I've racked my water logged & fried (carib now norcal) brain, got nothing left.
Time to finally wrap this trip report up.

Snorkeling:
My crew should write this section as she did the most. But I also risked life & limb in these shark infested waters. Highlights would be Tobago Cays where an area is roped off on the south side of Baradel allowing you to swim/snorkel with the turtles. We did not see them on the 1st attempt but after lunch they were all there. Petit Tabac (kinda shallow) & Bateau(even better) were also good with lots of fish.
Mayreau – Salt Whistle Bay – think I remember the report that it was good in a few areas
Bequia – Southern part of PM beach…….report was good
Mustique – don’t think it was that good if I remember report…..south of anchorage

Weather:
Overall it was wonderful, if you like hot and mostly humid Caribbean May conditions. The water seemed cooler than expected but it might have just been the contrast. Skies were clear most days and great sunrises & sets. We did not experience the usual 3am ish showers that have you stumbling in the dark to close the hatches…….oouch. We had rain showers in St.Vincent on Sun evening 5/18. and again in Bequia on 5/28 as a front passed through. The winds were great for sailing = mid teens then jumped the last three days…..even better as long as you were not beating into the bigger waves that came with it. No complaints at all.

Customs & Immigration:
I’m talking airport since unlike Sean S we were not crossing borders with the boat. Barbados was much improved since my last visit. The new airport, more Immigration officers, better attitudes and more organization really made it a breeze………..unless you come in on a 747 or worse behind one.
Make sure you hold onto your white immigration receipt for your departure check in (right before security) even if you are connecting. Customs in Barbados could use some improvement as they only had one officer & no organization……
St. Vincent – smaller country, smaller airport & smaller staff. The immigration officer was helpful & friendly both incoming & outgoing. Customs was a little hectic coming in with only one officer and local residents cutting the line and “debating” with the officer. He was not in great spirits when plain ‘ol tourist stepped in front of him. Oh well……it still only took a minute (that’s after waiting for luggage & crowd to clear).
Charlotte, NC – even though we were held on the plane a few minutes because “they needed to get ready” plus our plane was a day late, It was easy & fast. Plenty of lines/officers, warm welcome home and Customs just took the form with no questions.

Land Transport:
I’ve already sung the praises (see separate 6/19 post) of our St. Vincent Taxi driver & Tour Guide. But there were other opportunities to roam the land by vehicle.
1) Dollar Vans – I have an addiction and fascination with this form of travel & entrepreneurship. St. Vincent has one of the best contingents in the Caribbean. If You are not familiar, a quick lesson…..take a passenger van, add bigger speakers/turn up the radio to ear piercing levels, paint your special road name on it, maybe add other options like fancy wheels/tires and then add a Conductor – a person adept at hand / head signals, space allocation and fast $$ transactions and last but not least add a Driver - not any driver but one with NO FEAR or understanding of physics, that can shift a manual transmission 100 times in one minute, believes they are a Formula 1 racer and has the patience of a 2 yr old. Yup, I love to experience the thrills & whole scene…………..all for $ 1.50 EC!
This year was different because we were traveling in “rush hour” and without breakfast (probably best). We walked up the Sunsail Driveway and stood on the road………….another benefit is that you never have to find the bus stop…….they find you, what a concept. Several passed us filled to the brim (more on that later). But finally one slid to a stop and without one word we were added to the passenger list. My crew disappeared in the main cabin and I was asked to sit in the front seat…....my lucky day. A lovely woman dressed beautifully in a long print dress with matching head dress slid over and I eased in careful not to crease her dress. Off we went but things were very different. The traffic was heavy so the speeds were restricted (booooo) and so was the death defying moves. The volume on the radio was also down & a local radio show was on discussing local issues, taking telephone calls and then some music, so there was some education going on while in motion. But our driver was not going to take this lying down, he decided to take a detour to skip some of the traffic. That gave him a chance to work on that shifting & turns as we climbed hills, swerved around turns (I used my arm hanging out the window to brace myself from crushing the woman on left turns & she used her hand on the roof to prevent becoming too friendly on right turns and flew down other hills. We rejoined the traffic which is all headed to Kingstown anyway at a junction just past the airport not feeling that we gained much except a mini-tour(no complaint from this tourist) of ST.V. The motorcycle cops were out looking very sharp in their uniforms, fancy BMW (I think) motorcycles and using those unique hand signals. We dropped off lots (you are never able to really know how many people fit in the vans = too many heads to count) of students for school, workers and then when we came to a stop in Kingstown that looked familiar so we got out and I handed 3 ec $ coins to the Conductor and the van screeched off. So it was not as exciting as usual but very interesting and another chance to sample the culture.
2) Bequia Taxi – As I mentioned before, it was arranged by African, the boat man who we rented the mooring from on the 1st two nights. It was fine but we wondered if we overpaid for the roundtrip ride to the sanctuary $70 ec.
3) Barbados Taxis – This is a different game. Although the fares are posted at the airport, there are a group of drivers that believe it’s only a starting point. We had 4 exchanges, 1 real slick, 1 average and 2 good.

