The third port of call on our Disney Southern Caribbean Cruise was St George's, Grenada and this would turn out to be my favorite island of the six we visited. Grenada was the most exotic, the most beautiful and the one I most desire to return to. The only drawback I have been able to find in cruising is that when you find a place as magical as Grenada, it's hard to leave after only one day. Grenada is an island I could spend weeks exploring the lush rain forests with its aromatic spice trees, pristine waterfalls and tropical flowers and miles of unspoiled beaches with white sand and colorful buildings as a back drop.
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| St George's, Grenada |
Back on the Disney Magic, my husband, Mike, and I woke up bright and early at 5:45 am in order for our customary viewing of the ship pulling into port. As we approached our third new Southern Caribbean island in three days, we watched Grenada pull into view. I could see the island was green, lush and mountainous with a very similar look to St Lucia, yesterday's island. After docking, we ate breakfast at Cabana's and sat above on Deck 10. We considered this our private deck because no one else had apparently discovered it since every morning we were the only ones there. We enjoyed a healthy breakfast with gorgeous views of Grenada before getting off of the ship.
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| View of Grenada from Deck 10 |
Instead of a Sandals resort tour like we had done the previous two days, we were scheduled for a ShoreTrips tour, the Seven Sisters Waterfall Hike. We followed the directions to get to our meeting point but did not see our guide anywhere. Plenty of friendly locals asked us if we needed help and we finally accepted when someone offered to call the phone number on our tour slip. I was glad for the help because our tour guide was having trouble finding us as well. The phone call bridged the gap and we found our tour contact, Charmaine.
Apparently a law was recently passed where tour guides could no longer hold up signs with names on them, making it extra hard to find who you are looking for in a busy place. Go figure! Charmaine was pleasant to chat with while we waited for our tour guide and she had just brought up the 1980's U.S. invasion of Grenada when our guide arrived. An interesting note to end on, we joined our tour with Danny, our guide, and 5 other people who happened to be from England. I found their English accents delightful as always and tried to keep them talking on the bus ride.
Apparently a law was recently passed where tour guides could no longer hold up signs with names on them, making it extra hard to find who you are looking for in a busy place. Go figure! Charmaine was pleasant to chat with while we waited for our tour guide and she had just brought up the 1980's U.S. invasion of Grenada when our guide arrived. An interesting note to end on, we joined our tour with Danny, our guide, and 5 other people who happened to be from England. I found their English accents delightful as always and tried to keep them talking on the bus ride.
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| View of Caribbean Sea from above |
Danny took us on our way up a very narrow winding road climbing the mountain with stunning views of the sea below and the green mountain side. The buildings looked much nicer and newer than St Lucia and Antigua (our first 2 ports of call) and I figured this was probably due in part to the re-building done after hurricane Ivan hovered over and decimated the island for 16 hours in 2004. Our guide, Danny, spoke quite a bit about Ivan and was clearly still affected by it 10 years later. I could feel the island's scars through his stories.
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| Tropical trail to Seven Sisters Waterfall |
Seven Sisters Waterfall is located in Grand Etang National Park, Grenada's largest forest reserve, and the hike to the falls was a lovely mix of tropical flora and fauna. There were lush, green plants all around us as well as colorful, tropical flowers. We saw palm trees, ferns, bamboo, cashew trees, nutmeg trees, cinnamon trees and so much more.
The trail was very muddy and quite slippery on the steep downhill portions. It was made worse by equipment coming through to clear way for a zipline. It saddened me to think that this unspoiled paradise would soon be tainted by mass tourism. I believe there is a place for ziplines but this wasn't it. I took solace in knowing I would get to enjoy the waterfall in its natural state even if I would be one of the last to do so.
On our way down the trail to the waterfall, we passed the Disney Cruise Line tour group. I counted 20 people and compared that to our 7 and was happy with my choice in using ShoreTrips and even happier to see that their claims of smaller tour groups were accurate.
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| My husband and I at the falls |
We finally made it through the treacherous mud and miraculously I didn't slip and fall in it. The Seven Sisters Waterfalls were as beautiful as I imagined and looked like they could be straight out of a movie. There are a total of 7 falls but we only got to see 2 of them. We did get to swim in the pool below the bigger of the 2 falls and I was the first one to swim up to the fall. It was exhilarating to feel the force of the water falling on my face and the water was so cool and refreshing after a hot and sweaty hike.
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| Our refreshing swimming hole |
Others arrived at the fall and my moment of oneness with the falls ceased. We noticed a little crab watching us from the side of the pool and laughed at his intense stare. It was fun to swim in the falls and let it push us back into the pool of water. It was amazing to be a part of nature especially in the midst of such sheer beauty. I felt completely refreshed and rejuvenated after my swim. It was a feeling of life I have seldom felt and I embraced it.
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| View of Disney Magic from water taxi |
After a wonderful time spent in the rain forest, we still had hours to spend on the island so we chose to go to the beach. The tour guide took us back to the cruise port where we caught a water taxi for $4 each to Grand Anse beach. The water taxi took us around our mighty ship and through parked sailboats on a lovely 10 minute ride before we arrived at the beach. We were told that many consider Grand Anse beach to be the best in the Caribbean. Indeed, it was spectacular with 2 miles of white sand, swaying palm trees and gentle waves. While, I do think I've been to nicer beaches, this one definitely rates high.
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| Grand Anse Beach |
We were hot again so we were anxious to jump in the water. We tossed our bags under the shade of a sea grape tree and took a swim in the glorious Caribbean. While swimming, the seagulls were fishing for their afternoon snack. They dove down like a torpedo and then popped back up on the water before returning to flight and diving again. It was a fun show to watch while swimming. After our swim, we walked up and down the beach a bit to take in the lovely views. Exhaustion and hunger finally took over so we caught a water taxi back to the ship where lounge chairs and all the food we could eat were anxiously waiting for us.
Click here for more pictures from my adventure in Grenada!
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Happy Travels!
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