We started at 3:00 AM to get our 6:00 flight from Rochester NY to JFK and catch the direct Air Jamaica flight at 10:30 for the 4 ½ hour ride. Had a 3 hour layover at JFK but since I could not book Air Jamaica online we had to check in there, which took quite a bit of time due to the long lines and massive amount of luggage that most of the other passengers had. Most of the others were transplanted natives going over for a visit and bringing everything including the kitchen sink with them, or so it seemed.

We landed at 4:10 or so Grenada time and immediately went thru immigration and customs without a hitch then met up with our driver to Maca Bana. Talk about short rides, literally less than 60 seconds later we were there, Maca Bana is right by the airport yet this was not a problem with noise. You get maybe two jets a day later in the afternoon and evening and during the day it is prop planes generally doing inter island transports, it is not a busy airport.

Checked into Fig Rock villa and what a view! It was spectacular, viewed St Georges in the distant with the mountains as a backdrop and Magazine Beach right at the base of our villa, except 50 foot or so down the cliff, which is where the Aquarium Restaurant is also.
The villa was steaming and we immediately turned on the AC since the temps the whole time were upper 80”s, humidity in the 80’s and dew points in the upper 70’s, downright steamy hot! Made reservations for dinner at the Aquarium and walked down the steep driveway from the villas to the base of the cliff to eat.

Our first full day we got Terrible Terry to taxi us around St Georges for a few hours ($20/hr) and get batteries for the camera, which they had, case of Carib’s and just a general tour of the area. There was a cruise ship in town for the day and downtown was chaos, street vendors, taxi drivers, and hustlers galore. Watch out for “The Duke of Earl” some local named Earl who decided to walk along with us and gab the whole time, two blocks later he charged us $2 for the pleasure of his company for the 2 block walk back to the cab.

Once back to Maca Bana we informed the management that we would like our anniversary meal, which was booked a couple months before to be cooked in our villa, to be done around sunset. I knew sunset was around 5:30 since I read up and viewed the web cam on the Grenada Travel Forum for months, apparently the “natives” thought it was later. At 7:00 we figured they either forgot or something and we walked down to the restaurant and were informed that the chef was at our villa. He must have just left since we just walked down the steep driveway and saw nobody. At any rate, we were there and ate the same meal that I had ordered at the restaurant, less the ambiance and intimate atmosphere I had planned on. The staff was very apologetic and they made a very nice design on our dessert plate acknowledging our anniversary, very nice!

On Thursday we had booked a private all day tour with Mandoo for $25US/hour. We saw “everything” in 8 ½ hours. Had a great lunch at a place used by the locals that Mandoo frequented near the old airport, what a great meal! He called a couple of Mona Monkeys from the forest and my wife fed them bananas and was beside herself with the coolness of that. And that is why I choose Mandoo, very knowledgeable, entertaining, and concerned about his people and their environment. He was non-stop informative from start to finish. Went back up to the Villa to eat our left overs from the previous night and rest up.

Friday was beach day and we spent the day right on Magazine beach ordered drinks from the beach bar and around 2:00 wanted to make dinner reservations at the Aquarium. Well that did not pan out since we were informed that there was a function that night and we could not eat there. When we got back to the villa we looked up restaurants and decided on the Beach House which was “right down the road”. Got a taxi ride ($10 each way) from Andy. When he dropped us off I indicated that we would like to have him pick us up also, he gave us his cell number and after dinner had the restaurant call him. Andy was on another route so he made sure someone came to get us in a timely fashion, which happened. I was so pleased with this service that he remained out exclusive taxi for the balance of the trip. Dinner was great, service very good! Back to sleep.

