Beautiful Bequia

Evening at Bequia

We arrived at Bequia (pronounced "Beck-way") expecting friends to join us for a week.  Unfortunately they had to cancel at the last minute due to a family emergency, so we suddenly had a week to spend enjoying the island on our own before brother Charlie and Sis-in-law Esther joined us on Oct. 30.  We hope our friends can re-schedule soon.

Bequia is a charming place with a unique mix of good restaurants and modern services with beautiful scenery and a relaxed Caribbean vibe.  It is a part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, located about 8 miles off the S coast of St. Vincent.  The population of the island is approximately 5,000.  We found the people very friendly, asking our names and giving us theirs, and often telling us their goals for the future.  We were surprised to find a Pizza Hut there, which also sold fresh baguettes:

One day we took the Belmont walkway along the waterfront, over a hill and along a rock wall  to the beautiful Princess Margaret Beach.  We could see our girl Avventura in the harbor from the top:

On Saturday Cindy volunteered with a youth reading program sponsored by Cheryl at the Fig Tree restaurant.  She splits children into age groups and has them take turns reading a book, then each group reports about what they read.  They are then served a snack and can check out a book to take home.  There were 11 boys and 1 girl present, it was a fun experience and we will try to send some books for their library when we get home.

The next day we attended worship at the Anglican church, a warm 2 hour service.  Two dogs wandered in and out of the open church, tumbling and play fighting in the aisles.  The Rector admonished the congregants to "pay your taxes and attend church regularly!" based on Jesus' words to give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's. It was a beautiful church and we were hugged and greeted warmly by all during the lengthy passing of the peace.

That afternoon we checked in to the lovely Plantation House resort for a few nights of rest on a bed that didn't move, good air conditioning (ours was a little anemic in the heat of the day) and pool access.  We were the second guests since they had just re-opened after an extensive renovation.  The former owner was an Italian mogul who got into trouble and had to flee, leaving the property to deteriorate for years.  We had to return to our boat each day to run the generator for awhile to charge the batteries, but  the room was lovely, the staff was unfailingly friendly and helpful and we had a wonderful stay.

Life is FABULOUS!

Some of the gaudy Italian statues placed by the former owner

View from the grounds

Towel elephant made by our housekeeping attendant

Friday was independence day for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, independent since 1979.  We assumed most places would be closed and so we had a quiet day on board Avventura, only to learn later that many businesses were open and we missed some fun activities on shore!  We did see the youth sailing regatta in the harbor, there is an active youth sailing program on the island.

Sunday we left early to sail 8 miles over to St. Vincent where brother Charlie Tantillo and his wife Esther were meeting us after flying in from Kansas City.  We had lunch on board and then headed back to Bequia, the start of a wonderful week exploring the Grenadines.

Our first full day with Charlie and Esther did not start well.  Our often temperamental generator quit and Rob spent the morning waiting for the local mechanic to come out and fix our problem.  Cindy, Charlie and Esther went to the beach and enjoyed some snorkeling.  The mechanic gave us the bad news that the problems with the generator were severe and that I should not put any more money into trying to fix it.  Until we can replace it, probably in St. Vincent, we will be on battery power, meaning trying to save every last amp so as to keep the battery charging by main engine as short as possible.  Sleeping was going to be hot without any air conditioning!

Charlie and Esther are good sports and handled this little setback without complaint.  We made the best of the remaining part of the day by going on a tour of the island with local taxi driver Bill, in the bed of his Toyota pickup truck that is outfitted with a canvas roof and benches.  The E side of the island with exposure to the wild Atlantic is craggy and rocky, but affords magnificent views over the whole of the Grenadines, including the islands of Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays and Union.  We visited several high points on the island, a tiny whaling museum and had a great dinner at the Bequia Beach Hotel at Friendship Bay on the S side of the island, where the food, service and beachfront view were all excellent.

We found Esther's bar!

Wild east side of Bequai.  

