Blood and chocolate

Grenada is an island with a wild history, even by the piratical standards of the Caribbean. It’s written into the place names, the buildings, even the trees in the forests. Something to think about as you sip a cold Carib beer in your hammock by the sea.

From the Sunday Telegraph

Columbus called by when it was still home to the Carib Indians who gave their name to the sea (and the beer). Pretty wild themselves, they had already wiped out their predecessors the Arawak. Not that it did them much good; the last of the Caribs leapt from a cliff rather than surrender to the French, who marked their sacrifice by calling the place Sauteurs. Even the agreeable bay of Beausejour (French for ‘Have a nice day’) is said to be named after the ironic farewell of a particularly unpleasant sea captain as he abandoned his unwilling passengers there.

History is everywhere. The capital St George’s has the unmistakeable look of a military outpost, dominated by a 300 year old fort. Many buildings have the barred cellars where slaves were held before market day. There have been wars, rebellions and even more recent events like a revolution in the 80’s are commemorated with colourful roadside paintings. On every car radio calypso singers give a running social commentary that has won and lost elections - regime change through music seems a suitably relaxed way of doing things. Official figures, as well as the number of smiles we encountered, say Grenada is one of the friendliest Caribbean islands.

Maybe that turbulent past has helped keep the temptations of tourism at bay. Geography may have had something to do with it too - the spectacular volcanic terrain does mean fewer beaches to choose from, as well as inviting a lot of tooth-sucking from your average hotel builder. Easily Grenada’s finest beach is Grand Anse, a two-mile slice of white coral sand backed by palms, bougainvillea and a few low-rise buildings. Popular with locals as well as visitors, the beach is far from crowded but on a fine morning (which is pretty well every morning) it’s a social club, a gym and a fresh fish shop as the day’s catch is sold straight off brightly-painted wooden boats. Halfway along is the Spice Island resort, where we stayed in a beautiful room with the sea a few sandy steps away through the palms.

Unlike rivals such as Carlisle Bay and Sandy Lane, Spice Island is locally owned by Grenada legend Sir Royston Hopkin. Behind his relaxed charm there’s clearly a very determined hotelier; having built the hotel from scratch he had to start all over again in 2005 when Hurricane Ivan destroyed it. Over an excellent dinner in his restaurant Oliver’s he told us that the sliding doors of our rebuilt and now hurricane-proof room would stand 160mph winds. Reassuring, though the breeze was only strong enough for a gentle cruise on a catamaran during our stay - our biggest challenges were resisting another awesome apple pancake for breakfast and deciding how to spend yet another flawless day.

We walked to beautiful waterfalls high in the hills, where acrobatic young men bound across a sheer cliff face before performing an acrobatic dive into the spring-fresh waters to earn equally spectacular tips from visitors. We visited the atmospheric wood-fired and water-driven River Antoine rum distillery, antique nutmeg factories and rock drawings from the time of the Arawak. Pierre Badin and his pack of little two-seater inflatables took us exploring the beaches and coves. Grizzled divemaster Marvin from EcoDive took us to an underwater sculpture park where a bronze writer sitting immobile at a submerged typewriter looked oddly familiar.

Also familiar was the West London accent welcoming us to an otherwise very Grenadian restaurant that night. BB’s Crabback is right on the seafront in St George’s, open to the harbour with brightly painted walls covered in messages from fans all over the world. Brian Benjamin is island-born but spent most of his life in Ealing running a popular Caribbean restaurant – he’s now gone back to his roots quite literally, using the freshest home-grown vegetables, herbs and spices in his utterly delicious traditional dishes.

Then of course there’s mountain biking, sailing, golf and kayaking … and if you start to feel tired, just go for a walk with local guide Mr Telfor Bedeau. Every day for the last 48 of his 70 years Telfor has hiked the mountains of Grenada. In the same sandals, by the look of them. He’s also rowed twice round Grenada in a wooden boat he built himself (but won’t do it again because as he says, he’s done it both ways). He will take you to the top of a mountain or deep into the rainforest where he will teach you about the profuse trees and herbs that spring from the rich volcanic soil. According to Telfor, just about every plant has its part in the island’s history. As well as the indigenous rainforests, exotic crops brought in by the ‘plantocracy’ of 18^th-century plantation owners now grow luxuriantly by the roadside, in gardens and under the care of local farmers. Including the cocoa which makes Grenada the source of some of the world’s best chocolate.

Now a sneaky crème egg or two needs little excuse in our house, so we couldn’t leave without a pilgrimage to the Grenada Chocolate Factory where the broad grin of chocolatier Edmond Brown welcomed us into the modest, freshly-painted wooden house. Inside, all-organic and forest-fresh ingredients go into old-fashioned but lovingly tended machinery to make brightly-wrapped bars for the world’s best chocolate shops.

We brought plenty of bars back as presents, but very few made it as far as their intended recipients. It’s not only delicious chocolate; each dark, mysterious square tastes of a wild and complex history. A perfect reminder of a beautiful and fascinating island.

Where to stay, what to do

You can go to Grenada and just lie in a hammock, but it’s a great place to get out and explore. Ask the tourist office (www.grenadagrenadines.com) about guides (Roger Antoine took us on a fascinating tour of the island, and Telfor Bedeau is a walking encyclopedia) or do it yourself – Paul Crask’s Bradt guidebook is a good one. We’d recommend EcoDive (www.ecodiveandtrek.com) under the water, SeaFun (www.seafungrenada.com) on it and don’t miss the nutmeg factory and River Antoine rum distillery. Grenada is an easy eight-hour flight from the UK, and both Virgin and BA offer direct services. We went with Virgin and tried out their excellent new V-Room at Gatwick which is like a family-friendly executive lounge. Of the island’s hotels Spice Island (www.spicebeachresort.com) is perhaps the best known - the all-inclusive service, food and accommodation are excellent and the relaxed but sophisticated atmosphere prefect for families with older children. Also in the south of the island is La Luna (www.laluna.com) which is more discreet and has a romantic setting; while tucked away on its own bay in the quieter north of the island is Petite Anse (www.petiteanse.com) where 11 tranquil suites face the cooling breezes of the trade winds. A couple more promising resorts are on the way and there’s a good choice of restaurants including Gary Rhodes at the Calabash (www.calabashhotel.com) and Oliver’s at Spice Island, but our favourite for food and atmosphere is BB’s Crabback (www.bbscrabback.com) on the waterfront in St George. BB himself mans the kitchen cooking outstanding Caribbean dishes with ingredients grown by his family and friends, while his boys look after the guests. Grenada Chocolate Factory (www.grenadachocolate.com) bars can be found at a few shops in London including Rococo on King’s Road.