What to do on Grenada according to the people who live and work here. It is the most southwestern Caribbean island, 100 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Closer to land are only Trinidad and Tobago, with only one Channel-like strait between Trinidad and Venezuela. The island is about 30 km long and 18 km wide. The population of the country, which includes two other small islands, is 105,000. The Queen of England is the head of state of the independent state, which has a parliament with 15 deputies.
Britain abolished slavery on the island in 1838. On one side of Grenada is the Atlantic Ocean, which is always stormy, on the other side is the Caribbean Sea, which is always calm and there are resorts. Before Columbus discovered America, a tribe from Venezuela first came here. Then came the bloodthirsty Kalinagos tribe from Guyana, who were cannibals. They killed / ate the first tribe. The first European to see the island of Grenada was Columbus, but he did not land. Then the French came and drove the Kalinagos. Many of them, in order not to be killed or captured, threw themselves into the sea of rocks near the restaurant where Mimi eats in the photo.
On our first tour of the island, I was impressed that almost all the houses and buildings were new. On the second lap we understood why. On September 7, 2004, Hurricane Ivan hit the island and destroyed 85 percent of the buildings. 39 people died. The damage is estimated at $ 1.1 billion. With their own funds, insurance money and foreign aid, the local population began to build again. Good thing it's eternal summer on the island.
And something curious - during the hurricane the prisoners escaped from the local prison. After ten days, gradually everyone returned voluntarily to prison, because where to go - around only devastation and sea. I didn't remember to ask who was in prison for what, since crime on the island is extremely low.
The explanation is the same - on a land of 348 square kilometers, where everyone is either a cousin, or at least know each other - who to rob or kill and then where to run and hide. Marvin, who drove us far and wide around the island today, said that Caribbean Indian tribes had lived here since the time of Christ. Then Columbus came and "discovered" these islands. They call Grand Anse "the grandfather of the local beaches". On the island they are 45. Grand Anse is the longest - 3 km - with sand white as flour. I looked around for umbrellas, fenced areas and muzzles. The beach is free, the shade is under the trees. There are light metal sun loungers. You can drag it back and forth where you like. If you don't want a deck chair, you spread the towel again where you like.
Purity gives birth to purity. It's so clean, you're uncomfortable getting dirty. At the beginning of the beach there is a sign asking you to respect the cleanliness of Grenada and either to throw your garbage in the big bins at the ends of the sand, or to take it home. Even in this, people give you a choice And yes, I missed something very important about the beaches and Grenada in general.
After my bag with documents, money and cards was stolen in Milan last year, in the beginning I kept pulling my backpack here and looking after it. We enter the sea, leave all the luggage on the shore unattended - camera, documents, telephones and we are calm. We just cover them so that they don't catch the eye.
Otherwise, when you look at them, some young people are quite scary in appearance. And they rarely smile at you. In Western Europe, we are used to smiling at you all the time. Everywhere on the Internet it is written that the Grenadians are friendly. And rarely will anyone smile at you, even from the hotel staff. The island is volcanic, the whole is hilly.