My Friendly Island is cream of the Caribbean
IAM so in love with the Caribbean island of Grenada that this may not be as unbiased an account as perhaps it should be. Grenada is known as the Spice Island, though the Friendly Island would fit equally well.
Grenada may not be as sophisticated as Barbados or Antigua, but you will be guaranteed to receive the warmest of welcomes.
My husband Michael and I first visited Grenada in the year that Tony Blair introduced a parliamentary half-term week in February so that his female MPs could spend more time with their families. Since our children were well into adulthood, we nipped off to Grenada for a week on our own.
We were hooked during that first trip and have never looked back or been tempted by other islands since.
We found a perfect-for-us, easy-going hotel, the Blue Horizons Garden Resort, and have joined the ranks of returnees ever since.
The hotel has a pool and is four minutes from the whitesand Grand Anse beach, one of the finest in the world. Blue Horizons may not be the most up-to-date hotel, but we love the peace and privacy, the charming gardens that are home to 27 species of tropical birds, and the fabulous views from the rooms formed in terraces up the side of a hill.
Grenada is hilly, richly green and full of character. You can hike in the central rainforest, swim at the base of impressive waterfalls, and snorkel – don’t miss the underwater sculpture park in Moliniere Bay where submerged statues, including a ring of children holding hands, withstand the current.
On our first visit we hired a car for a day and drove around the island. Travelling eastwards we fell for the bustling little fishing town of Grenville where tourists were as hard to spot as winners at a racecourse.
The River Antoine Rum Distillery is nearby – the oldest in the Caribbean, it has been churning out rum since 1785. You’ll get a super- strength taster – 150 per cent proof – which blows your head off.
Go easy if you’re driving – we saw a roadside sign that read: ‘Undertakers love over-takers.’
On the west coast we stopped at the fishing village of Gouyave, famous for its Fish Friday. On Friday nights it’s packed with stalls where the locals cook scrumptious dishes in their grills, fryers and
steamers, and the music is terrific. If you don’t hire a car, the island’s minibuses are a great alternative. They stop regularly, but you can flag one down and also bang on the roof for an unscheduled drop-off. Be prepared for loud rap music, people squashing up – even handing you a baby while they get sorted – and go with the flow.
Take a trip to the capital St George’s on a Saturday, the main market day.
There are vegetables and spices galore on display, and the joyousness of the place is terrific. It’s a colourful, historic, gorgeous little city on any day, rising up from a horseshoe harbour, the Carenage – the jewel in St George’s crown.
If you are staying for dinner, try Gary Rhodes’s Calabash, or the French cuisine at Bruno’s.
Grenadians have very little, but they like a good laugh and are an upbeat, proud people. And I’d say they have every reason to be.