Villages of Carriacou

L'Esterre, Hillsborough, Tyrell Bay and Windward on Carriacou .

Carriacou Description

• Carriacou is the most southerly of the Grenadines, situated 20 miles north of Grenada, latitude 12,5 degrees. It has an area of 13 square miles and is the largest of the chain of islands between Grenada and St. Vincent.
• Don't forget to visit the renowned Sandy Island just east of Carriacou (right in front of our hotel). This tiny island serves as the symbol of the ideal tourism destination - pure white sand embraced by turquoise blue waters (the Caribbean dream).
• While in Carriacou whether your choose to explore, snorkel, swim, dive or simply stroll, you will experience the special lure of this gem and its islets. Come enjoy, retuning again and again to bask in what one might refer to as the 'paradise for water lovers', and escape from the routine of daily living, and when you leave take only good memories, leave nothing but footprints.
• Boat building and launching is  a major tradition.
• Pre-Lenten Carnival, August Regatta and the Yuletide Parang Festival have also contributed to its fertile heritage.
• In April the last 3 years Carriacou has also hosted a Maroon Festival, a great success, featuring local and international artist performing in music, dance, drumming, etc. Local cooking is also a major part of the festival, and one day of the festival you can get everything for free, just like in the traditional maroons where one village invites the other villages to enjoy the crop-over and the harvest of the year.

Hillsborough

A small cluster of weather-worn buildings overlooking the sea, Hillsborough may be the main point of entry to the island, but has little to warrant a long stay and is easily explored in an hour or two. The town stretches along its  Main Street, which runs parallel to the beach. Here most of the town's places to stay and eat as well as banks and public services are to be found. The beach around the jetty is narrow and a heavily used part of the working harbour - though not for recreation.

The main focus of Hillsborough is its jetty, which punctuates the middle of the town and offers a view of nearby Union Island. Throughout the town old stone merchant houses serve as a reminder of the island's colonial, sugar-producing past, as does its small but interesting Historical Museum on Patterson Street (Mon-Fri 9.30am-4pm, Sat 10am-4pm; EC$5). Housed in the restored ruins of an old gin distillery, the museum features a varied collection of Amerindian utensils and pottery, and has sections devoted to the island's European and African heritage. There are no other attractions for visitors to Hillsborough, though Monday is a lively day in town when local fruit and vegetable farmers bring their produce to the market - a small, haphazard collection of stalls gathered around the jetty. There is much more to Carriacou than Hillsborough and to make the most of a visit to the island you'd do best to venture farther.
 

Culture of Carriacou

• The following is the text of an article written by Merle Collins for the 25th anniversary of independence in 1999. Since the article was written, a few details have changed – for example, Mrs. Shirley Robinson,mentioned in the article, has since retired from the Ministry of Culture. The calypsonian Talpree has since become much more famous.Additionally, were the article to be written today,there might be some information added regarding publication by Grenada writers.However, the general cultural and historical information remains relevant."    Merle Collins