On the Way to the Seven Sisters
Along the way, you enjoy fantastic views from the mountains down to the Caribbean Sea, while thick, dark clouds gather over the rainforest.
Our tour guide shares plenty about the history and economy of Grenada along the way.
We learn that since Hurricane Emily, the harvest of nutmeg — so vital to the island's exports — has declined significantly. Grenada once topped the list of nutmeg-producing countries. The plantations for cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and sugar cane, equally important exports, suffered the same fate.
After reaching the mountain summit, we are treated to a guided tour of a plantation.
Alongside pineapples, breadfruit trees, bananas, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, countless other spices grow here — which is why Grenada is also known as The Spice Island.
Wherever you look, nutmeg grows everywhere — the island's most important export crop. Along the roadside, on the mountain slopes, and wherever else there's room. The yellow fruit splits open when ripe. Inside sits the nut, wrapped in a waxy covering called mace. The shell is used in road construction, the fruit pulp is used to preserve food, the mace serves as a spice in its own right, and the nut itself is processed for cooking or medicine.
Down Into the Crater
We are 12 degrees from the equator, in the heart of the tropical rainforest at 450 metres elevation.
Then the descent into the crater begins — it's quite steep on unpaved trails over rocks and roots, along muddy paths leading downward. Thick rain clouds hang everywhere, the air smells damp and earthy. The trail is lined with trees up to 40 metres tall and bamboo reaching about 15 metres high.
The atmosphere is simply breathtaking.
Destination Reached
After a good half hour to 45 minutes, you reach the lower two of the seven waterfalls deep inside the crater. Emerging from the dense rainforest, the sight is truly spectacular.
Unfortunately, the other five cascades cannot be reached without proper hiking gear.
A few locals put on a show for the tourist group, jumping from about 11 metres into the deeply carved, ice-cold rock pools.
The Afternoon on Grenada
After about half an hour, the somewhat more strenuous ascent begins in air that has become quite humid. The midday sun has burned through the clouds by now and is heating things up considerably.
All in all, it was a wonderful tour that we can highly recommend if you're interested in the island and fancy a hike through the rainforest. (Cost: EUR 27 for a 4-hour island tour.)
We enjoy the ride back before grabbing our beach gear and heading to the beach.
continue reading the Caribbean cruise travel report: the afternoon at Grand Anse Beach - St. George's on Grenada.
