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A Taste Of St Vincent and the Grenadines

Story and Photos by Tab Hauser tab@tabhauser.com

For this winters Caribbean escape we had decided to visit St. Vincent and Grenadines. St. Vincent is the main island with 32 smaller ones trailing south. This nation which gained its independence in 1979 is located south of St Lucia with is last island just north of Grenada. It is also due west of Barbados via a 30 minute flight. We chose to visit St. Vincent because it is amongst the islands less traveled. My research showed that the people were nice, food was good and it was largely undeveloped. There was never any crowds or reservations needed anywhere and the scenery was amazing. (which is why the Pirates of the Caribbean filmed their second and third movie here). St. Vincent had all the makings of what I call a beautiful trip.

To get a better feel of this island nation we planned on breaking the trip into three leisurely parts. Part one was going to have us spend three nights and two full days on island known for its rich and famous called Mustique. Part two had us on board a 46 foot sailing yacht for three nights so we can visit of few of the Grenadines along with the Tobago Cays, a UNESCO site, for diving. Part three would be at Young Island Resort which is a 29 acre resort island just 200 yards off of St. Vincent.

Just A Quick Flight Into Mustique Little Airport "Mule" Pick Up Mustique

Mustique Island: Not Just For The Rich and Famous

You don't need to rent an $80,000 villa or take a private jet to share this laid back non crowded piece of paradise.

After landing in Barbados we connected on Grenadine Airlines for the 30 minute scenic hop over to Mustique. The Customs and luggage line in Mustique's bamboo and thatched roof airport building took less than five minutes. Here we were met here by a friendly Firefly staff member and her mule! Ok, is not what you think. Fortunately mules on this island are a four wheel cross between comfortable golf cart on steroids and an ATV that holds five people and luggage. Three minutes later were at this upscale inn and shown to our suite by passing any kind of formal registration.

Morning View From Our Oversize Balcony At Firefly Fishing Boats At Rest on Sunday

With our bags delivered we jumped in our small private pool on our deck and watched the sunset minutes later. Dinner is upscale here and included with the suite. Connected to the terraced dining area was Fire Fly's open air bar that is known to have a party atmosphere in high season. There martini list and Champaign cocktails are impressive but I stayed with a well made rum punch complete with fresh nutmeg shaved across the top of it. Drinks and wine are a little pricey.

Beautiful Macaroni Beach, Windward Side Mustique (peak season and empty tropical beaches)

After breakfast on our first day we were offered a tour of the 2 square mile island on the mule. While Mustique is a small island, driving around it gave the impression it was much more vast due to the winding roads and steep hills all around. On our tour we saw expensive villas that celebrities and the elite corporate own or rent. (We met one man the night before that was renting a complete villa for $80,000 for the month!) After the one hour tour we were dropped off at Macaroni Beach on the windward side. This beautiful soft sand beach is the one you come to for a little body surfing or playing in the waves. We also confirmed that Firefly would deliver a picnic lunch to us at 1PM. After walking end to end on this 1/3 mile beach and splashing around two staff members showed up with table cloth, large picnic basket and cooler for a delicious lunch. We asked them to return an hour later to so we can check out the beach at the Cotton House Hotel on the calmer leeward side of Mustique.

Scenes From Cotton House Beach and Grounds

The beach at Cotton House is more typical of a hotel beach complete with restaurant and bar as well as thick cushioned lounge chairs and umbrellas. They did not charge us for the use of the chairs but in return we ordered a couple of drinks and tipped the beach staff for setting us up. We enjoyed the view out towards the ocean and nearby islands. We also liked "the show" going on near us where one waiter was pampering two Russian couples with bottles of expensive Champaign. One of the couples included a man in his 70's getting suntan lotion rubbed on his back by a beautifully sculpted lady two thirds his age.

After a swim off the dock and a look at the Mustique Museum on grounds of Cotton House we were picked up and taken back to Firefly to shower and change. Thirty minutes before sundown we asked to be driven to the harbor below to catch a sunset cocktail at the famous Basil's Bar. Here we had a couple of colorful cocktails and watched the sun set behind the clouds while checking out the local fisherman clearing their nets.

