POSITION : 12°02'•6 N and 61°45'4 W
Day / TIme : 20.01.2013 , 16:00h Local TIme
Mood : Slightly improved !
Day / TIme : 20.01.2013 , 16:00h Local TIme
Mood : Slightly improved !
We took a direct route from Saint Lucia to Grenada, and arrived there sailing through the night, on the 18.01.2013,
in a new Marina, Port Louis, in the Bay of St.George's, the capital of Grenada.
We have reached our most southern point of 12° N of our travel, roughly 720 nautical miles north of the Equator.
From now on we only go up (and back ) again into higher Latitudes.
in a new Marina, Port Louis, in the Bay of St.George's, the capital of Grenada.
We have reached our most southern point of 12° N of our travel, roughly 720 nautical miles north of the Equator.
From now on we only go up (and back ) again into higher Latitudes.
One has the feeling it didn't look much different to when
Christopher Columbus discovered this place on his third voyage in 1498.
However he called it "Conception", but Spanish sailors thought it looked with its lush hills more like the green hills of Granada,Spain, and therefore called it Grenada.
The English kept the name after they colonised it in 1609. However these settlers were not to be a happy lot. Some were eaten by the Caribs, the rest pushed back into the sea.
Then the French tried, and were slightly more successful.
They came from Martinique, and bargained for the island with probably a lot of gallic charm and alcohol , I guess, because when the Caribs woke up again some days later they felt cheated and started their normal due again : Fighting and Eating !!!
Christopher Columbus discovered this place on his third voyage in 1498.
However he called it "Conception", but Spanish sailors thought it looked with its lush hills more like the green hills of Granada,Spain, and therefore called it Grenada.
The English kept the name after they colonised it in 1609. However these settlers were not to be a happy lot. Some were eaten by the Caribs, the rest pushed back into the sea.
Then the French tried, and were slightly more successful.
They came from Martinique, and bargained for the island with probably a lot of gallic charm and alcohol , I guess, because when the Caribs woke up again some days later they felt cheated and started their normal due again : Fighting and Eating !!!
Friend or Foe ? View from the castle. 1713 or 2013 ?
But the French hung on, fought back, and encircled the last Caribs around the North Eastern part, on a cliff, from where these poor devils jumped to their deaths rather then being enslaved. That spot is named after them
"Carib's Leap" in Sauteurs ( Jumper ) Bay.
Go and have a look,....but don't jump !
"Carib's Leap" in Sauteurs ( Jumper ) Bay.
Go and have a look,....but don't jump !
Sendal Tunnel !
From that time onwards, the island changed hands between the English and the French like as on many of the other islands, when finally a
Treaty of Versailles ( where else ! ) in 1783
gave it to England.
The view from Grenada's castle must have been like that 200 years ago.
Is it an English, French or a Pirate ship. Always difficult to say.
So better stay in the castle and close the ancient
Sendal Tunnel,
built by the French in the 18th century,and running under the castle/hill to connect the harbour with part of the western town.
A very unusual feature indeed in the West Indies.
May be it was camouflaged and used as a way to get behind enemy lines in case of an assault ?
Oh dear , I should have gone to Sandhurst to improve my military skills !
But then maybe I would have ended up
in the shoe-making and polishing department of the military, or indeed the tailor side of things.
As you can see, these two "Government Departments" of Grenada,
situated high up in the castle,
cater for all 1200 military personnel,
from the High Commissioner to the Private !
Treaty of Versailles ( where else ! ) in 1783
gave it to England.
The view from Grenada's castle must have been like that 200 years ago.
Is it an English, French or a Pirate ship. Always difficult to say.
So better stay in the castle and close the ancient
Sendal Tunnel,
built by the French in the 18th century,and running under the castle/hill to connect the harbour with part of the western town.
A very unusual feature indeed in the West Indies.
May be it was camouflaged and used as a way to get behind enemy lines in case of an assault ?
Oh dear , I should have gone to Sandhurst to improve my military skills !
