Kendra Hopkin-Stewart

GRENADA (Nov. 30, 2011) – Grenada’s Green Globe-certified Blue Horizons Garden Resort (http://www.GrenadaBlueHorizons.com) has appointed Kendra Hopkin-Stewart to the role of Assistant Manager overseeing the resort’s general operations.

The eldest daughter of Owner/Manager, Arnold D. Hopkin, Hopkin-Stewart brings a wealth of management experience to the resort from hospitality chains such as Hyatt and InterContinental Hotels Group as well as a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration and post graduate diploma in Business Marketing.

“I’ve maintained exemplary customer satisfaction levels throughout my management career at large hotel groups, but at the same time, I’ve always felt that small cozy independent resorts are more adept when it comes to creating a truly welcoming and relaxing guest experience,” said Hopkin-Stewart.

“Guests are often impressed by the exceptional quality of Blue Horizon’s accommodations and culinary program – it’s because we take pride in our hospitality as Grenadians and as a family-run property. But we need to get this message out instead of relying purely on word of mouth,” she added.

“One of my goals is to convey to retailers and the traveling public that value does not have to be synonymous with sacrificing quality,” noted Hopkin-Stewart.

Hopkin-Stewart grew up in the ‘Isle of Spice’ and migrated shortly after high school to pursue her higher education in Canada. Throughout her travels and work experiences she honed her skills in the Hospitality arena, namely, Marketing, Guest Services and Operations. Her return to Grenada and the application of her experience to the boutique resort business model will bolster Blue Horizon’s reputation.

“I am Grenadian at heart, but my experience in the U.S. and Canada has helped me relate to North Americans and understand how to appeal their inner traveler,” said Hopkin-Stewart.  “I’m very excited to be in a position to raise awareness for my resort and my country.”

After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at the University of Western Ontario, Hopkin-Stewart headed to Toronto where she obtained her post graduate diploma in Business Marketing from George Brown College.  She then relocated to New York for advanced training in Food and Beverage Management at Cornell University.

Hopkin-Stewart has 10 years experience in the hospitality industry, including InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt, where she held the titles of Guest Services Manager and Assistant General Manager, respectively.

She returned home earlier this year to assume her new strategic role at Blue Horizons Garden Resort, where she has ‘jumped in with two feet.’  Along with overseeing the general operations of the Resort, Hopkin-Stewart places her focus on social media opportunities, guest services and training.  She is also the Creative Director for all in house promotions, advertising, and collateral material.

For more information, contact Blue Horizon’s Garden Resort at 473-444-4316, send email to blue@grenadabluehorizons.com or visit the boutique resort at http://www.GrenadaBlueHorizons.com.

Blue Horizons Garden Resort

Known for its lush tropical setting and truly world-class fine dining, the Green Globe Certified Blue Horizons Garden Resort offers a charming, informal vacation that lets guests return to the softer side of nature in a delightful Caribbean paradise.

Blue Horizons Garden Resort features 32 spacious accommodations in superior studio and deluxe one-bedroom suite categories, La Belle Creole gourmet restaurant, a freshwater swimming pool, activities lounge and centrally-located poolside bar.

Blue Horizons Garden Resort and Grenada are an excellent combination for travelers interested in ecotourism. Mix Blue’s on-site aviary featuring over 21 species of birds and 49 species of moths with Grenada’s lush interior, hiking trails of varying degree, waterfalls, and the Grand Étang National Park, for a unique Grenadian adventure.

For extra value, guests can enjoy various daytime pursuits 300 yards across the road on Grand Anse Beach such as snorkeling, sailing with Hobie cats, kayaking (free equipment available) or relaxing beachside with complimentary chaise lounges. A full-service watersports facility on the beach also provides scuba diving.

Blue Horizons is located four miles north of the airport and less than five miles from the colorful capital city of St. George’s.

For more information, contact Blue Horizons Garden Resort at 473-444-4316, e-mail: blue@grenadabluehorizons.com or visit http://www.GrenadaBlueHorizons.com.

