Island Hopping in the Grenadines

Bequia, Mustique, Mayreau, Tobago Cays, Union Island, Petit St. Vincent, Petite Martinique (actually part of Grenada but included on our Grenadines cruise) and Palm Island.  Eight islands or archapelagos in the case of Tobago Cays and nine anchorages.  Each within eye sight if not a stones throw and each unique with it’s own vibe.  And all south of the hurricane zone as bounded by our insurance company so we could take our time which we did spending nights to weeks in each anchorage.

We hiked, snorkelled, enjoyed local food in the form of beach barbecues plied by boat boys/men, climbed, kayaked, met friends and had a mini Antares gathering of three boats, Milly, Zooropa and Exit Strategy.  In Bequia we watched the island premier of "Vanishing Sails" about traditional boatbuilding on the islands.  The theatre was outdoors under palms and a sky full of stars.  The screen fluttered in the breeze.  And we think that's where we got Zika.

First, Bequia

We were astonished when we arrived in Bequia to see a wintry forest.  By the end of the dry season, the leaves had dried and fallen, reminding us of an Ontario winter in 30 degree heat.  During a downpour, one day a local was dancing in the rain, thrilled that it was wet.

Dry grass but lovely islands to the south.

From Peggy's Rock, a gorgeous view of the harbour and beaches.  We started our climb at 7:00 a.m. in an attempt to beat the heat.  On the way, the roads were busy with local van buses racing to see who could pick up as the most school kids who looked pristine in their uniforms. 

A steep decent.  We decided to pick our way through the brush down this slope to avoid the longer way home.  A few wrong turns, some thorny punctures and dirty bottoms later, we made it to the beach.

The intrepid hikers strike again. We had met Brenda and Rick in Nevis where we hiked the Nevis Peak trail.  Shared a few cocktails - Rick makes an amazing assortment - and Peggy's Rock.

Enterprising locals sell almost anything from their homemade vessel.

The anchorage.  Only the cacti and palms were green.

Boatbuilding is a local tradition in Bequia.  The islanders are allowed to catch three whales a season using traditional methods.  No whales for the past two years.

The flamboyant trees started to bloom as the rain began to fall.

A hawksbill turtle sanctuary in Bequia.  This turtle did not enjoy being picked up and who can blame him.  He showed his displeasure by pounding me with his flippers.  

This more polite guy held his flippers out steadily so Peter had it easy.

I tried again and the same turtle was much more cooperative.

Bequia

Then Mustique, followed by Mayreau

After the glam and tidy affluence of Mustique, Mayreau's poverty and primitive living was startling.  The anchorage, Saltwhistle Bay was delightful but the single, tiny town at the top of the only hill was sadly neglected with obvious unemployment on a grand scale.

Saltwhistle Bay barbecue shack line up.  Peter and I enjoyed a barbecue at our boat boy's establishment.  We were the only customers at a table in the sand with tablecloth.  

The tidiest part of town.

A rasta bar decorated with every scrap of beach flora, fauna and trash? you can imagine.  Always something to look at.

The school.  Compare this to the sweet, little gingerbread number in Mustique.  Oh dear.

The Tobago Cays where we were headed.  Gorgeous blues.

Cemeteries are intriguing and always unique to the island.

Milly in Saltwhistle Bay.  Our neighbour was Splinter whose solo sailor captain from Britain became our hiking buddy.  Splinter is a 21 foot TransAt.  Tony has sailed south from England, crossed the Atlantic and cruised around the Caribbean in his fast but tiny handmade - by him - boat!  He's big, it's tiny!

That bit of beach with the few palms was a narrow isthmus, beautiful white sand beach on both sides.  The little island you see is the Tobago Cays.

Onward to Tobago Cays.  In Mayreau and Tobago Cays, Milly became an infirmary when both Peter and I came down with Zika, one of the mosquito bourne viruses, which slowed us down for about a week with joint pain, malaise, achy eyes, fever and an unsightly, but not itchy, rash.  Milly proved to be a comfy place to flake out.

In the Cays, on full recovery mode, we had shorter walks, sighting dinosaur-like iguanas and snorkelling with hundreds of green turtles.  We hosted an Antares dinner with a full barbecue dinner delivered to Milly by boat.  A real gem of an archipelago.

The water was clear and unbelievably blue!  Absolutely gorgeous.

This island, on the far side of the protective reef, was featured in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean.  And for good reason.

Best snorkelling yet because of the clear water.  A parrot fish snacking of the coral.

A National Geographic quality pic.  There were hundreds of turtles swimming about.  

A flounder - strange!

Walking to the peak of the island after snorkelling meant picking our way shoeless.  Milly, palm tree, white sand - ignore the struggling hiker.

A reef surrounds the Cays so Milly was in flat water protected from the rolling Atlantic.

Amazing colours.  Can't get enough of it.

Prehistoric iguanas loved the islands.  They did this weird head wagging which we have yet to google.

We ordered a dinner for delivery from this take out joint  to host our Antares buddies.

The Grenadines were pretty much line of sight to each of the islands.  Easy, relaxed sailing for Zika sufferers.  Perfect.

We followed Zooropa to Union Island.  Clifton, the teeny capitol, is a shallow bay where kite boarders fly on the flat water behind the reef.  However, we didn't stick around - there has been some crime against cruisers there.  Instead, we went to the leeward side of the island to the huge Chatham Bay.  As usual we hiked.

The Yacht Club in Clifton.  Actually the town has developed about 400 m of it's waterfront really well.  It even has a shark pool restaurant - without sharks.

The view of the Clifton harbour with Sandy Island in the background.  More incredible blues.

Tobago Cays.

Mayreau.

Happy Island in Clifton harbour, reportedly conch shell landfill.

Many of these friendly looking tortoises met on our hike on Union.  Also a snake that seemed to be more afraid of us than I was of him.

Lots of Grenadines.

Chatham Bay on Union Island where we spent several days.  Milly is the big white dot.  Splinter is the tiny one.

Then to the private island of Petite St Vincent anchorage.  The island has been developed into a super exclusive resort with idylic looking and very private cabins/mini villas peeking out of the lush greenery onto the beach.  Next best place to stay after Milly.  The likes of us were only allowed to walk 200 m of the beach and have a super expensive drink at the very lovely beach bar.

The resort was or is a Relais et Chateaux but it's flag is wind torn and not up to the exclusivity of the place.  Milly looks right at home though.

Perhaps you can just see the well spaced villas peaking out onto this white sand beach.  We were not welcome at this part.

Next day we took TomTom across the channel to Petite Martinique, another traditional boat building island.  We walked the only road in about an hour and checked out one of two grocery stores.  Sweet island but not sure how the residents can get their greens or any kind of variety in their diet.

The school had all kinds of facts and figures painted by kids on the shutters and walls.  A great project by a keen teacher.

A tiny island with one beach umbrella was a popular place to stop.  

Lunch stop at Sandy Island, another beautiful beach, before making our way back to Clifton to clear out of the St Vincent and the Grenadines.

We swam ashore to Sandy Island, walked the beach and then enjoyed lunch on Milly.  Another beautiful spot with lovely villas.

Sandy Island beach.  Not too shabby!

All in all, The Grenadines was superb!  Beautiful water, tranquil seas, white sand beaches - all things quintessentially Caribbean - with a bit of Zika thrown into the mix.  We are now immune.