Bat out of hell

Casamara
John & Susan Simpson
Tue 1 Feb 2022 18:24
It seems fitting to pay tribute to Meat Loaf, who died just a couple of weeks ago, whilst we are on the island of Mustique, the haunt of many a famous musician.  The day we heard Meat Loaf had died we watched a series of his music videos, played his songs (including Bat out of Hell) and did our best to find a song of his that we could play ourselves.  We gave up … his brand of theatrical rock was just too much for the two of us on guitar and violin to get anywhere near!

We are here during the Mustique Blues Festival and looking forward to hearing some live music tonight in the famous Basil’s Bar.  Last night we were there for a meal and, whilst there was no live music on then, the sound system was superb and they were playing some great Blues tracks.  The waiters were jigging along and really enjoying themselves so we think tonight with a live band should be even better.  

Today we went for a walk around the island, or as much of it as visitors are allowed to see.  Mustique is a haven for people who value their privacy and visitors are limited in where they can go.  Mustique was bought in 1958 by Lord Glenconnor for the princely sum of £45,000 and at the time there were no mod cons, not even running water.  Originally he planned to grow cotton but when that proved not to be viable he conceived the vision of Mustique as it is today. - a pristine Caribbean haven for the rich and famous.  Those who can afford to buy land and build homes here become shareholders in The Mustique Company which maintains the island to preserve this vision.  The Mustique website describes preserving the pristine Caribbean island with which Lord Glenconnor first fell in love, and it certainly is in fabulous condition.  The beaches are the cleanest and whitest we have seen, and the sea is as clear and turquoise blue as it is possible to be.  There’s no litter, no holes in the roads, no unfinished buildings, no stray dogs and no goats bleating by the roadside.  So actually, it doesn’t really feel Caribbean at all!  As we walked about the island we had the distinct impression we had wandered into an English model village.  We saw the library, the police station, the primary school and all were tiny, quaint pink and white buildings nestled in neatly trimmed lawns with rows of palm trees spaced evenly apart.  Yet there were no people in any of these places.  The only people we saw were scurrying about in golf buggies along the tiny roads.  We stopped for a drink at the Cotton House, a ‘boutique’ hotel on the beach in Cheltenham (very appropriate!), and loved their beautifully appointed beach bar.  The sand, sea and sky were the perfect shades of white, turquoise and blue.  Every uniformly shaped sky blue cushion was neatly placed in exactly the right spot on the white wicker chairs.  Every turquoise parasol was lined up exactly between each pair of perfectly placed sunbeds.  This is a place where perfection matters.  Goodness knows what the guests thought to the two rag-tag people who wandered in and littered their bar area!  We didn’t take any photos because we didn’t want to offend anyone who might be rich and famous, but here are a few other photos from our walk.

Mustique Fish Market and fishing boats


Boom Boom Corner, next to the airport.  We felt we could have been in the English countryside!

Casamara in Britannia Bay


Basil’s Bar

Yesterday evening, after our trip to Basil’s Bar, we sat in Casamara’s cockpit enjoying a cup of coffee and the cool evening air.  The rocking of the boat was quite soporific and I was struggling to keep my eyes open so I went to get into bed, leaving John to finish the chapter of the book he was reading.  I sat in bed reading for a few minutes when suddenly I saw a shadow flash by out of the corner of my eye.  I couldn’t immediately see what had happened but, looking up, an enormous bat came flying at speed back down the corridor from the main saloon straight towards me in bed.  My very own bat out of hell! I don’t know who screamed loudest, me or the bat, but it clearly decided this was no place for any self-respecting bat to be and, after doing a circuit of our cabin, raced off back to the main saloon and out of the hatch to the night sky.  All hatches were firmly shuttered for the rest of the night!