Other Boats – the neighbors - 99.9% are great but then
After a couple of rude exchanges, I feel it is important to comment.
1) Sunsail Boat – Mango 2 – On Sunday 5/25, we arrived in Saline Bay, Mayreau to find the 1st row off the beach taken by about 8-10 boats. No problem, we started a 2nd row respectfully behind the 1st row. We were enjoying the sights & peacefulness when lo & behold a 40’ ish monohull with Sunsail markings enters this big anchorage feeling lonely. They decide that continuing the new 2nd row is too logical for them. They proceed to go between our bow & the stern of the boat ahead at 90 degrees and start dropping their anchor. I was at the height of not feeling well & did not have the strength to argue…………as the crew looked at me I raise my hands asking “what the hell are you doing”…..their skipper ignored the gesture and backed down with the engine……….with a scope of about 3 to 1 max. Now I know why so many cruisers hate charter boats. When we pulled our anchor the next am on our way to SWB, they stared at us as we came within a few feet (would have been closer if not for the wind) of their stern…..gee, I wonder why?
I did see these clowns again when I returned to Bequia, Admiralty Bay on 5/28 with conditions a little woolly. As I was trolling for a good anchor spot both my crew & I saw them at the saw time as we went down one row near PM beach, I was tempted to pull up to their stern & drop my anchor in their cockpit to see how they liked being close but with the winds blowing way over 20 kts………I would have probably just hit some innocent boat nearby. So we went over to an empty space respectfully away from others & nailed the anchoring on the 1st try while they peered over to see if we would screw it up.
2) Switch Charter Cats – Run for your lives
I’ve encountered these boats (Big Cats with bright yellow canvas & sail bags – not sure the name of the charter co) on other islands (mostly French) and in too many cases the “pro-crew” was doing some bone head move or something to disturb the nearby boats. The unsuspecting paying customers never had a clue that their hosts maybe sipping more wine than them.
In the latest case, we were Bequia returning from a wonderful sunset happy hour & dinner at the Green Boley. We stopped at the boat to drop some stuff off before heading into town to check the internet. It is pitch dark as the moon had not come out yet. As we were getting back into the dinghy, I hear a noise behind me. It’s one of these large (most are 46-57’) Cats pulling very close about to drop the hook with only nav lights on. We are moored (so are all the other boats nearby) and they have just come into a mooring field to anchor. Last time I checked, that was a no-no. This is Admiralty Bay which is huge & had plenty of open space everywhere. Is it my cologne? Why does every nut case want to anchor next to me? So I go over to the boat and protest their move and given that most of the crews & customers are French, I got a warm welcome and no reaction. I tried to wave them to follow me in the dinghy as I would lead them (at least I could see with our lights on board) to some big open areas closer to town (we were out near PM beach)………..I thought they were following me but in the dark it was hard to tell and they were not using any lights (or even flashlights) even though that Cat has to have enough spreader lights to rival Times Square. So when I returned from the internet trip what did I find? Yup, Switch Cat anchored about 50 yds ahead of where they started in the mooring field. Close enough to not only hear their conversations but smell cigarette smoke. Then to top it off they left before sunrise which is another trademark for them = night sailing arrivals & departures.
They will barge into any anchorage, take away your beach view at the drop of a hat and bring a group of loud rowdy customers into the quiet evening with no regard for you, your crew or boat. So now you know.

Tidbits – Just did not fit anywhere else:
1) Telephone Service – I have AT&T wireless at home and signed up for Int’l roaming, as in prior years, just before the trip. It was excellent & seamless in SVG & Barbados. It was as if I was home ie; v-mail except the rate to call was much higher, of course. Never had a problem getting a signal or being dropped. I also had a boat phone supplied by Sunsail. I used it a lot to call the base early on given the problems. Again, never a problem connecting.

2) New St. Vincent airport – Most would agree that an expansion & upgrade is overdue but the island appears to be going way over the top. With the help of Taiwan (a regular economic partner according to locals), they are planning a huge windward side airport capable of handling 747s. That was shocking after getting off a crowded Liat flight & slowly moving thru luggage plus C & I. It is scheduled for some time in 2011 maybe. On our tour, we saw the site and the houses that have been seized via eminent domain, heard about the controversy on the $$$ paid to those home owners and saw the beginning of road construction that will re-route traffic around the complex. It was even a topic on local talk radio. It was hard to visualize what a large international airport and potential changes would do to an island like St. Vincent, especially strolling throughout Kingstown that am.

3) Bequia Tourist Office – Stumbled onto it as I was looking for post card stamps after the post office closed. It’s right “downtown” near ferry dock in a circular bldg. They sell stamps & have all sorts of local info.

4) Money – Go to the bank early as possible to avoid crowds. Also get the smallest denominations. $20 seemed to be the largest bills most vendors would handle unless the bill was much higher.

Lessons Learned:
1) Tobago Cays can be rolly depending on anchor spot & wind speed.
2) There are no complimentary services when you rent a buoy
3) Expect most if not all stores to be closed on Sunday
4) Too much to see & do even during a 9 day charter……plan well.
5) Diving on the anchor every time provides peace of mind and we did
6) Liat is really not that bad. Just schedule to put the odds in your favor.



Highlights:
1) The warm, friendly & beautiful people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
2) Montreal Gardens Tour with Desmond
3) Tobago Cays
4) Mayreau especially SWB
5) Bequia – Turtles, Rasta Market, Fish Market, the whole scene
6) Grilled Fresh Tuna – bought in Bequia fish market & we cooked in TC
7) Kingstown Morning – Breakfast, bank and shopping
8) Boat Men especially Walter
9) The beautiful islands, water and overall natural beauty
10) Weather

LowLights:
1) Getting Sick
2) Boat Issues + no wind instrument…I brought a small one with me
3) Lobster out of season – my crew was crushed….I could not tell her before we left as she probably would have stayed home
4) Crane Hotel in Barbados
5) USAir Canceled flight
6) Garbage on some beaches
7) Loose and barking dogs especially Mayreau-SWB
8) Bequia Mosquitoes – carry bug spray
9) Anchoring antics of a few boats
10) Union Island – Clifton closed up & so rolly on Sunday

A SPECIAL thanks to all the TTOL members for your past trip reports, advice, hints and answers to all the questions big and small. Your contributions really helped smooth the path for those of us who followed recently.

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