It's Wednesday and we are in Grenada

It’s Wednesday and we are in Grenada (September 24)

Docking time: 7:00-4:45 pm
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual (Lumiere’s) – Prince and Princess
Evening Entertainment: Villains Tonight!
Drink of the day: Princess Delight

Island of Spice!  This day, we had organized a group for an island tour with Stan of J n J Tours.  The 4 of us plus another couple with a child and 3 adults joined together from our cruise facebook group to tour the island.  It turns out, Stan had another 2 vans also with people booked.

We woke the kids early, DD9 was very, very tired.  H and DD12 went up to the buffet and I grabbed a plate quick for DD9 to eat in the room.  We left the ship around 7:15 am and met up with Stan just inside the cruise port building.

Stan ended up waiting for some other people, I’m not sure if they showed or not but he ended up driving the van we were in, none of the other people in our cruise group ended up in our van.  I was disappointed, I wanted to get to know them but we all got split up in the vans.  Stan narrated about the island during the drive around.

Our first stop was the Annandale Waterfalls.  Once we arrived, there were vendors around trying to sell us things.  We walked down to the falls and several men were there who jumped 50 feet from the cliffs above for tips.  It started to rain while we were there but it felt good because it was so hot.

Stan then took us to Grand Etang National park and Volcano Lake.  The rain had stopped by this time but the place was muddy.  There were also vendors here but they weren’t pushy like the previous ones.  The Disney busses were also here so it was busy but our family of 4 went on the trail up to the lookout and were the only ones to do so.  It was quiet and peaceful at the lookout and we saw a beautiful view all the way to the ocean from there.  Even though my shoes got ruined in the clay mud, I felt it was worth it.

When we returned to the vans, Stan had beer, soda and water for everyone ready.  We saw a brief glimpse of some wild monkeys in the trees and the locals tried to call them out but they were shy.

Our next stop was a spice shop.  Stan and the lady who owned it gave us demonstrations on the various spices grown: Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cocoa beans and a few others.  We ended up buying some spices, they smelled so good!

The final stop before the beach was Fort Frederick (have to look it up)  We spent about 30 minutes here exploring it on our own.  The site is not ADA approved, lol.  None of the sites were and I believe this tour requires exertion due to the steps and walking we did.

I believe the other 2 vans went back to the ship but Stan brought us to a beach next, Grand Anse.  This beach was only 10 minutes from the ship and was absolutely gorgeous.

However, the vendors and beggers were horrible.  We paid $20 for an umbrella and 2 chairs.  Then we had to change and the lady charged us $1 to use the restroom.  Then we ordered something to eat and they only had a few things on the menu that were available and the 2 cheeseburgers and fries were $22 total.

People kept coming up to us and wanting to braid our hair or give massages or sell us something and then a blind/disabled man came down the beach.  He would periodically fall in front of people and sit there and beg for money.  Of course he fell right in front of us and stayed there for 10 minutes and finally got up on his sticks and hobbled about 25 feet further and fell again.  He made his way down the line of chairs the entire time we were there.

So while the beach was beautiful, I didn’t care for the set up.  Since we were already paying for a tour, it wasn’t the best way to do a beach.

After about an hour, Stan took our group back to the ship.  We went on board, had the kids do the laundry (lol) and H and I returned to the terminal for wi-fi.  It was $3 for wi-fi in one of the shops but the speed was S-L-O-W.  H wandered the shops in the terminal and all was good until he came back to me and asked if we could go.  He looked distressed but I wasn’t ready to leave so he said he would meet me back at the ship.  Later, I found out that H was propositioned by a local to go see some ‘black booty’.  Gross!  No one offered me the alternative, I wasn’t bothered at all in the shops.

We ordered more mickey bars that afternoon and then headed to Lumieres for Prince and Princess menu night.  It was another great night of service by Esther and Fabio.  Esther had arranged the night before to have the cooks make my daughters anything they wanted.  They both chose pasta, one was Spaghetti and one was Chicken Alfredo.  It was a nice touch for them.

After dinner, DD12 and I went to “Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer?” in the D lounge.  DD didn’t get chosen but it was fun to watch the show and guess the answers.

Our evening ended with only DD12 and I attending the show, Villains Tonight!  We both enjoyed it.

Again, everyone turned in early.  DD9 was sleeping when we got back and H didn’t want to wake her for the show so they both missed it.