Wednesday 14-March: Today we cycle! There are no buses to where we want to explore, a taxi is US$35 an hour and hire car plus driver permit for a day is over $100. So we decide it’s time to have the bikes out for the first time this year.
And it’s the first time ever that we have taken them ashore on the dinghy. Normally we only get them out when we are in a marina or port, tied up alongside. For electric bikes, these GoCycles are light, but their 16Kgs doesn’t seem light when getting them out of the boat, into the dinghy then out again ashore! But they unfold very easily and soon we are on our way.
From the get-go we start to receive comments about our bikes, like “hey man, you gonna gimme that bike?” Or “nice set of wheels, man”. We are sure if we lose sight of the bikes for even a minute, we will never see them again!
Even with electric assistance, the big hill up from Port Elizabeth seems endless. By the time we are at the top we are breathless ….we must be sooo unfit! Down the other side we get a nice view out over the Atlantic. This side of the island is where most expats have built their homes, into the hillsides overlooking the view. But they are for the most part modest homes, not too flamboyant as you see in the Mediterranean islands. We come across a pottery workshop, run by a British couple who settled on the island in ’79! And they do have some stories to tell… mostly on how many times their home or workshop has been broken into and what items have been stolen! ☹
We go right to the end of the road to the turtle rescue center. But it doesn’t look much; actually it looks like it needs rescuing itself!
Then, at Firefly Plantation we take a 30 minute tour, guided by Jim. It’s nothing special, but our tour guide does a great job of showing us all the different fruit trees. Mango, papaya, sweet bread, pomegranate, mauby, star fruit, guava, grapefruit, lemon, tamarind, calabash etc.
Then we treat ourselves to lunch at Sugar Reef Cafe restaurant which has a good write-up in all the literature. The place does have a lovely feel to it and the local cuisine is delicious. Our table sits looking directly out over green lawn and the bay.
After lunch it’s back up the hill, the other way. Not a good idea after lunch! Through Port Elizabeth we find the Emancipation Day celebration is still in full swing on the stadium. These islands certainly seem to enjoy their all-day social events on their stadiums. This must be the 4th we have seen.
Out the other side of the town, we now head to Friendship Bay, on the south of the island. Very nice bay, with Bagatelle resort which has very manicured gardens. From there we are met with THE hill. If you can imagine the steepest hill you have ever cycled up …. well this was double! A great test for our GoCycles. We take a run up and with 1st gear and full electric we try our luck. But no, within 50m we grind to a halt at the steepest point, that must be a 30% gradient. It’s even difficult to dismount the bike, it’s that steep. So the hill wins, score 2-0!
Shortly after this Glen hits a particularly bad piece of road … then psssss! All the air goes out of his rear tire and our cycling is over for the day. But it’s a short taxi ride back to town. Lucky that the taxis here are pickups, so we can easily fit the bikes. Back on Cloudy Bay, the bikes are washed and the puncture repaired.
It’s been a great day; so nice to get out on the bikes again, reminding us how much we love using them. Tomorrow we will leave Bequia and head to Mustique. Another island ticked!
