TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) Trip Report and Photo Archives Day 5 Grenville & the River Antione Rum Factory

Feb. 5: Journey to Grenville
The sky was cloudy when I woke up and it looked like it might be a repeat of Saturday. I made myself some breakfast and then went for my morning swim. I didn’t want to spend another day just drinking on the beach, and had always wanted to visit the River Antoine Rum Factory so I decided that this would be the day. I took the bus into St. Georges and then grabbed the #6 bus to Grenville. This bus takes you across the island, through Grand E’Tang Park, over mountains, and past farmland. Grenada is another very verdant island; the valleys we passed were thick with trees and bushes. The roadside was lined with bamboo, ferns and dark green bushes; there were banana, cocoa, and coconut plantations along with assorted fruits in the interior. Traffic was heavy in Grenville and the Independence Day celebrations were already started, everyone was dressed in the country’s colors of red, green and gold. I asked the driver and he directed me to the bus I would have to take to the rum factory. It wasn’t too long a drive and again we passed some small villages and more farmland.

The water wheel that drives the crusher for the sugar cane
The Rum factory uses a water wheel that was built in 1785 to crush the cane and release the sugar laden water. The wheel is currently out of commission, awaiting parts; they are using molasses to make the rum until it is repaired. We saw the mix of molasses and water fermenting in large open stone vats after which it is filtered and sent to the still. They have two copper stills side by side and can produce 500 bottles a day. The whole operation is very low tech, after distilling the gravity of the alcohol is monitored and it is sent back through until it is right. After the tour they give you a taste of the rum, it reminded me of the country rum we get in Dominica, there you have to bring your own bottle as it is sold out of the barrel.

The old copper still

I thought this might be like the cocoa processing tour where you can walk around the grounds for awhile afterwards, but after the tasting they show you the door. In order to get the bus back to Grenville I would have to walk back to the junction, about 20 minutes up the road. I didn’t want to come all that way for just a short tour and I noticed the ocean was just beyond the trees behind the sugar cane field opposite the factory. There was a cut path, made by a tractor heading that way so I walked down it and found myself on a nice little beach. The waves were breaking about 100 feet from the shore and all the way in. The beach was littered with debris, driftwood, and trees; I wondered where some of it may have come from since there no land between here and Africa. I found an old log to sit on and ate the sandwich I had packed for myself, sipping some rum and just enjoying the sound of the surf.

The beach on the Atlantic coast


Cow in the cane field on the path back to the road from the beach

The walk to the junction isn’t too bad, flat with a slight downgrade if anything; I passed some boys selling coconuts so I bought one, the juice was just what I needed and the meat was tender. I was tempted to add a little rum, which is how I usually have my coconut water in the afternoon, but I didn’t want to set a bad example for the young lads. At the junction, the driver was just finishing his lunch so I got a beer from the rum shack and waited for him to finish. I lucked out in Grenville a bus headed back to St. Georges was just leaving when I walked past so it was another trip through the natural beauty that is Grenada. I dropped my backpack off at the hotel and then walked down the beach and over to the mall to get some money for Carriacou. I stopped at the craft market and had a couple beers with Ley-Ley and Rasta Bob. The Canadians were there again with their strong rum, but I avoided another repeat of last night and headed back to the hotel. I finally got the chance to cook some dinner using local ingredients which was the reason for getting a self-catering room this year. I made myself a nice pot of stewed goat with dashine and tomatoes, not bad if I do say so myself. It was an early night tonight in anticipation of having to get up early and pack for Carriacou.