Grenada

The Caribbean Plate is a tectonic structure stretching 2000 km east from the Pacific coast of Central America. For the last 80 million years it's been shifting east at 10 mm a year, compressing the Atlantic ocean floor beneath it, and this has thrown up an arc of volcanic islands along the boundary. Grenada arose maybe two million years ago, and volcanic activity continued on the main island until 12,000 years ago, blasting out the craters (now flooded) of St George's carenage, Grand Etang, Levera and St Antoine. Mount St Catherine the highest mountain is dormant but by no means extinct, with geothermal hot springs, and the wonderfully-named "Kick 'em Jenny" is an active underwater volcano ten miles north of main island.

The legacy of this is rugged terrain with mountains that draw clouds and rain, reasonably fertile volcanic soil, a great natural harbour, and lush scenery. Land animals were from time to time able to migrate here, and humans could island-hop along the chain from South America by canoe. The standard story is that the first settlers were Arawaks, then in the centuries before European contact they were attacked and subjugated by Caribs. But this doesn't square with the linguistic, genetic and cultural record, and the Spanish used "Arawak" to mean indigenous people friendly to them, while "Caribs" were hostile and therefore to be demonised and slaughtered.

The first European to sight Grenada was Christopher Columbus in 1498. He didn't land, but named it Concepción, which didn't catch on. The Andalusian city of Granada symbolised the ascendancy of Spain after its recapture from the Moors in 1492, and "La Granada" was how the island became shown on maps. However for the next 150 years its inhabitants repelled colonisation, until in 1649 the French got a grip, fortified the harbour and subdued the island. Legend holds that in 1652 the last of the Caribs leapt to their deaths from the cliffs, at the north point now called Sauteurs. The island was then a private possession, a piece of real estate to be traded, until 1674 when it was constituted as a French colony governed from Martinique. Grenada was profitable for its indigo, cotton and sugar, with a large African slave population imported to harvest these. In British eyes, it was far too good to be wasted on the French, and the power of their Royal Navy was growing.

Grenada like other Caribbean islands was then a pawn in wider conflicts. It was captured by the British during the Seven Years' War (1756–63), but during the American Revolutionary War, France joined the United States against Britain and recaptured Grenada in 1779. They hurriedly built forts against counter-attack, only to see these handed over when Grenada was re-assigned to Britain by the treaty of 1783. France then became roiled by revolution, and could never again exert colonial power in this section of the Caribbean. Its rhetoric was echoed by Julien Fédon, a mixed-race landowner who in 1795 launched a rebellion that lasted 15 months until crushed; his fate is unknown.

Grenada was a colony of Britain for almost the next 200 years, along with other islands in the loose entity known as the British Windward Islands Administration. Slavery was abolished in the 19th century, but the island remained under the thumb of (and governed for the benefit of) the colonists, with only token Grenadian electoral power and representation even after reforms in the 1920s. Universal adult suffrage came in 1951, when Eric Matthew Gairy and his Grenada United Labour Party swept to power. A "wind of change" gathered strength throughout the Empire, and Britain's response was to form a Federation of the West Indies with considerable home autonomy but with defence and other functions retained by the UK. The Federation proved quarrelsome and short-lived, and full independence came on 7 Feb 1974 with Gairy as the first prime minister.

Gairy's re-election in 1976 was considered by many to be fraudulent, and there was growing agitation and paramilitary activity by the "New Jewel Movement". This was led by a lawyer called Maurice Bishop, and proclaimed itself Marxist-Leninist. It seized power in a coup d'état in 1979 and sought assistance from Cuba, whose workers began building the present airport at Point Salines, which the US squealed might be used as a launchpad against America. The flashpoint was in 1983 when Bishop was overthrown by a hardline faction of his own party, and he and his colleagues were shot by firing squad. All this played into US President Ronald Reagan's worst nightmares of what a communist regime might do, he badly needed a quick win after the attack on the Marines base in Beirut, and he launched "Operation Urgent Fury". The invasion force of some 7600 soon routed the hardliners and Cubans, and next year a general election re-established democratic government.

The bonus was that Grenada acquired its modern airport, just in time to take advantage of larger aircraft bringing the island within range of middle-income tourists across Europe and North America. Grand Anse beach burgeoned into a hotel strip. The major set-back came in 2004: Grenada hadn't suffered a hurricane for 50 years then was devastated by "Ivan", then again by "Emily" in 2005. By then the global financial crisis was afflicting public and private finance, impeding re-construction, and there are still many gap sites and shells of wrecked buildings today.

