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How to make the most of your stay at Two Bays at Cabier Ocean Lodge and GrenadaJump to Getting There • Activities • PracticalitiesThere are more spices here per square mile than any other place on the planet! Cloves, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cocoa, nutmeg and mace grow in abundance. | ||
Two BaysTwo Bays and its guests are looked after by Cabier Ocean Lodge. Two Bays guests are guests of Cabier Ocean Lodge and enjoy the use of all its facilities including full maid service, linen changes, beach and bath towels. Cabier’s managers, Iris and Bruno Delvallee, are there to help make your stay at Two Bays and Cabier as enjoyable, relaxing and comfortable as possible. Cabier Ocean LodgeCabier Ocean Lodge was started by Michael Boehm who lives in Vienna. Michael stayed nearby years ago and was struck by the beauty of Cabier. At that time there was only a private house, the small stone lodge on the promontory, which is now the current reception, restaurant, and inside dining room. With amazing vision he acquired it and over the years slowly built up the current Lodge to 10 rooms, plus Two Bays, restaurant and bar. Cabier Ocean Lodge is managed for Michael Boehm by Bruno and Iris Delvallee. Bruno is French and Iris is from Germany. Both of them have worked around the world in the hotel and restaurant industry. Both speak good English. Bruno is the chef and has a wide repertoire of dishes ranging from European through Caribbean fusion to Grenadian specialities. He proposes special dinners from time to time, and there is also an à la carte menu to choose from, although as Bruno tries to use as much local fresh produce as possible you may need to discuss your dinner choice with him at breakfast time. Iris looks after the administration and the bar and makes a great rum punch as well as other cocktails. Both of them make Cabier with its small group of guests a really friendly place to come and relax and wind down in stunningly beautiful surroundings. Getting thereBy air: Point Salines International Airport located on the southern tip of Grenada, accommodates commercial jets from North America and Europe, as well as smaller, inter-island carriers, to five direct flights between New York and Grenada each week. There is a daily service to and from San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard American Eagle with connection to the USA aboard American Airlines. US Air flies weekly to Grenada from Toronto via Boston and Philadelphia. Air Canada can get you to Barbados, Trinidad and Antigua, where connections to Grenada, via Caribbean Star/LIAT are available. Delta Airlines is starting a new direct service from New York to Grenada in 2010 and Air Jamaica flies weekly to Grenada. Grenada can also be reached from Canada June to September by Sky Services through GG Tours and during the winter months by Air Canada Vacations’ weekly non-stop flights book through agents IATA. |
Cabier Location and Weather
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From London, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Monarch Airlines (good value) operate a weekly service to Grenada. Between November and March BA offers an additional weekly flight. Condor provides service once a week from Frankfurt between November and April. ConViasa operates three weekly flights to Grenada from Porlamar and Caracas. In addition, British West Indies Airways serves Toronto, New York, Miami and London with connections via Barbados and Trinidad. By water: a submerged volcanic crater forms St George’s naturally deep harbour. One of the most picturesque in the region, it is a port of call for yachts, ferries, cargo and other boats. A modern purpose-built port located close to the entrance of the harbour caters for several cruise lines. Boats can also clear customs and immigration at Grenada Yacht Club, St George’s; Prickly Bay, Lance aux Epines; Grenada Marine, St David; and at Hillsborough and Tyrell Bay in Carriacou. Weather in Grenada throughout the YearWe find that there are common misconceptions about weather patterns in the Caribbean, especially in what has traditionally been called the “wet season” during June – November. First of all the timing and extent of the “wet season” depends on where you are in the West Indies. Secondly it depends on where you are in Grenada. Weather patterns with reliable rainy seasons have changed there too. These days you can even get showers in the “dry season” (December – April). But that is also why Grenada and the other southern Caribbean islands are 40 shades of green. When it does rain the one thing it does not do is drizzle all day, it normally goes in 30 minutes and it is warm! The high mountain range in the centre of the island- the rain forest - divides the island weather. We can have sunshine on the beach but can see rain up at 1500 - 3000 ft in the rain forest in the distance. It can rain in St Georges on the other side of the island – and not on Cabier. It can rain on the next headland and not on Cabier and vice-versa. If we get rain it tends to be brief and comes to us off the Atlantic. You can see it coming about 45 minutes away from out to sea. It takes 5 minutes to get to the house or the bar.