Saturday we were at the airport at 8:00AM for a day trip to Carriacou. The flight was on a 9 seat SVG Bi-plane and took about 20min. We booked via the internet with Sunsations to get the 10% discount and elected to fly for 20min vs the 1 ½ hour ferry (for only $20/pp more US). This was a no brainer since if the weather was rough I would rather spend 20 over 1 ½ hours in it. The weather was beautiful, little wind so was flew up the eastern side of Grenada and got fantastic views of all the islands as well as an aerial view of the areas we covered with Mandoo. Brian met us right at the airport and gave us a brief tour of the island before boarding his yacht, Cinderella, for a day sail to Petite St. Vincent and snorkeling. We anchored in the bay between Petite St. Vincent and Petite Martinique. The water was amazing, warm and clear but the snorkeling was mediocre due to the damage from Ivan. It was still a great side trip and allowed us to experience some other islands, very cool! Brian was very informative also as we were the only passengers that day so we had him all to ourselves. Got back to the “airport” in Carriacou about 4 for the 5:ooPM flight. Only four of us on the plane and the wind were still calm so we flew back down the west side of Grenada during sunset, amazing. Back to the villa for a lite meal and to bed.

Sunday started out sunny so we walked down the steep driveway to Magazine beach and walked down to the Rex at the other end. The Rex was in between functions and thus it was quiet. We found the gift shop and the prices and quality was great so we got some gifts, all made in Grenada, and walked back to the Aquarium for a quick Carib and up to the villa before the rain came, just in time to watch the Bills game. It poured for a bit which was good since even though it was the rainiest month, there had not been some for a while. You could see the undergrowth, especially on Carriacou, wilting and Brian informed us that their 50,000 gallon cisterns were only about ½ full due to the “drought” and the dry season was to start in Jan. The Bills lost and we headed down to the Aquarium for the Sunday night BBQ. The meal was fantastic, we even took a take out of ribs for lunch the following day since The Aquarium is closed on Mondays. Back up the steep hill to bed.

Monday started out nice again and since The Aquarium was closed and thus Boss was not there to give us lounge chairs, we walked down to the Rex again. We checked in at the front desk and they were nice enough to let us use their beach chairs/shelters since it was so slow. Once back to the beach we informed the security that the front desk said it was OK and he was cool with it. Sat for a bit and then the skies opened up for about 45 min. it remained cloudy so once the rain stopped we walked back “home” and had our ribs lunch from the night before. Made reservations at True Blue and called Andy for the pick up, he was on time as usual. The meal at True Blue was mainly Mexican fare and good. Real nice location as was The Beach Club, both on bays, slight wind and hot. Called Andy for the return trip and while waiting saw Terrible Terry from before, he remembered us and hopped out of the vehicle smiling and greeting us like family. Back to the villa with our take out, of course, for the next days/last day lunch.

Tuesday 11/14 was out last day and the weather was beautiful. Walked down the steep driveway to Magazine beach for our final 3-4 hours of sun and swim, it was excellent!
Said our good byes to the beach vendors, can not remember their names but one was tall and skinny (a soccer player) and he had the usual necklaces,/bracelets/spice necklaces/etc of which we bought earlier and the other was the basket weaver and we bouth one of those also. Back to the villa to pack, eat and Andy was punctual as usual for our ride to the airport. The end!

In reflection: Grenada seemed to me to be the hottest island yet, of course age could have something to do with it. The people every where were very friendly, not just at the resorts, taxis, restaurants, EVERY WHERE, always a hello, have a nice trip, etc. The only rude people were the other airline passengers, go figure. Maca Bana had spectacular views, the closeness to the airport was not a factor other than convenient, we only had the original two bars of soap which were in our villa when we arrived so housekeeping should have a checklist for things. I can only gather that there is a lack of communication or something between the Villas and The Aquarium which resulted in our anniversary dinner being botched as well as us not being informed ahead of time that there was a function Friday night and we could not eat there (the Villas and restaurant have common ownership) but otherwise the food was good and once again the friendliest staff! Mandoo IS The Man! Brian and Sunsations were great and we had a great trip thanks to all, even the “Duke of Earl”, in reflection was entertaining with his gift of gab.

I should have pictures up next week some time and will also post this review in TTOL and the Grenada Travel Forum. Should you have any questions let me know!