ST GEORGE'S, GRENADA

 

July 14, 2013


ST GEORGE'S HARBOR
GRAND ANSE BAY IN THE BACKGROUND

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=st+george's+grenada&qpvt=st+george%27s+grenada&FORM=IGRE
St George's is the capital city of Grenada, built by the French in the year 1650.  The city is built in a horseshoe shaped bay surrounded by the hills of an old volcano.  Our trip into the old city began with a wild bus ride through narrow hilly streets towards town.  Our destination, the downtown open air market.


ONE OF THE MANY BUSES ON
THE STREETS OF GRENADA

BUS HAWKER

Passenger vans are outfitted with extra seats to carry 12 to 15 people & are used as buses all over the island.  The driver is just that, just the driver, he takes his direction from the young man sitting in the
jump seat by the sliding side door.  This young man is hanging out the window hawking the bus services to anyone on the street, collecting customers all along the route.  If you are walking, you are a potential customer.  He tells the driver when to stop for customers & when to go.  He also takes passengers money & helps in anyway he can to make the transfer of passengers & bags expedient.  All of this is done at what seems, break neck speed, in between heavy traffic on the very narrow, winding roads of the island.
 
One of the most interesting things to us coming from the streets of the USA, was the attitude of the driver & assistant.  At no time was there any sign they became annoyed as vehicles cut in front of them in traffic, stopped in the middle of the road or nabbed a potential customer.   Horns are used as a signal to a potential fare they are approaching or a courtesy to other drivers they are passing.  Not once did someone sit on their horn to draw attention to a drivers actions they did not like.  As we rode along the assistant was smiling, music was booming from the radio, tourists & residents alike got on & off the bus all across town.

CHRIST OF THE ABYSS

We exited the bus on the narrow waterfront street next to the statue of the Christ of the Abyss.  This statue was given to the city by France for their aid during the disaster of the sinking of the Bianca C in the St George's harbor in 1961.  This 600ft French luxury liner with almost 700 people aboard is sometimes called the Titanic of the Caribbean.  Unlike the Titanic all but 1 of the people aboard survived.  The wreck lies on the bottom in more than 160ft of water at the mouth of the bay & has been named one of the top ten dive sights in the world. 
http://www.divegrenada.com/biancac.htm

BUSY CITY MARKET

As we walked around the end of the bay we began our climb through the city streets to the outdoor market.  The crowded market is colorful, loud & fragrant.  Each vendor sold a variety of goods from fresh local spices, fruits, vegetables, jewelry, baskets & trinkets.  We purchased very fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers & bananas.  As we made our way back to catch a bus to Prickly Bay, we stopped to visit with a local vendor that makes & sells small steel drums.  The music made by the simple instruments is amazing.  Of course Rod had to buy one, now we will see how easy it really is to learn to play.


BUYING A HADMADE
STEEL DRUM

WALKING DOWN
FROM FT. GEORGE

LOOKING DOWN FROM FT. GEORGE

  

FT GEORGE
 

After a long day we stopped in for a glass of wine at De Big Fish Restaurant & Bar before boarding our dinghy to return to It's Perfect with our purchases.