When I use to think of Grenada, I thought Jab-Jab and chaos. Their carnivals looked lovely and outside of geography class, I knew nothing else about the island. When the opportunity came to visit, I jumped at the chance.
Now this is one of the few places in the world where I admit, staying longer wouldn't be such a bad thing but I do want to be on Magazine beach right now with a Mojito in hand!
Arrived at Maurice Bishop International Airport (GND) shortly after 1pm on a Friday afternoon. The flight was right, the air was fresh and the vibe started kicking in almost immediately. Something about the sun and the mixture of the cool Caribbean breeze, it's always nice.
Got the immigration and customs out of the way and began the vacation. By the way your first picture should be the carnival figures in the customs area, it's a touch specific to the island. The ride to the hotel was short and carried out by Nexus tours.
I stayed at the Royalton Grenada which is just a stone’s throw from the airport. As I arrived at the hotel, I was quickly shuttled to a golf cart that would take me to a separate check-in area and then my room. Check-in was seamless and I was introduced to a few members of the staff that would be essential to my stay. (Kebra & Quaver)
First order of business, switch into something more comfortable. Now armed with beach gear, I headed to Magazine beach with a Daiquiri in hand and mixed it with Jerk Chicken and fries. Let me just tell you, it was amazing being in the Caribbean sea again. I had so much fun, I fell asleep and couldn’t believe it was almost dinner time.
Freshened up and had 8:00pm reservations at the Taj, the hotels Indian option and they did not disappoint. The portions were small but that gave me the ability to try most items on the menu. Followed it up by a fireworks show and live entertainment, I couldn’t ask for a better night. The final thing for the night was a nightcap at Scoops, the hotels ice-cream shop.
The next day, I booked an island food tour with Illustrious Taxi and Tours. Donnie picked me up and we embarked on an adventure. We started in the south of the island and moved swiftly to the Capital. St. Georges is beautiful as and good as it was driving through it, the view from Enchanted was better and it came with a local breakfast. The breakfast had a bit of everything and it was also my first time having a baked-bakes.
From there we moved to the Chocolate Museum, where we got to learn the rich history of cocoa and watch the process of making it. I also had the chance to finally try raw cocoa tea and have guava chocolate. Next stop was the Annadale waterfall. There is also a sulfur bath in the area so keep that in mind when dressing to go. After a cold plunge in the water, if you skip the sulfur bath a rum punch at Marks will heat you up. Don’t forget the secret ingredient of nutmeg, locally grown and gives a unique flavor to the rum punch. I really think Donnie saved the best for last as we pulled up to the Grande Etang Lake. A volcanic crater that goes back hundreds of years that’s home to a large Koi fish population. It’s also home to some very interesting monkeys, some of the more friendly ones I’ve come across. Being able to go into the forest and come out with a monkey was a first for me!
Last stop was back into town by Titus to pick up my chicken roti. I somehow missed the oil down (local dish) but there’s always a next time! Got back to the hotel and repeated the cycle of beach, sleep and dinner. This time it was the French Restaurant Ma Maison. There was a wedding on the beach so I did my best wedding crasher impersonation and spent the night rocking to Beres Hammond. Scoops was now my go to nightcap so why not.
The next day it was time to leave but not before I got in a massage and breakfast at the property. I then soaked up enough sun to take with me as it would be sometime before I would be on a beach again.
Grenada was nice. Appreciate the staff at the Royalton that made my stay wonderful and Donnie for showing me a great time on island. Hope to see him again and try a few more tours on my second trip in Grenada. Also, I would like to give special mention to the people at Pure Grenada. They came to the New York Travel show in January and showed up with bakes and fish and cocoa tea. From there I was sold and six weeks later I was on island. This is an example of a great tourism campaign that yielded great results!
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any parties mentioned. None of the entities mentioned has reviewed, approved or endorsed the content listed in this post.
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