Well, we knew the day would come that one of these islands was going to impose and enforce restrictions regarding going ashore. Today's port of Saint George's, Grenada was the one. The notice in the When & Where stated that unless you had an HAL tour or used a government-approved taxi, we would not be allowed to go anywhere. This was also the same message we had yesterday, but later in the morning, it had changed, and independent folks could go for a walk. We had hoped this would be the case here as well.
Grenada is a small island with 120 square miles of lush rain forest. It is 21 miles long and 12 miles wide. It is often called the Spice Island, since their main export is nutmeg. These trees are grown in the mountains, as well as cinnamon, mace, bay leaves, cloves, turmeric, and ginger. Having been here once many years ago, we purchased little woven baskets filled with samples of all of these spices. Growing conditions are perfect, since this island sits 12 degrees above the Equator. No wonder the heat from the sun was so intense here.
Two other islands – Carriacou and Petite Martinique also belong to this island group. The population is 90,000. On September 7, 2004, Hurricane Ivan caused extensive damage to these islands, wiping out most of the nutmeg trees. The capital of Saint George's had much damage, taking it years to recover. The National Cricket Stadium had just been completed, but was destroyed. The Chinese government came to the rescue and helped to restore the complex in time for the World Cup Cricket competition in 2007.
There were a few tours here which included water sports, island drive, best of Grenada, river tubing, and highlights. The prices ranged from $50 to $130.
Now, here's the thing…..we were not allowed past the guards after weaving through the terminal shops. The only way out was to hire a taxi driver, or pay an escort to walk us through town. Neither option was acceptable to us. And from what we saw, it was not working for the other passengers either. We don't get it, when any of us are allowed to go all over the island, taxi or not, the virus would still be spread or picked up by locals. It should be all or nothing. So it boils down to money and the local taxi union, which we have witnessed in many other places around the world. We have seen barricades thrown in front of the mini vans as they tried to leave the port in Vanuatu. In essence, we were being held like captives unless we did it their way. So, we turned around and headed back to the ship with all the rest of the grumpy guests. Lucky we have such a nice ship to spend the rest of the day onboard. We had gotten a notice from HAL this morning that this port will be substituted once again on a future sailing. Perhaps by then, the restrictions will be lifted.
Back on the ship, we ran into Barb on our deck in the elevator lobby. While we were chatting with another couple, we spotted a hazmat team of four crew members coming down the hallway with two guests, luggage in tow, heading towards the aft section. The carpets and walls were being heavily sprayed as they passed by. Oh no…..it must be Covid, and they were going into quarantine. We discovered that area a few days ago while we were attempting to go to the aft elevator using deck five. The fire door was closed with a note saying crew only. So we assumed that was the Covid area for passengers. It would be confirmed later by asking our waiters.
Here's another strange thing….all aboard was 3:30pm, however, no one would be allowed to leave the ship after 2pm. Those on tours could come back after 2pm. Since we were on the wrong side to watch the pier activity, we went up to the jogging deck to watch the gangway pulled in. Four officers were standing there waiting for more guests. Eventually, they arrived but not until 4pm. They must have been on an HAL tour, or they would have been left behind.
We are now headed northwest to Saint Kitts, another new island for us. Hope we are not turned away again.
We had tried to get reservations for the three of us in Tamarind this evening, but were told there was only one space left. What? We are still trying to figure that out. So we made it for tomorrow at 8pm.
Tonight's dinner was good with the best tomato/bell pepper bisque. Each of us ordered a different entrée – one lasagna, alternate chicken (very moist and tasty), and pot roast with mashed taters, as Barb always says. So far, we have been happy with the daily choices.
By the way, the Pinnacle Grill has been opened on sea days for lunch from 12 to 1pm, but always closed on port days. And the photo ops are everywhere, every day, and every night. To be truthful, at times they can be a bit over-the-top with pushing their services. We prefer to seek them out instead.
One other small thing we found out was concerning the Jacuzzi on deck five forward. It is reserved for the staff, not the guests, which we figured. More than likely it would be used when the ship is docked, or else they might be blown overboard.
Bill & Mary Ann
