A Short Visit to Carriacou

Carriacou is a very small island (37 square kms) north of Grenada.  We took a ferry to the island on Saturday morning. We arrived in the town of Hillsborough, which consists of about 10 streets.  The place was packed with cars and people waiting for the ferry.  I suspect that this was the highlight of the day.  The ferry brings foot passengers and parcels, along with supplies from Grenada.  Once the passengers disembarked and found their packages and visitors, the town was quiet again.  The big event was done!

Carriacou is a very slow paced, local kinda island.  It is not congested with traffic and people.  In fact, this would be a true taste of what Caribbean Island living is like.  No tourist areas, cruise ship shops or huge resorts.  Our purpose for visiting the island was to document the unique music on the island.  Each village has its own “superstar” that contributes to maintaining the culture of Carriacou – musicians, drum makers, dancers, singers, actors, and great entertainers.  We went to the local hotel and people started to arrive.  Unsure of what was going on, I stood back and watched as various people started to perform and then tell the ever growing crowd why the culture is important to pass on to the youth of the community.  I would never be able to express in writing the honour we all felt in being a part of this event.

We stayed overnight and had some time to tour the island – see the true Caribbean living.  Goats and sheep roam the streets, people gather in each village at the local bar, a mixture of big and small houses (some were very well maintained, others not so much), ocean views are everywhere, and historical evidence that this was an island of plantations with slaves working the fields and crops in the 1800’s.  Our guide, Linky, was extremely kind and informative.  He knows the history of this island.  I asked him to take me to the village of Windward (adjacent to the village of Dover), to see where the traditional craft of wooden boat building was still being practice.  He explained the process of boat building and the significance it still has on tradition in the small village. 

The main agricultural crops are corn and pigeon peas.  The island only produces enough to feed the residents.  Outside of this, fish, chicken, goat, mutton, lambi (conch) and iguana are the protein foods.  Rice is in abundance and there is a bakery making bread.  Fresh wild fruit trees are everywhere and people all have their own gardens growing other vegetables such as squash.  What we had time to do on Sunday was to swim and watch the children play freely in the streets and in the water.  There were adults around, but none that seemed to be keeping a close eye on children and their whereabouts.

One of the main tourist draws is the quaintness of this town and the sailing community.  Beautiful sailboats dot the coastline.  A couple of the businesses we saw were actually owned by non-residents catering to the sailing crowd.

Time for a few photos: