Caribbean Wallpaper Wednesday: Concord Falls, Grenada
I can still clearly remember staring at the gas gauge as we drove north along Grand Mal Bay on the southeast coast of Grenada.
The little, white arrow pointed squarely at the orange E.
This may have happened a couple of months ago, but I remember feeling very uneasy about this discovery. You see, I had my wife and six month old with me on this little excursion, so the thought of finding ourselves along the side of the road with an out of gas rental car was weighing heavily on my mind.
“What’s with that face?,” I remember my wife asking.
“Oh… Uhh… Nothing…”
The official destination for this drive was Gouyave. I’d never been but had heard it was a fun, Uncommon Caribbean kind of fishing village. In fact, it’s where the island’s Fish Friday Festival is held weekly and to some Grenadians, it’s known as “the town that never sleeps” or “action city!” Well, I currently live in New York, “the original city that never sleeps”, so I simply had to visit its smaller West Indian cousin, right?
There was just one small issue: that pesky arrow pointing at the orange E.
I kept my eyes peeled for a gas station. We passed one, but it was closed. So, I drove on through Molinere and Mome Docteur—beautiful little towns of tiny brightly colored houses that blurred past our windows on the right while the Caribbean Sea kept us company on our left. Then I spotted another gas station! Closed?!
The wheels started turning in my head… Then my heart sank.
It was Sunday.
Oh crap, it was Sunday!
We were smack in the middle between where we had left (the absolutely gorgeous Mount Cinnamon Hotel in Grand Anse which I’ll definitely tell you all about another time) and where we were going. On a Sunday. With all the gas stations in sight closed. And with a dangerously low tank of gas.
You see, people in the Caribbean take their day of rest seriously and you’ll often find shops and gas stations closed on Sundays when outside of typically touristy areas.
“You sure everything is OK?”
“Oh yeah! Absolutely! Definitely yes!”
Then I saw a sign.
“Ooh, let’s check this out!”
I hastily swerved off the main road and made our way through a small community and then deeper into the forest. One of my favorite things about Grenada is how lush and green the whole place is. It’s truly spectacular to see just how dense the growth can be along its mountains and valleys.
We drove on for a bit until we reached a tiny little parking area with one little shop and a guy cutting fruit by the side of the road.
This was Concord Falls.
At this location, there’s a small pool fed by a roughly 35-foot high waterfall. You take some stairs down from the little shop to get to the base, past some papaya trees and flowers. As you can see in the photo above, it’s pleasant and green and worth a visit. The water cascading down creates a soothing white-noise accompaniment to the tropical birds and cooling breeze passing through tree canopy above. And considering that we had the little guy with us, it really was a nice, no-stress way to spend some time deep in the forest without having to hike with the infant.
Again, just take a look at that photo above—wouldn’t you rather be there right now instead of in front of your computer? I know I would be… My troubles would just melt away…
For those inclined to do a little exploring, a short 20-minute walk (over some slippery rocks here and there) will reward you with even more beauty in the bush: a 60-foot tall shower of fresh cool water and a decent sized basin perfect for a little dip.
When it was time to go, my uneasiness slowly returned.
Back up by the road, I casually stopped and asked the fruit guy if there were any gas stations in the area.
“Well yes… But it’s Sunday, you know. They won’t be open.”
“Oh… dear…”
Luckily, I didn’t have to find a happy place, I was already there. And you can be, too! Just download this week’s desktop wallpaper of Concord Falls on Grenada and let whatever is worrying you melt away.
