Happy Independence Day to the people of Grenada!

Today Grenada has officially been an independent country for 41 years! Needless to say Independence Day is a huge day here, and they have been hanging up colored flags and signs to prepare for today for weeks. Known as the Spice Island, Grenada offers mountains, rainforest, waterfalls, white beaches, Big Drum dancing, rum distilleries, and world-famous sailing regattas. Updated throughout, this remains the only dedicated guide to Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Paul Crask showcases the islands’ music festivals and cultural heritage, pinpoints ways to support local producers and craftsmen, and goes off the beaten track to reveal some of the country’s little-known sights.

A few fun facts:

- The capital of Grenada is St. George

-Population is approximately 108,000 people - Grenada is one of the three largest islands in the southern Caribbean (along with Carriacou and Petite Martinique). Carriacou is absolutely on my bucket list of places to visit while here and I've heard nothing but really great things about it!

-Grenada is approximately 20 miles long by 12 miles wide! On a map, it is seriously just a little dot in the middle of the gigantic ocean. -Grenada is located where the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean combine. The water from each ocean is different in how rough/calm it is and color.

-Grenada became an independent nation in 1974. Prior to that it was owned by the French, Spanish, and British.

-In October of 1983 Grenada was invaded by the US military following the execution of former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. The invasion was short (only 48 hours) but at least 24 civilians and 45 Grenadian troops were killed, and at least 358 were wounded.

- Evidently there is a movie called Heartbreak Ridge that is based off the US invasion of Grenada, which I definitely want to try to watch soon.

Some National Icons that I found:

-National Bird- The endangered Grenadian Dove

-Dish- Oil Down (which I still  have yet to try)

-Drink- Rum

-Symbol- Nutmeg (Grenada is one of the world's largest producers of Nutmeg!)

-Song- Grenada May God Bless You

More random facts:

-Grand Anse Beach (where we go regularly) has been voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world!

-There are 40+ beaches total in Grenada.

-Instead of saying "this" "the" and "them" they replace he 't' with 'd' and say "dis" "de" and "dem"... when the kids talk, it is the cutest thing ever, but they talk so fast it can also be very hard to understand them!

- Grenada has a wet & dry season. We are currently in the dry season, and the temperature has been cooler than when I visited last term during wet season and from what Ive heard this is due to the trade winds. I likey!

-The public transportation system in Grenada works surprisingly well. Although constantly being honked at or yelled at to ride in a Raggae bus can be annoying, it is also relatively reliable and cheap and seriously there is always one around I feel like (probably unless you need it, TIG).

-Time on the island moves extremely slow and I hardly ever know what time it is at all. Also, you learn if you are early, then you are REALLY early... time in Grenada is always behind schedule.

- I've seen a total of THREE traffic lights on the entire island.
-To drink on the island is crazy cheap, while to eat on the island is generally more on the pricey side. -Grenada has both white and black sand beaches.
-There is a volcano on the island, although it is dormant there is another active underwater volcano located nearby named "Kick-em-Jenny."
-Grenada is divided into 6 parishes- St. Patrick, St. Andrew, St. George, St. David, St. John and St. Mark.
-Grand Etang is a 13 acre crater lake that formed over the dormant volcano. Grand Etang means "The great lake" and it is said that nobody has ever reached the bottom of the lake and therefore it is commonly referred to as the "bottomless lake."
-The most popular sports are cricket and soccer - Hurricane Ivan hit Grenada in 2004 and caused a great deal of damage.
-220 volts are used in Grenada and if you don't use a transformer and try to use American appliances... you will blow up said appliance.