Last August it rained twice in two weeks – only really heavy for one day on our side of the island but even then it stopped for several hours, and we had a couple of days where it rained intermittently for about an hour several times - with brilliant sunshine in between. It also rained a couple of times in the night. It dries in minutes. We are there for 3 weeks in August this year. The season when it can be very wet (although the rains failed last year) is from mid- September through mid-October and that would be the time to avoid if you are concerned about it. The” hurricane season” (Grenada has had 2 in 50 years) is also in this period and Cabier Ocean Lodge closes to its staying guests for maintenance during this period as well. ActivitiesSwimming and snorkellingBoth Cabier Beach and Crochu Bay are protected by an offshore reef at the joint entrance to the two bays. Cabier beach has really firm sand (good enough for a 2 hour beach cricket session with some of the locals when they visit on a Sunday without moving the pitch once) and runs in a 400 yard crescent from the lodge. Its clear warm waters are normally calm and great for swimming and snorkelling. You can snorkel right around the promontory the lodge is on and into Crochu Bay. Whilst there is not as much coral on the reef as there would be on the West side of the island there are colourful fish and soft corals. WalkingThere are paths along the coast and over the headlands running from the lodge with little else around you other than the sea and natural surroundings, the odd group of goats, and a view inland to scattered small villages in the hills leading up into the rain forest. Cabier is very much away from it all. If you wish you can normally inveigle one of the lodge dogs (- or all of them - Susie, Bella, Checkpot and newcomer Rocky) to come walking with you. They seem to have an insatiable desire for walkies. In the interior and up in the rain forest there is more serious walking with trails which give spectacular views over the mountainous Grenada scenery. There is a wide selection of bird life to see as well as the rainforest monkey tribes. The variety of colours in the plant and trees has to be seen to be believed – just how many shades of green, yellow, orange and red are there? There are streams and waterfalls in abundance with some you can swim in. On your way you may stumble upon a village cricket match. Serious stuff this - our local village had a two day match watched by several hundred villagers with barbecues going and cows tethered on the boundary. The batsman - who was about 6ft 6 inches tall called for his helmet after the bowler delivered up 3 bouncers.... One thing is certain; you will be met by friendly locals wherever you go who will normally have at least one member of their extended families living in the UK or New York or Toronto. Grenada is largely untouched by tourism outside the area around St George’s. Driving aroundYou need to purchase a driving permit, from the police station in Grand Anse or in Grenville. You need a photo-card driver’s licence and if from the UK you can also use a green one with your passport. This is done when you hire your car – a jeep is recommended. Car hire is cheap and can be hired for a minimum of 3 days, delivered to Cabier if you do not want to drive from the airport. There is only one dual carriage way on the island and that stretches about a couple of miles from the airport. Driving is on the left and car and jeep hire starts from around USD $45 per day. There are not that many roads to choose from and on the whole there is good signposting and maps although local directions can be a little inexact – “turn left at the roundabout where the policeman used to stand about two years ago.....” Once outside St George’s local traffic is very light. All sights on the island can be visited in a day trip and there is plenty to see. Scuba Diving and Water SportsThere are 5 dive shops and schools operating mostly out of St George’s and the hotels on Grand Anse beach and there a couple who also dive our side of the island on rarely dived reefs. There are excellent shallow reefs to satisfy novice divers with an abundance of hard and soft corals; and marine life including turtles, groupers, morays and the usual plentiful and colourful reef fish. Some reefs are shallow enough for snorkelling trips on a boat. Barracuda, nurse and reef sharks can be seen in deeper waters and around a number of accessible wrecks, home to numerous species and corals. The water has good visibility and light to 30 metres. There is also excellent Big Game fishing around the island on both Atlantic and Caribbean sides. There are kayaking and eco tours available There are a variety of water sports operations on Grand Anse beach, just outside St Georges. Day sailing tours are readily available as St George’s is one of the major yacht havens in this part of the Caribbean. Cabier offers a Stay and Sail package that