Driving Around The Island You can see Mustique's most popular creature crawl around or in large sculpture form. Above is a villa one can rent

Mustique does not have a "real" village so there was no strolling around after sunset. What they have on the harbor are two boutiques, a bakery, a food store, an outdoor fruit stand and a small fishing fleet composed of oversized looking rowboats with outboard engines. After being picked up at Basil's we were taken up the hill for another good dinner and to play a board game adjacent in the bar. We were a little disappointed with the night life during our stay as it was a slow week on the island due to the Christmas break crowd leaving a couple of weeks earlier. We were told things can get lively due to people getting a little "villa" fever and coming here. (I guess Prince Will, Mr. Gates, Tommy Hilfiger, Mick and Shania will have to meet us some other time). Rumor had it Bill Gates a regular visitor to Mustique was interested in Firefly.

Basil's of Mustique Sunset With Tab and Maureen Hauser

Pretty Views At Lagoon Beach, A Fishing Boat At Anchor Overseen By A Large Yacht

On our second full day in Mustique we asked to be taken to Lagoon Beach. I should mention that part of the package for staying at Firefly Mustique is transportation anywhere at any time. Lagoon Beach is a very pleasant and quiet sandy beach on the lee side. In fact it was so quiet we were by ourselves. We stayed an hour and half and with rain on the way walked to the harbor as it was a pretty stroll along the shore. We also wanted to stop at the boutique and market to pick up a few things. Arriving at 1PM means lunch time and the shops closed for an hour. I guess with culture the way it is, the person who was running the boutique that day did not think it was worth opening the door for us while she sat looking out to the harbor. After reaching town, we called Firefly for a pick up and ordered lunch to be brought to our suite. Lunch was one the best pizza's we have ever had in the Caribbean. The rest of the day was spent lazily floating on mats in the infinity pool. For dinner that night we enjoyed their "Pepper Pot" that was made at Maureen's request. We need to thank Liz (who along with Stan own Firefly) for finding a recipe and making it happen.

Lazy Afternoon At Firefly's Infiniti Pool Next Morning Boarding Bahai 46' Cat Named Bulit

Part Two: Three Nights On A Sail-away

On our third morning we woke up to realize that we are about to start "Part Two" of our trip. We were transferring over to a sail boat that we arranged as part of a three night "sail-away" package from Young Island Resort. We opted for the third night rather than the standard two because we wanted to go as far as the Tobago Cays for some diving. Having that extra night would allow us to see a few extra islands in the Grenadine chain also. At 9:30 Firefly received a call from the Captain so we signed our bill and were driven down to the island dock for transfer over. From the dock we were pleased to see the 45 foot mono hull boat we expected was changed to a 46 foot catamaran. We liked the extra space the cats offer as well as the smoother ride in the strong wind. On board we were introduced to Orlando the captain and Ricky the chef.

Rainbow Over The Tobago Cays Curious Turtle

Originally Maureen & I were going to charter a sail boat with friends and cruise the islands on our own. Early plans had changed with friends so we realized we were on our own. Sailors we know advised us that the Grenadines has a reputation for serious wind so we opted not to go alone but to hire a captain and cook. We talked to Orlando and told him we had extensive power boating experience and asked him if he can fine tune our sailing skills as we wanted to help sail rather than watch. Hiring a captain turned out to be a good idea because on our third day we were sailing in to 30 to 40 knot winds which is something I had never done before.

Nurse Shark Hiding Behind Coral Moray Eel Under A Rock Nudibranch (less than 2" tall) Hanging On To A Coral Fan

Once our luggage was stowed on board we headed due south to the Tobago Cays. We had a 15 knot wind from our stern and it made a smooth ride. The Tobago Cays are small uninhabited islands surrounded by a protected reef. We motored around a couple of islands with pretty beaches to an area with 30 boats anchored about. The Bulit, our 46 foot Bahia catamaran, threw the anchor near a small spit of beach that was roped off to keep the yachts from getting too close. We liked this spot because it was swimming distance over the turtle grass to get to it. After lunch we jumped overboard with snorkel and fins and leisurely made our way over to the beach. To get to it we looked down in several feet of water to see a couple of turtles foraging in the grass. They gave us a look and went back looking for food. After snorkeling on both sides of this narrow and sandy extension of the island we walked it back and forth looking for a specific purple toned rock as well as watched people come and go on their dinghies. Just as we were about to swim back to our catamaran Orlando showed up with the dinghy and took us to just inside where the water breaks to snorkel in the shallow area. There we saw lots of small tropical fish and various types of coral. We got back to Bulit just as a beautiful double ended rainbow appeared.

