Fourth day, Sunday May 23, Mustique: How the other 0.1% lives:

Hoooooweeeee. It’s been 5 years since I’ve slept aboard a boat without Gen/AC in the tropics and wow was it hot. Knew it was gonna be, and still it was a big surprise. Oh well. Gotta adapt. The breeze boosters did little for us in the aft cabin. We found them more trouble than they were worth. After a short morning discussion we decided to have a leisurely breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast and then go exploring on Mustique to see how the other 0.1% lives. The anchorage at Britannia Bay was a bit rolly for the night, and I think the crew needed a day ashore before launching into the open ocean again. Later, after seeing the big waves battering the North shore I knew this was a good decision.

So we went ashore to secure a half-day rental of a Kawasaki Mule, essentially a 4WD golf-cart on steroids. Ashore, everything is North of the ferry and dingy dock. There is of course Basils with their little boutique, and walking farther north your find small grocery stores, another gift and clothing shop, and a fish/ice-house. Fish filets cost approximately $8-12US /lb and they had snapper, mahi, and tuna when we were there. I can’t remember what we paid for ice there, perhaps $6US/ 10lb bag, but their supply was limited when we showed up and we could not buy all that we needed.

You can call the Mule man up from pretty much any handy store ashore, everyone is very friendly and will help you out, and he comes and gets you and rents you a medium-sized Mule for about $80US. We called from the ice-house, and there are picnic tables in the shade where you can wait for him. A medium-sized will hold 4 people and has a little bed in the back for you goodies. The only twist with the rental is that you have to swing by the airport first to buy a Mustique driver's license... about $26US. It was well worth it, and we did a complete circumnavigation of the island, essentially starting clockwise at anchorage. If you do this bring plenty of water (we did) and even a cooler of drinks and food (sadly we didn’t) because there’s really no place to buy anything during your drive. The beaches are virtually undeveloped, and this is part of the essential charm of the place. They drive on the left, but we only saw two other vehicles on the road in four hours, so you can pretty-much drive on any side you like, or down the middle. Sometimes there’s only a middle! I must admit up-front that we stopped at so many places that I may have them jumbled up a bit… but here goes.

After leaving the rental car place we drove by the school which was very quaint and had a double-track of cinder blocks cut into the dirt out front that went a total of 20 feet, room for only a single car, and a sign behind this that announced “Faculty Parking Lot!” This had us giggling. Not far from the school is the shortest and widest tree I’ve ever seen. Truly worthy of a stop-and-gawk. This is near the airstrip which is small and will not handle jets. The terminal is a pretty building and there’s a vantage spot at the west end of the airstrip where you can soak it all in and take a picture or two.

First beach stop was Endevour Bay or L’Ansecoy Bay… painkillers seem to have erased the exact location from my memory. It was a small bay with a sandy beach protected by reef. There was a trail cut through rock on the right side. Pretty enough… but we had tracks to make so we hopped back in the mule and hit the road again.

A dirt track splits away from the end of the airstrip heading east-north-east and ends at Rutland Bay. This bay is partially protected by a reef but has a rocky beach and pretty good sized waves crashing ashore, so its not really suitable for swimming. However, on the south side of the bay there is a trail leading up the hillside that provides a delightful hike if you are somewhat fit and don’t mind occasionally walking next to cliffs with precipitous drops to wave-bashed and wind-swept rocks. There are beautiful vistas on this hike and it’s highly recommended. In a few spots, waves from the deep ocean crash directly on the cliffs and launch plumes of spray perhaps 50-100 feet in the air. It’s spectacular. Allocate about an hour to the hike, and bring water. There’s some shade, but not a lot.

Our next stop was Macaroni Bay which has a delightful sandy beach with fine white sand, and a protecting reef that lets just the right sized waves to the beach if you like to frolic in the surf. Before I could put my load of stuff in the sand, Lisa had already dashed out into the surf and started ducking waves on her way out to slightly calmer waters. Woody and I followed. Barb hung back in-shore of the heaviest part of the surf, and was not ready to make battle with the waves. So the rest of us cavorted in the waves until we’d all been tossed “head over hams” at least once and had completely filled our bathing suits with beautiful white sand. There are a few picnic tables with palm umbrellas scatted at widely spaced intervals along the beach. This would be a great place for a picnic if you have the foresight to pack one. We picked one and rested a few minutes in the shade before heading back to the mule to continue the exploration.

Back in the mule we continued south, stopping at Pasture Bay. It’s got a sandy beach, but it’s much more exposed to the ocean and has no shade. Signs suggested to not get into the water due to strong currents, so we looked around a little, but did not really spend much time here. The road south split and we took the right hand branch, heading for the hill top hoping for a scenic vista or a short hike on the mountaintop. We got close to the mountain top, but everything look private, and we didn’t want to pry, so we headed back down again.

The south coast had an intriguing bay named Obsidian, so we braved a long and rough dirt track down, and down, and down some more to the coast. We drove a ways along the beach until we found a sign announcing a turtle sanctuary and that vehicles could go no further. Backtracking we stopped at a break in the gnarly trees to access the jet black sand beach strewn with marble-white coral. I though the beach at Wallibalou was black, but there it’s really grey by comparison. Here it was almost oily black with hints of iridescence.

With libations calling us we hopped in the mule, drove back to civilization, gassed it up, 1 gallon (!), took it back to the stable, and then it was off to Basil’s Bar to slake our thirst with Banana Cows, Hairoun Beers, and Pina Coladas. The fish and chicken fingers appetizers were just the right amount to eat before heading back to the Wind Dancer to take a pre-dinner dip before firing up the grill. All and all, Mustique was a very relaxing and low key way to wile away the afternoon in paradise.