The Road Trip
Trip Start
Jun 14, 2005
1
7
21
Trip End
Aug 20, 2005
Sauteurs,
Grenada
Sunday, June 26, 2005
We had decided some time ago that it would be cool to go for a ride up to the top of the island (about 26 miles long). I had my car and vic and esther were going to have one as well by then. Perfect! Convoy! Raw hide...well :s not quite raw hide, but certainly an adventure.
So we set off up the east coast. It was pretty easy getting to the top, all u have to do is make sure the sea is on ur left hand side! We had a half way pit stop in gouyave. Was easy to see preperations for carnival are well under way. There were coloured lights (like what we would have at xmas) lining the streets everywhere. And then it was off again, on our quest.
01 - quick stop in Gouyave
We got lost!
At the top of the island the road curves in between the mountains, so at that point u havnt got a clue where u are coz all u can see is trees and mountains around u, and the roads go up, down, left right every few metres. We were certainly struggling to get up some of the hills, first gear for a lot of it! We were looking for a plantation near Sauteurs. We ended up dong a 10 mile round trip, finally recognising some scenery which looked familiar. So we stopped to ask the local, and everyone comes to ur aid. We blocked the road coz everyone started getting out of the cars and joining in the discussion of where this plantation actually was. And as we have become accustomed to, if u ask someone for help here they ask u for some money. The guy this time wanted money to go and buy a beer! Eh no! so we legged it...
We felt we were either getting close, or had gone past the place by a mile, theres no sign posts either and we were entering a different region now. But then one of the girls spotted something, and autopilot took over! The chocolate factory! It seemed closed but we spotted some mad looking naked white guy dashing about inside so we had a peak. Turns out they had only just started business 3 days ago with the aftermath of the hurricane and he was literally just getting the first batch of 300 bars ready
02 - was a hot one, so they sat on the tarmac!? :s
. Turned out he was from new york and had fallen in love with the process of making chocolate and perfecting it. He gave us a tour round and showed us how its all made. Its really quite complicated and time consuming which plenty of physical work involved. It was just him, another guy and two women running the place. He claimed to make the best chocolate money can buy, basically by making it the most unhealthy chocolate around, really rich and stuffed full of fat. It was going to be a hard statement to live up to, but the free samples certainly went a long way to proving it was true. It was pretty damn fine chocolate! So we stayed talking to him for a while. The americans who turned up at the same time as us went off in a huff looking totally unenthused by it all. Bloody americans! So the first batch of chocolate bars will be in the shops in a few days. The girls are already getting their sleeping bags out to go and sleep outside the store for the morning opening. He also exports its to london and NYC (which can then be mail ordered!)So with the girls smiling from cheek to cheek we followed his directions to the plantation house, which we eventually found no problem. It wasnt open, but there were certainly some spectacular views to be seen (see the pics)
We then went on further to the top right hand tip of the island where u are able to see all the little islands north of grenada
03 - jurassic park!
. Here we stopped for our picnic, and champagne! Its totally different up there coz ur looking out over the atlantic ocean rather than the caribbean sea. Its a lot rougher with big crashing waves and an orgasmic breeze that cools u down straight away. There were loads and loads of little deserted island on the horizon.We then made our way home, taking in the great views. Just driving around is probably the best way to see the island. Its also cool going in convoy! Sort of felt like a cross between going on a safari and jurassic park! Half way down the west coast we made a small detour to Concorde falls. Away up in the hills was one of few waterfalls on the island. Again, paradise. But almost like being in the jungle at the same time.
End of the day and we went for a bite to eat, my meal arriving at the same time as everyone elses for a change :)
A fantastic day, hundreds of photos and videos to show u all when i get back
AJG
