Gorgeous Grenada

Grenada is known as the Isle of Spice, and is one of the world’s major producers of nutmeg, mace, cloves, cinnamon and cocoa.  As no building may be built taller than a coconut palm, most of the hotels are locally-owned.  In fact, the island was very inviting as we pulled into port March 8.

Okay, maybe a fort with cannons isn't that inviting.

Today’s tour would be a hike through the tropical forest to the Seven Sisters Waterfall.  The trail begins in the Grand Etang rain forest and had been promised as a 60-minute hike.  That was no lie.  Also promised?  A narrow, steep trail with many rocks, protruding tree roots and a number of steps that were cut into the dirt, some using bamboo to strengthen them. 

Our tour guides picked us up at the dock, and we boarded a very small, crowded bus.  Jaz has claustrophobia issues and decided to get off and do her own thing.  I had people on the bus who said they’d watch out for me, including our guide, so I knew I was in safe hands.

I was looking forward to the hike.  But wondered if Jaz hadn’t made the smarter decision as we wound through roads barely missing other vehicles and people walking, speeding around switchbacks that rose up steep hills, honking to warn other vehicles we were coming, and then down again.  It was a wild ride, and I was grateful we arrived safely.  We weren’t really in any danger, but when you’re not used to driving on the left-hand side of the road, much of this becomes an adventure with a few heart-stopping moments.  At one point I was sure we’d passed so close to this lady walking that we’d clip her when going by.  We didn’t. 

We arrived and were briefed on the trail and conditions as well as given walking sticks to assist us in our hike.  Then, off we went down a steep paved road. 

Yep, I'm rocking that walking stick!

At the bottom our guide stopped us to show us nutmeg trees, how they get to the spice.  He peeled away the layers until we were down to the nutmeg. 

The tree was pretty with the yellow-encased nutmeg hanging from it.

And you open it up and the nutmeg in the hard outer shell is visible.

He also showed us the cocoa and other spices used to make wonderful foods that I could only imagine.  The cocoa tasted like heaven, and I was thinking maybe I’d just stay and eat chocolate.  But no, I’d signed up for the hike, and I followed others as we continued down the paved, but rough, road, until we got to dirt, and then the part of the trail that would begin to separate us out.

Beautiful flowers were around us everywhere as we tramped along.

The going was very steep in some parts, and we went single file.  Rocks, roots and steps tried to trip us up, but we all made it to the bottom, marveling at the beautiful rain forest that we were seeing.  Then we walked along a river that was gurgling and bubbling, and stepped on stones that had been smoothed by time and nature.

This is where we started to have our hike become a real hike.

 

There's bamboo all over the place.

The steps as fortified with the bamboo.

There were a lot of big boulders, but there were many small ones, as well, with some of them moving underfoot.

While Grenada may have 110,000 residents, there wasn't much evidence of that out here in the rain forest.

We continued along the trail, but were getting closer to the falls with every step.

The falls appeared and they were beautiful, the tall one falling into a pool that poured over the rocks and down to form a second pool.  Some of the dancers from the ship were there and had spent the day jumping falls.  They did the same here, jumping the first, laughing and playing in the pool, and then jumping the second, landing in the water below where I was standing. 

The Seven Sisters Waterfalls are 1,900 feet above sea level.

While I’d not worn a swim suit, I decided to get into the water anyway.  I’d brought my sandals and a towel, so I changed shoes, rolled up the bottom of my shorts and walked in to a coolness that made my feet feel really good.  What I didn’t know was that I’d better savor the moment and put it in a file in my mind.

The water felt good but I didn't have the need to swim in it, just cool my feet.

Once we’d spent some time, we needed to head back.  And you know how it goes.  What goes down, must go back up.  There was no escalator or short cut to the top, and I began the arduous task of getting myself back to the top without dying from a heart attack.  I took my time, letting others go by, taking breathers after climbing steps, then continuing on, finally reaching the top.  That wasn’t the end.  I gave myself the luxury of remembering my cool feet in the pond.  It did not help to cool me.  And it didn’t save me from slipping on small pieces of gravel onto my butt.  But there were no photos, so there’s no evidence it ever happened.

Back out from the falls we go.

And back up the succession of steps, one section of them at a time.

I’d reached the little hut where we’d had our guide show us the spices, stopped and visited a few moments, and then headed on, back up the dirt to the steep upgrade of the rough pavement.  The little dog I’d photographed earlier was there.  He was so skinny.  I opened a bag of trail mix I had and shared it with him.  He was so cute, but I had to leave him and continue back to the bus. 

What a cutie pie.

I may have been the last one in our group, I’m not sure.  What I do know is that there were a few others still behind me and I didn’t see them until a much later stop on the way back to the ship.  There was one lady even more winded and red-in-the-face than I was, and I know she was not enjoying this excursion.  I did, and got quite a workout as well.  So it was a win-win.

Another beautiful town, another beautiful island in the Caribbean.

We left the port in the early evening, with the sun accentuating the beautifully-colored buildings, then gradually fading to nightfall as we sailed to Dominica, our next stop.

Grenada in our rear-view mirror.

Headed for Dominica.  Over and out.