Travel // Going Around // Caribbean // St. George's, Grenada
It was one hot day in St. George’s yesterday. Temperature had reached to as high as 34 degrees Celsius at noon time, about 7 degrees up from the 27 degrees Celsius that we had earlier in the morning when we arrived. Since the ship calls this port not very often, so I did not find any reason not to go out and simply throw away this very rare opportunity to wander around this picturesque town and tourist center in the southwestern coast of Grenada. Saint George’s is the capital of this tiny Caribbean island country of Grenada, an independent country in the West Indies. Situated at the southernmost tip of the Windward Islands, the country consists of Grenada and several smaller islands. St. George’s is main sea port of Grenada as well. The sea port is among the favorite stop for cruise ships visiting the Caribbean Islands.
I can’t exactly tell what the inset photo is. I just could not see the whole structure from along the road on my way up to Fort George. But it looks like a church.
About 200 meters from where the ship was docked is St. George’s most modern and biggest shopping center, the Esplanade Mall. In addition to bars and restaurants, internet café, sporting goods, music, clothing and souvenir shops, the mall features duty free shops inside as well. Esplanade Mall is the entry and exit point for cruise ship passengers in St. George’s as you have to get inside the mall first where security personnel and x-ray machines for security check are located. Every one are required to pass through the screening x-ray machine before boarding back to the ship. Luggage, belongings or hand carried items are screened on a separate screening x-ray machine. From the comfort of the air-conditioned mall to the hot and sultry air outdoors, I spent few minutes walking around St. George’s bustling town square where small shops, groceries, banks and several other establishments are located. Inset photo here shows the colorful St. George’s as viewed from the hill on my way to Fort George. People in Grenada are predominantly black so it’s much easier for me to distinguish which among the people I met along the streets came from the ship, so as for them to distinguish this brown ship crew off from work and enjoying his time out...LOL…
Overlooking the town square and the sea port area is Fort George. Fort George is presently the police headquarters of St. George’s. Located on the top of the hill, going up to Fort George requires a tremendous walking along a route up to a steep hillside. It is somewhat strenuous but I considered it as a good exercise. I haven’t had my exercise for so long now, so walking under the tropical sun was an alternative, at least for yesterday. Entering Fort George’s costs only US$ 2 as entrance fee. The fort obviously was once a military garrison built to fortify St. George’s from enemies. I don’t know much about the history of Grenada but the place was once under the colonial rule of British. English is a common language in Grenada and everyone speak English so my very limited Spanish is not anymore viable in this place. Standing at the elevated section of the fort allowed me to see a panoramic view of St. George’s. The view was awesome - buildings and houses with roofs in bright red and orange with blue skies and seas at the background. Watching this breathtaking view made me forgot how extremely hot the sun was that time of the day.
Profusely sweating and very thirsty, I looked for a canteen to buy bottled water or some kind of juice or soft drinks to quench my thirst. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any at the fort. Well, I got no choice but hurried down and went straight to Esplanade Mall and looked for something refreshing to drink. I ended with a large size coke and a hamburger inside one of the snack bars at the Esplanade Mall. I was back onboard before 1 PM and did get some sleep for few hours. The ship left the port at 6PM and headed for Bridgetown, Barbados. The ship is now here in Bridgetown and I was thinking of not going ashore this time. I’ve been here thrice already and I’ve decided to better just stay in my cabin and continue watching KYLE XY (Season 1). And by the way, Adventure of the Seas is here in Bridgetown today. This Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship is docked opposite to us right now. I captured few photos of this large resort ship as she approached the breakwater this morning until she finally tied up.
View photo of Adventure of the Seas here
