Tour of St. Vincent

The taxi was on time and off we headed.  First stop was The Vermont Nature Trail.  The drive is half the fun for me.  You pass through the real local atmosphere and on the backroads too.  The two-mile circular trail has both gentle paths and steep, uneven inclines which made it a great workout.  Our guide walked the trail with us to insure our safety from the “bush-men”.  This area is most famous as the home of the St. Vincent parrot.  We saw a couple fly away as we scared them out of their perches but nothing up close and personal. 

Our guide showed us the “jumbie beads”.  I collected enough to craft a necklace.

Next stop, Buccament Bay for lunch.  I wanted to stop here as it looked so beautiful from the top of the hill as we drove to the trail.  From the very beginning, things were a bit suspicious, however.  We had asked our guide to join us and the four of us walked up to the entrance and were stopped immediately and asked what company we were with.  “None” we replied and “No” we have no reservation.  Well that created quite the stir and a phone call had to be made before we proceeded.  After a long wait we were told it was now “OK” to go in.  But we were still being escorted by a guard and taken to a large golf cart which would take us to the restaurant.  The food was good and off we went again.

Next stop, Layou Petroglyph Park.  The carvings originated around 300 AD by the Caribs.  They are on a giant boulder down a short trail.  Nobody really knows what they mean.

Last stop of our tour was the Wallilabou Falls.  It was a bit disappointing as far as “Falls” go but it would be a beautiful spot to enjoy a picnic.  Our guide picked some “Rose Plums” for us to try.  They looked like red pears but smelled like roses.

A really beautiful Island with lots to offer although our guide filled us in on the REAL scoop as far as the government and Prime Minister’s affairs go.  But then again, how do we know that he knows the truth.

Petit Byahaut, St. Vincent all to ourselves

How lucky are we to find a piece of paradise and have it all to ourselves?  When we arrived there was a French Catamaran in here, it’s crew snorkeling around but we found just enough space to fit in.  The swells were making it a bit uncomfortable and within the first half hour we had swung around 180 degrees on our anchor…something the Captain just hates as it makes for a tenuous anchor hold.  To fix our situation we pulled out a stern anchor and tied up to a tree on shore.  Then the catamaran left and we are now enjoying this deserted piece of heaven all to ourselves once again…making up lots of stories about the deserted huts on shore and “banditos”.  This afternoon was enjoyed by a snorkel around and then watching the two “blow-holes” right behind Jay Sea Dee as the tide came in.  We watched a beautiful sunset too and saw the myth busting “GREEN FLASH”.  Just around the corner is THE BAT CAVE.  It is a cave for divers with two species of bats:  the fishing bat and the St. Vincent fruit bat…I hope to see neither one tonight. 

Mount Gay Music Fest in Bequia 2012

This weekend the Island of Bequia held its 12th annual Mount Gay Music (Mount Gay is a rum made in Barbados)Fest.  Yesterday we hiked over to Friendship Bay to the Bequia Beach Hotel for an afternoon of beautiful beaches, great people watching, and the Jazz and Blues Jam.  What a perfect way to spend the afternoon!  Can you spot the pirate in one of these pictures?…and yes, we are at 13 degrees North

Market Day!

As you can see we made quite the haul at the market today.  But wait, I thought I bought a watermelon…not really sure what it is but it tastes really good.  We are anxiously awaiting the ripening of our “Sour Sop” (the prickly thing right in the middle).

Do they speak English here?

Well, yes and no.  Although there are many nationalities here, the locals speak English with a TWIST…a Limin twist.  It is pretty amazing to be right next to a Carib and know they are speaking English but you don’t understand a word they are saying.  Here are a few examples":

We say “How Are You?”         They say “Wah go?”

We say “Where did you come from”         They say “Weh you come out?”

We say “You didn’t get much sleep last night did you?”     They say “Yuh flying ligaroo?”

Dragon Bay

I forgot to show you my photos of a really cool snorkel/dive site that we stopped at twice.  It is called Dragon Bay in Grenada.  There is an underwater “sculpture” park that is both beautiful and creepy at the same time.  I found a pic of it for you. Another thing you find under the water are more of these faceless, nameless, expressionless “people sculptures” lying on the sea bed looking like they have died.

