Magazine Beach:

A rental car was necessary to explore the area surrounding Laluna.   Picking up the rental at the airport, I discovered a Grenadian temporary driver’s license was required and easily acquired for an additional $24.  Who knew?  Just a stone’s throw from the airport and literally a 30 second drive, is the lovely Magazine Beach.

Locals vote this beach in the top two, due to the clear water and lack of seaweed.  My next stop was St. George’s, the main town and port city.  I found the roads on Grenada to be less well maintained than Barbados, being very narrow, and in need of pot hole repair.  The absence of street signs also was not helpful.

The Lagoon, coming into St. George’s from the south:

There was quite a back up of traffic heading into St. George’s.  It was Friday, and the beginning of market weekend.  The streets were a bit confusing and quite congested.   Parking on the north side of town, outside the main area, was the only solution.

The habor, with Ft. George in the background on the left in the lower photo:

The cruise ship port area was crowded.   I walked to Ft George for the view and through the spice market.  It was set up for the cruise ship passengers.  Having enjoyed nutmeg syrup at breakfast, it was the one item I purchased at the spice market.  The spice market was heavily scented with pot, not surprising, due to the local gentlemen puffing away on stogie sized joints.    I later asked a Laluna employee about the legality of pot, and he said in the market the smoking of joints was accepted, and even shared by the local police force, as long as you didn’t try to move more than a few pounds of the commodity.

The fish market close to the port:

There was so much traffic and it was so crowded, my only desire was to get back in the rental car and find a quiet spot for lunch.   A glance at the town map showed you could bypass the downtown/port area by riding along the ridge line, which I did.

With my patience for traffic gone, I headed to Grand Anse Beach for lunch, just two beaches down from Laluna, where I’m staying.

Grand Anse Beach is a popular beach and I found a nice spot for the local catch of Swordfish.  It was quite good.

Morne Rouge beach looking north.  You can see St. George’s in the distance and the cruise ship port.

One beach south of Grand Anse Beach is Morne Rouge Beach, and one more beach south of that is Portici beach where Laluna is located.

Portici Beach, where Laluna is located:

I was happy to return to the relative calm and quiet of Laluna.

Luckily, Laluna’s restaurant is truly stellar for pasta.   I had one of the best pasta meals ever here, Pappardelle Laluna with nutmeg and porcini mushroom cream sauce.  I would highly recommend it.

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