing the local fishing fleet, colonial stone-clad buildings and other memorable landmarks.  Delighted to report that I ultimately clocked up 10,384 steps yesterday.

Grenada is the furthest south we’re venturing on this cruise. It’s definitely been one of my favourite islands so far. We've yet to visit three islands, so unless something exceptional crops up, I think it’ll remain a highlight.

St Barts

Today was another bucket list moment. For years, I’ve wanted to see aircraft landing at Gustaf III Airport on the island of Saint Barthélemy. The airport’s final approach for landing is nothing short of spectacular. Pilots must fly low over a hilltop traffic circle, then descend dramatically along the contour of the hillside before touching down on a short runway. There’s no margin for error as the 646-metre-long runway ends abruptly at a narrow sandy beach. Pilots require special certification to land here.

Our cruise ship dropped anchor shortly before 8:00am this morning. I decided months ago that we should do our own thing today. As a result, Garry and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before catching a tender into Gustavia, the capital of Saint Barthelemy. I timed our tender transfer so that we'd reach the airport lookout in time to see the largest scheduled aircraft arriving.

It took us about 15 minutes to walk from the port up to the island’s infamous hilltop traffic circle. A tour guide waiting on the roadside kindly directed us to a hidden lookout on the hillside. Within minutes of reaching the lookout, we were treated to the most extraordinary feat of flying I’ve ever seen. The experience was every bit as breathtaking as the photos and videos you see online. 

We watched a 19-seater Winair DHC-6 Twin Otter descend steeply towards our advantage point, swoop mere metres above the traffic below us, and fly dramatically down slope to nail a perfect landing. None of us who witnessed the spectacle could believe our eyes. The video I captured tells the story better than words ever could.

Garry and I spent an hour at the roundabout on Route D212 watching smaller aircraft come into land. We also watched them take off from the short, sloping runway and climb steeply to clear the beach beyond the threshold. We couldn’t get enough of it. That’s another tick on the bucket list. Now I want to experience landing here as a passenger!

Afterwards, Garry and I walked back down the hill to Gustavia to explore the town. Along the way, we stopped to check out the view from Gustavia Lighthouse. And what a view it was. Saint Barthélemy is renowned as a playground for the rich and famous. As a result, the harbour was filled with a fleet of shiny super yachts, while even larger, mega yachts were anchored offshore. Apparently, it costs thousands of dollars a day to moor along the wharf.

There’s absolutely no doubt that St Barts is for the rich and famous. The township was immaculate with beautifully finished buildings along a spotlessly clean waterfront. Flawlessly curated shop windows were touting all manner of designer goods, including Rolex watches, Hermes scarves and Burberry handbags. Gustavia couldn’t be more different to the cluttered and ramshackle streets we’ve witnessed on every other island so far. Unlike St Lucia last week, it lived up to its reputation.

We walked about two-thirds of the waterfront, but decided against visiting Fort Oscar on the opposite headland, or For Karl overlooking nearby Shell Beach. The wealth and opulence on display everywhere we walked were simply mind-blowing. If you ever want to feel poor and destitute, just take a walk through the streets of Gustavia!  

The history of St Barts mirrors that of so many islands in the Caribbean. Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover it in 1493. He named it in honour of his younger brother, Bartolomeo. Sporadic visits continued for the next hundred years until formal colonisation began to take shape under the French. It subsequently became a Swedish colony after the French exchanged it for better trading rights elsewhere in 1784. 

The Swedes renamed St Barts largest town Gustavia, after the Swedish King Gustav III, and transformed the island into a free port. They did quite well out of it. France took notice and promptly repurchased it in 1877. Today, the island is an autonomous French territory, known formerly as a French Overseas Collectivity.

One final highlight from this morning's excursion. We encountered a tortoise on the sidewalk as we made our way to the airport lookout. This lonely creature was wandering along a footpath bordered on one side by a high concrete retaining wall and on the other by a concrete-curbed roadway. How on earth did it end up in such an unfriendly location?  When we walked back down the hill an hour later, it was nowhere to be seen.

St John USVI

Our Caribbean cruise is an all-inclusive affair. That is, the price we paid includes everything, such as meals, drinks, and excursions in every port. We also received some shipboard credit that we’ve put to good use for spa treatments and reservations at the ship’s fine-dining restaurant.

To make the most of it, I signed us up for an excursion at every port more than a year ago. However, Garry wanted to retain a little flexibility along the way. I researched the ports we were scheduled to visit and identified three where we could do our own thing in our own time. The first of these was Cruz Bay on the island of St. John, which we visited today. The second is St. Barthélemy, which we’ll visit tomorrow.

Today was designated a beach day. One of the excursions on offer involved a guided walk to a nearby beach. After a little Google Maps research, I decided we could do this without a guide and choose our own departure time. St John is also part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. As a result, everyone on board had to be individually cleared by immigration agents this morning, regardless of whether they were going ashore.

The immigration agents ran late. They didn’t board until after 9:30am, so every excursion was running late. Cruz Bay is also another tender port, so passengers booked on excursions automatically received priority on the tender. You could say that the decision to do our own thing paid off today. We eventually caught a tender ashore around 10:30am, then made our way to Honeymoon Beach via the Lind Point Trail.

The trail features two routes around Lind Point. The Upper Trail takes you to a lookout offering a panoramic view of Cruz Bay township and Galge Cove, while the Lower Trail offers more shade during the heat of the day. We took the upper trail to the beach, about two kilometres in total. The view from the lookout was well worth the climb. The beach was equally divine. We’ve voted this beach the most aquamarine water we’ve seen so far.

Our beach time was briefly interrupted by a passing shower. However, I took to the water and thus was happy to get wet. We decided to head back after a couple of hours, as fresh rain clouds were building on the horizon. We timed our departure to perfection as the heavens opened minutes after we started walking back along the Lower Trail. Thank goodness I had the forethought to pack an umbrella this morning. Given the inclement weather, we decided to return to the boat rather than explore the town.

Today’s fun fact. St John USVI covers the same land area as Manhattan. My total number of countries visited now stands at 81. I’m delighted to have finally reached my eighties.