Flowers, Spices and Demon Rum in Grenada

We stopped in Grenada today. It's a volcanic island so it has lots of of hills and lush vegetation. very different from a coral island like Bonaire where we were yesterday. Both are pretty, but I like the feel of the volcanic island better. Bonaire was country 103 and Grenada was number 104. I don't think we will get to step on any other "new" countries this year.

Our tour today taught us all about spices--these are the fabled "spice islands" after all. We learned that cocoa pods are picked every 2 weeks in order to keep the trees in production. We learned that when avocado leaves are made into a tea they will reduce high blood pressure. We learned that the nutmeg trees were decimated during the 2005 Hurricane named Ivan, and they are still not back in full production as it takes 10 years for a nutmeg tree to mature.

After looking at spices we went to an old rum distillery. We were told the "old fashioned" way that rum was made. We saw the old equipment rusting away on the grounds. But for some, the best part was tasting the rum. By that time on the tour, I wanted to sample a shower as the humidity was pretty high.

As usual, I fell in love with the wonderful flowers. Bougainvilleas were out in force with colors ranging from deep magenta to palest pink. Birds of Paradise argued with plumeria to see which was prettier. Frankly, it does not matter who wins that debate as all are wonderful.