Our first stop in the Grenadines was Bequia.  Whenever cruisers talk of "down island", Bequia is usually mentioned as a favorite.  The northernmost of the Grenadines, and the most populous, it has a bit of everything for cruisers, and day-trippers that take the ferry over from St. Vincent.  They still make traditional boats there and even hunt whales with open boats and hand-thrown harpoon.  But tourism is the main industry and some of the prices I found were double and triple that of St. Martin.  

If you are into killing endangered species with government support, Bequia is the place to go.  When I went into customs I could not believe the official notice allowing killing of sea turtles - Leatherback, Green, Hawksbill, and Loggerhead - ALL ALLOWED!!!!  All are endangered and the Leatherback and Hawksbill are CRITICALLY endangered!  Walking back to the dock, I saw three sea turtles being cut up.  I was going to post pictures, but decided not to.  I would be very happy to see sea turtle fisherman endangered instead of the poor turtles.

Anyway, the water is beautiful crystal-clear turquoise, and we spent much of the time there in the water . Christine is getting better at free diving and is able to see a lot more marine life below .  Each time we went in the water we would see Moray eels, lobsters, sea snakes, and the usual Caribbean fish and coral .  It was the first time we saw Flying Gurnards - 12" to 18" or so fish that have "wings" that spread out in a beautiful arc of purple.  There were ten or so cruising around the bottom near the boat. 

Our friends from St. Martin, Cirque du Soliel sailed up from Grenada catching tunas along the way so we dined well each night.  We all went diving at Moonhole .  This is an interesting community of homes built out of the rock with few windows and no electricity. 

We sailed to a nearby island, Petit Nevis.  This is a still-in-use whaling station.  We played Robinson Crusoe exploring the island and opening coconuts with rocks, making rope, and (trying) to make fire.

After that, we all sailed to Mayreau, anchoring in Salt Whistle Bay .  We did more snorkeling , and we explored the island by foot.     .  

Next stop - the Tobago Cays.  This was our view coming in:   (I think that was Friendship Rose that we saw in Bequia).  Of course we were in the water as much as possible.  There were a lot of turtles here (this area is protected) that we were lucky enough to swim with .  The beaches were impossibly beautiful .  So, we had to have some fresh Tuna Carpaccio and champagne .  (Well, somebody's got to do it ). 

And, another little photo shoot sprang up .

Lobster season started with a bang on the island of Canouan for us.  A lobster fisherman swam over with his catch, so we bought them all for about $12 US .  Dipped in French butter from Martinique and garlic from Dominica, and washed down with iced champagne from St. Barts.  I've been practicing my lobster catching and have caught a few but let them go as they have always been too small.  Now, I am always on the hunt.

The island of Mustique was next on the list.  This is the exclusive, privately owned island that people like Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Raquel Welch, Paul Newman, Prince Andrew, Tommy Hilfiger, the late Princess Margaret, etc. have homes on.  It was purchased in 1958 for somewhere around $75,000.  This is now about what you pay to rent a villa for a week there.  They do not like boaters to anchor in their pristine white sand, so they have a "modest" marine park fee of about $80.00 for one to three nights.  We were the only boat there  .  Well... almost .  Christine and I walked in a big loop, admiring the art of the rich and famous (yes, those are two large tortoises humping) and taking the token tourist photo. This is Christine at the gingerbread "houses" .  (She is standing this way as a joke as she used to pose like this as a child).  Of course there were exclusive beaches (which no one seems to go to) .  The homes were obviously quite nice , but this guy spent so much money on it that he, apparently, could not afford a spell-check  .  Anyone for a dip? 

September 13, 2009 The Grenadines

We decided to go back to Bequia again for a few days for more diving and fun with our friends there.    .  On one dive I spotted a HUGE lobster.  The biggest one I have ever seen.  Way too big to catch......or was it?  Hmmm.  Well, I swam to the dinghy and surfaced to get my little homemade lobster stick.  It is just a part of a small broken batten, a fishing swivel, and a length of wire and some string.  Down I went to at least try and catch it.  My little stick looked pathetically light-duty but I gave it my best.    And so....

September 23, 2009 The Grenadines

On our sail south from Bequia (the northernmost Grenadine island), the winds and seas were perfect, so we just kept sailing to the southernmost Grenadine island, Petite St. Vincent.  This is a private island with a resort that was closed at the time.  We took advantage of some of the facilities, of course, as we don't normally make it a habit to spend $1,000 per night on our cruising budget.        Here, we met our new friends from Shambala and from Logozo.  We all went lobstering near the tiny deserted island of Mopion .  I caught two and Andy, the "Serial Fish Killer", caught three.  And so, lobster again (along with conch, of course).  Then it was off to Union island.  There, I got taught by Andy how to catch octopus.   It's weird having all the tentacles wrap around your arms and getting "inked".  Andy would catch them, remove the beak, flip their heads inside out, remove the guts, and then hand them to me to hold.  Two nights of octopus and then it was back to lobster.  Ever hear of a Slippery Lobster? They blend into the deep recessed rocks so well I never knew they existed.  Well, they are lobsters and taste really good, so we have a new entre being served on Gypsy Cat.

Winding down our last week in the Grenadines we went back to the Tobago Cays for a few days.         

Christine is getting really spoiled.  Here we are now in Mayreau: .  Yesterday, I swam back to the boat with a nice lobster.  Christine looked at it and said, "Only one?"  It was a hardship for her to sit on the bow that night sitting under a clear star-studded sky, at a tropical white sand beach, crystal clear water underneath, with only HALF a lobster on her plate.  She is now accepting donations and prayers to get her through this difficult time. 

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