Inside look at Island of Grenada

Have you ever wondered what these little islands in the Caribbean are really like? We have about 6 hours a week that are referred to as preparation day in which we like to get a feel for the local culture.

From Grenada Color

Elder and Sister Wood took us on a tour around Grenada yesterday. What a gorgeous place!

First we had to get to Grenada Friday - I was able to handle that

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Travel is challenging in the West Indies (in fact Diane types this sitting in an airport as she waits on a very delayed flight)

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Here are some glimpses of Grenada

The island is mountainous and full of lush forest, rivers, and waterfalls. It is known as the spice island because of the huge variety of spices that grow on the island. They are particularly known for nutmeg.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Grenada is at the southern end of a string of small islands called the Grenadines. You can see them from the coast.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Travel is actually pretty good compared to other islands, but still a bit scary. Elder Wood was a pro piloting our bulky beastly truck on the twisty turny narrow roads.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

How will we fit?

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Our first stop was Annandale Falls

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

It is in the midst of a forest full of fruit and spice trees

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Banana

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Papaya (called paw paw here)

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Pink Ginger

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Poinciana

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Do you like my new tropical tie?
Heliconia

From Sep 08 family

We continued our drive, stopping at the Grand Etang national forest where we were supposed to see these monkeys

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

But they decided not to show up. Sister Wood even tried calling them in monkey talk - didn't work. (I caught a video of her but decided she wouldn't be too pleased if I shared)

We drove around the island to a cocoa factory where we were going to see how the delicious Grendada chocolate was made - no luck - it was closed. I began to wonder if p-days were for us. We haven't taken many during our mission and maybe that's for the best. I did get to see a 'golder apple' - known as pommier de cythere in the French islands.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

I love the juice from this fruit and I am not a juice fan. It is green, tart, and full of flavor. Missionaries tell me it tastes like grass - I guess I like grass.

We continued our drive seeing sights such as these:

'the' dog?

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Popular local snack of roasted corn

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Many glimpses of the laid back Caribbean lifestyle

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Lots and lots of little children

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Tiny houses

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

and giant trees

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sep 08 family

And if the gorgeous natural beauty isn't enough, the Grenadians decorate everything possible with their colors!


We stopped and saw two 'Carib stones' - petroglyphs named after the Carib Indians who lived in Grenada from the time of Christ to the 1600s. Petroglyphs are quite fascinating by the way - Diane has seen them in Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, and all through the Caribbean. The odd thing is - they all look similar.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

The highlight of our day was our visit with Henry and Avis Ferguson - two newer members of our church who are suffering from poor health. They live in St George's

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Here is the view from their house

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

They lost their original home, just above where they are now, in terrible hurricane Ivan that devastated the island. They stayed in the lower level during the storm and said 'thousands and thousands of prayers'

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Elder Wood always makes people laugh - not the best for Brother Ferguson's hernia - he had to wrap it and go to bed after we left but he still made it to church with his wife the next day and bore his testimony about the Lord's blessings on his health.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

We couldn't get away without receiving gifts - of 'havocats' (avocados) and a sweet called tamarind balls. When I thanked him, Brother Ferguson said, "anything you see here that you want is yours."

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

At the end of our day we had dinner at a great spot on the beach - called the Beach Club. Take a look at Sister Wood's dinner companion

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

We fell into bed that night completely exhausted and decided preparation days are hard on us.

The Woods have too much energy!

Maybe that's because they get go home, sit here, and relax on their front porch.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

A tour of Grenada wouldn't be complete without a picture of the missionaries. Here they are at the church on Sunday - Elders Parrish and Williams - the only two young missionaries on this entire gorgeous island.

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Removing the dog that moved in and called himself to be the official Sunday greeter

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Future missionary?

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

Primary

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

The church

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

From Sept 08 Grenada and St Vincent

What a view, eh?

Novatel, Cayenne, French Guiana

For the traveler desiring to experience South America and get a taste of French culture at the same time, I recommend French Guiana. We love visiting this South American treasure. Our choice of accommodation is the Novatel Hotel in Cayenne. You need to fax your reservation or have someone make it for you locally, as they do not take reservations by phone. English is limited, so make sure you have someone who speaks French make your arrangements.

Our preferred choice of rooms is any located on the top floor where the air feels less stuffy. Breakfast is included in the price of the hotel and is typical of French cuisine.

Situated on the coast, is a little known treasure, the beach to the Caribbean coastline. For several months a year, sea turtles come all the way from such far away destinations as Nova Scotia, to lay their eggs, generally during the night.


Another animal adventure we had in French Guiana was that of holding a sloth. What a fascinating animal - the sloth.

Ladera, St. Lucia

There are two spectacular resorts in St. Lucia - Jade Mountain and Ladera. Jade Mountain features the beauty of what man can create in a breath-taking structure that is a true art form. Ladera on the other hand, blends the beauty of nature and the appeal of the incredible assortments of plants in its landscaping. Its guests feel like they are living in tree houses and are truely experiencing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. The slides below give a feel for what the it is like to stay a couple of days in Room N.

Park Royal Cozumel, Mexico

Kristi O'Brien, one of the frequent customers of Boomerang just returned from staying at the Park Royal Cozumel. Her experience is typical of what you would expect if Boomerang arranges your next tour. In her words is a critique I am sure will give you a flavor of the experience she just had: "I will compare things on a numerical scale with the Queztal to help with a quantatative comparison. (The Quetzal will be a 5 for comparison.)




ROOMS

The hotel has been renovated very recently. The basic suite that we stayed in was very similar to our room at the Quetzal. My parents were in one of the time share units and had a nice little side room with hide-a-beds and a good sized closet. We saw a few more elaborate suites with sun beds and larger decks that looked very cool. (The rooms were a 5 on par with the Quetzal.)

