Carriacou

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Our first stop in the Grenadine Islands was Carriacou. Although technically, Carriacou is still part of Grenada. We have only stopped here a couple of times, thrown up the Q-Flag, and spent the night at anchor. We have never actually stepped foot on land and figured it was time to go ashore and explore this lovely little island that we have heard so much about. Luckily we were traveling with the Verna Breeze and their new crew member, Stephanie. Steph had made some friends on the island and we were invited to come along as Tony showed us around Carriacou. Unfortunately he didn't have a van for us all to ride in together. But better yet, he had a truck! So we all piled in, brought a couple of comfy seats for the back, and bumped along. Fun! It was a great way to see the island.

We stopped along the way for a couple of vistas and views of the Grenadines- stunning! And we drove out as far as we could on the western peninsula before the road deteriorated to a goat path. But that didn’t stop us. We decided to continue our trek on foot. So we found a place to park the truck and went for a short hike. On the south end of the peninsula we found a black sand beach and on the north end we found a white sand beach- cool! It was beautiful property. But unfortunately it was a hot day, and we forgot to bring water or sunscreen, and we weren’t even wearing proper footwear. Needless to say, we weren’t prepared for a full day of hiking. So instead of continuing on up the trail to the top of the hills we decided to turn back and return to the truck.

After all that exploring we were ready for a local watering hole or rum shop as they are called here. And luckily this island is famous for them. As the guidebook mentions, “Carriacou is known for having over a hundred rum shops and only one gasoline station.” Perfect! So we spent much of the rest of the day stopping at rum shops along the way. One of our favorites was right on the beach and had swings hanging from the coconut trees. Now who could resist a good swing!?!? And then there was the one up in the forest that was nice, great music and a cool breeze. Of course we had to stop at the rum shop that was packed full of locals, screaming at the television for it was the end of a cricket match and Trinidad was about to win. Now I don’t understand the game of cricket at all, but it was still fun! And of course the rum shop on Paradise Beach was lovely too. So many rum shops, so little time!

The next day we decided to take the boats over to Sandy Island for some scuba diving. Sandy Island is located just off Paradise Beach and is aptly named, for it is only a thin strip of beach surrounded by reefs. It is a popular day anchorage because of the great snorkeling and diving there. And since we all had our own gear, we were ready to take the plunge! We had a great dive along the outside reef, surrounded by sea fans that elegantly swayed with the ocean currents. We worked our way along this sloping wall to the ocean floor, discovering new corals and schools of fish along the way. Cool! And afterwards we decided to decompress with a walk on the beach. Seriously, a visit to Sandy Island is not complete without a walk on the beach. Sandy Island has very little vegetation but is littered with driftwood. This stark contrast is extraordinary and adds to its charm. It was a lovely day at Sandy Island and we fell in love with the place. In fact we loved all of our time at Carriacou and wondered why it had taken us so long to stop here in the first place.

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