St George’s -Grenada

Grenada (not the city in Spain!) is a small island tucked away in the southern extremities of the Caribbean at the bottom of the Grenadines chain.

More commonly referred to as the Spice Isle because of its production of nutmeg and mace – in fact Grenada is one of the world’s biggest exporters of these products – this tiny island nation holds a special place in my heart after working there as a windsurf coach back in 03/04.

When the missus and I arrived in the dead of night, having never been to the Caribbean before, we were slightly anxious as to what to expect.

Stories had been repeated to us in the days prior to leaving the UK – some bad some good – but these conversations are no substitute for actually experiencing something for yourself.

Our season in Grenada turned out to be the best of all our trips. The people, the Caribbean/Grenadian culture, the lifestyle, the weather and the on water conditions were fantastic (nearly losing my leg aside – but that’s another story).

The best thing about working here was that we felt a part of the community.

Usually you turn up for a season with other seasonaires who you then live with, play with and work with. In Grenada we all ended up having a life. An existence outside of the Neilson bubble.

It felt more like normal life – normal living in a fantastic place with a great job.

And now we’re heading back.

It’s taken a while, as life gets in the way of the best laid plans, but it’s ‘on’ and in a short time we’ll be once again soaking up the atmosphere on Grand Anse Beach, sipping rum punch and winin’ it at the Boat Yard!

A lot has changed since we were there last – not least the fact that the island got swiped by a serious hurricane a few years ago – but I’d be surprised if we didn’t settle straight back into the ways of Grenada.

It’s just a shame we’re only going to be there for a short amount of time…