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Published: October 10th 2009
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Mona Monkey
We saw one of the Mona Monkeys that live in the Grand Etang Forest- cool! We have done lots of island tours in this last month, all over Grenada. And Jay has put about 2,000 miles on our rental car, which is crazy considering that the island is only 30 miles long! We have driven along the west and east coast, up to the north end of the island, and cut across the middle thru the Grand Etang National Park. It truly is a lovely island to explore; lush mountains full of vegetation and beautiful beaches with turquoise Caribbean waters create the most scenic countryside. And you never know what you might run into along the way.
One day we were driving thru the Grand Etang Rainforest and happened upon a troop of Mona Monkeys- so cool! The Mona Monkey is not native to Grenada, but introduced from Africa in the 1600s. They now roam free and thrive in the Grand Etang National Park. They are playful creatures and not shy at all. Unfortunately we didn’t have any bananas or other fruit with us to feed him, only a bag full of pistachio nuts. So Kelly offered one of the Mona Monkeys a nut. He grabbed it from her hand, smelled it, and threw it
Kelly Feeding The Monkey
Too bad that the monkey hates pistachios- he threw it back at us. away in disgust. So funny! I guess these monkeys don’t stray from their diet of fruits and native plants. Oh well, it was worth a try. Sorry monkey, maybe next time.
We also have done lots of hiking in Grenada. One day we went to Seven Sisters, named so because this hike takes you thru seven mountain waterfalls in the Grand Etang Rainforest. Unfortunately the trail was really muddy that day and I slipped on the way down and sprained my ankle. Bummer! So that limited our hiking adventures, but didn’t stop us completely. Luckily both Annadale Falls and Concord Falls are easy hikes. So we packed a quick lunch and drove up to Concord Falls for a picnic one day. Fun! The water was so cold and refreshing. And the force from the waterfall was so powerful that it created a fine mist in the air. It was lovely, just hanging out along the river bed. There is just nothing better on a hot summer day. But my favorite waterfall we visited was Annadale Falls. They have an association of Annadale Jumpers who will cliff dive into the pool below for a small donation. The jump is 80
Anadelle Falls
We hiked to many different waterfalls in Grenada- this is Anadelle Falls. We spent a lovely day here, swimming in the pool and watching the cliff divers. feet high and they really put on quite a show- cool! And if you want, they will lead you up to the cliff and dive with you. Tempting as it was, we decided to let this opportunity pass us by.
One of the highlights of our adventures around Grenada was when we went up to the north end of the island. We have never really explored the north end of the island before because all of the protected anchorages in Grenada are on the south end. In fact, the furthest north we had ever gone was Gouyave, the fishing capital of Grenada. So we were excited to adventure into new territory. Our first stop on the tour was just off the leeward highway. We had heard that there are rocks on St. Marks beach that have Carib petroglyph engravings- cool! So we decided to check it out. These petroglyphs were carved by the Carib Indians in the early eighteenth century. Mike, our local guide, told us that there used to be many more petroglyphs like this on the beach but sadly the majority has been destroyed by years of wave action. So there are only a few petroglyphs left
St. Georges
Driving thru St. Georges on the way to the north end of the island. in Grenada. We felt fortunate to see this one, which looked like a monkey to us. We asked Mike about what this petroglyph represented in the Carib culture. But unfortunately no one knows the true meaning of the Carib petroglyphs, not even the scholars today. So they remain quite a mystery.
One aspect of Grenada that is not a mystery is that it is the Spice Island. Not only does this island produce chocolate, allspice, tumeric, cinnamon, cloves, mace, ginger, and bay leaves. But it is also one of the world’s top producers of nutmeg (second only to India). It is no wonder that this island was a major key in the Spice Trade of the New World. We learned all about this and the importance of nutmeg on our next stop, the northern nutmeg processing station. We toured the facility and were blown away by the amount of nutmeg. It was everywhere; truckloads were being brought in from the field and thousands were drying on racks upstairs not to mention all the sacks of nutmeg ready for export. Holy cow! But our tour guide explained that this was not much nutmeg at all, not compared to what this
Fishing Fleet in Gouyave
This is as far north as we have ever gone until now- exploring new territory! island used to produce. Sadly, hurricane Ivan destroyed the majority of the nutmeg trees on the island 4 years ago and production rates are down. It will take a couple more years to recover, if it ever does.
We sure did build up an appetite after all this exploring, so our next stop was lunch. We went to a great restaurant at the Petite Anse Hotel, located on the very far north end of the island. Not only was the food delicious (fresh lobster and scallops and mahi mahi, yum!) but the view was outstanding. We sat overlooking the beach and blue Caribbean waters and the island of Ronde in the distance. It was a triple L (a long leisurely lunch) and was truly lovely. Afterwards we drove back on the windward highway, all the way to the southern end. A full circumnavigation around Grenada! We stopped at a few beaches along the way and of course a few rum shops too. No island tour would be complete without a rum shop.
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xiaoniu
xiaoniu
Nice trip
kelly got great courage to feed the monkey in such a close distance,you know its sharp claws always make my flesh creep.You took some great pictures and gave a particular description that seem to let me be personally on the scene Thanks for sharing and enjoy your journey.