GOING OFF CAMPUS IN GRENADA
There really is no reason to ever leave the enveloping embrace of a Sandals resort. It is an indulgent, thought-activated vacation where drinks suddenly appear as you laze about by the water’s edge pondering the gently lapping waves trying to decide on how many lobster tails you will order for dinner that night.
There really is no reason to ever leave the enveloping embrace of a Sandals resort. It is an indulgent, thought-activated vacation where drinks suddenly appear as you laze about by the water’s edge pondering the gently lapping waves trying to decide on how many lobster tails you will order for dinner that night.
Indulgent? Yes. Boring?
After half a day, yes?
You can wile away part
of the day waiting for coffee at the Café de Paris, or you can engage in a spirited
game of shuffleboard, or you can shuffle along the grounds exploring the
opulent world in which you have chosen to alight for week.
Or, you can plan an
excursion.
We like diving, and it
does take up a goodly amount of the day. In our first three trips to a Sandals,
we never even considered going anywhere but diving in the morning and then hanging
around the resort the rest of the day. The sport isn’t for everyone though and
Sandals offers a myriad of daily excursions, depending on your interests. In
Grenada they offered sports fishing, river tubing, tours of the island, tours
of distilleries, hikes to waterfalls, trips to botanical gardens, etc. with
prices ranging from under $100 to $350 per person, but be aware that not all
the excursions are offered every day.
Except for the Sunset
Cruise, offered three days a week, the tours leave around 8:30 a.m. The
excursions were very popular in Grenada and each morning we went to the dive
shop we had to wade through the hordes gathered at the front desk awaiting
their departure.
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| BAY LEAVES SPICE MARKET |
PLAN THE WEEK
Your time can slip away
doing nothing but lounging, so in case you’re interested in doing something
more…plan your week.
Tours
The first day you
arrive you should go to the tour desk and see what’s offered, and when it’s
offered. That way you can sign up for trips that might catch your fancy. Fit
the tour(s) around your schedule. The excursion you are interested in may not
be offered on your planned day.
Restaurant Reservations
Some of the restaurants
at Sandals require reservations, so it’s important to not to chance it. We’ve
seen people without reservations having to wait for a table. There is usually a "dining" concierge for planning your meals. Of course, there is no penalty with changes,
or simply not showing up, but we are considerate whenever plans change.
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| along the Carenage |
Dive Shop
If you intend on the
diving, make sure you put your name in at the dive shop for the next day. That
way they can check your dive log book. Diving is an extremely popular sport, especially
in Grenada, so spaces fill up, but, heck if you’re a diver you know this
already.
Remember, if you’re
interested in a particular excursion, make sure you sign up for it, they go out
diving every day. Skip a day, for once!
ON OUR OWN
Having been to Grenada
previously we wanted to get a taxi to take us into St. Georges so we can visit the
Carenage and Spice Market again. Janet still talks about the massive bay leaves
she purchased there the last time, but we didn’t want to go on a tour.
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| The Carenage, St George's |
It’s not that simple to
get a cab at Grenada Sandals. You have to go through the tour desk. Citing
safety concerns, the attendant said there’s a private company that they funnel
all the rides through….at $65. I got a blank look when I asked if that was in
Eastern Caribbean Dollars which would have made it under $25 usd.
We told the desk and
then the driver where we wanted to go and afterwards there were no deviations.
He dropped us off a block from the market and we settled on a time for the
return. As we passed the Grande Anse Beach, considered the best on the island,
or mentioned a distillery, Joe the driver quickly said that would all be extra.
We did not deviate, but we tipped him well anyway. Sandals offered various
tours that would have taken us to several different places, but they were at
least $130 pp or they weren’t offered on the day we wanted to see St. Georges
and the spice market again. In hindsight it was best to go with a tour, I
suppose.
The market itself was
empty with just a few stalls open. There were no cruise ships scheduled for the
day. The immediate area was crawling with cops, but just a block away it seemed
a bit edgier. Nothing dangerous, but we hugged the perimeter of the market,
nonetheless. Janet bought her bay leaves that were the size of small condos,
some cumin and curry and little rattan gift boxes decorated with shells that
had inside small portions of spices in little plastic bags.
Across the street from
the market is the Foodland Market Square supermarket and prices are much better
for spices and sauces. We didn’t see the bay leaves Janet wanted to come here
for, but we didn’t look for them. Instead, we bought hot sauce that were half
the price in the spice market just across the street.
We walked down to the
Carenage where our ship the Yankee Clipper, had moored overnight so many years
ago. Many local fishing boats were docked, but the storefronts looked derelict,
the tourism industry had not yet fully recovered from the COVID protocol
closures.
We found the Nutmeg Bar,
but that too was closed. It overlooks the port and we had gotten hammered there
years ago on their rum punches! We
walked as far as the Christ of the Abyss statue before turning around.
We opted for a drink at
the CityInn473 on Young Street after shopping for batik products at Art Fabrik
just across the street and the House of Chocolate Museum. We had already been
through a demonstration of making chocolate from pods while in Costa Rica a
couple of years ago, so we were more interested in buying some chocolate to
take home.
It was good to see this
town again. Joe picked us up at the prescribed time and we were back at the
ranch for a late lunch.
Breaking News
Today it was determined that the three people who died at Emerald Bay in the Bahamas succumbed to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Sandals said this is an isolated incident and that moving forward Sandals will install Carbon Monoxide detectors in every room throughout their family of resorts.
Thanks for reading
Love Janet and greg
© 2022 by Gregory Dunaj
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