Grenada, Bequia and Islands In Between

November 2 - 13, 2014

42 - Grenada, 41 - Carriacou, 37 - Bequia, 38 - Mayreau
39 - Tobago Cays, 40 - Union Island, 41 - Carriacou
42 - Grenada

Gail and John had never visited this part of the Caribbean so we decided to back track and show them one of our favorite islands while we made a few other stops on the way.  Bequia was our destination.  That was about a 90 mile trip from Grenada. 

This is a small portion of the road we
climbed on our way to the Little Dipper.
The rest is around the bend.

Before leaving Grenada we stopped for a night in Clarks Court Bay.  After a dingy ride to explore the bay, we began looking for a restaurant.  We quickly found that most of the restaurants are closed on Monday.  The bartender at the Whisper Cove Marina made a call to Joan at The Little Dipper.  She said she would make us lunch.  He gave us directions  and sent us off on a trail through the woods that took us to a road.  Upon reaching the road it was a "5 minute" walk to the cafe.  He neglected to say that it was all up hill -- up a very steep hill!  The residents of the islands walk a lot. I'm sure that the hills mean nothing to them.  It's a terrain that they are used to.  Well, for me in high 80 degree temperatures and high humidity it was a challenge.  Never the less all four of us arrived for lunch and were treated to a meal of local favorites.  Even vegetables like eggplant were prepared in a way that we didn't recognize.  The lunch was very good and Joan was delightful.       

A beautiful view and you are looking at half of
this tiny restaurant.

Joan -- the owner, chef and waitress.

Below this water lives Kick Em Jenny.  Carriacou
is in the background.

Between Grenada and Carriacou is, what appears to be, an unremarkable body of water.  However, our charts show a 1.5 kilometer wide exclusion zone near the northern end of Grenada.  This is the underwater home of Kick Em Jenny, an active underwater volcano.  If a boat is in that cautionary circle and the volcano erupts, it will loose it's buoyancy and sink.  Enough said -- we avoided the zone.        

Relaxing at the Slipway as we anticipate dinner.

Our trip to Carriacou had been 48 miles of turbulent water.  And, of course, we did NOT have following seas.  We arrived in time to drop the dingy in Tyrrel Bay and tour the area.  Normally, we prefer to eat lunch in restaurants and be back to the boat before dark.  I guess we will never be confused with the wild party crowd.  We did break our rule that night to go to the Slipway Restaurant.  All four of us ordered the lobster tail dinner.  It was fabulous!!!  The next day we faced another 48 miles to Bequia, so we called it an early night.

Admirality Bay

Bequia looked as beautiful as we remembered.  It is small enough to have the untouched island atmosphere and yet some interesting shopping and restaurants.  Most of our provisioning was done at the legendary Doris Fresh Foods although we did purchase produce from the small stands on main street.  Richard, the whale bone carver, had his unassuming card table set up near the dingy dock along with other crafts people.  Two good lunches were enjoyed: first at the Gingerbread House and the second at L'Auberge Des Grenadines.  We still count Bequia among our favorites.            

A paved path along the bay.
Walking to the Gingerbread House.

A view of the bay from lunch.

L'Auberge Des Grenadines was used in a segment
with Anthony Bourdain.  I had a fabulous sandwich:
bacon, lobster and tomato!  No pride -- I was licking
my fingers to get every morsel.  Another beautiful
view of the bay from our table.  

    

A gorgeous sunset for our last night in Bequia.

We awoke Saturday to find a cruise ship in the
bay.  While I am happy for the entrepreneurs of
Bequia, I am sad to think that this perfect little
island could change due to too much exposure.
Did I say "GRAY DAY"!  

'The plan' was to leave Bequia on Saturday morning.  Two things happened Friday night to change that plan:  our house batteries were not charging properly and it began to pour rain.  This is the first day since we left Miami last year that has been a total wash out. The sky is gray and the rain comes in heavy waves.  We call it a free boat wash!  Rain doesn't stop us from traveling but high winds do.  Brian worked his magic on the batteries.  He equalized them which was a full day's job.  The good news is they are holding a charge again.  

Trying to make the most of a quiet day, we flagged Da Rock for a taxi ride back to L'Auberge Des Grenadines for lunch.  Da Rock is quite the character.  He cruises the bay shirtless flexing his muscles while he waits for business.  His real name is Shelton Morgan but Da Rock just seems more appropriate. Gail and I had a good time flexing our muscles and acting like silly school girls while we waited for our ride.  

Guess who?  I should also add -- he is a
very nice person.  We had an interesting
conversation with him about island life 
and how you must be careful not to marry
 your cousin! 

Our taxi picking us up after lunch.

The blue sky broke through offering us a beautiful
day.  Saline Bay -- so much prettier in person.  A
perfect palm lined beach with clear blue water.   

With the batteries behaving much better, we left Bequia on Sunday morning.  It was a rough ride to Mayreau (6 - 8 foot waves with a few 10 footers).  Saline Bay gave us good protection from the wind and swells.  It poured rain for the most of the night insuring that the boat was once again salt free.  Everyone participated in preparing a delicious dinner:  pork tenderloin grilled with a lingonberry sauce and roasted vegetables.  Monday, turned out to be a day trip to Tobago Cays.  We thought we would spend the night, but it was too rolly.  Instead we came back to Mayreau after a beautiful afternoon swimming and exploring the area in our dingy.   

 

The water felt like a bathtub.  It was heavenly!

 

Tobago Cays -- on the other side of the reef a small
island, a lot of ocean and then Africa...nothing else.

Downtown Clifton on Union Island.

        

The Barracuda Restaurant was recently opened by
a couple from Italy that decided life was getting a
bit boring.  Not any more!  Our lunch was very good.  

Another day trip took us to Union Island.  We thought we might stay there, but once again it was too rolly to be comfortable.  After walking around town, buying vegetables and having lunch we made a quick exit to Carriacou.  It was only 14 miles.  One of the great things about retracing our steps is we get to enjoy some of our favorite restaurants for a second time.  The Slipway in Tyrell Bay is on that elite list! 

Happy Island is built on a reef out of discarded conch
shells.  Janti created it by hand and solved two
problems:  disposal of conch shells on the local
beach and a location for his bar/restaurant.   

Gotta smile -- we're loviin the ride!









Our side trip to Bequia was completed as we arrived back at the Port Louis Marina in Grenada.  Friday will be a busy day as we prepare for our departure to Tobago.  The weather will be checked and rechecked, diesel will be delivered in the morning and then it is off to the grocery, bakery and marine store for final provisioning.  If the weather still looks good, we will leave for Tobago a half hour before dawn on Saturday morning.  It sure would be nice to have following seas for our 75 mile trip!