includes staying at Two Bays with either 4 or 7 nights cruising on a yacht in the Grenadines to the north of Grenada as well as a “Robinson Crusoe” experience. There are 14 small islands in the Grenada and St Vincent Grenadines. Although they are a yachter’s paradise, if you are a landlubber you can enjoy the experience of mooring for the night in a quiet cove, swimming from the boat, and eating on deck under the stars. Once you are at Carriacou most islands are just a couple of hours sailing between them – some even closer. Do consider it – it is a wonderful experience. Eating and DrinkingGrenada offers a wide range of dining experiences, especially around St George’s harbour. There are local chefs who have trained in the UK or the USA, and they are taking local Caribbean cooking and developing it into an art form. Local chefs also concentrate on classic local and Caribbean food. If you really need that fast food fix and want something else other than a snack off a roadside barbecue or a Roti (stuffed pancake with curried fish or chicken), well there are the usual fast food outlets in the cruise terminal buildings at the back of St George’s and a KFC tucked away in Grenville about 20 minutes away. Wine and local beer – Carib – as well as imported beer is readily available as is a wide range of soft drinks. Rum based cocktails abound as well as the ubiquitous rum punch and there are local speciality rums such as Westerhall, which is local to Cabier. Grenada has its own bottled spring water although the tap water is perfectly safe to drink. CarnivalCarnival is the first week of August. It is colourful, noisy with music and bands and exuberant with hundreds of locals parading and dancing in bizarre costumes to loud Soca music around the harbour front in the day parade. The night parade “Midnight Mass” around the harbour is a riot of coloured lights, music and revellers. The whole parade fuelled with local food and drink. Carnival in Grenada is very much for Grenadans both local and returning from abroad for the event but everyone is welcome. What else can one say – other than come and have an amazingly relaxing holiday and enjoy Two Bays and Cabier as much as we do and live the dream. Nick & Penny HamiltonPracticalitiesRequired documentsAll visitors must present a valid passport and a return or onward ticket. It is acceptable for British, Canadian and US citizens to present two documents proving citizenship, including at least one with photo ID. These can include a drivers licence, voter registration card, expired passport or birth certificate. Visas are not required from citizens of UK, British Commonwealth, Canada, US, Caribbean countries, member countries of the EU, Japan or South Korea. A passport is required of travellers in transit through Grenada. MoneyThe currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC $), which is linked to the US dollar at approximately EC $2.61 to USD $1 and EC $4.21 to GBP £1 (rates checked Jan 2010). It is advisable to change money at the banks where rates may be better than at hotels. Both local and international banks are open daily between 8am and 2pm Monday to Thursday and 8am to 4pm on Friday. Major credit cards are accepted by most hotels, car rental companies and shops. Travellers’ cheques are accepted everywhere. Practise the same safety measures for your money and valuables as you would at home; avoid taking valuables or large amounts of cash to the beach or on hiking trips; leave some in safekeeping at your hotel. The LandLocated in the southeastern Caribbean just north of Trinidad and Venezuela. the tri-island state of Grenada is made up of three islands: Grenada. and twenty miles to the North, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique. Grenada is the largest of the three, occupying 120 square miles. Its volcanic origin has produced a topography of great beauty and environmental variety ranging from mountainous rainforest to dry lowlands and coastal mangroves. Springs, streams and waterfalls abound, and crater lakes mirror the sky. The sea coasts are indented with an equal variety of bays and beaches, some with black volcanic sand, some white and some black and tan. The numerous natural harbours make these islands a welcoming stopover for a variety of vessels. Grenada is also known as the Isle of Spice. There are more spices here per square mile than any other place on the planet! Cloves, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric cocoa, nutmeg and mace grow in abundance. Nutmeg is the country’s biggest export; Grenada produces one third of the world’s supply. Getting AroundGrenada offers number of alternatives for getting around; taxis, buses, and rental cars are easily obtained. All of the main roads in Grenada are paved and most are maintained and in good condition. Local driving permits are issued by most car rental companies, or you can get one by presenting a valid drivers licence at the Traffic Department or