Sweet Bequia Once Again

 We're sailing on the Catamaran Dakota Dream with our friend Fred Johnson to Molinere Beauséjour Marine underwater park near St. Georges, Grenada to do some snorkeling.  Maria notices a catamaran sails a bit differently than Aspen.

Suiting up for some nice snorkeling at Molinere Beauséjour Marine park, Grenada with Fred.

About 25 feet down we tried to make new friends.

This is the famous ring of underwater statutes at Molinere Beauséjour Marine park near St. Georges, Grenada.

A busy Saturday market in St. Georges, Grenada

Maria walking the harbour with the fishing fleet in St. Georges, Grenada

Tyrell Bay, Carriacou.  The sailors have arrived for the season!

Wonder if this burro on Carriacou would like to do some burro racing, Colorado style?

That is Aspen we are headed toward

Port Louis Marina, St. Georges, Grenada.  Aspen is at the red arrow.

The view from Mac's Pizza on Sweet Bequia, St. Vincent/Grenadines

Mac's famous lobster pizza, Bequia, SVG

 Taking the ferry from Bequia to the mainland, St. Vincent

Our friends on Peace Keeper, Kitty and Skip, traveled on the ferry with us to St. Vincent

Aspen in Admiralty Bay, Bequia, SVG.  Aspen is in the center of the picture.

Ottley Hall boatyard, St. Vincent.  This is the leeward coast of St. Vincent.

 Maria exploring Fort Charlotte overlooking Kingstown, St. Vincent

Another petroglyph on St. Vincent.  Notice the nice lady keeping the dog under control for us!  Our taxi is the white van in the background.

Maria enjoying a mid-morning snack of salt fish and breadfruit in St. Vincent.  That is a popular local dish.

Layou petroglyph, St. Vincent

 "Cleaning crew" on St. Vincent.  The locals are cleaning up many areas before the Christmas holidays.

 Kingstown, St. Vincent market street.  There is so much shopping here!

 Layou petroglyph and the stream where the rock resides

The intrepid explorer, Steve, checking out the Layou petroglyph

S/Y Aspen – December 1, 2018 – Log #159
Aspen Position: 13 degrees 00’ N  061 degrees 14’ W
Bequia, St. Vincent/Grenadines, Caribbean

Dropping our dock lines at Port Louis Marina, Grenada is always a thrill.  That means we are out sailing again!

After a brisk sail north, we stopped in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou so Admiral Maria could visit the small fish market to find conch (lambi). 

At a cost of less than $2 a conch it is a great deal, especially since the conch are fresh, cleaned and ready to cook.

Cracked conch is how Maria prepared the lambi and we had a veritable feast.  First you viciously beat the conch meat to tenderize it followed by soaking the lambi in lime sauce.  Maria then coats the lambi with an egg and Bread crumb mixture before frying it. 

The Bahamas is known for their conch but down here in the southern Caribbean, conch is also a staple of many local diets.  It is fantastic to say the least!

Captain Steve also wanted to get a haircut and that always keeps Maria entertained, watching the local barber cut Steve’s “kind of hair”.

Landfall in sweet Bequia was next on our journey after leaving Carriacou.  Mac’s pizza is still THE place to have lobster pizza.  Every mouthful of pizza contains a big piece of local langusta (lobster).

Bequia is known for their model boat building, a place to have sail or canvas work done for the boat and the best vibe in the southern Caribbean.  Laid back is a good word for the anchorage in Admirality Bay, Bequia. 

Sailor friends of ours are scattered throughout the anchorage and catching up with them is a great way to watch the days float by. 

Bequia is also a great place to hike and explore with distant islands visible in the far distance, white sand beaches to bury our toes and an occasional tropical rum drink to quench our thirst.

The Bequia Express ferry took us to the mainland, Kingstown St. Vincent with a 1 hour ferry ride.  We usually don’t take Aspen to the mainland because of “security issues” and the ferry makes the trip with a lot less effort against the nasty seas and winds.

Why did we want to visit the mainland?  To see rocks of course!  Well, actually ancient petroglyphs from Amerindian (Kalinago) times.

St. Vincent is not a tourist island.  There is so much potential for tourism but the locals just don’t seem to embrace having lots of foreigners invading their island. 

As we walked through the crowded Friday market, no one gave us a second look, even though it was obvious we were not one of them.  That was a pleasant surprise, to be treated just like everyone else and not singled out for special treatment.

The petroglyphs were spectacular and well worth the visit too, even though the St. Vincent culture made our visit very special.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

Also, our book, Voyage Into Hell, is available at Amazon.com