CATEGORY:SPECIAL REPORT --------------------------- INSIDE GRENADA Saturday April 14,2007 Hurricanes hit nutmeg crop hard, but natural beauty and bounty endures. ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada–Trevor and Jennifer Ward travelled to Grenada in search of exotic spices. The Vancouver couple had read about the thick stands of nutmeg trees that scent the tropical air and were eager to bring back cocoa, cloves and vanilla, which also flourish on the island. "My mum used a lot of nutmeg, and I use it myself in savoury dishes, such as macaroni and cheese, so the smell always reminds me of home," said Jennifer. But when the Wards, who are former Toronto residents, stepped ashore in St. George's in January, they discovered the mountainous, jungle-canopied island is still struggling to rebuild, replant and reclaim its title as the Caribbean's Isle of Spice after being hit by two major hurricanes. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan flattened homes, schools and churches, and destroyed 90 per cent of Grenada's nutmeg trees, which provided one-third of the world's nutmeg supply. The next year, Hurricane Emily left more rubble in her wake. Foreign governments pitched in to help the islanders recover, contributing more than $100 million in aid. Grenada is definitely on the comeback trail, particularly in the tourism and commercial areas. "From a tourism standpoint, pretty much everything is open for business," said Melissa Lukis, a Grenada tourist industry spokesperson. "All the major hotels, except LaSource on Pink Gin beach, are up and running. The most popular island attractions also are open for tours, except Belmont Estate, an old plantation that sustained heavy damage." Lukis estimated Grenada still has a three- to five-year supply of nutmeg in the northern part of the island, which escaped the worst of the damage. Efforts are now under way to plant thousands of new nutmeg trees, but they'll take up to 12 years to bear fruit. Fortunately, the island's other spices, including cocoa, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, were undamaged. Also left intact was the natural beauty of Grenada's rugged seascapes and dimpled mountains, or the centuries-old nutmeg and rum factories. During an eight-hour "Isle of Spice" bus tour, the Wards and fellow passengers from a Caribbean cruise ship learned about the island's spice industry. Travelling north from St. George's, the winding coastal road edged with breadfruit, grapefruit, papaya and banana trees afforded glimpses of fishermen netting jacks in Grand Mal Bay and farmers tending cattle, goats and sheep on the hillsides. About 100,000 people of mixed nationalities and religions live on Grenada and its sister islands, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, said tour guide Norris Bernard. As he steered the bus toward Concord Falls, a series of three waterfalls, Bernard pointed out colourful native flowers and trees – yellow bells, bougainvillea, snow-on-the-mountain and bird-of-paradise. A 10-minute drive took us to the gates of the 40-hectare Dougaldston Estate, a 250-year-old plantation with weathered clapboard and tin-roof buildings where local growers bring their nutmeg and cocoa crops. In bygone days, the workers "danced" the cocoa beans, turning them with their feet, to the strains of violin music. Now the plantation is run as a co-op. Farther up the coast, the Grenada Nutmeg Co-operative Association, dating to 1850, dominates the main street in Gouyave, the island's largest fishing town. Inside the creaky two-storey factory, thousands of nuts were spread out like brown marbles on immense wooden drying racks, and bulging sacks lined the floor. Nutmeg was introduced into Grenada in 1843, a factory worker said, as he guided us through the production process. The apricot-like fruit is used for making jams or preserves, and the nut, which contains the nutmeg itself, is processed to make the spice nutmeg. The red netting around the kernel is used for another spice, mace. Continuing up the coast into St. Patrick parish, we passed a nutmeg distillation plant where ground nutmeg is made into oil. For lunch, we sampled Grenada's spicy creole-Indian fusion cuisine at Helvellyn House, a red-roofed plantation house surrounded by flower gardens. On the terrace was a buffet of split pea soup, fry-bake bread, curried chicken, fish-in-creole sauce and bananas and yams. Dessert was coconut cream with fried fruits. "We are gourmet cooks and love spices and aged rum," said Bonnie Stratton, sipping a glass of rum punch. "When we get home we're going to do a lot of marinating." The tour took us south to the River Antoine Rum Distillery, the oldest operational production plant in the Caribbean. Its ancient machinery is still powered by a 17th-century water wheel. Ginger plants with red flowers fringed the pitted asphalt roadway that led up to the National Reserve of Grand Etang (Great Pond), 630 metres above the sea. A path up the mountain led to a romantic view of the ice-blue crater lake and beyond to a lofty overlook of the valley below. Afterward, we snaked our way back down the mountain, past islanders boiling corn in large pots, to St. George's, just in time for sunset. Piles of fluffy amber-tinted clouds cast a spell of tranquility over an island that has seen little peace in recent years. Article written by Claudia Capos and repinted from www.thestar.com