Dinner that night was a combination of "feather and fin". While they had originally planned on chicken, I was able to have a cut of fresh tuna that we caught a few hours earlier. Our first evening on board had us watching the stars above as well as movie on our computer.

Getting Under Way, The Back Side of Salt Whiskey Bay and A Carib Sunset

Our first morning on board had us wake to high winds. We watched the waves and white caps on the outside of the reef and were concerned about our dive plans this morning. Fortunately things calmed down a bit and Grenadine Dives from nearby Union Island came along side and picked us up. During our two dives we spotted large lobsters, a nurse shark, moral eels, a drum fish under a ledge and lots of smaller tropical fish. We also saw various types of soft and hard coral spread out. All in all we were pleased with the dive and more important the ease of being picked up and delivered to our boat. Between dives we were pointed out the small beach at Petite Tabac not far from the boat. Petite Tabac had a scene filmed from the Pirates of the Caribbean where Capt Sparrow was marooned with his leading lady, a barrel of rum and one shot in his pistol. During the scene he gets upset because his rum is burned in what is hoped to be used as a signal.

No Crowds On Pristine Salt Whiskey Bay On Mayreau Island Make Shift BBQ / Bar On Beach

After our dive we motored an hour to a place I was anticipating called Salt Whiskey Bay on Mayreau Island. Salt Whiskey Bay is one of those picture perfect beaches one can visit only by boat. It is an unusual beach because on one side you have the wind and choppy seas of Atlantic while across a narrow sandy ridge you have the pretty bay and beach on the Caribbean side where it is calm and tranquil. The beach here is circular and long enough for a nice stroll. Commercialism is minimum with a restaurant closer to the Atlantic side and at the farthest end of the bay a small bar/BBQ joint announcing "The last bar before the jungle". Like all the other beaches we visited in St Vincent, there was no one to hassle you to buy anything and we were not worried about our things being taken while splashing around. The bay itself had about 20 boats scattered about on anchor but barely a dozen people spread out on the fine powder crescent beach itself. After strolling to each end of the beach we floated about in the calm water and napped on the sand underneath a palm tree for most of the afternoon.

Beautiful and Rugged Union Island As Seen From Mayreau With Four Master In Foreground

Late in the afternoon Orlando picked us up on the dinghy and told us we were going to spend the evening on the anchor in the bay in front of the small town called Old Wall where a few hundred people live on the hill above. He also arranged for me to buy a lobster on the dock that would be dinner that night. Mayreau is the smallest inhabited island in the Grenadines taking up only 1.5 square mile. After showering and changing we took the dinghy to the town dock and purchased the lobster. We then proceeded uphill to a small bar with an incredible view of Union Island and the sunset. As we were making our way up the hill we heard the loud blast of the ferry coming into the harbor. That set off what seemed like a quarter of the residents making their way down the steep hill by foot, small pick up and even a bulldozer that used its loader to haul the freight coming in back up the hill. The town has one main street with a few stores, a couple of churches and couple of restaurants that were not busy. Mayreau was also the last island to get electricity centrally from one generator only 10 years ago. After a local beer while watching the sunset it was back down the hill to the dinghy for our wood grilled lobster and lamb chop dinner.

The next morning we woke up to blue skies and clear view to Union Island's unusual geological features. In the foreground was a five mast cruise ship that framed the scenery nicely. After weighing anchor we motored into the wind for an hour passing the island of Canouan. Once passed we reefed the sails for a serious ride to Bequia (Pronounced Beekway). Maureen took the helm at that time and we were hauling with winds between 30 and 40 knots. I have never sailed in winds that high and it was a great experience to learn how to do it. Seas were cooperating with swells averaging around six feet giving us a good ride. (See a 90 second video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBAfSo2_u3Q ) Arriving at Bequia we dropped anchor in Admiralty Bay in the harbor town of Port Elizabeth. Here Ricky prepared another good lunch followed by Orlando dropping us off on the adjacent Princess Margaret Beach. This beach bears her name because of her visit and swim here.

