Day 7-Grenada

The Limelight Club last night was yet another first and we weren’t really sure what to expect. We probably weren’t expecting anything too special, particularly as we had never heard of the artist who was appearing. But as always, P&O surprised us and the evening was excellent. We arrived a little early, just before 7pm, and were shown to a table right at the front. The decor and atmosphere are lovely. We had a glass of Prosecco whilst we waited for our orders to be taken. The food was unbelievably good. Possibly as good as in the Epicurean but the absolute highlight was the singer himself - Kevin Simm. I’m afraid we’d never heard of him but he won The Voice, was in a band called Liberty X and is now the lead singer of Wet Wet Wet. His voice is utterly outstanding and he can turn to any style of song including an amazing rendition of No Woman No Cry. But he covered a wide range of genres and songs and each was excellent. However he also had a great sense of humour and was hugely entertaining as well as singing beautifully. Another good evening.

Well this morning bought an early start at 8.30 for our hike in the Etang Rainforest Reserve. Grenada is another beautiful Caribbean island and as with them all, has its own character. But like St Vincent, the roads and traffic conditions are horrendous. Goodness we were glad we didn’t have to drive.

The drive to the forest wasn’t too long. We’d had a briefing before we left and the literature about the walk had also stressed that the ground is uneven and can be muddy, especially after rain which we had had again this morning. And they were certainly right to have warned us because yes, it was uneven and yes, it was extremely muddy. But it was still magic. Our guide was very knowledgeable about herbs and spices and is currently writing a book. And of course Grenada is known as the land of spice. Our guide was also great with the two young lads who were on the walk with their parents.

The walk itself wasn’t long but nor was it easy. At one point we had to cross a river by walking through it. The guides hung a rope between the two banks which you held onto as you crossed and boy, was it necessary. You would certainly have gone for a swim at best or had a very nasty accident at worst if you hadn’t.

Our end destination was the Adelphi Waterfall which is a newly found waterfall in the middle of the Etang Rainforest.  We were the only group there so it wasn’t crowded at all. Most of us stripped off and clambered in. Sadly clambered is the right word, a jump or graceful slide would have been lovely but it wasn’t that easy. But it was lovely once you were in and the waterfall was incredibly powerful. We had plenty of time to enjoy it.

As we dressed however the heavens opened drowning us all in another heavy downpour. Even though we were already wet, Steve and I were both grateful for our waterproofs.

We walked back the same way we came, crossing the same river.

After the walk we stopped by the Etang Lake for a refreshing drink of green apple juice, which isn’t actually apple but tastes very similar and makes an even nicer juice.

Whilst we were there someone spotted one of the local Mona monkeys who, whilst wild, are very friendly. They will come down onto people’s shoulders for pieces of fruit. But we were told they are also very sensible and don’t come out in the rain, so we were exceedingly lucky to see them.

The drive back was very straightforward - well for us 😂 but once again the roads and conditions were horrendous - narrow streets with cars parked both sides and again, everyone wants to be first.

Once back on the boat we showered and changed and tried to clean up all the mud!  We then headed out again for lunch. Although lunch is included on the boat we have really wanted to experience the local fare on this trip. Again Danny, our guide, had recommended a couple of places - one called BB’s Crabback which it turns out is very well know, and another called Sail’s.  To get there we had to go through a minute traffic tunnel called the Sendall Tunnel built in 1894 so definitely not made for today’s traffic!  It’s not long but it’s narrow, no pavement, and basically no air as the cars were stationary so the fact that it has no pavement isn’t actually a concern. Dying of carbon monoxide poisoning would come sooner. I’m joking - a bit- but I wouldn’t want to drive through it.

We tried to find BB’s but failed. It later turned out that we had found it but we hadn’t believed it. So we went to Sail’s which sat right in the water’s edge. It was beautiful - in a completely different world from the Pirates Pub we went to yesterday, they really don’t compare but also enjoyable. We ordered a beer and a Cajun fish wrap each with a side of chips. Our only slight complaint was that the service was a bit slow so we had to have another beer - damn!  The food when it came was delicious but sadly we forgot to ask what fish it was. The bill when it came was horrendous 😂 -  EC$ 123, all of £34!

After lunch we found the House of Chocolate - a famous stop to get the history of chocolate and a few chocolatey purchases if you so desire. It was a nice place but we felt it was genuinely a little expensive so didn’t buy anything. We just headed back towards the shop, I mean ship!  There really were loads of shops in the duty free area as you head to the ship. I did stick my nose into Colombian Emeralds where I’d bought a few things on previous trips. The quality and prices are good and you can buy beautiful pieces for very low prices, but there wasn’t anything that really took my fancy or that I felt I needed. But I will probably look again in St Lucia and Barbados.

Then we really did make it back to the ship and went into collapsing mode.

Tonight will probably be a quiet one again in Peninsular maybe with a drink on deck beforehand. Having said that, I need to leave our balcony and get dressed for the evening. But it’s very lovely here this evening - a slight breeze and a balmy temperature. Maybe room service??