The warmth of the tea and the satisfying fragrance of the spices soothes an ailing stomach.

The aroma is a wonderful mix of locally grown spices. After all, Grenada is the “Spice Isle of the Caribbean”.

http://dinghypursuits.com/2011/06/17/machetes-and-mayhem-an-accidental-budget-vacation-in-grenada-2/#comment-17

Machetes and Mayhem: An Accidental Budget Vacation in Grenada

The man with the machete stood before us.

He emerged from a tangle of frangipani trees bordering the broken cement road. Tall and slim, his tattered white shirt and mahogany skin mimicked the colors of the foliage, briefly creating the illusion that the frangipani tree had come to life and, inexplicably, freed itself from the Grenadian jungle.

Or maybe we’d just been hiking too long.

He’s going to kill me, I thought. Not machete man — my husband. I glanced at the man I’d been married to for 15 years, his face perspiration-drenched from our hike down the deserted road, and waited for his familiar “what have you gotten us into?” look.

* * *

It all started when my husband, Terry, mistook Grenada for the Dominican Republic. Under normal circumstances, that’s not an easy mistake. One is located on the island Hispaniola in the central Caribbean. The other barely makes it onto the Caribbean map, a small dot at the southeastern fringe of the Windward islands. One is Spanish-speaking, the other English. One was invaded by American forces under president Ronald Reagan when a regime cozy with Fidel Castro attempted to stage a bloody coup.

Yet, my husband did mistake the two islands. Or maybe he wasn’t listening very well when I proposed we go to Grenada. That kind of thing happens after 15 years of marriage, especially when one’s spouse is transfixed by a sailboat on Ebay.

“I know you’re going to think I’m crazy,” I started, clearing my throat in an attempt to earn his attention. His eyeballs slowly detached themselves from the sleek blue 40-foot Morgan.

“I think we should take a vacation on Grenada.” Before he could respond, I lunged ahead with my attack. “It’s an undiscovered gem. Grande Anse beach is one of the prettiest. There are fruits and spices growing everywhere. They hardly ever get hurricanes. And it’s a lush, tropical paradise.”

He gazed at me, considering, but didn’t look as shocked as I’d anticipated. Maybe he’d forgotten all about that little political problem in 1983.

Two months before our trip, however, lounging on our back porch, watching dust waft through the air during what had become the driest summers in history in the southern U.S., he asked to see a map of the island. I handed him the map in my travel guide, pointing to the town of Grand Anse where I’d booked a cottage surrounded by tropical flora at the Blue Horizons Garden Resort. He studied the map for a long moment with his eyes scrunched up.

“The shape of the island is all wrong,” he finally stammered.

Wives sometimes feel responsible for fixing everything that goes wrong. I’m one of them. But an island’s shape being wrong?

The next moments led to intense map pointing, arm shrugging, brow wiping and arm crossing. The shape of the island, it turned out, didn’t look right because Grenada is shaped nothing like the Dominican Republic on Hispaniola. We’d been planning a vacation together, but planning it on different islands.

* * *

More than anything, my husband was perplexed. Why would I, former city girl, admitted wimp, and occasional nerd want to go to a presumably dangerous island?

Sure, the United States invaded Grenada in a bloody near-revolution. But 25 years had passed since then. And sure, murder rates are high in the Caribbean, but Grenada boasts one of the lowest. And yes, Grenadians carry around machetes as casually as executives carry cups of Starbuck’s coffee. But that’s just because the jungle is so thick.

The reactions from our friends and co-workers didn’t help my case.

“You’re going where?”

“Is that safe?”

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll get kidnapped?” Presumably, I suppose, by hooligans with links to Fidel Castro who would drag us to Cuba and brainwash us into joining the Communist Party.

“You’re going to Grenada?” Quipped an especially psuedo-witty co-worker. “Well that ought to be a blast. Get it? Grenade… blast….”

That’s when we stopped telling people where we were going.

* * *

At the airport, approaching the gate to board our plane from Chicago O’Hare to Grenada, we passed cheerful honeymooners  awaiting flights to normal places. Puerto Rico. St. Thomas. I felt my stomach knot  as we grew closer. I leaned toward my husband and whispered, “If all the people waiting to board the plane to Grenada look like crazed murderous, we could just keep walking.”