Beet and chevre salad at the Bequai Beach Hotel

The next morning we secured Avventura and set out on our 4 hour sail South to the Tobago Cays.  The seas and winds were easy, much better than our last transit of this area when we had big wind, storms and big waves!  The Tobago Cays are part of a National Park consisting of 3 small islands and several sets of fringing reefs.  No fishing is allowed in the park, so when snorkeling you see lots of fish and we even hung out with two sea turtles who were lazily munching on beds of sea grass.

The Tobago Cays are uninhabited, but they are served by locals who boat over from nearby Union and Mayreau islands.  The set up a large beach barbecue every night and sell meals, drinks and tour services to the visiting boats.  While they had plates, they asked their guests to bring their own silverware.  We had a huge dinner, with lobster, snapper, rice, potatoes and veggies and then with bellies stuffed, we turned in early.

The next day we explored Baradal island and then motored the 5 miles over to Saltwhistle Bay on the N end of Mayreau.  This is another small and charming island, population 300, and is also a part of St Vincent and the Grenadines.  Saltwhistle Bay has a small resort that is being rebuilt and several tiny beach bars, all with sand floors and tin roofs. The locals have vegetable gardens just behind the beach.  The goats are tied to stakes to munch the grass near the road.  The small children play in the shallow water on the beach under the watchful eyes of their parents who work in the few restaurants and bars.  The older children go to the small school, but secondary students must take a boat to Union Island every day to attend school.  We walked the beach, had lunch and tried the rum drinks at each of the bars.

Capt. Rob enjoys another beautiful sunset in another beautiful harbor

Late in the day we were back on Avventura in the harbor when a large sailing catamaran full of French tourists entered the bay and  in the process of trying to take a mooring just in front of us, they backed over the rope on their dinghy, which immediately wrapped around the prop on their starboard engine and stopped the engine with a shriek.  Pushed by the strong wind, they started to rapidly fall back on Avventura.  The captain responded quickly to drop his anchor, but the boat stopped just feet in front of us.  Over the next 90 minutes we were entertained but also a bit alarmed by the spectacle of nearly everyone on that boat jumping into the water and trying to free their propeller.  Apparently the charter company had not given them much in the way of tools, as they repeatedly had to borrow various tools from us.  At nearly sunset, they finally freed their engine and were able to move to an emptier part of the anchorage.

French Sailors trying to free their prop

The next morning, after a rolly night in the harbor, we caught a taxi to the main town on the island and then got our exercise by hiking back to Saltwhistle Bay.  The highest point on the island is occupied by a tiny, old Catholic Church and the view from behind the church over the Tobago Cays is magnificent!  As in all of the Grenadines, the residents were friendly and interesting and there appeared to be nearly as many bars as people on the island.

And we found Rob's bar!

When we returned to Avventura, we secured her for passage and left Mayreau for an uneventful and easy 4 hour trip back to Bequia.  We took a mooring in the harbor and grilled steaks for dinner.

On our last day with Charlie and Esther, the weather was a bit more blustery and rainy.  We enjoyed a shopping trip into the town of Port Elizabeth and then were lazy around the boat.  We capped the day with dinner of lobster pasta and lionfish at Papa's Restaurant on a hilltop overlooking the harbor.  Our guests left us the next morning on the first ferry over to St. Vincent.  I dropped them at the dinghy dock near the ferry at a bit after 6 AM.  Their return trip including the hour ferry ride, then an hour taxi to the St. Vincent airport, then flights to Trinidad, Miami and then Kansas City.  A very long day for them, but at least they could get home in one day.

Our final day in Bequia was spent preparing for our passage North to St. Lucia.  When crossing open ocean between these islands, you hope for easy seas, but most crossings will have some rough spots, particularly when strong winds wrap around the ends of islands and currents kick up unusual waves.  You want everything to be secured in all cabinets and lockers for these trips.  We had a final lunch at Jack's, our favorite beach bar, and then checked out of the country at the Customs office.  We were a bit melancholy to leave this idyllic island that we have learned to love, as we don't know when, if ever, we will visit here again.

Native Bequaian Willie, hand sailing his wooden boat in the harbor.  Best boat name ever!