Isle of Spice

February 09, 2026

On Saturday we enjoyed the very picturesque city of St. George on the island of Grenada. The island of Grenada is known for its production of spices such as nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. In fact, it is often called the “Isle of Spice.”

It just so happens that Grenada is celebrating its Independence Day today, celebrating 52 years of independence. Last year, we happened to be in Australia on their Independence Day and also in New Zealand on their Independence Day. So now we get to experience Grenada’s Independence Day. However, compared to Australia and New Zealand, Grenada’s Independence Day celebration was very low key. In fact, if our driver (Mark) hadn’t told us that it was Independence Day, we would not have known. Other than a few shops being closed, there was no sign of celebration. However, Mark said that some activities were planned at the stadium later this afternoon. The colors of the national flag of Grenada apparently are yellow, red, and green, and these colors were everywhere, either as flags, banners, or painted on shops.

Catholicism is the main religion in Grenada, but there are many religions here, according to Mark.

Many of you may remember hearing about Grenada back in the 1980s. In 1983, Grenada was threatened by a Marxist coup. This was followed by a US led invasion to help restore democracy, protect American students, and counter Cuban influence.

Grenada is very mountainous and many streets we traversed were very steep. Mark had to blow his horn as we rounded some curves to alert any oncoming traffic. On the far side of the island, we saw a marina that had a few yachts. Mark said that many yachts park here during hurricanes, as it is sheltered from high winds and waves.

There are many coconut palms here, and there is a law that no building can be built higher than a coconut palm. Also, the majority of hotels are small and family owned, which further adds to this island’s charm.

Our excursion on Saturday took us for a two-hour drive around parts of the island where we paused occasionally to take photos. We also stopped at restaurant/beach bar called Prickly Bay Marina where we were treated to refreshing drinks. In addition to soft drinks, we were offered fruit punch and rum punch. I chose the fruit punch and Joe chose the rum punch. When the lady went to pour our drinks, she first smelled the container. That made Joe curious. She must have seen the quizzical look on his face, because she explained that the two punch drinks look alike and she could only tell which one is the rum punch by the smell. While we were enjoying our drinks, we met up with some other people from the Magnificat group who were on another bus but same tour. As we sat and enjoyed our drinks, we also enjoyed nice conversation with Jackie from Ohio, and Pat and Jonathan from Atlanta.

Restaurant/beach bar at Prickly Bay Marina

Mark

Soon we were on our way again. On the ensuing drive, we drove through St. George University, a medical school with a beautiful campus with lots of Palm trees, gorgeous views of the Caribbean, and mountains as a backdrop.

St. George University campus view

We also drove through the Grenada airport, which basically consisted of a short, covered street with Departures on the left and Arrivals on the right. I told Joe that if you flew here and rented a car, you wouldn’t have trouble figuring out where to go. There is only one road leading from the airport to the rest of the island.

Grenada airport

We drove by a beach that was right next to a cemetery (interesting proximity) and through a tunnel that had some sort of significance, but I didn't catch it.