St Vincent and Bequia Adventures!

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Hi Everyone,

I was stuck here in St. Vincent. I went to the ferry terminal Monday morning and they canceled the trip to Union Island since the boat Captain was sick. Its so Caribbean...so yesterday I had to hang out for another day. Fortunately my bushman friend Nato found me on the beach and took me snorkeling to cheer me up. So now I am at the ferry terminal, I got here super early to make sure I had some options and now I am heading to Union Island! Hooray! I just have to wait around for 3 hours. Oh the joys of traveling!

My time in Bequia was relaxing and fun. I went on 4 dives the first two days that I was there. There was great visibility and the corals were amazing! I even went into a cave! It was super creepy and used a lot of air because the sound of the bubbles on the cave ceiling was strange. But I didn't have a panic attack. Which is good for me! For all who know me well know how daring it was for me to SCUBA dive into a cave! I am so proud of myself! The rest of the dive was absolutely incredible! I can't even describe to you the underwater environment. I will post a couple of pictures of the underwater experience. We didn't get to see any large mega fauna but it was not lacking at all! One of the dives I found this huge net that settled on the reef. I called everyone over and we managed to entwine it off all the corals. There were so many fish caught in it! Rachael attached her emergency bouy to it and then we took it up to the surface. I met a couple that was also diving with the group. I was budded up with the guy named James. Him and his partner Katie turned out to be fun people to hang out with and I had dinner and drinks with them multiple nights in a row. That's also how I met Rachael, who was the Dive Master at Dive Bequia. She has been working there for 2 months and is from England. She was working in Grenada for the last 6 months. We hit it off and hung out after work almost everyday I was on the island! She is totally cool. The last night in Bequia we sat on the beach and drank homemade pina coldas and rum punch and watched the sunset. Then the fireflies came out with the moon. Then to top it off we jumped in the water and there was biolumenicece! Yeah! It was so wonderful to meet such a awesome woman! It was a really sad tearful goodbye Sunday night at the ferry terminal when she had to go back to Bequia with out me! I hope to see her again in Europe.

I came back to the St. Vincent on Sunday with my new friend Rachael. We hired a guide to take us to the Volcano. I was incredible! The day started out really rainy and cloudy. There was a good possibility that we would get to see the crater of the volcano. Its at 4000 feet. Once we got to the top the winds picked up and the fog cleared! An Enya song would have been appropriate when the crater presented itself. We were able to see across the crater at the new dome that has been building for the last 10 years. The last time it blew was in 1979 and they think it will explode again in the next 20 years. The hike was through some amazing rain forest. They have a lot of banana plantations everywhere here. The locals 'rent' it from the government. They plant all sorts of fruit and vegetables all over. The local people can just come out into these places and harvest the crops to feed themselves. Its really nice. I got a couple of yummy guavas. The whole day was very magical experience. Our guide was pretty funny, he was half bushman, half local rap artist. It was a strange mixture that seemed to clash.

I hiked all over Bequia. It was a fun island to explore. All the roads lead to a different surprise at the end. Such as a turtle sanctuary, dwellings in the side of the mountain, Old forts, and beautiful beaches. I even made it up to the top of Mount Pleasant. So I was known as the "Girl With The Blue Backpack" that hiked all over the island. They all thought I was crazy. I got a lot of nicknames to from the locals. The most common one was Sky (since I was so tall), Blue Girl (Backpack) and then Twinkle (I am not sure how I got this name but it suck for some reason.) It seems as if everyone gets a nickname here. Almost no one goes by their given names. In Bequia there were some fun evenings involving street party's with the locals, under the watchful eye of one of the restaurant owners Beige. I am finding out that white girls are something the local men are after. I am having to spend most of my time fending off marriage proposals, dates, and professions of undying love. Its really strange! I have to lie most of the time when they ask were my friends are or whether I have a boyfriend or not! It comes with the territory I suppose. The woman survival mode is always on overdrive. It keeps me from really getting out there and exploring a lot of places but I do what I can. Bequia was the safest place I have been so far! That's why I walked all over the place.

I am now heading to Union Island, Carriacou, and then Grenada! I have only 9 days now. So I will see how much I can fit in! I hope everyone is doing well! I will email soon!

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