The Spice Island
by Will Wattles    

Spring break 2002 took Paula and me to Grenada in the West Indies. We chose this former British colony for its reputation of being relatively undeveloped. It boasts sufficient hotels but nearly all are small and informal. .For example, we checked into the Village Hotel near Grand Anse Beach without filling out any paperwork or paying. Later the next day, at my insistence I paid Sue for the first two nights with still no paper work. I find this informal, respectful attitude infinitely more enjoyable than the impersonal way modern life treats us. My reservations in Grenada did not involve a long wait on a phone, rather I sent an e-mail direct to the owner. After four days we moved to La Sagesse Nature center where an even more personal touch exists. I not only didn't have to fill out any paper work but all meals were charged to our room without even an inquiry into our name. With a small number of rooms, the staff knew that we stayed in "Steve's Room" and didn't have to ask.  Enough about the old fashioned respectful hospitality; we went there to bicycle through the tropical scenery and local color, and struck gold. 

    We spent Saturday morning looking for clothes for Paula, because Air Jamaica lost our luggage. We immediately found people friendly from the British hosts and Canadian fellow guests to the store owner who, unable to fit Paula, directed us to a T-shirt factory where we would have a larger selection and save money. Vehicles in Grenada travel on the left hand side of the road which took some getting used to. Traffic was generally light and motorists reasonably courteous accept for the need to sound their horn at all pedestrians, bicycles and the like. We found getting around to be a challenge because the island, only 21 miles long and 12 miles wide has 600 miles of roads with no street signs or route numbers.  The first day we pedaled through the delightful capital of St. Georges which wraps around a lagoon and the main harbor called the Carenage. We ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the harbor. Later that day we pedaled by Grand Anse beach and found our way onto Quarantine Point so named because it was once a leper colony. From there we passed the delightful and private Morne Rouge beach. We finished our first full day with a walk on the beach where we watched the sun set over the Caribbean. 

    Monday found us full of ambition and we headed up into the mountains. We first stopped at Annendale Falls. To get there we had to "turn left at the yellow Methodist church" which took us on a narrow road, totally shaded by dense vegetation. At one point a huge, exotic tree took up half the road. Imagine going around it instead of cutting it down! Lots of begonias and bougainvillea lined the walk to the falls. From there we continued our ride up the mountain, and as we climbed we had a wonderful view of the lush valley. Every day the high was in the mid eighties so we got pretty hot on our climb as you can see in this view of Paula taking a break by a banana tree.  Towards the top it got too steep for tired legs and we had to push our bikes for a while. Eventually we reached the top where we could look back and see our starting place at Grand Anse beach and Quarantine point. A sign announced that we had climbed to 1910 feet, which challenged us riders from the flat lands. After a drink break,  entered Grand Etang National Park and pedaled to a lake formed in the crater of an extinct volcano.  We parked our bikes and hiked around the lake on a muddy trail covered with masses of roots. It took us through a dense rain forest where the shade and altitude made for a welcome coolness. The density and variety of foliage gave the area a magical quality enhanced by the sounds of birds everywhere and clear streams with rocky bottoms. After chatting briefly with an Austrian couple on the trail, we gratefully headed to the "snackette" for a heavenly ham and cheese sandwich. We were tired enough to appreciate the food and to be glad that the ride home was mostly downhill. 

    After finally getting our luggage, we were able to leave the popular Grand Anse/St. Georges area for the remoter side of the island. We had breakfast on a peninsular called Lance aux Epines at a gorgeous place called the Rendezvous. A slightly pricey breakfast seemed like a bargain as it was ample and came with a magnificent view. We continued east and made our easy journey more of a challenge by taking some detours, planned and  unplanned that took us way up to Fort Frederick with a grand view of the St. George's area. We arrived at La Sagesse Nature center ready for lunch. I had learned about it on the web and looked forward to the claimed quiet and natural beauty. In fact, it was wonderfully isolated with its three little buildings located under the coconut and almond trees such that they could barely be seen from the lagoon. No other buildings, roads or other permanent human items marred the natural beauty of the cove. We ate all our meals there looking out at the surf while we enjoyed the best fish I ever ate.

    Soon we took off on a ride into the mountains.