west indies | AAV Explorations

Daydreaming is easy, healthy, and free!
Here at AAV Travel, we would like to give your mind a break and the opportunity to enjoy and learn more about the world from the comfort of your home.

TASTE • LISTEN • EXPERIENCE • READ • HAPPY HOUR

The Caribbean island of Grenada supplies nearly forty percent of the world’s annual nutmeg crop. Its importance to the island is so great that it has an honored place on the flag. The variety of spices growing on the island is so big that it has earned the name of Spice Island. Grenada consists of the island itself plus six smaller islands located between the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea, North of Trinidad and Tobago. One of the islands, Petite Martinique, is independent and an outpost for the gray- and black market trade. A modern-day pirate’s island. #tourismstrong

Unlike some other Caribbean islands, Grenada produces many organic fruits and vegetables. The year-round sunshine and fertile soil is fantastic to grow fresh produce, and there is easy access to fresh-caught fish and seafood.

You will find a fantastic selection of traditional recipes to try, ranging from wholesome, savory dishes to sweet treats.

Explore the island’s culinary aspects with Savor the Spice’s Addie and the 2016 Carnival Queen, Samantha Francis!

Grenada’s most famous dish is Grenadian Oil Down, a melting pot of the island’s cultural history. The hearty stew is made of local veggies, salted meat, and aromatic spice. You might have to travel to Grenada to taste the “real deal,” but Chris from Caribbean Pot has some great tips on how to make it at home.

This is his list of ingredients:

1 medium breadfruit
1 large carrot
2 cups chopped spinach
2 scallions
4 sprigs thyme
1 onion
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon Saffron (tumeric)
black pepper
1 scotch bonnet pepper
3 pimento peppers (seasoning peppers)
2 cups pumpkin
4 green cooking bananas
2 lbs salted pig tail
3 lbs chicken breast
3 cups coconut milk
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon chopped parsely
2 tablespoon chopped shado beni
6 eddoes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon caribbean green seasoning for the chicken

Popular music of Grenada is calypso, soca and, to a lesser extent Reggae and Dancehall. Soca is fast-paced, Caribbean carnival dance music, which makes it extremely hard to sit still in a chair when listening to it. Grenada Soca has a distinct style taking on the name of ‘jab jab’ soca.

Check out some samples from our Grenada playlist!

Island in the Sun, a movie released in 1957, was filmed in Grenada and Barbados. It’s the story of a wealthy landowner’s son fighting for political office against the black leader. The classic movie stars Harry Belafonte, a young Joan Collins, and many others. Have a look at the trailer here:

If you enjoy finding out more about an island before visiting or simply love history, and want to know more about Grenada, make sure to watch this clip. It’s full of interesting information!

Also, check out Pure Grenada’s island brochure.

This clip features two students sharing their experiences in Grenada and the many activities the island has to offer.

If you love reading and are ready to go deeper and learn more about the country as well as its history, culture, and behind the scenes, there are some excellent books for you!

Blood of Belvidere by Dunbar Campbell
Grenada is a marriage between stunning Caribbean beauty and historical conflict. Blood of Belvidere takes readers on an unforgettable journey deep into the tropical mystique that attracted international intrigue to her shores for hundreds of years. As a young boy growing up in Grenada, Scott McDonald’s growing pain becomes intertwined with the legacy behind the strange disappearance of a slave-rebellion leader two-hundred years earlier. Secrets and treachery inflict havoc down eight generations of McDonalds, believed to be descendants of the rebel’s archenemy. For more…

Pynter Bender by Jacob Ross
Pynter Bender is a child of the cane fields of Grenada, the second smallest independent state in the world. This extraordinary debut novel tells of a boy born blind but whose eyes are healed, allowing him to see great beauty. The story charts the painful awakening of a rural population, essentially organized around serfdom, into a raw and uncertain future that can only be achieved through fighting—a civil war that Pynter is drawn in to. For more…

Angel by Merle Collins
Chronicling the events that took place in Grenada from 1951—when workers revolted against the white owners of the sugar and cocoa estates—to the U.S. invasion in 1983, the book follows headstrong Angel and her mother Doodsie as they experience the deposition of the old, corrupted leadership with conflicted emotions. For more…

Of course, Grenada has its version of a rum punch, which includes a little bit of nutmeg. I think the nutmeg makes all the difference, but when you ask for it on a different Caribbean island, they just look at you weirdly.

Since we’ve already looked at a Jamaican Rum Punch in the Jamaican Daydream post, we’ll go with Andre Victor’s Spice Seduction cocktail instead.

You will need the following ingredients:

• 2 oz. Dark Rum (preferably Clarke’s Court)
• 1/2 oz De La Grenade Liqueur*
• 1/2 oz Blue Curacao
• 3 oz. orange juice
• Splash of lime juice
• Splash of grenadine syrup
• Shake with ice cubes and serve in a martini glass

Click here for details on how to make it!

Please stay safe and healthy, wash your hands, and practice social distancing as long as it is necessary.

Being able to travel is an incredible gift. The experience can open our eyes to the unique cultures and spellbinding beauty of the natural world. But with this gift comes a responsibility – to protect the world as we know it. Please behave responsibly and show respect!

STEFANIE PICHONNAT
Stefanie Pichonnat is the owner of Cumar Gold Travel, a boutique travel firm specialized in creating customized travel itineraries. Originally from Switzerland, she started exploring the world at a young age and continues to expand her knowledge every year.