Maureen At The Helm In 30 to 40 Knot Winds Admiralty Bay, Bequia

One of the fun things about spending time exploring the different islands is seeing the different beaches. Princess Margaret is yet another perfect beach. On one side there is a small hotel on a bluff with a bar/restaurant beach side while on the far side there is a unique arch hideaway area. In the middle there is a lady renting chairs and as well as a place for cold beer. We walked end to end on the fine sand taking pictures under and around the arch. Afterwards we placed our stuff under a shaded tree on the sand and spend the next couple hours mostly swimming. On this beautiful day we shared the entire beach with about a dozen people. Around 4PM Orlando picked us up and after a quick change on board took us to a dock where we met by a driver for a 90 minute island tour.

Princess Margaret Beach, Another Perfect Grenadine Island Beach On Bequia

Bequia is the largest island of the Grenadines measuring about 7 square miles with about 4500 people living on it. The main town is Port Elizabeth but there are other settlements scattered about. It is the closest island to St. Vincent being only 10 miles away. Bequia is known few a things in this region. One of them is their permission to hunt for no more than four humpback whales during season. This has to be done in sailing boats using harpoons. I was told they rarely make their limit and when they do, much of island is involved when it is brought ashore. Bequia is also known for their miniature boat building. Our guide stopped at Sargeant's Model Boat Shop just on the outside of town. This family run store was established since 1966 and uses only hand tools and locally sustainable woods to make perfect miniatures of sail and motor yachts. Here we watched a craftsman work on a 3 foot sailing yacht that will sell to its owner for $4000! Our tour continued to the small fort complete with canons that protected the harbor having a great view. From here we drove through the fertile hills with a stop at the Firefly Inn Bequia to see their plantation. We continued past the turtle sanctuary with sweeping views of the far side of the island making our way to Friendship Bay before heading back to the Bulit for dinner.

Erie Looking Moonhole Villa Built Under A Large Arch Master Craftsman and his Boat Models

On our last morning on board we borrowed the dinghy to stroll and shop in town. Before heading in we back tracked to Princess Margaret Beach where I left my hat under a tree the day before. We had a minor miss hap when a small wave swamped us as we pulled it up shore. (We were very happy we used our small water proof bag for the phone!) While emptying the dinghy I was surprised when Maureen found my hat propped up on a tree stump by someone confirming this is one friendly island. From the beach we were heading down the bay until another boater waved us in and requested a lift into town. You meet interesting people when you travel and this was no exception. We pulled the dinghy to a 35 foot simple no frills trimaran. This was a 3 hulled boat meant for speed but not comfort. The idea of this Swiss sailors boat was to go fast using the extra hull as balance in the wind. It looked a bit too rustic and small to be heading to the islands of Pacific Southwest via the Panama Canal. While we are not experts in open ocean cruising neither Maureen nor I could imagine being in that boat other than short distances. We dropped him off at the town dock, wished him only the best and went our separate ways looking at the produce market and a few stores. After seeing town we went back to the Bulit to be ready for the sail across the channel to St Vincent. Our crossing to St Vincent had us hug forested Bequia cliffs that went into the ocean. While the drop down from the mountains did not nearly have the heights of Kauai it did remind us of them. From Bequia we tacked in a 20 knot wind and 3 foot seas for the crossing the channel. As we got close Orlando pointed out the small domed shaped island of Fort Duvernette just 50 yards from Young Island. Pulling around Young Island we saw the cottages and beach that would be our home for the next 4 nights. We also realized that Part Two of our St. Vincent and Grenadines trip is ending but we are happy to start on part three.

