Gouyave_Fish_Friday
Gouyave is a small fishing village in the northwest of Grenada with an
interesting history. Gouyave was originally called Charlotte Town after the English Queen
Charlotte, however during a period of French control of Grenada the name was changed to
Gouyave after the numerous guava trees that grew in the area. The most notable event in
Gouyave's past occurred on Saturday 2nd March 1795 , when Julien
Fedon, a free coloured planter who owned a large estate in Belvidere, St. Johns led a
revolt against the British in what is called the Fedons Rebellion. In the present time,
Gouyave can be considered the fishing capital of Grenada as more fish are caught by
Gouyave fishermen than by any other group on the island. It is that abundance of fish that
is now giving Gouyave prominence and led to the creation of Gouyave Fish Friday.
As the name says, this event takes place on Fridays, usually beginning around
6pm and lasting late into the night up to about 1am. Attending the Gouyave Fish Friday is
definitely one of the things to do when in Grenada. Every Friday night, two streets are
blocked off, St Francis Street and Chapel Lane and vendors line the streets with their
grills, fryers, steamers and cookers. From there on it is fish galore; fried fish, grilled
fish, BBQ fish, fish balls, fish loaf, fish cakes (accra), fish pies, fish quiche, fish
pizza, fish pockets, fish casseroles, fish poached in garlic, fish kebabs. Fish however is
not the only seafood delight that is served; there is lobster when it is in season, shrimp
and lambie (conch). Complimenting all the seafood dishes are other dishes that are equally
delicious such as fried coo coo or fried breadfruit, roast bakes or fry bakes.
The Gouyave Fish Friday is not an event that was created for solely for tourists but
was a natural development of a local Friday evening activity. Now both locals and tourists
frequent this Friday night attraction. The entire activity is relatively safe and although
two policemen are usually at the end of the street it feels like they are really not
needed as everyone walks and mingles seeking to enjoy themselves. One tip about attending
this event is do not buy a large meal at one stall rather do as the locals, buy small
portions and in that way you get to sample every dish that catches your fancy. There are
tables placed along the street so that you can sit and enjoy your meal, however the
streets are narrow and uneven, and they fill up as the night progresses so there is not
always seating for all. Even without seating going to this local attraction is an
enjoyable activity as the people are friendly, the drinks and food are easily available
and the music is the infectious Caribbean rhythms.
The village of Pearls is the location of the former airport for Grenada
and lies outside the town of Grenville on the east coast of Grenada. The
Pearl's airport was built in the 1940's however as the aviation industry
developed it was found to be incapable of keeping up with the advances in
aeronautics and with demands of Grenada's development. Part of the problem
at Pearls airport was that night landings were forbidden because of the high
hills immediately to the north, south and west of the airport. In the end
the Pearl's airport was closed when a new airport was opened in 1984 in the
south of the island at Point Salines. Prior to its closing however the
Pearls airport had one last hurrah as it was the landing site for the US
invasion of Grenada in 1983. Pearls also has another place in Grenada's
history as it is a historic Amerindian site with Kalinago artifacts.
The former runway still exists and the area is beautiful. To the west of the
runway lies the mountains that are clothed in green and at times the cloud
cover comes in low and touches the tops of the mountains giving you a scene
of green topped with white and spots of red, yellow and blue. At the eastern
end of the runway is a spectacular beach facing onto the Atlantic ocean
while along the grassy sides of the runway cows are tethered. It is a
picturesque pastoral scene with remnants of the past.
On the northern side of the runway is a marshy area and then a mangrove
swamp. This combination of beach, marsh, swamp and grassy flat area is what
makes Pearls good for birdwatching. Grenada has recorded approximately 150
species of birds being found on the island with 70 percent of these birds
being neotropical migrants especially water birds and seabirds. With the
combination of different types of watery areas in such close proximity
Pearls attracts different species of these migrants.
While the more popular bird watching sites in Grenada are La Sagesse, Levera
National Park and Lake Antoine National Park, the area at the seaside end of
the Pearls runway is a good area for a quick view of different species.
To learn about other activities in Grenada, see our other Grenada Pages
