Running The Island

by Brian Stickler
(Santa Clarita, CA, USA)

House on Prickly Point

House on Prickly Point

We work for Princess Cruises Corporate Headquarters in Los Angeles. Myself and one colleague were aboard the Caribbean Princess in November ’08 to survey for an upcoming project.

Our work concluded, we disembarked in Grenada at 2pm for a flight back to L.A. the following morning. We gave our driver our cash on-hand to drive us around the Southern part of the island for a couple of hours. ($32 US and $8 BP= US$45).

He took us to the Grand Anse Beach, BBC Beach (Morne Rouge Beach), over to Woburn Bay to see Hog Island, and out to Westerhall Point. Some goats had gotten loose and were walking around in the street. Taking photos all the time he told me it had rained nearly 7 days straight, but today it was only overcast. It did rain a short while later that evening.

The last place he took us was the Grand Mal Bay area, and we saw Queen’s Park and the hillside cemetery where a funeral was underway. There must have been 400 locals out for it. Wish we had arrived earlier in the day so that we could have seen more (like the Annandale Waterfalls, the Northern Rainforest, and more), but it grew dark on us. We ended the drive back at our hotel, which was not on Hotel Row, but in the Lance Aux Epines area.

After a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant (including excellent Carib Beer!) we took a walk around the area where we encountered Calabash Trees (Crescentia cujete). We had to ask a local about it and they said that the fruit was not edible, but that locals had made bowls of the gourds forever.

Anyway, this brings me to the title of my post, “Running the Island”. Well, not the whole island, because that would take days. Rather, the South East end around Lance Aux Epines. I started out at 0630 and first ran up to Prickly Point, on the extreme South end of the island. Some very big homes out there, and some with unusual architecture. One looked like a light house, one a medieval castle, and another a Spanish hacienda.

I continued around Prickly Bay over to the beach area and turned around at BBC beach. About 2 hours later I ended up back at my hotel. A quick dip in the pool, an equally fast breakfast, and then the short drive to the airport, reviewing my photos as I we drove. Usually I don’t like to carry anything as I run, but I’m glad I took my digital camera with me this time…got lots of great photos.

I’d love to go back for a longer stay and enjoy the food, the beer, the friendly locals, and the scenery; rain or shine.

1 comment

  1. Hi Brian,
    I get so many emails from visitors who are in transit, on a cruise stop, or just on a one day visit. The one thing they all want to know is how to maximize their time in Grenada.

    “What can I do or see within 5 hours or half day, and how best to do it?” That’s their question!

    Your post is a great guide for people with this kind of question, and I will be sure to point them to it.

    It’s lovely that you got a taste of the Spice Isle… do come back soon.

    Best Regards
    Gooch

    PS: Nice pic, I know exactly where that is, I think it is often advertised as a villa. Let me know if you have more nice pics you want to share with us.

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