We rounded the corner and paused, gazing at the islanders we’d be spending the next 7 days amongst. “Oh,” I murmured, feeling foolish. The Grenadians looked….just like everyone else. Near the ticket counter, two travelers laughed softly and smiled as they shared photos on I-Phones — a tool for which I still deemed too expensive for my budget.

We plunked our bags down and collapsed into the hard molded airport seats in relief. These smiling, kindly folks looked like the gentlest people we’d encountered over fifteen years of Caribbean travels. I had a spiteful urge to dial my co-workers (using my nontouchscreen nonsmartphone.) I hadn’t messed up after all; I was still the master of budget vacations.

I was, however, concerned to notice one slouching figure slumped in a seat across the room from my fellow travelers, head shrouded by an oversized grey hoodie. His jean-clad legs were askew, scattered before his torso like a Los Angeles street punk who’d just been stabbed. I could sense my husband looking, too. The hoodie suddenly shuddered once, shuddered twice, and a weak rumble of a cough escaped the fabric.

“Oh. He’s just sick. Not a murderous gangster,” I whispered. As the cough racked his weakened frame, his eyes shone out from the fabric for a moment, eyes streaked with angry jags of red. I leaned closer to my husband, my whisper more of a hiss. “I think the poor guy might have Dengue fever!”

I’d learned from my Grenada travel guide that Dengue fever, a nasty virus spread by mosquitos, occasionally makes an appearance in Grenada. Dengue feels like the flu, but worse, although it usually doesn’t kill its victims. I hadn’t been too worried about it — it seemed less dangerous than the yellow fever you coud catch in nearby Tobago, which we’d briefly considered as a vacation destination.

Terry sighed and flipped open his Mainsail magazine. “Just don’t let him cough on me.”

“You can only catch it from a mosquito. You’re in the clear,” I assured him.

* * *

The night watchman at the Blue Horizons Resort was a gangly fellow, slim with an easy smile, and didn’t look particularly equipped to take on murderous criminals or crazed, machete-yielding overthrowers-of-the-government.

We asked him if it would be safe to at least explore the resort grounds. And in the morning — we planned to hike to a waterfall — was Grenada a safe place for hiking?

He appeared amused by the question. “We don’ ha much crime on Grenada.” Either his patois lilt was amazingly subtle, or we looked like the type of tourists that would be unable to interpret a Caribbean-influenced accent. “Jus’ watch dem mosquitos. Dat be the most dangerous ting you find on our island.”

My husband cocked his eyebrow at me. Dengue fever, I knew he was thinking.

* * *

Despite the guard’s assurances of safety, we were now face to face with machete man. I could almost hear my husband cursing me in his mind and wondering why, why did I have to pull him away from comfortable deck furniture, sailing magazines, and Ebay’s Boat Angel in order to hike to a waterfall in the middle of nowhere on Grenada?

Machete man motioned toward a dilapidated, dingy-white lean-to at the side of the road. “Come in, come in!” he implored, leading us to the shack-like structure like a long-lost friend waving us into their home for dinner. As we reluctantly followed him, I darted my eyes back down the road, willing someone else, anyone, to appear. We were completely alone.

“I am Eldon.” He extended a hand with long, callused fingers. He’d laid the machete on a long countertop amid scattered piles of cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, coco and a gaggle of unrecognizable spices. Shelves lined the back of the lean-to, precariously supporting a few bottles of spices for sale.

“These are spices we grow in Grenada,” he began, he speech monotone as if he’d memorized the routine. He ran through a monologue of the health benefits, uses, and flavors provided in the multitude of food, occasionally offering us a whiff of the products displayed on the counter.

I was feeling particularly giddy that he was a harmless salesman; therefore I’d probably not be losing a limb so long as I purchased one of Eldon’s spice necklaces or bottles of vanilla.

But I felt uneasy about why he was selling spices in the middle of nowhere rather than on the beach like all the other vendors.

