Today we hired a car to head up to the north of the island to visit the Belmont Plantation, where they grow cocoa, sugarcane, mangoes, nutmeg etc. A really nice local chap, Kelly, toured us around explaining the process for producing cocoa beans, still largely done using the traditional processes. The estate dates back to the late 1700s and is still a viable business, beautifully maintained and offering employment to a lot of local people.
Part of the drying process involves leaving the beans out in the sunshine for 8 days, turning them every 30 minutes by shuffling your feet through them. I had to have a go ....
After lunch and a quick visit to the River Antoine rum distillery, the oldest working distillery in the Caribbean, we crossed island through the Grand Etang rainforest reserve which rises to 1910 feet via a very windy road. The Grand Etang lake is the centre piece in the crater of the old volcano and is full of fish. All very scenic.
We climbed to the highest point on Grenada, 1910 feet, where the view down over St George's was magnificent.
We've got the car for one more day so will continue our exploring tomorrow.