Idleness in Bequia
Oriole
Sun 28 Feb 2016 14:30
Admiralty Bay Bequia,
SVG
Sunday 28th February 2016
We have to confess that after the frenetic activity
in Trinidad we have had a pretty idle week. Friends have been arriving and
friends have been leaving and all these arrivals and departures are celebrated
with drinks or meals aboard or ashore - well all the celebratory meals have
been ashore. There are myriad restaurants to choose from in Bequia from
the very expensive to the very cheap and cheerful On one evening we met
with 7 friends from three boats and toured three establishments for rum
punch and supper. The sum total for 2 strong rums and supper came to 32EC$
which is just under £10 per head. During the week we have met up with
friends on no less than 7 yachts.
Wednesday was exercise day and we hired Martine,
our favourite French ex-charter yacht operator living in Bequia, to take us off
piste walking in the wilds of Bequia. Sadly there are not many really wild
places the go but for the first 4 hours of our 6 hour walk we saw not a
soul. Walk is perhaps a slight misnoma. Walk - yes but interspersed
with snacks of mango on the two deserted beaches we passed, some pretty serious
uphill scrambling, a swim and lunch on one of the most popular long beaches
which we had almost to ourselves.
Fortified with our mango snack we are
ready to continue.
Perhaps it does not look it, but it's
quite a climb up from the beach and it's HOT!
Many people over the years have asked us which is
our favourite island to recommend for a holiday. To which our answer is
always "It depends what you want" If you want a typical relatively
unspoilt small Caribbean island with almost no resort activity with good
beaches, friendly locals and far off the beaten track Bequia is great, but you
make your own entertainment. Acess is via Barbados and then light
aeroplane, or Barbados, then small aeroplane to St Vincent and 1 hour ferry to
Bequia. So only those who understand the charms of Bequia take the trouble
(and expense). It's ideal for yachties and for us hard to
beat.
Next week the winds are forecast relativly light so
we have to pick the best sailing day to get up to St Lucia to meet some more
friends who were of enormous help when Oriole got trashed, and we have not seen
them since.
Friday and Saturday was 6 Nations Rugby
watching so for a fortnight the Admiral will not have itchy
feet.