Union Island to Bequia

We only stayed one night at our anchorage on Union Island. We decided to head north to the island of Bequia, pronounced Beck-way, which we had been told by a number of sailors we would love. They were right, we do love it but more about Bequia later.

The sail was very rough although Wyuna handled it very well. I had my stugeron but after approximately 7 hours of sailing with intermittent squalls of 25-30 knots, I succumbed to seasickness! Bruce, Gina & Mal thought I did pretty well to hang on so long considering the conditions. We arrived at sundown so anchored out the back with a view to moving the next day.

Bequia Harbour

We awoke to a most beautiful little bay and the township of Port Elizabeth. Bruce went ashore to check us all in to customs & immigration. We then spotted friends, Texans John & Linda from Kool Kat, another 47' leopard,  who pointed us in the right direction of a vacant spot closer to shore where we are now located. This is such a beautiful little town - clean, clear water and a really great blend of laid back village life with a small amount of tourism. Great shops for provisioning, great restaurants, art galleries, good snorkeling and clean beaches.

Mature Hawksbill Turtle

6 month old Hawksbill turtles

Yesterday we went with John & Linda on a tour of the island. It took us 3 hours and Terence a local taxi driver was our guide. We went across to the east coast which was pretty rugged and beautiful. There are many extraordinary houses with incredible views owned by internationals. We visited a hawksbill turtle farm where one man is trying to protect a threatened species. Locals like to eat them and use their shell. We've noticed turtles swimming around the boat so we hope this is a sign of his good work. He retrieves eggs and rears them himself before returning to the wild. At the end of the trip we all sat down for a quiet one at a gorgeous little cafe/restaurant/bar by the water - The Gingerbread House (photo below). Life is pretty good.

Mal, Gina, Bruce, Linda & John

Our first night here John & Linda invited us on board for dinner and we were treated to Linda's special Kool Kat rum punch! Wow did we knock those back - they were fantastic. We had a great night and caught up on all their news since we'd last seen them in Port Louis. Last night we went to dinner with 2 more Texans, Steve & Alice. Mal had lobster again; a whole lobster served with veggies and salad for 60EC, approx $20! Everday since I've been in The Caribbean, a boat boy has come past selling fresh lobster; who would have thought we'd be saying no because we have had too much! The restaurant had a local singer performing, Amanda Gooding, who was great. She is performing at the Bequia Music Festival later this month and a couple of us bought her CD.

Bougainvillea on day's tour of island

Having a quiet one after day's tour

Crescent Beach, Bequia

We like this place so we've decided to chill here for a few days and then head to St Lucia. St Vincents is actually the next island but we've been warned against going there by several yachties as it is becoming quite a violent place. Not like here which caters for the yachting community and thrives on visitors. St Lucia is another country which we hope to spend 4-5 days in and then on to Martinique which is a French island. Mal & I are hoping to change our flights so we can fly out of Martinique direct to Miami rather than having to return to Grenada but if we can't change them we'll fly to Grenada for our scheduled flights.

Spring Bay, Bequia

Today we refueled with a floating '7-Eleven' called Daffodil (picture at right); they provide diesel, water, ice, laundry, etc. Sooooo convenient and a good example of how the island caters for the yachting community. The fruit & veg are really good here and Gina & I had a rather interesting experience at the market. Our Lonely Planet guide warned us about the aggressive nature of the Rastafarians at the market but we went in the afternoon thinking they may be less aggressive towards the end of the day..... WRONG. The two of us had a list of what we wanted to buy but boy we were hammered from every which way. We had three or four of them at a time asking if we wanted this or that; some breadfruit? some soursop? some avocado? some passionfruit, etc, etc, etc..... In the end we walked away with masses of fruit and veg that should last us a few weeks!

Gina & I took the dinghy into Princess Margaret beach for a swim around 5.30pm; what a beach! It is long, clean and the water was delightful. Fancy swimming at that time of night and not feeling cold either in the water or when you get out! It's called Princess Margaret beach because she swam there in 1958! Anyway, just another day in paradise..... we like it here!