GRENADA
THREE MORE LESSER ANTILLES ISLANDS WORTH VISITING
1
Dominica A natural beauty with nine
active volcanoes, Dominica is as much an outlier as it is unpredictable. The island is home to one of the world’s largest boiling lakes (200ft- wide, depth unknown) and the reward after a demanding, day- long hike into Morne Trois Pitons National Park is seeing nature in its purest form, bubbles and all.
discoverdominica.com
2 Like cacao, sugarcane processing was a popular
industry across the Lesser Antilles, along with its byproduct, molasses. River Antoine Rum Distillery in St Patrick parish, with its waterwheel-powered machinery and cane crushers, is Grenada’s most historic warehouse, opening in the island’s north in 1785 shortly after the island was ceded to British colonisers by the French. But on my last afternoon, I instead drop into Clarke’s Court, and nowhere, I think, captures the spirit of Grenadian hospitality — of informality, indulgence and intoxication — quite like it. In the company of guide Danny, I join a tour of
the distillery’s corrugated hangar, its belly opening up to a skeleton of oxide-red piping, gantries, tired vats and tanks — some looking salvaged from a scrapyard. There is a distinct feeling of merriment in the air despite it being technically a work day. Rum is an integral part of Caribbean culture, used across the region as a tonic to baptise newborns, remember the dead and chase demons away — and it’s not hard to appreciate the sense of open-armed gesture and friendship born from this marvellous liquid sunshine. Rum now in hand, I can taste that warmth too.
The intense vanilla spirit glosses over my tongue and throat, the alcohol instantly affecting me at Nick’s Barrel House, next to the factory floor
and where merchandise is sold to visitors and calypso music plays on TV. The sweet melodies fit the mood and there’s an undercurrent of deep satisfaction as the browns, coppers and caramels of the different aged rums are swirled in glasses like newly mixed paints. Around me, locals empty shots of nutmeg, cinnamon and hibiscus-imbued rum, twirling and laughing. Later, back in St George’s, I think of the other
Caribbean islands I know — Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic — and of all the tourists there, hurrying around each island impatiently in search of their own little slice of paradise. It could be the evening’s sun, which glows golden before dropping from the horizon like a coin into a slot, but I look back towards the mist-wreathed rainforest, volcanoes, winding roads and tropical pleasures and watch for a while, hopeful that the island will continue to thrive throughout the next 50 years. In Grenada, it feels like history is happening right now. HOW TO DO IT: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both operate regular flights with a short stopover. Car hire is recommended, as public transport can be unreliable outside of the capital. Most of Grenada’s hotels are located in the southwestern end of the island. For more information, visit
puregrenada.com
St Lucia The UNESCO-worthy Pitons
need no introduction. Located in Soufriere Bay, a speck of paradise so photogenic you can’t help but smile when seeing it, the mountainous landmarks seemingly erupt from the Caribbean Sea and make for a terrific half-day hike. Gros Piton is the one to aim for, with wider pathways and plant and bird life along the way.
stlucia.org
3
St Kitts One of the least-visited
islands in the region, St Kitts is a passport to Caribbean adventure and home to the St Kitts Scenic Railway — a more antiquated railroad than those you might be used to. The train totters along narrow gauge tracks, curving around the island’s volcanic core and past former plantations and crumbling mills, delivering a sharp history lesson on the island’s sugar trade.
visitstkitts.com
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER – ISLANDS COLLECTION 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108