“Do you sell these things at the beach, too?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“No, no, no. Dis be my fahm.” He gestured at the jungle surrounding us.

What I didn’t know — but learned thanks to Eldon – was that many Grenadian farmers grow multiple crops on small plots of mountainous land that look nothing like a mass-market farm in the U.S. To the untrained eye, the farms look like any other tropical forest. That is, unless you were lucky enough to have someone like Eldon to show you.

“Do you grow dasheen?” I asked, suddenly very interested in Eldon and his farming business. You see, when I’m not playing budget Caribbean traveler and writer, I’m a dietitian. I read up on traditional Caribbean foods before our trip and knew that callilou – a soupish mixture and Caribbean favorite — contained the dasheen plant.

Eldon re-appraised me, eyebrows raised slightly, then smiled widely. “Dasheen! Yes, here it ’tis.” With more arm waves, he led away from the shack to an elephant-ear looking plant. “Have you tried callilou?”

I sheepishly shook my head, glad he wasn’t aware that most of my knowledge about callilou had come from a Jimmy Buffet song. But Eldon was clearly warming up to us.

* * *

Nearly one hour later we emerged from the jungle farm with our backpacks a little heavier from nutmeg, vanilla and cinnamon. Not only had Eldon taken us on an extensive botanical tour, he’d freely chatted about life in Grenada and perked up even more when I asked if I could snap his photo. He’d worked the farm his entire life. He’d survived the invasion, countless hurricanes, and was farming again despite the destruction of Hurricane Ivan. He was a Methodist, like us. His Mother had died just last year at the age of 92. She was buried in a graveyard behind a church we’d just hiked past and photographed solemnly, looking at its ruins. hurricane Ivan had taken it, too.

* * *

Exactly one week later, we walked the road leading from Morne Rouge beach to our hotel, swatting the mosquitos that had emerged after sunset, happy saying “hello” to everyone we encountered along the dark road. We’d become a part of Grenada if only for one week. We felt fearless. Early the next morning, we flew home with only a handful of souvenirs, but many photos and anecdotes about the friendly people who inhabit Grenada.

Two days after arriving safely home, I returned home from work to find my husband huddled on our livingroom couch, shivering wildly and wrapped tightly in a quilt. He’d been vomiting, feverish, and had a splitting headache.

“It could just be flu,” I said as I felt his forehead, knowing full well that flu season was a month away. In my head I was thinking…that hotel guard knew what he was talking about. Dengue. Mosquitos. That’s the only thing to worry about in Grenada.

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, Wednesday January 26, 2011 – By August 1 this year, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) nationals will require only a driver’s licence or identification card to travel through the sub-region.

The decision was made at the just concluded two-day 52nd meeting of the OECS Authority in Grenada where, according to a communiqué, “Heads of Government acknowledged the pivotal role of free movement of people in the OECS Economic Union as a single financial and economic space”.

They agreed that all actions necessary to give full effect to the free movement regime would be completed by August 1, 2011 at the latest. 

“By that date we expect OECS citizens to be moving in and out of OESC states without restrictions,” host Prime Minister Tillman Thomas said at a press conference yesterday after the meeting. 

“Once you have a driver’s licence or ID card you should not have any difficulty moving. We are removing all the impediments to restrictions.”

According to the communiqué, it was also agreed that by the end of this month, a driver’s licence issued in one OECS country would be accepted for use in another for short term visits.

Another deadline given at the meeting, which was held just three days after the Revised Treaty of Basseterre Establishing the OECS Economic Union came into force, was for domestic law to give effect to that treaty.

Heads of Government agreed that all the necessary legislation would be enacted no later than June 18 this year.

www.caribbeannewsdigital.com/en/noticia/caribbean-tourism-inching-back-2008-numbers-0

Caribbean Tourism Inching Back to 2008 Numbers

The Caribbean is attracting tourists in numbers not seen since the start of the global economic crisis, with several islands boasting new records, government officials said Friday. More than 23 million tourists visited the region in 2010, a nearly 5 percent increase from the 22.1 million that visited the previous year, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

The tiny eastern Caribbean islands of Anguilla and St Lucia drew hordes of tourists from Canada and the US and posted double-digit increases. St Eustatius, a speck of an island that was previously part of the Netherlands Antilles, got a big boost from European visitors.

