Having spent time exploring the beaches we booked a trip to one of Grenada’s most famous sites -The Underwater Sculpture Park.
Established in 2006 by Jason deCaires Taylor this was the first ever underwater Sculpture Park in the world and is now listed as one of National Geographic’s 25 Wonders of the World.
Sited just out from the capital Saint George’s at Molinere Bay, in a now designated Marine Protected Area, entrance fees to the park help fund park rangers to manage tourism and fishing quotas.
The park was established as a way to promote marine conservation and coral reef rebuilding following extensive damage from Hurricane Ivan back in 2004.
When we listen or watch the news our initial response to a hurricane hitting is the obvious loss of life and havoc wreaked on communities and homes. But hurricanes also devastate reefs and marine life through physical damage, changes in water conditions and the introduction of debris, leading to coral destruction, smothering of organisms and habitat disruption.
In the park, seventy-five concrete individual sculptures cover an area of over 800 square meters attracting algae, coral and other nutrients to attach themselves to these solid underwater objects thus providing food and attracting fish back to the area. Within only a few days of opening the art was covered in purple and blue sponges, orange fire coral and green algae… and was even home to a few octopuses.
At depths of 5-8 metres, they are accessible by scuba diving, snorkelling and glass bottom boats with the most celebrated work being Vicissitudes, which features a ring of children holding hands facing out into nutrient-rich oceanic currents. Cast from children with diverse backgrounds, they are a symbol of unity and resilience.
Before I tell you about our trip out to the Sculpture Park, I am going to preface this section of my post with a big shout out to midlife bravery.
It’s never too late, you know, to learn a new skill and it was on this trip to the Caribbean that I finally realised my ambition to snorkel. Not bad for someone who up to two years ago was petrified of deep water!
I started this journey taking one to one lessons at my local swimming pool to improve my stroke ability and thus survival in deep water. I’m definitely more confident and find my breaststroke improving the more I relax in the water. I still use a buoyancy aid in deep water but having purchased an all in one snorkel mask have opened up my life to the coral and fish etc below the surface of the waves.
So back to Grenada where there are many organised tours to visit The Sculpture Park but, as is normal for us, we selected the vessel with the least amount of passengers and, therefore, the most personable service which without a doubt is Captain Wally’s Glass Bottom Boat.
Accompanied by just one other couple, who also happened to be from the UK, and ably assisted by his first mate Johnny we cast off from the harbour and were soon chugging our way out into the beautiful, azure waters of the Caribbean Sea. Wally has been navigating these waters for nearly thirty years and is very experienced at guiding his boat “Sun Lover” out to the Sculpture Park whilst giving you an informative narrative of Grenada.
There were several other boats anchored in the vicinity when we arrived but being much bigger boats they had to remain on the outskirts of the marine park dislodging their fairly large groups of snorkelling customers. Captain Wally was able to venture much closer and once stationary you can either wait to view the reef and sculptures through the glass bottomed base of the boat or don your snorkelling gear (provided on the boat) and go and look at it yourself.
I had brought my newly purchased “all in one”mask but borrowed some flippers. Johnny escorted me out to the sculptures and happily shared his knowledge about the position and history of each. Free diving down to get a closer look at some of the fish etc surrounding the sculptures I happily remained on the surface. It wasn’t long though before I too was using my flippers to propel myself across the top of the still waters to not only take in the marvel of each sculpture but also to spot the many coloured fish swimming beneath me. My childish love of “Finding Nemo” sparked my explorations and whilst Nemo frequents faraway waters I did spot a “Dory”with its vibrant royal blue body and contrasting yellow tail!
There was also a banded butterfly fish (pictured above) with its striking orange body and vertical stripes and several Angelfish. Luckily the bigger fish that also call this sea their home stayed away as I’m not sure how I would have felt should a barracuda have swam towards me!
Returning to the Sun Lover, the other boats had fortunately now moved on and Captain Wally was able to use his exceptional skill to manoeuvre the boat so the remaining passengers were soon directly above each sculpture. Each piece of art could now be seen below in the clear waters.
On the return journey it was lovely to view the island from the water taking in the athletic and cricket stadiums.
Also if you look atop the main hill above the carenage you will spot the only prison on the island. With a mere 385 prisoners it reminded me of Alcatraz in San Francisco in that the residents could be looking out of their window to the beautiful Caribbean Sea below and being constantly reminded of their lost freedom!
If you wish to book Captain Wally’s boat, based in Saint George’s, for your trip out to The Sculpture Park you can contact him though his own website: https://sunlovegrenada.mystrikingly.com
In my final post about Grenada I will be writing about the capital -Saint George’s and highlight ing our favourite two restaurants to eat in, at either end of the cost per head scale.
A Midlife Adventure 