FOOD

They have one buffet which I would say was smaller, yet comparable to one of the Quetzal's. (A 4 if the Quetzal was a 5.) The other thing that I did not love was that the buffet had themes and if you got on the wrong rotation with the reservation restaurants, like we did without knowing, you have a reservation dinner one night and then the following night is that same theme at the buffet. We did that twice.

There were 3 reservation restaurants. Mexican, Italian, and Caribbean. (In comparison, I would say these all compare very closely with the Quetzal. The Caribbean was the best, followed by the Italian, and finally, the Mexican.)

Of course, the benefit of the Quetzal was the Japanese Restaurant and the Steakhouse which were our two favorite reservation restaurants when we were there.

There were two lunch bungalows, one by one of the infiniti pools by the water and one at the interior pool. They had chips and cheese, beef and chicken burgers, hot dogs, pizza and ham and cheese sandwiches. (I would give this 3 of 5 compared to the Quetzal due to variety.)

There was room service for the time shares, but not for us. Also, there was no after hours muchies spot....the last food closed at 10:30 and after that there was a general store by the front desk where you could pay for snacks 24 hours.

BARS

The bars were comparable to the Quetzal with the exception of the missing Discoteca! They did have the "Sports Bar" that was open until 2 and had a DJ if you wanted to dance and stay out a bit later.

POOLS

The main pool is in the center of the hotel away from the ocean and about half the size of the main Quetzal pool. We spent a lot of time in this one because it was bigger. Activities were always going, which was fun when we wanted to partake but if you didn't want to play that day, the loud music and excited activities staff were hard to avoid at this pool. There was also a swim up bar. The other thing that shocked me was that they closed this pool on the last full day we were there for cleaning. It was supposed to be closed for half a day, but had not reopened the next day when we left at 2pm. (If that had happened our first our second day...it would have been a bit of a drag.)

There were two Infiniti pools down by the water that were significantly smaller...good for hanging out, but no room to swim or play. These both had swim up bars.

SNORKLING

The Ocean was easily accessible and the snorkling right in front of the hotel was OUTSTANDING.

Freddy was our contact at Lomas and very helpful. We rented a Catamaran for the day that took us to Planacar and one other hot snorkling spot. (If you have 15 or more, you can rent the boat for what it costs you per person. $600 total.) This was definitely one of our favorite activities. The Catamaran was slower and more leisurely than the larger ones, but very fun.

SHOWS

The activities staff were everywhere. Again, fun if you wanted an activity...not so fun when you just wanted to be left alone. :) The dancing shows were very typical of what we saw at the Quetzal, but less entertaining overall. (3 of 5)

OVERALL

Overall, we had a really great time. We had wonderful weather and Jeff (my uncle) was able to get around pretty well...the only place he needed help was into the Ocean and up the Caribbean restaurant.

The resort was very nice, but significantly smaller than the Quetzal, so I was a bit spoiled going in...the beach area was also WAY smaller, so we swam mostly in the pools and less in the ocean.

Let me know if there are any other details that you are interested in hearing. Just e-mail Boomerang. Have a great day! Kristi"

Creole Beach Hotel, Gosier, Guadeloupe

We just spent three nights in the newly renovated Creole Beach Hotel and Spa and loved it. Before the renovation this past Fall, things were nice but slightly shabby. Now the resort has been transformed into a sleek, modern but still warm spot. The traditionally hard French beds are soft and topped with light duvets. The air conditioning is new (a previous problem) and even the toiletries are upgraded from the slim sliver of white soap to an line called "Pure Herbs" - a combination of rosemary, melissa and thyme in keeping with the upgraded name of the hotel - Creole Beach Resort and Span.

The water surrounding the hotel features the turquoise of the Caribbean and the brown pelicans (gosier) after which the town is named are plentiful. Breakfast and dinner are served buffet style in an amazing restaurant. When one is not eating or lounging, there are wonderful little places to stroll.

If you tire of buffets, along the street leading up to the hotel are a number of charming little sidewalk restaurants, each with their own French charm and about two minutes from the hotel. Across the street is the best souvenir shop we found for table clothes, swimming suit cover-ups, post-cards, books, etc. (next to the Karawak Hotel.

Once you exit the highway into Gosier, you pass 2 round abouts, then a exit to the "stade" (stadium) and then turn right to the hotel on the next turn just prior to arriving at the Sofitel Hotel. At the first round about, you will find one of the Caribbean's few McDonalds, if you are tired of French culture and want an American memory.

The Creole Beach Hotel and Spa is a 15-20 minute drive from the airport. It is best to purchase gas in Gosier if renting a car because gas stations along the route to the airport are difficult to find.

Karibea Valmeniere Hotel, Fort de France, Martinique

We stay most frequently at the Valmeniere Hotel when we visit the island of Martinique. In fact, this was our home base, when the two missionaries were lost on Mont Pelee. You will find that renting a car from the front desk is very reasonable and convenient. Also there is a little grocery store on the corner across the street from the hotel.

You will get internet in the room and breakfast is included with the price of the room. It is a very nice breakfast. At night, the restaurant is a bit pricey, but the food is excellent.

Hidden away from the world on top of the hotel is a hot tub. It is up the stairs from the pool which is situated just outside the restaurant. We have also stayed at the Sofitel in Martinique but find the Valmeniere very convenient to Fort de France.

Sunset Shores Hotel, St. Vincent

This reasonably priced hotel is our favorite in St. Vincent. It now has wireless internet in the rooms, the air conditioning is good, the food is excellent and the staff is friendly. It is about 10 minutes from the airport.

The only concern might be the hardest of the beds. They are solid, but not heavenly beds if you are like the "princess and the pea."