Monday 19-March: We awake to our new view, moored in the channel between Young Island and the mainland of St.Vincent. It’s a clear morning and we can see all the way up the steep vivid green slopes of St.Vincent.
Our first exploration is to Young Island resort which is apparently popular with honeymooners. Its cottage rooms are set in lush gardens with a pleasant little beach in front. But we are now somewhat spoiled for beaches so this one doesn’t really inspire us. So it’s off across the channel to see what lies nearby on the mainland. We are immediately intercepted by the same pushy guy as yesterday who wants to know when we need a taxi. He takes our rubbish bag for a fee of 5EC. He is helpful … by annoying.
We wander along the road, passed uninspiring bars and small hotels and eventually get back to the Blue Lagoon marina, which we quickly decide feels a much safer place to be moored. After a bit of negotiation via a very helpful local guy, we secure a mooring buoy then head back to Cloudy Bay to move her.
It’s only 1/2 a mile to The blue Lagoon, but the entrance is extremely tricky. It’s a narrow channel, about 10m wide, with reefs either side. And the channel itself is on 3.5m deep … that’s just 0.7m clear under our keel, and that’s if we can find the deepest spot! We hang around outside the channel trying to see the clear way in. Then we spot a yacht coming out so we wait to see where he goes. Once this yacht is out, a guy jumps off into a dinghy, comes over to us and tells us to follow him in. Apparently he is the pilot. And as we follow him, with waves breaking over the reef immediately either side of Cloudy Bay, we are relieved to be following him in his dinghy.
Our mooring buoy is in a nice position at the head of the bay where boats are not rolling, but we do have a bit of wave-slap under the stern. As soon as we are settled, the pilot, Mikey, comes and demands a $20 fee for bringing us in! We negotiate down a bit but we are left with the feeling everyone on St.Vincent is trying to get at your wallet. Yes, services we need, but it’s their attitude that we don’t really care for.
After putting up our wonderful sunshade, Glen BBQs the barracuda which we caught yesterday. It’s a big fish and we have quite a struggle to finish it all. Somehow, whatever we catch and BBQ ourselves always tastes great!
At 4:30pm our hire car arrives at the Marina reception. But it’s a bit of a wreck and does not have AC. We complain and are taken back to the depot, which seems to be full of other similar vehicles. These guys are making a fortune at US$60 a day for these rent-a-wrecks! Our moaning paid off, as we are given a half decent RAV4 which does have a working AC. So we set off happy.
It’s late in the day now, so we decide to have a quick look at Kingstown, the capital town about 15 minutes away. We find it to be very shabby and grubby. Is this the capital town that sold-off all its beautiful islands to developers? We guess the money they made must be in Swiss banks, because it is certainly not invested here! It’s a shame, because there are lots of handsome colonial buildings around the town, but all in very poor condition. And as consequence we don’t see a single tourist in the town for the full hour that we wander through it. Very unlike the capital towns of Barbados and Grenada. Even the people here are not so friendly … and those who are, tend to be too friendly, making us feel slightly uncomfortable. So we drive out of the town as fast as we drove in.
After a quick stop at a supermarket, we stop in The Loft bar at the marina to check out the scene. It’s pretty lively and the barman is very pleasant. The early evening drink turns into an all-evening and we get back to CB close to midnight. So ends our first day on St.Vincent.
