South of the Grenadines is Grenada, famous for its nutmeg that is produced only on this island, being called the Caribbean capital of species (map)

Grenada is a little green gem of 35 km. long x 20 km. wide, surrounded by countless beaches and coves. The craggy inner mountains (hard to cross), and the great diversity of landscapes, make this island to look bigger than it really is. Is a very fertile place, because the trade winds produce 4,060 mm. of rain each year. This downpour originates an exuberant and dense tropical jungle, where fantastic ferns, and huge mahogany trees grow, among cascades and abundant rivers flowing from the mountains to the sea.

Known as the Caribbean capital of the species, is the nutmeg, which perfumes the Grenada air, with an incomparable fragrance. These species are produced here since the end of the XVIII century, when the British ships brought it from the West Indies, alongside cinnamon, ginger and clove. Till then, sugar was the most exported product of the island, but later, these products substituted it. Now, many farmers live thanks to the exploitation of nutmeg, a product generating the fifth part of the total income of Grenada’s economy.

St. George, The Most Beautiful Capital
Not everybody think Grenada is the most beautiful island in the Little Antilles, but nobody doubts about its capital St. George. In a region frequently punished by natural disasters, and by the growing of massive tourism, St George maintains, against all the odds, the charm of a small and hospitable city, located in a precious harbor, seeming a horseshoe.

From the Carenage, a maritime walk with a series of solid stone warehouses, most of the streets start climbing to the St. George’s hills, where there are soft color buildings, with tiled roofs, churches and some forts, like Fort George (open daily, free entrance), a military fortress, built in 1705 by the French, offering a magnificent sight of the city and the port. Next to the harbor, and separated of the port by Sandall Tunnel, is Marquet Square, where every Saturday morning, peasants go to sell their sweet potatoes, mangos and bananas.

During the XVIII century, the politic power in Grenade change hands frequently, which is reflected in the city’s architecture, where delicate French colonial wooden buildings, stand next to sound stone Georgian buildings, The pink tiles on the roofs, date from when they were brought by French ships, that crossed the Atlantic, using them as dead weight.

In the hillsides are wooden, soft color buildings, contrasting with the austerity of the stone belfry of the Presbyterian church of St Andrew’s, or the imposing walls of Fort George.

Near to Sandall Tunnel is the Grenada National Museum (open from Monday to Friday, Saturday mornings, entrance fee), a museum located in a building, that once was used as a military French prison, in the XVIII century. Nearby is Nutmeg, a bar famous for its rum punch.

The “Intervention”
Grenada’s history is captivating, but most of the people reject discussing about events that took place in October 1983, due to which the island’s name, burst into the breaking news of the most important newspapers around the world. In 1979, a group of radical youngsters overthrew dictatorial Prime Minister Eric Gairy, after a bloodless state coup. For four years and a half, the People’s Revolutionary Government, led by the charismatic Maurice Bishop, made much needed social, economic and political reforms. However, the Grenada’s “revolution” started crumbling down with the surge of a radical group within the Government party that tried to take power. Bishop was first arrested, then freed by a crowd, and finally executed alongside many of his followers, at the Fort George’s courtyard. The US suspecting for sometime, there was a link between Grenada’s Government and Fidel Castro in Cuba, took advantage of the situation, and invaded the island. More than 6,000 marines landed in Grenada, in an operation that was, ironically, named “the intervention”.

Much time has passed, but the wounds are still open. Those accused for the assassinations are still in prison in Fort Frederick, a fort ended in 1791, and that served as headquarters to the revolutionary groups in 1983. Some others still mourn their relatives and friends. Some thought that after the intervention, good times were ahead. But the truth is that this has not happened, and that Grenada went back to obscurity. The island is still shocked by the events, and refuses to forget.