The Caribbean also was the second most requested destination last year following the US, according to the Web site, which arranges travel to requested destinations. While the Bahamas reported a record number of visitors—more than 5 million—the amount they spent is nowhere near what tourists spent in 2008 prior to the economic crisis, said Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace.

“We have to get there before we begin to celebrate,” he said. The jump in tourists came mostly from cruise ship passengers who spend very little compared with those who stay in the Bahamas. This was the case even though 70 percent of the islands’ cruise ship passengers last year were on a Bahamas-only cruise, Vanderpool-Wallace said.

Cruise ship arrivals also increased elsewhere, with a 50 percent jump for the French Caribbean island of Martinique, 20 percent for Bermuda and nearly 18 percent for the US Virgin Islands.

“A whole new architecture is being crafted for tourism globally and in the region,” Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said.

 The majority of Caribbean tourists who arrived last year came from the US and Canada, with officials blaming a drop in European tourists on a significant air passenger duty that Britain approved in 2009 and increased last year.

DAY 5 – Stew Pigeon Peas – Staple side dish and comfort food for the Christmas buffet table. The pigeon pea is traditionally grown in time to be harvested for Christmas. Picking your peas fresh from the garden or using the tin version will both result in a tasty pot.

Serves 6

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

¼ cup chopped onion

2 cups shelled pigeon peas (tin peas can be used)

1 tbsp. green seasoning

½ lb. pumpkin, cut into 1” cubes

2 tbsp. tomato paste or puree

Salt and Black pepper to taste

4 cups of water

Heat oil and sauté garlic and onion until soft and golden in color. Add peas and green seasoning. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add pumpkin, tomato, salt, pepper and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook until peas and pumpkin are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Salted meat can be added for flavor along with flour dumplings. NB: Salted meat should be soaked overnight to relinquish most of the salt.

DAY 6 - Sorrel Drink – A naughty or nice refreshing Christmas tradition.

Sorrel, made from the sepals, of the sorrel flower is fruity and fragrant. Locals dry the flower, usually in the sun on large trays, and boil with water and local spices. It is similar in taste to hibiscus tea. A definite favorite and a any time of day beverage. Sorrel can be thick and syrupy or diluted with cold water or club soda. Be naughty and add rum!

Serves 16

2 lbs. dried sorrel flower

8 cups water

2 pieces cinnamon stick

12 cloves

 2 cups sugar or sweeten to taste

 Wash sorrel. Put in water with cinnamon and cloves in a large pot and bring to a boil. Let boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot and let sit for a few hours or overnight. Strain and sweeten to taste. Flavor with rum if desired. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Share in the Holiday Spirit with Blue Horizons! Merry Christmas everyone….. 

DAY 7:  House of Lights!

 Extravagant display of a Grenadian House. This family shares the holiday spirit with everyone through their creative presentation each year. Spreading the Christmas cheer to all!!!

Share in the Holiday Spirit with Blue Horizons! Merry Christmas everyone….. 

DAY 8: Sweet Sounds of ‘Parang Music’

The traditional sound at Christmas festivities.  Originating from the ‘cocoa estates’ of our history, the word originates from ‘paranda’ meaning merry making. It is common, on Christmas morning, to see pickup trucks filled with bands of singers and musicians who play the guitar, mandolin, cuatro, violin, tambourine and more travelling through the neighborhoods ‘paranging’ or caroling. 

'Paranging' or Carolling

Listen to parang artist Lord Kitchener singing song entitled “Drink a Rum”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BOfBCl7d9U&feature=related

DAY 9: Christmas ‘Black’ Cake 

This traditional fruit cake can be found in most Grenadian homes at Christmas time. Made predominantly of alcohol soaked prunes, currants and raisins. Flavorful and moist, it is an anticipated treat each year.