Tour of Bequia

Today we went on a tour of Bequia with the crew of “Skipping-Stone”.  We shared a nice air- conditioned van and headed around the island.  First stop, The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary.  We were given a very informational tour by THE MAN named Orton King who was born and raised on Bequia has taken it upon himself to keep the turtle population from dwindling.  He rescues both green turtles and hawksbill turtles.  We were allowed to touch the Green turtles but the Hawksbill turtles will bite.  Turtles can live to be 200 years old. 

Next we drove over to “Friendship Bay” to the “Whaling” museum.  Bequia is one of the few Islands where people are still allowed to go '”whaling”.  The first pic shows the harpoons that they use and the painted background photo is on a bone from the tail of the Humpback whale that they hunt.  Picture #2 has a photo painted on the jawbone.  The last photo is an actual whaling boat used today.  There are six persons on board, each with a specific job.  They are NOT allowed to use an engine, only under sail.  Four whales are allowed to be caught each year.

Now we are enjoying lunch and Free Wi-Fi at Tommy’s.  Notice the cute “Sea-Fan” Xmas Tree.  The Music Fest starts tonight.  Can’t wait for the Steel Band Competition with bands from Trinidad!  Look at Johns face when he got the bill from our dinner at The Devil’s Table restaurant the other night (it came in a treasure chest)!

I Like Turtles!

We are heading North now and our first stop was at Union Island in Clifton Harbor.  We had to stop here to clear “into” St. Vincent and the Grenadines again.  As Capt. John went to customs Jonathon and I stopped at the bakery for some homemade bread and then the produce stands for some fresh tomatoes and peppers.  We also stopped at The Gourmet store which specializes in international foods and bought some great cheese and Nutella.  The harbor was very rolly and uncomfortable so we moved on around the corner to Chatham Bay.  Here we enjoyed more turtle watching and a meal of BBQ chicken and spareribs with “ALL THE FIXINS”…yummy!  We also noticed a beautiful ship named Talitha anchored right outside the bay.  She is the ship with smoke stacks and built in 1927.  I wish I could have a tour of the interior.

Yesterday we left Chatham and headed North with a North wind “on the nose”…a rough ride for sure.  We headed to Mayreau but the swells made it so uncomfortable on anchor that we moved to Tobago Cays.  In between the white squalls the weather settled down enough for us to snorkel .Today we got up and since the sun was out we headed straight to Horseshoe Reef for some awesome snorkeling.  I saw several sting rays swimming at the bottom in the sand (be careful what you step on ).  Jonathon scared a school of Blue Tangs my direction and I watched a feeding frenzie of Parrotfish on the reef.  Jonathon and I swam back to the boat via the Turtle enclosure and I swam with many turtles…what a thrill.  This place is Heaven Sent!  In Picture #1, notice the sailboat coming through the cut…it isn’t easy getting here through all the reefs.

Once back aboard we were approached by the Park Rangers who collect $10 EC per person aboard per day.  What a job!  And you are barraged by “the boat boys” selling everything from T-shirts to lobsters to banana bread.

Luxury Catamaran HEMISPHERE - Sailing Yacht

This is docked right around the corner from us.  The biggest sailing catamaran in the world..145 ft. long…another toy for the Rich and Famous!  There is room for 12 guests and is only $250,000 per week.  Anyone ready to join me?

Calivigny

Still enjoying Clark’s Court Bay.  The big plans for the day????…go to the BBQ Smokeout at 5pm!  Earlier today we took a dinghy ride to Hog Island being extremely careful after Jonathon and I hit a rock/coral patch last night on our sunset cruise

After Hog Island we explored the exclusive Calivigny resort privately-owned by a very rich Frenchman named Mr. Cohen.  He spent 100 million Euro creating this PRIVATE resort.  It is 81 acres total and only sleeps 40.  It costs $65,000 per night…alcohol extra.  I pulled some photos from their website while the rest are my photos.  Several boats are at your beck and call too.  One of them is a 173’ Perini Navi sailing vessel and the other an 86’ fishing boat.

I couldn’t resist and had to walk on the beach.  Although you can’t go past the beach, it was worth the stop…just gorgeous…for the RICH and FAMOUS for sure!