(Jul 31, 2023 – afternoon)
After Concord Falls, we travel north along the west coast, going through the parishes of Saint John’s and then Saint Mark’s. Views along the coast are beautiful, and we see limes growing. We are heading to Victoria ..
for nutmeg and chocolate!
Grenada is famous for nutmeg – it even appears on the flag and sprinkled on top of the best rum punch I’ve ever had! It was first introduced to Grenada in 1843 by Frank Gurney at the Belvidere Estate (a place we will be visiting another day). Grenada produces about 40% of the world’s nutmeg and the nutmeg museum we visit is run by a cooperative of farmers – the GCNA. The guide shows us the very manual process of harvesting the nutmeg. There are three different kinds, and the mace that surrounds the nutmeg also has several uses. I always liked nutmeg, and I find its history and many uses fascinating. They also use all the byproducts of the process, such as the shells. It was interesting to look at the wall of stencils they use to mark the destinations on the bags, and to pick out Toronto and Montreal.
Grenada is called the “Spice Island” and I found a PBS documentary you might want to watch. It’s also well known for chocolate, and we go to the Diamond chocolate factory next. They make the Jouvay chocolate bars we have been buying in the local grocery stores. Most Grenadian chocolate does not contain milk. They make a bar with nutmeg as well as one flavoured with ginger (my favourite). Apparently they now have a facility in New Hampshire to facilitate sales to the USA and Canada. Well, then, something to look forward to when we return home.
We finally are heading for our (late) lunch in Petite Anse, on the north coast. On the way there, we pass more colourful roadside painting, and “Caribs’ Leap” in Sauteurs where the Carib people lept to their death rather than be enslaved by the conquering French back in 1651 (hence, the town’s name “Sauteurs” – French for jumpers). We enjoy the view from Petite Anse while dining. Who would have guessed that the hamburger meal would have more lettuce in it than all the others? The driver points out Chez Nora as we leave town. It was a bed and breakfast and small store run by a 100+ year old woman, but sadly she passed away and it is not currently open.
Our next stop is the River Antoine Rum distillery (established in 1785) where they still make rum from sugar cane, the way they did 200+ years ago. I found a long and detailed explanation of the process on the Cocktail Wonk website. We arrive just after their working hours so we don’t see the factory in action but get a great tour from our guide (pictured above this blog entry). We are amazed at the highly manual processes – waterwheel used to propel the cane crushing gear, ladeling hot liquid from one tank to the next, pouring the rum into bottles from igloo coolers. Wow! They make just 2 different rums here (69 and 75% alcohol) and sell all of it locally. We receive a small sample of this fire water at the end of the tour, followed by an ice water chaser (or two in my case).
And we’re still touring the island! A few more sights from the bus and a quick stop at Grand Etang Lake to stretch our legs before we arrive back at the dinghy dock after an amazing 10-hour day!
Sailing Kemana 
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