Union Island

We love Bequia and it was terrific to be there for the music festival.  Our trek over to Friendship Bay and the Bequia Beach Hotel gave us another view of the island.  The hotel looks totally posh.  When we get some good internet we need to check it out on Trip Advisor. 

The concert on Sunday was spectacular.  Don loves two kinds of music - Country and Western so he was thrilled with the C&W band.  They were actually very good and Pam and Glen were tapping toes in the sand.

The winds don’t seem to be abating so we decided that we needed to move on, even though the conditions weren’t optimal.  It turned out not to be too bad.  Since the winds had some north in them we had a good beam/broad reach all the way to the Togabo Cays although some of the waves shook things up down in the cabin.  We sailed with jib only and still averaged over 6 knots.

Windstar cruise ship at the Tobago Cays

 When we got to the Tobago Cays we found the boats anchored were rockin’ and rollin’ and decided to seek refuge behind Mayreau.  Good friends had an unpleasant, unfriendly stay at Mayreau, which saddens us a great deal, because we have really become attached to the place.  Lucky so far.

We decided to do a major hike which we had not done on our previous trips - across the island by the old Salt Pond.  After we had completed that… about 5 minutes… we decided that we would extend our hike by heading up the hill to the Church and the incredible view, about which we have blogged previously.

Don interacted with everyone he met which won’t surprise anyone who knows him… strangely none of them had ever lived in Hope, BC.  That is unusual and disappointing for Don… he almost always runs into someone he taught there or worked with over the years.  Considering that most of the folks we ran into only spoke French it is not surprising that they hadn’t been to Hope.

Our stay was pleasant… we bought an expensive but tasty tuna which Pam turned into a banquet, we interacted with the beach vendors and both Don and Pat bought souvenir t-shirts.

We learned of an interesting perception among some of the locals.  The Windjammer Cruise ships make a point of stopping at Mayreau along with their stops at the Tobago Cays.  Lots of times though, the boats cancel at Mayreau after the Tobago Cays.  SOME of the locals believe that it is because there are too many “yachties” in the anchorage and there isn’t room for the cruise ship.  We don’t buy that.  They anchor way deeper that most yachts.

OTHER of the locals have better intel and they are aware that the Windjammers don’t stop when the surf is running high, making it difficult for the tenders to land.

Still, it concerns us that some of the locals might resent us because they think we scare away the cruise ship traffic.

Short Tail up... goat

Long Tail down... sheep

Tuna dinner.  Hmmmm, thought it was bigger

 After a nice couple of days at Mayreau we sailed over to Chatham Bay.  We were met almost immediately by “Tim” who said he remembered the boat but not us.  We remember Tim, though.  He serves excellent fritters if you order enough beers - John and Jan enjoyed them when we were here in November.  We had them again last night. 

Don and Pat went on an epic snorkeling trip.  Glen dinghied them over to the point and they had an incredible swim back to the boat.

When Tim came by in the morning to ask if we wanted to order dinner we decided to indulge based on our experience with his fritters.  Dinner was spectacular and Tim helped us and a nearby table of French cruisers remember how to do the Macarena.  Great meal - lots of fun.  Bollhead’s gets a thumbs up from us - (Bollhead’s like Baldhead’s like Telly Savalos, he told us.)

Beers at Bollheads in Chatham Bay, Union Island

Don and Tim showing off supper... for someone else

We are tucked in at Ashton, Union Island picking up a stray wifi signal from somewhere.  We plan to take the bus in to Clifton tomorrow - to avoid the chaos in the harbour - and clear out.  Then over to Tyrell Bay to clear into Grenada.

More later... thanks for keeping up with us!