Grenada has a tropical, hot and humid climate that doesn't vary much year-round. Temperatures are always close to 27°C / 80°F, and the humidity is tempered by the refreshing trade winds. January to April are slightly drier and cooler, there's not much in it, and even during the rainy season it seldom rains for more than an hour at a time. The last hurricane was Emily in 2005.

Grenada is the southernmost island nation of the north-south direction of the Lesser Antilles arc. A total of 344 sq kms, Grenada includes three key islands including its main island. Offshore are a variety of ecosystems within the country's three MPAs.

Grenada has the same problems of unemployment and economic downturn as other Caribbean nations yet the visitor is struck by how they shine above it. To a remarkable degree, they are law-abiding, courteous and with a strong work ethic. Away from the beach they dress conservatively; traders may solicit but rarely hustle. You'll be alright in town in shorts, shirt and trainers, but won't get served in beachwear.

Feb 7 is Independence Day, a public holiday with parades and ceremonies. As this is close to the usual date of Mardi Gras, the latter is not a big thing on Grenada.

Pure Grenada (+1 473 440 2001) is the tourist agency.

For local news read NOW Grenada, The New Today, Grenada Informer, Grenadian Voice and The Barnacle.

You need a passport valid for at least six months and a return or onward ticket. As of 2019, and still applicable in Jan 2023, visas are not required from citizens of the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and its dependencies, British Commonwealth countries, Caribbean countries, Venezuela, Brazil, European Union countries and their dependencies, Norway, Japan, South Korea, India, Israel, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Russia.

Duty-free allowances: Personal items, one quart in total wines and spirits, half-pound tobacco or 50 cigars or 200 cigarettes. No restrictions on the amount of money that can be brought in. Restricted items are fruits, vegetables, meat, soil, illegal drugs, firearms and ammunition.

Maurice Bishop International Airport (GND ^IATA) is on the southwest tip of the main island of Grenada, 8 km from the capital. It's the principal point of arrival in Grenada, with long haul flights from North America and Europe, and inter-island short hops. See Grenada (island)#Get in for connections, airport facilities and onward transport.

Lauriston Airport (CRU  ^IATA) is a small airstrip on the island of Carriacou. As well as daily flights from Maurice Bishop, it has direct flights from Saint Vincent, with connections from Barbados and other islands. See Carriacou#Get in for practicalities.

• Cruise ships dock in St George's, and October to May there are usually a couple in port - there's room for five. See Grenada (island)#Get in for practicalities.
• Carriacou has no dock for large ships, but these sometimes park offshore and bring passengers in by tender.
• Osprey foot-passenger ferries ply between the islands of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
• There is a small passenger ferry connecting Carriacou and Union Island on Mondays and Fridays.
• Private vessels must clear immigration and customs at St George's or Prickly Bay on Grenada island, or at Hillsborough on Carriacou. Petite Martinique has no "Port of Entry".

The East Caribbean dollar, denoted as $ or EC$ (ISO currency code XCD), is the currency of Grenada and seven other Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The EC dollar is subdivided into 100 cents. Banknotes circulate in denominations of 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars, and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 25 cents and 1 dollar.

The EC dollar is pegged to the United States dollar at a fixed exchange rate of US$1 = EC$2.70. US dollar bills are universally accepted on Grenada but not coins; they might give change in EC cents or just round up the tab.

It is difficult to exchange EC$ outside the Caribbean and there is no exchange at the airport. So unless you're arriving from another EC$ country (which Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago are not) then bring enough US$ to last until you can reach a bank, bearing in mind that small businesses such as taxi drivers seldom take cards. And don't be left with any EC$ when you leave.

There are several banks in St George's and Grand Anse, with exchange desks open M-F 8AM-2PM.

• Foodstuffs and spices: check your home country's customs regulations before buying foodstuffs - many imports are prohibited.
  • Spices are the main draw and are usually okay for import if fully-sealed. Nutmeg and vanilla are the chief offering, others are mace, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and turmeric.
  • Chocolate is high standard, if you can keep it cool until your return.
  • Rum, but beware the strength - an "export-strength" product may count as two bottles within your personal allowance.

• Supermarkets in St George's and Grand Anse may undercut the "duty-free" offerings in the tourist-trappy mall by the cruiser terminal.