people say we monkey around....

Monday my friends Amber and Josh took Mom and I up to Grand Etang.  The rain forest/jungle of Grenada!
It is so beautiful there.  & 1900 ft above sea level there is a relief from the blazing heat.
we went in search of the Mona Monkeys that were brought to Grenada from Africa years ago and have now made their home amongst the banana trees and tourists.
We waved our bananas, shook our candy (they like mints?), and made our version of monkey calls... which sounded kinda like "here monk monk monkeeeeeeeeeeeee" and various monkey sounds to no avail. the monkeys didn't want to play.
When we were about to give up a taxi driver with two American tourists arrived.  He pulled up blasting his horn and yelling, it really annoyed me.  I was like he's scaring off the monkeys!!!
I was wrong.  seconds later 3 little furry friends came clamoring out of the jungle for their breakfast.

It was such a great morning and Mom and I both pet the wild monkeys for the first time!

 we are here.

that is the taxi driver / monkey caller :)

Thanks for such a great day Amber & Josh!

mmmm chocolate!

This Wednesday the SOs went to the Belmont and River Antoine Estates on the north of the Island.
It took us over an hour to get there and I am very glad I took a dramamine before! 
We first stopped at the River Antoine Estate, where they make Rivers Rum.  I'm not a drinker, but it's still interesting to see how things are made - and it was included in the tour ;)
Did you know that rum is just fermented sugar cane juice? Well I didn't before I moved to Grenada either... and it SMELLS while fermenting!  But the coolest part was that the distillery still uses the water wheel they have been using since 1785! 225 years!! crazy!
And it was a beautiful area... lots of flowers!  The northern end of the island is certainly getting more rain than we are!  It's a dessert in the south!

bundles of sugar cane ready to go through the grinder

the water wheel from 1785! it turns the grinders that squeeze all the juice out of the sugar cane

grinding & the one guy is in flip flops

the left over cane stalks they wheel over and dump here & I guess they lay there forever... until they rot? could had added to the smell....

boiling the sugar juice to ferment it.... and another reason I don't drink rum. YUCK!

I wasn't pay attention at this point... but it was hot, so I guess they were boiling it some more

drinking their rum on the job?
in Grenada anything goes...  drinking and driving is even legal!

and this is how they bottle it......... by hand. from a cooler. seriously.

my friends :)

We left the Rivers Estate and drove about 10 minutes to the Belmont Estate, where they have had a cocoa (and other fruits and vegetables) plantation owned by the French since the 1700s also!
It was also very beautiful with trees and flowers... lots of caged animals too -monkeys, parrots, turtles, goats....
We got a tour of how chocolate is made & was told about how the plantation operated in the 1700s.  It is actually still owned by the same family! and is still a fully functioning plantation! they also have a restaurant, that looked really good, but I packed my lunch to save money :)

the inside of a cocoa pod... we actually ate the cocoa beans like this and they taste nothing like chocolate! 
It was a sweet/sour kind of taste

after they are scooped out of the pods they are put in here to sweat/ferment...
this also smelled gross.

then they put them out in the sun to dry
these palates are on wheels so they can cover them quickly if it rains

they have to be walked on every half hour so they don't stick together, so they let the little kids do it

the beans before they're turned into chocolate

Chocolate!!
they had 71% and 60% chocolate
I prefer the 60

this bell is from the 1700s, it was used to call the slaves in from the fields!
and it's been in this same tree for hundreds of years... 

18th century french bed! at the restaurant

Then... on our way back we went through the Grand Etang Forest and it's a very windy, up the mountain kind of road...... and our bus over heated! but it was ok... because some of my friends hadn't been to Grand Etang before and they got to see the lake!

smoking bus 

Hiking through Grand Etang

you'd think that being sick for a week I'd have tons of blog updates... I mean I really had nothing else to do, but blog, but I didn't.  Every time I wanted to, I just felt too tired... like blogging takes a ton of energy? I don't know... anyway... I have lots to update about!  I just spent the previous week living a fabulous Grenadian vacation! and I want to talk about all the cool things we did... starting with going to Grand Etang!

Last Thursday, we went down to St. George's and caught the #6 bus to Grand Etang... $6EC per person... much less than a taxi.  Lee even skipped school for this event!!! for the first time ever!! haha
So we pile into the reggae bus and the guy just keeps adding people... so Lee and I end up sharing on of the fold out seats, about 12 inches wide. seriously. My body was turned completely sideways and I was pressed up against the window... even so we headed off into the mountains!
and when I say mountains, I mean actual mountains. We drove up to the highest drive-able point in Grenada, 1910ft above sea level... up winding, steep roads.  Several times the wheels squealed going around corners and I was convinced we were going to tip over and roll off the mountain... and my life would surely be over because I was protected by nothing but the window!
As you're going up the mountain there is a a very noticeable change in scenery and temperature... it really is a rainforest. while at sea level we are experiencing a horrible drought and there isn't a speck of green grass left... up there things are lush and green (even though I've heard they haven't had much rain there either) but maybe it retains it's greenness because it's so much cooler.  It instantly becomes much more comfortable of a temperature.
We found out once we got there that there was a charge of $5EC or $2US per person to enter the trails and lake area... when we went before with the school it was covered, but whatever... Grenadians have got to make their money somehow and tourists are willing... and it's worth it!

Grand Etang Lake is also where Grenada has been getting a lot of their water during the dry season.  It's a crater lake that sits on top of one of Grenada's extinct volcanoes.

this is the panoramic view I put together...

We hiked around the entire lake! not my idea... but Lee led us down the trail and I followed... but it was fun!  We saw a lot of cool stuff... Grenada's plant life is so interesting to me.... not only do they have palm trees, fruit tress, nut trees, flowering trees, regular trees with big leaves, and huge 300 year old trees... they also have cacti and bamboo growing all over the place.... weird. but I like it. and there are so many beautiful flowers! 

 collage I made on picnik.

once we emerged from the jungle we went up the hill to get a view of the lake

At the top of the hill, where the buses let you off they have lots of little shops set up for souvenirs, snacks, and drinks... and men playing music and making up songs.. and women with fruit on their heads wanting you to pay to take a picture with them. that's the job I want. dressing up and having people pay to take a picture with you....... hmmmm perhaps I can set up shop at Canada's Wonderland this summer while Lee is working ;)  or at least at Niagra Falls... I just need an idea of a getup.

anyway, before we left I was so happy to see some Mono Monkey's come out to see if anyone had any food for them... they weren't as scary to me this time, they were cute. but I still didn't get close.  I was sad to hear that a lot of the monkeys died in hurricane Ivan :(  they weren't actually meant to live here anyways... they were brought over from Africa, but hopefully those little monkeys are busy multiplying!