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Everywhere along our trip we have met other cruisers who are celebrating the fact that they "finally made it!" For some, this means that they finally made it off the dock and are traveling down to the Florida Keys. For others it is that they finally made it to the Bahamas and are enjoying the island life. And still for many others it is finally making it to the Caribbean, specifically when you make landfall in the Virgin Islands. All of these are great accomplishments in this cruising life and definitely worth celebrating. But for us, our dream was to sail to the Grenadines. If you had asked us for the one spot in the Caribbean that we wanted to visit, the one place that would signify that we have accomplished our dream of sailing to the Caribbean- this was it. And as we pulled into the anchorage of Bequia, the northern most island of the Grenadines, we popped open a bottle of champagne and celebrated, because we finally made it!

Bequia, Sweet Sweet Bequia. What a beautiful island! And what wonderful people! Our first day there we met up with some friends and took a tour of the island with one of the local taxi drivers. We all clambered into the back of a pick-up truck, which was outfitted with bench seats and a canopy top. We must have driven on every road of this small island and had beautiful views and vistas along the way. We learned all about the island and its history and were amazed with all the new development. And we visited many interesting places along the way like the fort and the old Sugar Mill, which has now been turned into a pottery studio. We also stopped at the Hegg Turtle Sanctuary, which is a foundation that collects baby hawksbill and green turtles right after they hatch and raise them until they get large enough to fend for themselves. It was wonderful to see the turtles up close, to be able to touch there hard shells, and watch them swim in the large tanks.

But my favorite stop on the tour was the Bequia Whaling and Maritime Museum, which represents a very important part of the culture here in Bequia. The museum is not large, just a single room filled with whale bones and vertebra and baleen (the part of the whale used to catch krill, the staple of their diet) as well as photographs and the hand-thrown harpoons that are used in the hunt. It was fascinating. We spent the afternoon talking to a couple of different whalers, a captain on one of the boats that got a whale this year and Felix, a man who had been on 14 whaling expeditions in his life. Bequia is the only island in the Caribbean where the people hunt humpback whales the traditional way, chasing down these 40 foot long animals in 26 foot length sailboats- amazing! The men have to be brave and it is a tradition that has been passed down thru the generations. When they capture a whale it is brought over to Semplers Cay, a small island just off the coast, to be processed. Nothing goes to waste- the meat feeds the people of Bequia, the bones are used throughout the island for decoration, and the oil is rendered. It is an important part of Bequia's culture and livelihood.

We really enjoyed our time in Bequia and especially loved the people there. For the most part, Bequia is an island of sailors and boat builders. Sail boats are built in the shade of the palm trees on Tony Gibbons Beach and are used for hunting humpback whales to carrying cargo to winning races in the island regattas. And the harbor is filled with smaller models of these boats, which the locals race on weekends for fun. In fact, we went to a model boat shop and enjoyed looking at the craftsmanship, every little detail is made by hand and meticulously put together- they are absolutely fabulous. We also happened to be there for fisherman's day, which was a fishing competition that ends in a fish bake with live music on the beach. It was so much fun. The people are what make an island truly memorable. And everybody in Bequia was so friendly, from the Rastafarians who sell fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmers market to the whalers who hunt the humpback whales to the local fisherman who shared their bountiful catch at the fish fry. It is definitely a special island and we are glad that we finally made it!

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