Bequia 28 January 2024
We woke to a beautiful day with blue skies and little cloud. It made Bequia look idealic. I had actually woken before sunrise to begin the blog and saw the anchor lights twinkling like low stars around the bay. It was magical and seemed surreal. As I typed away the sun began to rise and the anchor lights slowly disappeared. The crew gradually got up and we had a great breakfast of bacon and eggs whilst watching the bay come alive. Ferries started to move and new boats arrived and some departed. Our mooring owner of course came to collect his fee for the mooring and we asked him for a suggested safari and he suggested Randy!. The crew wanted to see the Island and get a feel for it.
We went ashore and met Randy. He took us in his van to Fort Hamilton which provided a magnificent view of the bay from about 300 feet up. You got a sense of how beautiful this Island is with its colourful houses decorating the incline from the lovely blue water of the bay. There were cannons at the fort some of which were French and some English as according to Randy the English kicked out the French. The view gave us a holistic view of the bay and this part of the Island. There are few roads here and they are made of concrete and we drove through along the sea with lots of boats and little houses.
We then drove over to the windward side of the Island which had a lovely constant breeze and it was not that well populated. There were some lovely villas with fantastic views of the ocean and bays with lovely sandy beaches and turquoise coloured water lined with palm trees. We could see lovely balconies from which no doubt many meals and drinks would be had with a great breeze and view. We moved on and visited the turtle sanctuary which was interesting and they are magnificent creatures. We stopped at a shop selling salt made locally with flavours such as rum, cinnamon, coconut, mango, and chilli. Stig & Cari bought some. We then drove back to Port Elisabeth and then toward the airport and the whaling station which was also interesting. By this time we were in need of a drink and a swim. Randy dropped us off at Lower Bay where we had a quick beer and went for a swim and snorkel which was great and there was some beautiful fish. David had a coconut and lectured us on its qualities and gave us all a great taste of the inside of the coconut. We dressed and walked along the beach and then on a trail to the next beach Princess Margaret beach (she came here in the 1950’s). As we came on the the beach there a little called the Lion’s Den which advertised the “Best Rum Punch on the Beach”. Some therefore could not resist this challenge and rum punches were all round. They were nice but not as good as we have had. We walked on and came to Jack’s Bar- which is renowned for its local food. The music was playing and the sun was shining and this seemed to capture the Caribbean in a nutshell and if you could bottle it we would make a fortune.
After the lunch we walked along the Belmont Walkway and came across Plantation House which had a blues festival going on. Well we could not pass by and entered and had a great couple of hours listening to great music with the crowd dancing away. Whilst we could have stayed all night we thought we would get back for sundowners and some supper. Stormbird was waiting and we sat on the rear deck pinching ourselves about what a perfect day it had been and how lucky we were to be here in the now.
Simon and Ian created a delicious chicken salad which we enjoyed in the cockpit listening to music (United Stoats of America) and watching the anchor light star display. We all went to bed with a smile on our faces and how we appreciated what a wonderful location this is.
The blog will continue as we explore Barbados and beyond.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com I can only upload one picture a day.