It took just 24 hours for me to succumb to the power of the lime. No, not the fruit. Here in Grenada, one of the southernmost islands in the Caribbean, “lime” is an activity as well as a fruit. Well, a non-activity, really. To lime is, essentially, to chill out.
And chill out I did.
As the bright sun beat down, melting the ice cubes of yet another rum punch, I lay half asleep by a hotel pool. My boyfriend, John, dozed on the chaise longue next to me. It was nothing short of a miracle. For we are not the sort of travellers who lounge. We are the sort who cover five cities in 10 days. As it turns out, Grenada was our version of paradise.
Generally, the phrase “beach vacation” makes us break out in hives. In our travel vocabulary, “all-inclusive”, “buffet” and “tour group” are dirty words. Which is why Grenada was so appealing. Sure, you can spend a day tanning on Grand Anse, a stunning three-kilometre-long white-sand beach, but you can also hike in a rain forest, dive at a major shipwreck, take a wild bus ride with locals and enjoy stellar cuisine.
That is, if you can fight the urge to do nothing – absolutely nothing at all. It's tough.
On our second full day, we decide that it's time to tackle our Grenada to-do list. We've done our research and have a long list of things to do and sights to see.
First up: a hike through Grand Etang National Park, into the heart of a rain forest to the Seven Sisters Falls. The trail is muddy and slippery, but our guide, Allan Medford, helps us through the tricky parts. We're joined by just two other people, a Montreal couple from the same flight with whom we've hit it off.
As we hike, Allan stops to explain all the lush foliage: He crumples up the leaves of a cinnamon tree for us to smell, shows us the creamy, white inside of a cocoa pod to explain how chocolate is made and teaches us about nutmeg, the island's signature spice.
After about 45 minutes, we reach two of the seven falls and strip down to our bathing suits to enjoy the cool, clear water. The guys jump off the lower fall into another deep pool while we take pictures.
Back at the hotel, our plans for the rest of the week are starting to change. “You know,” John says to me, “we saw so much today I don't really need to go the spice plantation now.” I'm fine with skipping the chocolate factory tour – that's two things off the list.
So after another day on the beach, we're back with our friends for our one other must-do: snorkelling. The four of us have an entire 60-by-20-foot catamaran to ourselves (another Grenada plus: it's easy to avoid large tour groups). We lime on its bow nets as we sail past St. George’s harbour, one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean.
Our first drop is Molinere Bay, home to 65 underwater sculptures, including a pirate skull and a man at a typewriter. Cool, but also creepy. As we swim back to the boat, our guide brings us up close to a particularly mean-looking fish. Fortunately, I realize it's a barracuda once I'm on the ladder.
Stop two is Flamingo Bay. We swim beside dozens of different creatures, including sea snakes, yellowtail snappers and stunning purple coral fans swaying in the current.
At the end of the trip, we're exhausted. I was considering scuba lessons later in the week, but now I can't be bothered.
