One of the many questions amongst sailors in the last couple of months was, “Where are you going to spend Christmas this year?” There are a couple of islands that are popular during the holiday season like Antigua, Bequia, and St. Lucia. These islands celebrate Christmas with real gusto! There are tons of Christmas lights and live music and parties filled with holiday cheer. But there was no question of where the Rum Runners wanted to spend Christmas- in Bequia of course! Bequia, Sweet Sweet Bequia. It is our favorite island in the Caribbean, the people are so friendly and th [View Full Entry]

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We continued on our little jaunt around the Southern Grenadines and sailed back up to Chatham Bay, a quiet anchorage on the west end of Union Island. It was a glorious trip- a stiff Caribbean breeze filled our sails and pushed the Rum Runner swiftly along the lush coast of Union. The west coast of Union is totally undeveloped, except for a couple of beach bars that the locals open on the weekend. And the anchorage is beautiful, surrounded by tall cliffs filled with cactus and dense scrub. The first thing we wanted to do was launch the kayaks and explore [View Full Entry]

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Our next stop was an anchorage in between Petite Saint Vincent and Petite Martinique, two islands that are only a half mile apart. What's really unique about this anchorage is that you are between two countries, literally in international waters. For Petite Saint Vincent is part of the Grenadines and Petite Martinique is part of Grenada. How these two neighboring islands were divided into two separate countries is a mystery to us. But the good news is that we can visit both without the hassle of checking in and out of customs and immigration of each country. Which was great news [View Full Entry]

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Mopion isn't even an island, more of a sandbar out in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. But it has a nice little beach, great snorkeling all around, and a tiki hut for some shade. So we definitely wanted to go there, at least for the day. In fact it is a day anchorage only, the holding is poor and there is no protection from the wind or waves. It really is attainable only in good weather, just a cool place for a quick stop while sailing between the islands in the Southern Grenadines. So we decided to head that way. [View Full Entry]

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The trade winds calmed down significantly, giving us a glorious week to explore the Southern Grenadines. Our first stop was a secluded anchorage behind Mayreau Garden, on the Windwardside of Mayreau. We worked our way between the island and the reef until we found a perfect spot- right near the beach. It was beautiful and serene. But most importantly we had the anchorage all to ourselves, not another boat in sight. It was so nice to get away from all the crowds, all the charter boats, and all the boat boys. We haven’t had an anchorage to ourselves since we were [View Full Entry]

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We decided to stop for the day at Palm Island on one of our trips between Union Island and the Tobago Cays. Unfortunately it is a very rolly anchorage, so we didn’t want to spend the night there and loose sleep. But we still wanted to visit this island, which the guide book describes as having one of the most beautiful beaches in the Windward Islands. In fact Doyle writes that it is, “The ultimate picture-perfect Grenadine Beach.” So of course we had to go! Palm Island is not a very big island (actually none of the islands in the Grenadines [View Full Entry]

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As we had promised, we returned to the Tobago Cays. We had stopped here for a few days on our way to Trinidad last cruising season and fell in love with the place. We intended to spend lots of time there, so we provisioned the boat with fresh bread, fruits, and vegis from Union Island and set sail. Luckily the Tobago Cays aren’t far away, in fact it only took us 18 minutes to get there and have the anchor down. We quickly jumped into the crystal clear turquoise water and swam with all the turtles and rays there. What a [View Full Entry]

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After a fun week in Grenada it was time to set sail for the Grenadines (which in my opinion is the loveliest place in the Caribbean- with gin colored waters, abundant sea life, and many small islands to explore). Our first stop was Union Island in the Southern Grenadines. For the last couple of weeks we have used Union Island as a home base. Not only because Clifton, the main town in Union Island, has a couple of grocery stores and many fruit and vegi markets for all the provisions, but also a couple of great bars and restaurants to visit [View Full Entry]

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November first is the official end of hurricane season, so it was time to leave Trinidad and start our trek north. We are very excite to start another cruising season in the Caribbean, not only because our first stop is Grenada and the Grenadines (which are amazing) but also because we have so many islands to explore this year. Unlike last year where we had to travel over 2,500 miles and therefore skip many countries along the way, this year we are already here in the Caribbean and can take our time to explore all the islands. And our first stop [View Full Entry]

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Our favorite part of traveling is that we get a chance to learn about other cultures, religions, and ways of life. That is why we were so excited to celebrate Divali in Trinidad. Divali is a Hindu Festival celebrated all over India. And seeing that Trinidad has the largest East Indian population outside of India, Deivali is celebrated here as well. So we set off to Chaguanas with our trusty tour guide, Jesse James, and a bus load of other cruisers to partake in this very special night. Divali is the Festival of Lights that takes place on the darkest night [View Full Entry]

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