Rainbow Trees, Cold War-Era Planes and Other Reasons to Love Grenada
Published March 3rd, 2025
Photography by Jennifer Bain unless otherwise noted.
The most beautiful tree in Grenada is a living masterpiece whose smooth bark is peeling away in ragged strips to reveal an ever-changing canvas of orange, green, gray and purplish brown. It’s affectionately known as the Rainbow Tree and marks the southwestern entrance to Grand Etang National Park.
As I attempt to wrap my arms around this colourful giant — officially a Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta) — I learn that it was planted here in 1977 so its roots would help stabilize the bank. Native to the rainforests of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, the eye-catching species was introduced to Grenada after Hurricane Janet in 1955 so there are others on the island.
I’ve just seen a young and slender eucalyptus in front of the park’s visitor centre that’s so subtle, I first stroll by without noticing it. But this behemoth — which shows up on Google Maps as the Rainbow Tree — gets a steady stream of attention.
Rainbow Eucalyptus and tour guide Carl Nedd at Grand Étang National Park.
“It’s so beautiful,” enthuses my tour guide Carl Nedd, owner of Executive Taxi and Tours. “They’re going to make a concrete path and make a proper entrance.”
Everybody stops here in this rainforest for social media selfies, but some people unfortunately bring knives and carve their names into the magnificent multi-hued trunk. “If you love a tree, you will not destroy it like that,” says Nedd.
Honestly, who needs to be told that we should protect nature’s works of art?
Photo credit Jason deCaires Taylor.
I’ve come to Grenada — pronounced gre-nay-da and not to be confused with the Nicaraguan city of Granada — on WestJet’s new, direct non-stop flight from Toronto Pearson to see what sets this island near Venezuela apart from the rest of the Caribbean.
Two underwater sculpture galleries, for starters.
When the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park debuted here in 2006, it was a global first. Seventy-five works by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor were spread out across 800 square metres of sea in sand patches and gullies between natural rock formations. Several dozen more artworks were added in 2023, most part of the Coral Carnival series, and the site is now one of National Geographic’s 25 Wonders of the World.
Photo credit: Grenada Tourism Authority
Coral-covered sculptures draw tourists away from fragile reefs, but more importantly they help marine life to thrive in what’s now a marine protected area. As Taylor explains, “a long-lasting and pH neutral cement offers a stable and permanent platform which is textured to allow coral polyps to attach themselves to the sculptures.”
The Molinere sculptures are just five to eight metres below the surface so you can snorkel or scuba dive to them or see them from a glass-bottom boat. Last year after Hurricane Beryl, Grenada’s sister island Carriacou got its own sculpture garden, A World Adrift. These pieces — 30 boats steered by children to evoke climate change concerns — are in just three to five metres of water.
This is where I confess that I get seasick when Eco Dive takes me to snorkel the Molinere park. Battling unexpected dizziness in the swells, I manage to follow our leader as he swims over key sculptures. I’m amazed to be able to see them without my glasses or prescription goggles, but regret not bringing an underwater camera.
Beauty is always in the eyes of the beholder, and so that’s why I hire Nedd to take me to see two derelict Cold War-era planes at the decommissioned Pearls Airport along with the Rainbow Tree.
“The smaller one is the Russian plane,” he explains as we park by the grassy field where they quietly decay with a lone security guard in a small hut watching over them. “The bigger one was brought here by the Cubans who were here to help build the airport. Both were sabotaged during the invasion.
On Oct. 25, 1983, thousands of U.S. troops landed here for Operation Urgent Fury under President Ronald Reagan. Strife within the People’s Revolutionary Government had just led to the house arrest and execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and to a new Revolutionary Military Council.
The Cold War was raging and Grenada was building a new airport with a long runway that the U.S. government feared would aid a Soviet-Cuban military buildup in the Caribbean. Long story short, the Americans seized an AN-26 (CU-T1254) Cubana airlines turboprop that had just brought two high-level Cuban officials to Grenada, and an AN-2R (CCCP-71189) biplane that was a gift from the Soviet Union.
“During that time, those planes were supposedly sabotaged,” explains Nedd. “We use it as a museum now.” In this open-air museum, you can touch these two relics, peer inside them and even climb in them if you dare.