Part Three: Downtime (mostly) on Young Island Resort

Part three of our trip was to be our down time. Orlando ferried our luggage and then ourselves from Bulit to the ferry dock on Young Island. From there we were escorted to the office to check in and then to cottage number 30 at the top of the hill past the other two cottages in that row. Young Island is an upscale resort with gourmet food and laundry included in the package so as soon we unpacked we handed the staff our clothes from the first two thirds of the trip. (we liked this because it made carryon luggage possible) Cottage 30 was one of a few of their top end type accommodations which included a separate living area, a large private balcony that had lounge chairs, large hammock and small private pool all with a great view. The bathroom had a separate room for the shower and toilet all with an open air screened in view of the ocean. We were told our cottage was nicer and larger than Johnny Depp's suite when he was filming Pirates here. (he had suite 6)

The Beach At Young Island Resort With Bar Just Off The Beach

Young Island Resort is a pretty domed shaped 29 acre island about 200 yards off St Vincent. The grounds are naturally beautiful with suites and cottages mixed in with the vegetation all having a good view. Young Island also has a nice sandy beach with snorkeling amongst the boulders around the corner from the dock. The downside to the beach is that while lounging under an umbrella you don't have the traditional view of the open ocean. What you see from this beach is St. Vincent across the way. This was not a set back to us but I thought I would mention it. As all beaches on the island are public, on our arrival day there was a cruise ship in harbor that had water taxis send people to Young Island. The staff did set up a make shift line with a sign that kept the 50 or cruisers out of the guest only area of the beach with all the lounge chairs. The good news is that the beach was not crowded with them on it. Also, St. Vincent is not visited often by the cruise ships and none were expected over the next 5 days. The beach has kayaks, sail and peddle boats, hammocks and the small "Coconut Bar" sitting in four to six feet of water just off the beach. While we were there that bar was closed because the resort did not have enough guests to justify it being open. This was not a problem as the main bar was just steps from the beach where one can get a reasonably priced drink anytime. The restaurant also bordered the sand with tables being open air with only a roof to protect you from the sun or rain. Service for both bar and restaurant was excellent. We did not see much "island time" here. Behind the beach protected amongst the trees was a nice pool that we used when the breeze picked up

A Quiet Morning Starting With Fresh Coconut French Toast Flambé and a Relaxing Beach

For the next day and half we planted ourselves on the beach spending equal times floating and reading/napping and even snorkeling on the side of the island. One diversion of our day was watching a fishing boat beach itself summoning Chef Lucky to see if he needed any. Lucky came out and carefully inspected four Mahi's refusing "the boy fish" of the group and also took a tuna they had. We knew what fresh fish would for the next couple of nights. At the end of our days we made sure to be at our cottage and in our pool just before sunset.

ROAD TRIP: Windy Roads, Waterfalls, Gardens and Pirates!

On our third day at 8AM we arranged to be picked up at dock on St. Vincent by Lewis Auto who rented us a small SUV. After quick stop at the police station to pick up a drivers license and then to Lewis's store to sign the paperwork we were drove to the city center near the dock and parked. We wanted to see the locals doing their thing on market day. Here laid out all over the place were tables and blankets covered with different fruits, vegetables and some sort of roots. People seemed to be gossiping as much as selling. St. Vincent is a very fertile island and growing food here not a problem because of the volcanic rich soil and consistent weather. There is also plenty of water because its volcano extends to just over 4000 feet always condensing the clouds into rain high up.

Fruits, Vegetables, Roots and Even Home Made Brooms

After the market we headed up the leeward coast on a scenic windy and narrow road. St. Vincent is 18 miles long but can take 90 miles to reach the north. We were warned at the police station that the road is not for beginners and he reminded us the driving is British. Driving British style is easy for me and I have done it for years. (My secret is to tape a three inch paper under my line of sight with "Think Left" along with an arrow pointed left under it. The note is incase my mind drifts or I have to make an emergency turn.) Leaving Kingston we climbed a little and followed the road along the Caribbean Sea. Sometimes it went close to the coast and other times the road snaked its way high up and inland a bit before coming back to a fishing village or pretty bay. During the narrow sharp turns we beeped the horn as was customary on the roads. Everyone once in a while we would stop for a picture or make a note to stop on the way back. St. Vincent does not have a road that goes around the island so you have to return the same way you start out. One thing we discovered is that the road is actually easier to drive than the one from Marigot Bay to Soufriere in St. Lucia. Near the end of the leeward road we found the Dark View Falls sign marking our destination

