Grenada is called the "Island of Spice" because it is the world’s largest producer of nutmeg and mace.
Thus said, if I still have your attention, I will tell you a little about Grenada—a lovely lush Caribbean island, volcanic in origin. Its colorful capital, St. Georges, is the nicest city in the West Indies, in our humble opinion, with a distinct colonial flavor, interesting shops and markets and a friendly atmosphere. Its history mirrors that of most Caribbean islands—fought over and settled by the French and the British eventually gaining independence yadda yadda yadda--with one major distinction in that it is the only island in this region that has been invaded by the United States of America as recently as 1983 no less.
On October 19, of 1983, the moderate Grenada government was overthrown by the communists in a violent military coup leaving the Prime Minister and 7 others dead. U.S. President Ronald Regan decided that this posed a threat to the 1,000 U.S. medical students on the island and to U.S. national security as Cuba, under the direction of the Soviet Union, might use Grenada as a refueling stop for Cuban and Soviet airplanes loaded with weapons destined for Central American communist insurgents. The U.S. invaded on October 25 and by December, the pre-revolutionary Grenadian constitution was re-instated and all of the students had been evacuated safely. The governments of Britain, Trinidad and Tobago, and Canada, among others, as well as the U.N., were not amused and there was and still is, debate over whether it was all necessary.
That is, if we can shed ‘the velcro’ which has grown on our bottom—a disease common amongst cruisers who are reluctant or just too lazy to leave a place they like. Here, in our very pleasant anchorage off Hog Island, there are boats with something more like concrete on their bottoms who have made this place their home, some for over 10 years. It is somewhat understandable as for some, it is as close as you can get to paradise on earth.
We took part in the weekly Sunday BBQ on Hog Island yesterday, but will have to do our Easter egg hunting in Trinidad as we’re leaving tomorrow morning before dawn for the final part of our journey. Technically speaking this will be our the shortest leg, but the longest passage, about 85 nautical miles and should take us about 12-14 hours or so if all goes well. Please pray that it does.