Don’t leave without taking a joyride down what’s left of the airstrip. Part of it is used for drag racing. Most visitors just drive across it on the way north to more popular tourist attractions without knowing its fascinating history.
At 34 kilometres long and 19 kilometres wide, Grenada is the smallest country of the Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea. It gained independence from Britain in 1974, but you can expect Grenadians to speak English, drive on the left side of the road, use UK three-prong electrical plugs and be relentlessly punctual.
Grenada is called the Spice Island because nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, ginger and cloves grow in the rich, volcanic soil. So do cacao trees, making this is one of the few countries that has a real bean-to-bar chocolate-making industry.
So how much chocolate do I consume in a week?
At the House of Chocolate, a mini-museum and café in the capital city of St. George’s, I drink Grenada’s famous cocoa tea and a dark chocolate shot. At other spots, I sample chocolate bars made from six local tree-to-bar producers, enjoy a guided chocolate tasting and eat cocoa granola.
I devour chocolate cake at Belmont Estate and almost everywhere I go.
And how much nutmeg do I ingest?
This new micro-obsessions starts with nutmeg jelly, continues with nutmeg bonbons, nutmeg ribs and callaloo chicken with nutmeg-infused cream sauce, and peaks with nutmeg ice cream. I would go back to Grenada just for another scoop.
Nutmeg grows on trees, by the way. I even meet a local, Kareem Smith from the Royalton Grenada, who has an impressive nutmeg tattoo.
I’m not a big boozer, but am a proud beverage addict. So while I politely wet my lips with two rums made at River Antoine Estate — established in 1785, home to the Caribbean’s oldest working water wheel and still making rum using traditional techniques — I drink a whole cup of the Tower Estate’s famous blue tea made from butterfly pea flowers.
At T’s Eco Garden and On Farm Tours, Theresa Marryshow shows me her crops and egg-laying chickens, cracks open a coconut for fresh coconut water, and transforms sorrel (hibiscus) petals into a cold, tart, fruity and brilliantly red drink.
My time in Grenada ends with two memorable drinks at Six Senses La Sagesse, an eco-wellness resort. When I mention my turmeric latte addiction, they quickly steam almond milk and enliven it with the perfect ratio of black pepper to local turmeric, cinnamon and ginger. Fresh, local spices really elevate it.
Then in the Fermentation Lab, executive chef Rudi Liebenberg challenges me to have shots of the brand’s famous Rocket Fuel for breakfast. The wellness elixir combines apple cider vinegar with raw onions, orange and lemon wedges, ginger root slices, garlic cloves, turmeric, herbs like thyme, fresh local bay leaves and black peppercorns. This “living” concoction is kept in a clear glass jar on the breakfast bar.
Sipping on the pungent liquid reminds me of everything that grows here, and feels like the perfect way to wrap up my first weird and wonderful visit to such a spicy island.
When You Go
You can rent a car but the narrow, winding and busy roads can be a challenge so it’s wiser to hire a driver and guide for custom outings. Email Carl Nedd at executivetaxiandtours@gmail.com.
I loved my two nights at the Royalton Grenada — an all-inclusive resort just minutes from Maurice Bishop International Airport — for its picture-perfect beach and Indian restaurant and for the egrets and herons that gravitate to its small lakes.
The family-owned True Blue Bay Boutique Resort may not have a beach but it shuttles guests to nearby Grand Anse Beach. It’s run by the House of Chocolate family so there’s a small bakery. Don’t miss Street Food Wednesdays (a gathering of street vendors) at its Dodgy Dock Restaurant & Bar. I spent three nights in a Cocoa Pod Room with a kitchen.
I spent my last two nights at the new Six Senses La Sagesse, the brand’s first foray into the Caribbean. It’s on a quiet side of the island, about 40 minutes from the airport. You can also opt for a day pass or just come for the wellness-forward breakfast that sets the bar for buffets.
Reservations are mandatory for fun five-course dinners at Dexter’s. Chef Dexter Burris cooks for just 40 guests a night in his Fenton Village home.
Jennifer Bain
After a career at daily newspapers, Jennifer began travelling the world in search of quirk in 2018. She goes wherever the story is, but has a soft spot for Canada and has been to all 10 provinces and all three territories. Jennifer has won multiple awards and written two cookbooks and three travel books. She lives in Toronto but has a vacation house on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, which some cheekily say is one of the four corners of the supposedly flat earth.