Island of unspoilt riches

1:37pm Thursday 6th November 2003

FOR first-time travellers to the Caribbean there can be no better place to start than the small Windward island of Grenada.

Away from the hustle and bustle of its more prominent neighbours, such as Tobago and Barbados, Grenada offers the complete Caribbean package – unspoilt beaches, friendly people and plenty to see.

Spanning just 18km wide by 34km long, the island is known as the Spice of the Caribbean. A 10-hour flight from London Gatwick, it takes time to get there, and you should be prepared for around an hour's stopover at a neighbouring island to let other passengers disembark.

Grenada is an island that, for now, remains largely unspoilt. Tourism tends to centre round the southwest corner of the island near one of the island's biggest beaches, Grand Anse, and the nearby areas of Point Salines, and Lance aux Epines.

Just south of Grand Anse beach is the Grenadan capital of St George's, said to be one of the prettiest in the Caribbean. It sits around a horseshoe harbour area, known as the Carenage. It's a must see, especially on a Saturday morning when practically the entire island turns out to ply their wares in the weekly market.

For local produce and a chance to try your hand at bartering, the market is a great morning out. Beware though – when taking photos, it is considered polite here to ask anyone likely to be in the shot first.

St George's is also where you'll find the island museum, batik shops selling traditional souvenirs and Fort George. Now a police headquarters, the fort was originally built by the French and has played a huge part in the history of the island, even up to as recently as 1983.

Our hotel, the Grenada Grand Beach Resort, the largest on the island, lived up to expectations, with a room looking out on Grand Anse and surrounded by the plush tropical flora and fauna the Caribbean is famous for.

During the dry season, between the months of January and May, Grand Anse is said to be thronged with visitors, locals and hawkers selling everything from palm leaf bowls to coral necklaces. With no unemployment benefits in Grenada, selling souvenirs to tourists is the only way to earn cash for many.

Our September trip coincided with Grenada's rainy season, which runs from June to December. Travelling at this time you run a risk of running into stormy weather, although during a week-long stay we saw no rain except in the rainforest. We had the beach to ourselves, and enjoyed the benefits of weather in the mid-30s.

If you do find the beach too packed, a top tip is to walk northwards along Grand Anse and then up the steps to nearby Morne Rouge Bay. A tiny beach, this is fantastic for snorkelling and is less crowded, especially at weekends when the locals head down to Grand Anse for games of cricket, swimming and long picnics.

The best way to see the island is to take a day trip with one of the local tour operators. We did our research before leaving home and settled on a highly recommended guide by the name of Mandoo.

A native Grenadan who spent more than 20 years in the British Merchant Navy, he returned to his homeland eight years ago to start his own tour company.

Dressed in a natty uniform of white trousers and shirt, Mandoo escorted us around the island in his mini-van offering informative snippets on everything from the environment to the history of the island and the state of the economy – the cost of living is quite high in Grenada.

We started with a trip into the rainforest to the stunningly natural Concord Falls before moving on to the Dougaldston Spice Estate.

Grenada produces approximately a third of the world's nutmeg, and this is the oldest plantation where workers have been using natural methods to prepare spices for centuries.

A co-operative set up between the farmers in 1948 means they are not allowed to sell to other nations, but at the end of each year part of the total profit is divided between the 8000 nutmeg farmers on the island, depending on the amount each sold for the year. In 2002, the farmers were given $10,000,000 in bonuses.

A visit to Gouyave nutmeg processing station followed to see the second half of the operation to dry, sort and pack the nutmeg.

Our whistlestop tour continued apace with a trip to River Antoine rum distillery, in use since the 1800's. Naturally, we tried the finished product, 'slightly overproofed' at 75 per cent alcohol.

The rum turned out to be a lunchtime aperitif as we moved onto the Belmont Estate cocoa plantation to sample the local fare. Creole chicken, curried fish, fried plantain and breadfruit pie were on offer, accompanied by the estate's homemade nutmeg dressing and juices made from starfruit and the cinnamon-tasting golden apple.

Later we headed up the coast to see the north and east side of Grenada, including a chocolate factory, Levera National Park and Lake Antoine, Grenada's dormant volcano known as Kick'em Jenny, and several villages in between.

At the end of the tour we felt like we had done a week's worth of sight-seeing. That said, all that's left to do is sit back and enjoy some snorkelling, a spot of whale watching and, of course, some rum cocktails.

* Virgin Holidays travels to Grenada. For more information on the island visit the tourist information website at www.grenadagrenadines.com. For more information on Mandoo Tours visit www.grenadatours.

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