Views From The Road

St Vincent has many waterfalls. Some are easy to get to by road, some require a good hike and one large one in the north requires a boat. Dark View Falls is actually a double falls with easy access. After turning off the road and following a dirt road we found two very pleasant ladies at a small parks department building. They told us how to get to the falls and offered various tourist information by the government on the island. They said there was no fee but mentioned that contributions to the park were appreciated of which we happily obliged. After parking the car we were pointed to the bamboo foot bridge that went over a small river. From there we followed a path to the lower falls. Dark View Falls drops an impressive 80 feet high into a small pool. The water flows then to a man made pool next to this where one can cool off. Past the pool was another path and steps to the upper falls which went down a very steep slope. We liked stopping here because of the lush vegetation, sounds and smell of the place. Not in a swimming mood, we headed back down the road to Waillabou.

Dark View Falls and Bamboo Bridge To Get To It (Above), Below Is Lush Forest, Upper Falls and Droplets Created From Mist

Our reason for stopping at Waillabou was twofold. One was to view another falls that we were told was just off the main road and other was to see where the staging area for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. We never found the turn off for the waterfalls and being hungry continued to a steep turn off on the main road that took us to a cove with a restaurant and warehouse. At first we saw the waterfront lined with canons, crates and open caskets. There were also a few sail boats anchored peacefully in the cove. It was a scenic and quiet place with a natural stone arch at the top of the bay.

Left Over Set Material From Pirates 2 and 3 Along With Shooting Schedules and Blue Prints of Sets

After parking we walked around the waterfront and warehouse. There were signs next to the fiberglass "made to look like wood" caskets welcoming people to step in stating what scene of the movie these were used in. Inside the open building and stapled to the wall were the actual laminated filming and crew instructions for many of the scenes. The story board of the movie as well as blue prints of the sets were also left unprotected and open for all to see and share. The waterfront had mostly real canons with a half fiberglass one that can fool anyone. We decided that one of the wooden crates used in the movie would be an ideal bench for the picnic lunch Young Island Resort prepared for us. In the adjacent building we saw rows of telephones over 50 years old along with some equally aged electronics but had no clue why they were there. After lunch went back to Kingston with a stop to took a look at the only large hotel on the island called Buccament. While we were not allowed on the property, our impression from what we saw seemed like any other large all inclusive place one would find in any of the more visited Caribbean islands. We were not impressed with the imported white sand that did not look proper. (not to mention probably not very good for the bay when it washes down in the rain).

The Oldest Gardens In The Western Hemisphere

From Buccament we arrived on the outskirts of Kingston to stop at the Botanical Gardens. At the entrance we hired a private guide to take us around. Our guide known as the "professor" took us patiently around the oldest botanical gardens in the Western Hemisphere started in 1765. Here he introduced us to many of the plants, trees and shrubs that were brought from all over the world. He also took us to what is probably the most photographed tree on the island. That was a breadfruit tree which was a descendent from the original tree that Captain Bligh brought from Polynesian islands. What I found interesting here is that British started this garden when they took the island. When the island was in French hands the garden was still kept it up. When it went back to the British, the former French officer that oversaw the island had such respect for the garden that he actually sent cuttings to the British of other specifies to preserve there. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and the detail put into it that we doubled the mandatory fee of $8 to the guide. There is no charge for the garden if you go on your own. From the Gardens we drove ten minutes to Fort Charlotte high on a bluff overlooking the Caribbean Sea and the Harbor. Fort Charlotte has a display of canons, old buildings with local art inside them. The view is worth the ride. From here we headed down the hill to return the car go back to Young Island Resort.

Fort Charlotte

Back at the resort we enjoyed the managers cocktail party that evening followed by the weekly BBQ. Managers cocktail parties in the Caribbean are usually a pleasant gathering of weak rum punches. What was nice here was that they brought the full bar down to the pool. We also mingled with the senior staff and several guests learning about the island. We enjoyed the BBQ in which we were treated to fresh Mahi, BBQ chicken and curried goat if you wanted to really go local. Various Caribbean side dishes were served including a new favorite we learned about which was baked plantains wrapped with bacon. (The sweet - salt taste with the crunchy outside - soft inside mix made it delicious.) That night Young Island Resort brought in a six piece steel drum band to entertain us.

