Sailing Wild Horses
  • Home
  • Crew
  • Blog
  • Our Boat
  • Projects
  • Contact
  • Clearing In - USA & Bahamas Edition
  • Clearing In - Carib Edition

Sharing our journey

Diving into the Beauty of Grenada

8/5/2023

 
Picture
Picture
It is now August and high time for us to start exploring more of the inland culture and vistas of Grenada.  This week we piled into taxi after taxi after taxi with our boat buddies and, over the course of one week, visited two distilleries, a nutmeg factory, a chocolate factory, two waterfalls, the Grand Etang National Park and, yup, we even lost our Hash virginity (don’t worry Mom and Dad, it isn’t what you think 😉 !).

Since we arrived in Grenada, we have heard of the weekly Hash and how incredibly popular it is for both cruisers and locals alike.  The Hash House Harriers is an international group of runners and walkers.  The group in Grenada started running “hashes” (or hikes) in 1985 and has been organizing them every Saturday since.  The location of the Hash changes every week, as does its length and intensity but some things remain true.  It always starts at about 4pm and its always a load of fun!  
Picture
Registering for the Hash
Picture
A view of the school where the Hash was held
Picture
Mike and Ocean taking a much-needed break in the shade
Picture
If a Hasher has brand new shoes they have to drink a beer from them before the Hash starts!
Picture
And we are off!
​Our Hash was held near the town of Telescope, on the eastern side of Grenada.  The hike took us through the town, past active crop fields, up and down hills, along the seaside and eye to eye with goats, pigs, cows and stray dogs.  
Picture
Walking through town
Picture
Ocean checking out some sheep nearby
Picture
Confetti is placed at certain points to indicate the trail
Picture
Walking alongside crops
Picture
The seaside
Picture
Walking up the road after a welcomed rainfall
Oh and, yes, at the end of the Hash, all newcomers to the Hash were assembled at the front of the crowd where it was publicly declared that we have now lost our Hash virginity.  After being soundly doused by beer, we were handed our official “You have lost your Hash virginity certificates” to prove it!
Picture
Announcing the end of the Hash
Picture
As new Hashers, we were called to the front of the crowd. This is just before the beer shower!
Picture
Our certificate
Picture
Ocean's posse of kids!
​A few days later, on Monday, we completed a land circumnavigation of Grenada.  Our friend Dale on Wahoo worked with one of the local taxi drivers to have a fantastic tour of the island for ten of us boat buddies.  She even arranged for Ocean to come along for the fun!  Our first stop at 0900 hours?  A distillery, of course!  The tour was great but it is how it ended that was the real eye-opener.  We were offered several tastings of their straight rums as well as various flavoured rums including chocolate, mojito and coffee (which actually made the most sense given the time of day we were there!).
Picture
The entrance to the distillery
Picture
Checking the alcohol content
Picture
The factory at Clarke's Court
Picture
Oh my!
Picture
The ladies toasting with our mid-morning rum!
Picture
Oh yeah!
​Next on the agenda was a narrow and windy drive up to Concord Falls, one of many waterfalls in Grenada.  The waterfall is stunning, standing about sixty-five feet tall, with cool, clear and fresh water filling the large swimming area below.  Fresh, cool, clear water?  Yes please!  
Picture
Beautiful falls
Picture
Everyone in!
Picture
Ocean loved the fresh, cool water
Picture
Family Photo!
Picture
Mike jumping in!
Picture
Ocean meets her first monkey, who really loved her!
Refreshed from our swim at the waterfall, the taxi then took us to Grenville for an informative tour of the Grenada Co-operative Nutmeg Association Factory.  Grenada is reputed for its nutmeg, producing more than 20% of the world’s nutmeg.  If you live in North America and have bought nutmeg, cloves or cinnamon, chances are it came from this great island.  
Picture
Learning about nutmeg processing
Picture
Marking and shipping the nutmeg
Picture
Yum! Nutmeg water is delicious!
​Grenada is also known as the Caribbean Capital of Chocolate so you can guess where the taxi took us next.  We enjoyed an interesting and tasty tour of the Diamond Chocolate Factory in Victoria, Grenada where they make Jouvay chocolate bars.  Set in a small estate-like area, the factory seemed more like a homestead than an actual working factory.  This homey atmosphere is very much part of their identity as, unlike the other chocolate factories on the island, Diamond farms the cocoa themselves and produces it on site within its stone farm walls.  It is so delicious that everyone on our tour found themselves buying many chocolate bars to go! 
Picture
The chocolate factory
Picture
Yummy tastings
Picture
Lots of chocolate bars to buy!
Picture
Lunch along the seaside, northern Grenada
Picture
Our view from the restaurant
Before finishing off the day, we toured one more distillery.  This time it was an eco-friendly distillery where everything from extracting the sugar to bottling is done by hand.  Incredible!

The tour was well-put together and, although tiring, it was an inspiring day to see Grenada from so many aspects – inland, coastline, small factories, large production sites, high atop the mountains, and, of course, the beauty of its terrain.  And it is that beauty that had us on another taxi-driven tour a few days later.
Picture
Learning about the cane sugar extraction process
Picture
The boiling pots
Picture
Ocean's babysitter while we had the tour
Picture
Views from the road
Picture
Grenadian homes along the way
On Thursday, we had a two-part day that included a river and another waterfall.  This time it was the Seven Sisters Waterfall in the Grand Etang Forest and Nature Reserve. There are seven waterfalls here, each a little higher up on the 1,910-foot mountain. The first two waterfalls are reached via a 40-minute hike along a fairly rough and challenging path.  The last five waterfalls require a guide and some pretty well-sharpened mountaineering skills.  Not for us!  Instead, we spent our time lazily swimming in the pool of the second waterfall.  It was an incredible experience to be in the glen-like atmosphere, with beautiful foliage and flowers surrounding us and the sun peaking through the canopy, while gliding through the cool, fresh pool from the waterfall.  Serene. Mesmerizing. Incredible.
Picture
The start of the visit to the waterfalls
Picture
The terrain wasn't easy
Picture
Along the way
Picture
The first and second falls
Picture
Amazing place to swim
Picture
And to share a kiss!
Picture
The walk back was even harder as it was all uphill!
​How to follow up a wonderful morning at one of Grenada’s loveliest waterfalls?  Well, with some river tubing of course!  This was a fun trip down a fast-moving river.  What a way to finish off a day!
Picture
Mike getting ready to hit the river
Picture
The end of the river
Picture
Mike arriving at the end
Picture
Andrea (Caretta) happy with the excursion
Picture
At the end
Picture
Even Ocean wants to celebrate with a happy hour bucket of beers!
​It has been a jam-packed week but we have learned lots about our “home away from home” and appreciate it even more.  
Enjoying "Sailing Wild Horses"? Click on the buttons below to see where we are today and where we plan to go next winter!
Where we are now
Our sail plan

Comments are closed.
    Where are we now?

    Author

    Victoria is a hiker, dog-lover, blog writer and planner extraordinaire.  Oh, yeah and she is kind of fond of living on a boat.

    Categories

    All
    Bahamas
    Boat Work
    Caribbean
    Chesapeake
    Dog
    DR
    Gulf Stream
    ICW
    Leaving Canada
    NY And Delaware
    NYS Canals
    Puerto Rico
    Thousand Islands
    USVI

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Crew
  • Blog
  • Our Boat
  • Projects
  • Contact
  • Clearing In - USA & Bahamas Edition
  • Clearing In - Carib Edition