the Inland Revenue Department, both on the Carenage. The cost is about US $12 for periods up to 3 months. Car and jeep hire starts from around USD $45 per day and driving is on the left. Taxi rates are set by the government, but it is wise to confirm the cost to your destination before setting off. Taxis can also be hired for a day of guided sightseeing. If you seek authenticity, close contact with local people, and breathtaking vehicular audacity, try taking public transportation which consists of minibuses. They leave from the bus terminus Melville Street St. Georges, and cost between $3.00 and $10.00 EC, depending on the distance travelled. St. Vincent Grenada Air flies several times a day between Grenada and Carriacou. However, boats are the main mode of transport between Grenada and its two sister islands. They run regularly between the Carenage in St. George's and Hillsborough in Carriacou. The Osprey Express is faster and more comfortable than the cargo boats, and takes about 1 1/2 hours. The cost is US $15 one way or US $30 round trip per child, US $27 one way or US $53 per adult. ClimateAt 12 degrees north of the equator, Grenada enjoys a tropical climate with cooler conditions high in the hills. The average temperature is in the low 80s F, made more comfortable by the trade winds. September is the hottest month. The dry season is normally between January and May. Although the rest of the year is "the rainy season", showers are usually short and do not necessarily occur every day. Island DressingPack cool, casual clothing for daytime and expect to dress up just a bit more in the evenings, as many hotel restaurants require men to wear long trousers at night. Jackets and ties are not required. Out of respect for the local sense of propriety, bathing suits and similarly revealing clothing should not be worn in the streets, in stores, or for dining. For hiking and off-road exploring, long jeans and appropriate shoes are recommended. ElectricityVoltage is 220, 50 cycles. Dual voltage shaver units are provided at most hotels. Also available at hotels are transformers and adaptor plugs for appliances rated at 110V. Two Bays has dual plugs at 220v (UK style plugs) and 110v (USA style plugs). Business Hours
Banks: 8am to 2 pm, Monday to Thursday; Friday 8 am to 4 pm. Telecommunications
The area code for Grenada is 473 (001 473 from the UK). Telecommunications are provided mainly by Cable and Wireless, and operate 24 hours a day. Coin and card phones are available for both local and overseas calls. Prepaid cards can be purchased at Cable & Wireless offices and agents, and at the Grenada Board of Tourism. Most hotel rooms provide international direct dialling, with calls on a per-minute basis plus a 10% government tax and hotel surcharge. Most hotels also provide FAX and internet service. Medical Matters
Grenada offers access to numerous good doctors and clinics located throughout the islands. There is also the General Hospital in St. Georges, a smaller hospital in Mirabeau, St. Andrew and a very basic one on the sister island of Carriacou.
WaterTap water is safe to drink however a wide variety of bottled water is available. ShoppingMost shops in St. George’s are opened 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday and Saturday 8am to 1 pm; while shops in Grenville are closed on Thursday afternoon and open all day Saturday. In Grand Anse shops are opened from 9am to 5 pm, Mondays to Saturdays. The Grand Anse area offers a mall and a number of shopping plazas, as well as a craft and spice market accessible from the beach. St. George’s open air bustling market square is an experience not to be missed if you enjoy local colour and contact with people going about their daily lives. It is filled with fruit, vegetable and spice stalls as well as some crafts and other products, all sold by lively vendors. Talking with them can be quite educational. Surrounding the square are other shops, and the view from the hill shows how chocabloc this red-roofed city is. The PeopleGrenada’s population is just under 100,000. 75% are of African descent; the remainder are European, East Indian Middle Eastern descent. The LanguageThe official language Grenada is English, but you may also hear French-based patois. Places of WorshipNumerous Christian denominations are represented by churches on the islands: Roman Catholic, Christian Scientist, Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mennonite, Pentecostal, and Church of Christ among others. Also present are the Interdenominational Living Word World Outreach, Islam, and Bahai. Most hotels can provide the time and locations of services. Alternatively, check telephone directory for numbers to call. For more information about the country see the official Government of Grenada website www.gov.gdOther external links
Hamilton Holiday Houses is not responsible for the content of external internet sites |
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