"As soon as you step off the plane in Grenada, you’ll know that you’ve spiced up your life."
The French controlled Grenada during the 17th and 18th centuries. Vestiges of French culture remain in towns named Morne Rouge, Molinere, Grand Mal and Sauteurs Gouyave. And at Grand Anse, another old French settlement, many of the island’s best hotels line the island’s loveliest stretch of curving beach.
The British next gained power in Grenada and ruled until 1974, when the nation gained its independence. You’ll uncover Grenada’s English heritage in St. George's, the nation’s capital and major port. The center of activity in St.George's is The Carenage, a perfect horseshoe-shaped inner harbor, ringed by pink, blue and yellow buildings adorned by red-tile roofs. Keeping watch over it all is historic Fort George. Also worth a visit here is the Georgian-style York House, named for Britain’s Duke of York, who visited three centuries ago. Today the historic building is home to Grenada’s Senate, Parliament and Supreme Court. Grenada’s coast is hauntingly beautiful. But no visitor should leave before exploring the island’s outlands. The scenery here is simply majestic. At Grand Etang National Park, visitors may encounter scampering mona monkeys, as well as a multitude of tropical birds and plants. Mount Qua Qua is surrounded by a cloud forest. And around the island are remnants of French and British colonial forts. And do take day trips to Grenada’s sister islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Here you’ll encounter boat-building descendants of Scots who settled here in the 1800s and continue to ply their craft. And on all three islands, the country’s African roots are uncovered during Big Drum dances each summer.
Almost anywhere you go on this exotic island in the southeastern Caribbean, the air is redolent of nutmeg and other spices. Even shops let you know that spice reigns supreme. Signs point the way to Spice Isle Pharmacy, Spiceland Mall, Spice Island Divers and Spice Island Tire Center. Grenada produces more than a dozen spices, more than any other Caribbean destination. The island is the largest producer of nutmeg in the western hemisphere.
And there are more spices per square mile here than anywhere else on earth. At the Saturday morning market in St George's, you’ll find a colorful, carnival-like atmosphere, and stall after stall heaped high with mounds of fragrant roots, barks, leaves and seeds. And one of the best ways to take home a little piece of this charming island is to purchase a spice basket, which may include nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaf, allspice, mace, clove and saffron.
But there’s more to Grenada than spices, says Nigel Gravesande, the island's tourism director. "We want to present to the rest of the world a destination that is unspoiled and environmentally friendly and that offers a tremendously diversified product, ranging from the beauties of sand, sun and sea to tropical rain forests." About 100 miles north of Venezuela, this southernmost of the Windward Islands was inhabited for centuries by Ciboney, Arawak and Carib Indians, and sighted by Columbus in 1498.