Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines belong to the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles chain of islands in the Caribbean Basin, forming the last hundred miles of the Windwards. Grenada and St. Vincent are decidedly mountainous, with deep valleys lush in tropical vegetation, and have rivers flowing to the sea. They are also volcanic in origin, showing either rims of ancient craters or having active volcanoes along their central spine. The Grenadines, on the other hand, lie on a volcanic ridge without tall mountains to trap cloud cover and produce rainfall. The Grenadines are dry, with drought-resistant vegetation.

Originally populated by the Ciboney Indians, followed by the Arawaks and then the Caribs, they were the final stronghold of the Carib Nation and thus the last to be settled by Europeans and assimilated into the plantation system, beginning in the 17th century. Today, they are the last stretch of the Caribbean to be absorbed by tourism.

Consequently, these islands tend to be more laid back, with fewer resorts and developed areas for shopping or dining. Instead, you discover small boutiques, cafés and family-run inns and guesthouses, many owned by West Indians. Recently, foreign-owned corporations have begun building upscale resorts comparable in price and luxury with those on islands to the north. Size has been downscaled, allowing them to be more secluded for high-profile or high-stress clients.

The people of these two nations are a lovely mixture of Scottish, African, English, French, Portuguese, Indian and Carib. Historically, the reference to “coloureds” is a colonial term for any mixing of whites with Africans or Caribs. In colonial days, a man born in the Caribbean could be of pure English blood but was described as a mulatto and considered inferior. Today, while the connotations are no longer the same, locals still refer to three distinctive types of islanders: black, white and “coloured.” There are other qualifications of this, as some coloured people can be “red” and others can be “clear.”

The common language is English, although what you’ll hear is far from the King’s English. With the distinctive West Indian accent, many words in everyday use are drawn from the mixed heritage. Local patois differs from island to island and unless you are a frequent visitor or have an ear for languages, it can be difficult to decipher. Papayas are pawpaws, “when did you arrive on the island?” is when you reach? To be angry is to be vex. In Grenada, taches are large cauldrons used to boil up sugar; in St. Vincent they are called coppers. Vay-ki-vay is omething disorderly or careless. Someone from St. Vincent is a Vincy. Liming is just hanging around. Mash up is self-explanatory, as in “Me get so vex wid she, she mash up me car.”

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