But then maybe I would have ended up
in the shoe-making and polishing department of the military, or indeed the tailor side of things.
As you can see, these two "Government Departments" of Grenada,
situated high up in the castle,
cater for all 1200 military personnel,
from the High Commissioner to the Private !
 After 22 years,don't ask for the working conditions ! |  32 degrees, and only some electric fans working ! |
Economically not all is good however.
Since in 2004 Hurricane Ivan devastated part of the infrastructure and 90% of the crops of their best export : Nutmeg and Cinnemon,
which gave the name to Grenada as the
Island of Spices !
Nutmeg however was only introduced in 1843 when a merchant ship called in on its way to England from the East Indies.
The ship had a small quantity of nutmeg trees on board which they left in Grenada, and this was the beginning of Grenada's nutmeg industry.
They actually were the second largest Nutmeg producer after Indonesia when this desaster hit the island.
And the consequences are still visible today.
But the Grenadians are fighting back in a more peaceful tradition, and the crops after 10 years of cultivating, bring the first harvests again.
Good luck Grenada !
Since in 2004 Hurricane Ivan devastated part of the infrastructure and 90% of the crops of their best export : Nutmeg and Cinnemon,
which gave the name to Grenada as the
Island of Spices !
Nutmeg however was only introduced in 1843 when a merchant ship called in on its way to England from the East Indies.
The ship had a small quantity of nutmeg trees on board which they left in Grenada, and this was the beginning of Grenada's nutmeg industry.
They actually were the second largest Nutmeg producer after Indonesia when this desaster hit the island.
And the consequences are still visible today.
But the Grenadians are fighting back in a more peaceful tradition, and the crops after 10 years of cultivating, bring the first harvests again.
Good luck Grenada !
 Nutmeg ! You take off the red arteries, dry the core and grind it. |  Only 2 sisters here ! |  Wild Pineapple. Cultivation takes too long for farmers. |
The last thing to mention for this quite beautiful and now by the end of January blossoming island are the various waterfalls.
I prefer the " Seven SIsters" .
One can visit them within a private estate of 200 Hectares,
owned funnily enough by.....seven sisters.
Now you know !
But the best is when i tell you where they all live ........
Now where do people who take 5 EC Dollar ( Eastern Caribbean Dollar, 2.5 EC for 1 USD ) from every visitor live ? Have a guess !
Of course in .....New York, Brooklyn actually.
I prefer the " Seven SIsters" .
One can visit them within a private estate of 200 Hectares,
owned funnily enough by.....seven sisters.
Now you know !
But the best is when i tell you where they all live ........
Now where do people who take 5 EC Dollar ( Eastern Caribbean Dollar, 2.5 EC for 1 USD ) from every visitor live ? Have a guess !
Of course in .....New York, Brooklyn actually.
 ......... WInston, here in the picture with me, who takes the money off you, is actually married to one of the seven sisters. Lucky man ! |  And the "Chief Warden and Guide" Cliffon dreams of a new life : He met at the waterfalls a girl from Australia, and now intends to marry her. She actually comes over next week, so he tells me. And you know what his dream is ? To become a plumber in Melbourne. A what ????? Does he know anything about Melbourne, has he talked ever to the unions there, does he know what expects him ? Here he is well respected, knows all the plants and trees and wildlife , and the history of the island, and he wants to become a plumber....... I wish him well, and hope his dreams will not be shattered. Why are old farts like me always so realistic. The future belongs to the young, the future is orange ...... |
.......unless you are saved by an australian Mermaid !
WOW !!!!!!
So may be there is an advantage to be 'older' .....?!?!
WOW !!!!!!
So may be there is an advantage to be 'older' .....?!?!
HEAVEN OR HELL ? DREAM OR REALITY ?
Don't worry, as my son always says : Dream on Dad !
I think it's time to leave for Carriacou, the next island, quickly !
Yours, in a very good mood actually,
Master Mike
I think it's time to leave for Carriacou, the next island, quickly !
Yours, in a very good mood actually,
Master Mike
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