Grenada: The Cutty Tour

by Cash
At anchor, Mt. Hartman Bay, Grenada

They drive on the right here. That's a microphone in Cutty's left hand.
He had to pause his commentary whenever he shifted gears.
He was quite good at this.

We recently took a day-long tour of Grenada with our tour guide, Cutty. He was recommended to us was because he is known for his commentary while driving. Sure enough, he imparted a large amount of information during the nine hours we were with him.  He used a microphone so that we could hear him all the way in the back. He stopped the van at least two dozen times to tell us about specific spots, show us trees, or get out and pick fruits for leaves for us to smell or taste.

On the tour, we went to a nutmeg factory, two chocolate factories, had a great Grenadian lunch, and then went to a rum factory.

Dad checking out some rum at River Antoine distillery

 

Chocolate factory left, nutmeg factory right 

Sugar cane is grown on the island mostly for the rum factory.

Grenada is known as the Spice Island because it’s agricultural crops are cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, allspice, wild coffee, and nutmeg. Grenada is the second largest producer of nutmeg in the world. Coffee used to be large scale, but now the coffee produced on the island goes mostly to the locals.
Grenada’s economy is based on tourism, agriculture, fishing, and remittances (payments from Grenadians living outside the country).

Many houses in Grenada are built in an interesting way. They start by building the foundation for a two-story house, meaning a floor and supports for each level, and complete the top floor. The bottom floor is left unfinished until the family has enough money to fill them in. They are taxed at a higher rate for a finished house, so many of the homes are left with the bottom floor unfinished. They definitely like things to be colorful!

Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s doctor, is from the town of Paradise.
 
The Mighty Sparrow, know as the Calypso King of the World, is from Grenada.

Grenada gained independence in 1974. In 1979, a coup removed the Prime Minister, suspended the constitution, and instated Maurice Bishop as Prime Minister. This government
was inspired by the ideas of Marx and Lenin, and Bishop became friendly with Cuba, Nicaragua, and other communist countries.

In 1983, a coup led by Bernard Coard (Bishop’s deputy) and backed by the Grenadian Army removed Bishop from power and put him under house arrest. He was popular enough to be freed by the people, and he tried to regain power, until he was captured and executed by the army. Coard immediately put the island under martial law, instating a four-day curfew, in which anyone found outside in those four days would be shot.

On October 25, 1983, United States military forces invaded Grenada. They arrested 18 people in relation to the execution of Maurice Bishop, and the 17 of those who were found guilty became known as the Grenada 17. Two months later, the US withdrew from the island, and democratic elections were held in late 1984.
 

At the old airport you can see the plane of the deposed prime minister and
also that of the Cuban advisors, who arrived but never left....

Cutty told us that different people in Grenada view the US’s involvement in the situation in three different ways. Some view it as an intervention of the conflict between Bishop and Coard. Others view it as an invasion, an unwelcome action by a country who, they feel, was not asked to come here. The third group view is that is was a rescue mission of the American med students on the island. A significant number of people in Grenada are glad the US intervened, so much so that October 25, the day they landed on the island, has been named Thanksgiving Day.

Watch this video to find out even more about Grenada:

Many Caribbean cemeteries have a fabulous view of the sea.

People come from the entire island for the Fish Fry every Friday night in the town of Gouyave

Here's an old outdoor oven that is still in use.

If you're in Grenada, look up Cutty for a tour:

cuttytaxi.tours@yahoo.com

1-473-407-5153 or 1-473-416-1128