Grenada - Rum Punch

I know you've all been debating amongst yourselves: "Is it pronounced Gre-NAY-duh or Gre-NAH-duh?". I've heard cruisers pronounce it both ways but the locals say Gre-NAY-duh so I'll take my cue from them since, you know, they live here. Long day today. We went with several other cruisers on an island tour guided by local taxi driver Cutty. Ten of us, "Seamans Elixir" (Steve & Linda), "Tusen Takk II" (Chuck & Barb), "Sol Magique" (Paul & Ginette), and "Minx" (Cynthia & Mike), all piled into Cutty's minibus for our first stop at Fort Frederick overlooking the city of St. George. Yeah, I know, another old fort but while we were there Cutty gave us the skinny on the events surrounding the US invasion in 1983. Back in 1979 Maurice Bishop, a moderate Marxist, seized power from the democratically elected leader in a bloodless coup. Over the next four years Bishop strengthened ties with Cuba (Fidel was a close friend), much to the consternation of the US. But the situation got ugly in 1983 when Bishop's right-hand-man, Bernard Coard, stabbed him in the back and seized power. Bishop was executed and in the ensuing upheaval the US saw the opportunity to help the Grenadian people while sticking it to ol' Fidel and the pinko Commies. Because there were American students at the medical school, the US (in conjunction with Jamaica and the other Eastern Caribbean countries) sent in a "rescue mission" of 1200 troops and after several months of scattered fighting (including a few mishaps such as planes bombing the nearby mental hospital instead of the communist headquarters. Ummm...oops, my bad!) peace and democracy were restored. Cutty did say that the invasion was welcomed by the Grenadian people and as we were driving around we saw graffiti that said "Thank you USA for liberating us". So that's one US invasion that worked out well for all involved. Even for the leaders of the coup: the Grenadian people magnanimously commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment. Amid much controversy, some were even released recently. So everyone wins.

We also hit one of several nutmeg cooperatives where the local farmers bring their nutmeg to be dried and processed. Hurricane Ivan decimated the nutmeg trees and the industry is not expected to fully recover for another 15 years. Processing the nutmeg and mace from the plant is a labor-intensive process so the economy has suffered with people having to look for other work. In fact, most of the island apart from the prosperous southeast coast (where we are) is still reeling from the effects of the 2004 storm. Houses and businesses are still showing lots of damage. Cutty lost the roof on his house and everything in it. At the time some of the local cruisers gathered donations and one of them sailed to Trinidad for supplies to help rebuild the roof and repair the windows. Everywhere we went today we could hear the sounds of hammering, so bit by bit the Grenadian people are recovering but it's a slow process.

We stopped for a swim at Annadale Falls -- a pretty waterfall where, for a "small donation", some local guys will jump off a cliff into the pool beneath the waterfall. These guys have their act together, wearing uniforms emblazoned with "Annadale Jumpers Association". We were wondering how they could afford them, because really...how much is it worth to watch someone else jump into a pool? (We donated 5 EC, about $1.85). But when cruise ships come through town they must make out like bandits, so the jumping business must be pretty profitable.

We also took an eye-opening and stomach-churning tour of the River Antoine Rum Distillery. The rum here is made using the same processes (and tools!) that were used in 1785. "Oh how quaint and unique!" you might say. It's definitely unique, but I can't say it's very sanitary. Huge open pools of fermenting rum amid flies galore. The vats and equipment look like perhaps they had their last cleaning around the year 1872 so it was with great trepidation that we sampled the product at the end of the tour. The fact that it's alcohol probably kills all the germs, right? Needless to say the day-old rum was as smooth as sandpaper and several hours later my throat was still burning. What's the old saying? What doesn't kill you (or blind you) makes you stronger. Let's hope so.