Fresh Fish Brought To The Beach Cottage 30 Complete With Hammock and Small Pool

We decided our last day on vacation would be another down day. Breakfast started out as a fun and tasty treat. I ordered the Coconut French toast Flambéed. This was a piece of French toast topped with freshly shredded coconut. The waitress then poured St Vincent "strong rum" on top and lit it. She told me to douse the flame with maple syrup when I thought the coconut on top was roasted enough. I found this dish not only fun but tasty! Breakfasts here always included fresh fruit, five different breads to pick from cut table side, eggs, pancakes and the local fish breakfast. After breakfast we planted ourselves until lunch swimming and using the peddle boats. Later in the afternoon with the wind picking up we moved to our cottage more leeward of the wind. Here we stayed on our balcony using our lounge chairs and pool for the remainder of the day. Dinner that night was a fine meal of grilled filet mignon topped with a French sauce for Maureen while I had the seared tuna brought in the day before. It was meal worthy of any high end restaurant in New York or Long Island.

Leaving Young Island and St Vincent was very efficient. After the trying the local breakfast of grilled kingfish, johnnycake and some smoked ham we hopped on the ferry to taxi for the 10 minute ride to the airport. From there it was 2 hour connection in Barbados and home.

We came to St Vincent and the Grenadines because it sounded like a different place to visit in the Caribbean and to learn what was here. Our trip of ten nights was planned perfectly. We had a taste of laid back life on an exclusive island Mustique. Our three nights on the sail boat was a great way to be introduced to the beautiful Grenadines and our last four nights on Young Island off St Vincent was a good way to end the trip.

IF YOU GO:

Getting There:

The fastest and easiest way to get to St. Vincent is done through Barbados but you can get here using LIAT from other islands. St. Vincent presently has a small airport next to the Kingston and flies 36 passenger planes on LIAT and smaller ones from other regional airlines. A newer airport will be built in 2012 for larger planes. Flying into Mustique was on Grenadine Air. Our flight was arranged by Firefly Mustique. Many of the Grenadines can be flown in from St Vincent, Barbados and Grenada.

Firefly Mustique: You can find them at www.fireflymustique.com. This is a small upscale inn owned by Stan and Liz. Each suite is different and priced accordingly. It is always good to email about any specials. The package here includes three meals a day which can include a picnic lunch delivered to the beach of your choice. They also include transportation to anywhere you wish to go on the island just for the asking and give you a cell phone to call them anytime if you need anything. We found the food very good. We appreciated the fact that Liz arranged at our request to have the chef cook what is called "pepper pot", a Caribbean favorite of many people. There custom made pizza for lunch is worth every calorie. The center of entertainment is the bar adjacent to the restaurant where the staff is very attentive. Drinks can be a little pricey.

Young Island Resort: Information can be found at www.youngisland.com. They offer a range of packages and types of accommodations for different budgets and tastes. We opted for the "Sailaway" package which originally was two nights on the sailboat. We asked to be picked up in Mustique and do three nights of which we were charged another $650 on the package. Package includes 3 meals a day, transfers, basic laundry and water toys on the beach. The food here was very good for breakfast and lunch. The dinners were equivalent to going to an upscale restaurant. (They also honored our request to make their version Pepper Pot which we appreciated) We found the service on the island excellent overall.

Lewis Auto World: We used them to rent a small SUV. We found their service friendly and our SUV in excellent condition. You can email them at sales@lewisautoworld.com. Our rates were discounted off their web site

Fishing Boats Waiting To To Bequia Sunset

Some Food We Had Included Crab Cakes, Sautéed Snapper, Cheesy Pizza and Pepper Pot Twice. (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

All Images taken by Tab Hauser and are property of him. Any use of this web page must be asked for and granted permission for it use.

Email tab@tabhauser.com for any questions. home page www.tabhauser.com