Grenada is a restful, tropical island getaway that maintains an "Old Caribbean" ambience. Cows and goats graze at the roadsides, women chatter while sorting nutmeg, thick greenery coats hillsides, home-style restaurants serve native fare, and an endearing rural atmosphere endures. This independent nation, the most southerly of the Caribbean's Windward Islands, includes nearby islands Petite Martinique and Carriacou within its political boundaries. Though African heritage predominates, Grenada is influenced a great deal by the British, and France's brief tenure is reflected in place names throughout the islands.

Historians believe that the aggressive Carib Indians either drove from Grenada their gentle Arawak predecessors or interbred with Arawak women while on the warpath from South America north. The Caribs were still around to greet and deter Europeans who tried to settle. In 1609, the English established the first outpost on Grenada. In 1651, the French gained control and, in resistance to French rule, Grenada's last 40 Carib Indians allegedly jumped off a seaside cliff to their deaths. British rule was restored in 1783. By the time Grenada won its independence in 1974, it had become known as Spice Island for its abundant nutmeg, cocoa, turmeric, and cinnamon.

In 1983, an overturn in Grenadian government solicited intervention from the United States and neighboring islands. Order was restored in a day with very little bloodshed, but the tracks Grenada was making towards tourist development were stymied. Although Grenada has a rich food supply, it has suffered most of its recent life in poverty. The past years have seen the nutmeg market decline, and Grenadians look more and more aggressively toward tourism.

Grenadians have managed to retain control of tourism on Grenada, bringing to the hospitality industry an intimacy long lost at many Caribbean destinations. A resourceful people, they occupy themselves with spice production and shipbuilding, often from mental blueprints that have never been transcribed.

St. George's, Grenada's capital, sits in the cleft between two hills, around the horseshoe-shaped harbor known as the Carenage, where cruise ships dock and craftsmen and tourist shops sell their wares. Historic Georgian architecture anchors the pretty town in its heritage.

Grenada is divided into six parishes. One-sixth of its landmass is preserved parkland, which provides a habitat for mona monkeys, tree boas, and rare birds. The countryside is characterized by coral reefs, crystal-clear waters, cool mountaintops, waterfalls, volcanic crater lakes, rain forest, and fields of banana, cocoa, breadfruit, and nutmeg trees. Grenville, Grenada's agricultural center and second-largest city, is nestled in St. Andrew's parish on the west coast. More than 40 beaches rim Grenada and its sister islands. Most well-known is the two -mile-long Grand Anse, the site of several resorts. It lies on Grenada's southwest coast between St. George's and the airport.

Coves, bays, and anchorages, as well as myriad offshore islands and proximity to the Grenadine Islands, make Grenada a premier yachting port. Nearby Carriacou is a miniature version of Grenada, where old, forgotten West Indian traditions survive. Tiny Petite Martinique remains an isolated, fiercely independent island that allows visitors insight into island life of yesteryear but little else in the way of tourist attractions.