Blissful Bequia

 

A mere dot on the Caribbean charts, beautiful Bequia proved to be one of those islands where it was easy to linger.  And linger we did – for a week.  There’s not a lot here – a handful of low key grocery stores (I can’t bring myself to call them supermarkets), some quaint boutiques, loads of gorgeous waterfront cafes and bars and a colourful produce market run by dreadlocked rastafarians.  Friendly and welcoming,they insist you try the produce first and, through glazed eyes, hand you endless samples. 

              Buying at the market……….or from the boat boys

On one occasion as David was dropping rubbish (the bins are right beside the market) he was beckoned by a guy snoozing in the shade, waving a massive joint in his hand - “hey captain, how are you?  Want some goods?”.  We assumed it was papaya and mango he was referring to!

Every day Bandit was besieged by boat boys selling everything from papaya and limes to fresh bread and local lobster.  Another boat sold water and diesel, took rubbish and collected dirty laundry returning it washed, dried and folded.  Needless to say for all these services one pays a premium which our cruising budget doesn’t stretch to.  The boat boys soon learnt to avoid the “cruising” boats and head for the “charter” boats!

                                         

Lobster was the one thing on this island that was cheap and we couldn’t resist.  A lobster that fed us for two nights cost $15NZ.

Bequia is one of the few places in the world where whaling is permitted.  The International Whaling commission allows the island to kill four humpback whales a year because it is considered a true cultural tradition.  In reality, they usually only take one or two and the entire island celebrates the catch and shares the meat.

                      

Bequia revolves around the sea which is natural given it was boat access only until a few years ago when the tiny airport opened.  Boatbuilding and fishing are main activities and any tourism is low key which results in the island feeling very unspoiled and uncrowded.  Long may it stay that way.  Even with 150 boats in the bay, the town was always quiet.

We took a three hour open side truck tour around the island with seven other cruisers.  We went to the wild east coast – open to Atlantic swells and trade winds – and the sheltered south winding our way through lush vegetation past some beautiful island homes.

Beaches on Bequia are stunning – golden sands and the sea is crystal clear with some great snorkelling on reefs.

With three other Kiwi boats in the anchorage – Tuatara, Cutty Hunk and Balvenie – it proved to be a very social time.  We had pizza out with the Tuataras and Balvenies, a beach party with all four boats and a wonderful night on Cutty Hunk eating the delicious wahoo they caught en route from St Vincent and kindly shared with us.

A great night at the music festival and it was time to move on – we’d stayed much longer than we intended and it would have been very easy to just stay on.

Beautiful Barbados

 

Two weeks anchored in Carlisle Bay gave us ample time to recover from the Atlantic crossing, catch up on much needed sleep and explore this gorgeous island.   And what a beautiful island it is.  Our first trip was to the wild east Atlantic coast with Alex, who had hitched a ride across the Atlantic with Richard on Moonshadow.  It was a pretty wild bus ride there, but the stunning Crane Bay soothed our frayed nerves.  What an amazing spot.  On the cliff above is Crane Bay resort with spectacular views…..and great coffee.

Another time we took a bus to Bathsheba – a surfing beach on the north east coast.  Not a lot there apart from a few ageing hippies, stray surfers and alternative type backpackers but the views were stunning.  We didn’t linger long, catching yet another bus to the west coast town of Speightstown - a very non touristy spot with busy rum bars where patrons spilled out onto the street, friendly street vendors and some beautiful beaches.

Further down the coast is Holetown, where the rich and famous come to shop.  Yes it’s all here whether it’s a Louis Vuitton handbag or a Rolex watch you need.  The supermarket even stocks Waitrose products – certainly no Tesco items here!  The gated mansions look straight out of Surrey and sit alongside the $4000 a night Sandy Lane resort with its world class golf course.  We took our roti (bought from a roadside shack) and sat on the same beach as the rich and famous, swam in the same waters and enjoyed the same stunning views.  And best of all – it only cost us our $1 bus ride!

Buses on Barbados are hilarious.  It’s $1 a ride no matter the distance and you get a choice of blue, yellow or white.  The big blue buses are the main buses that ply all the major routes to a schedule while the smaller yellow ones just go when they are full and stop anywhere along the route.  Their downside is they blast out reggae music so loud you can’t think!  But the dreadlocked drivers are often a bit more mellow than the blue bus drivers and hence a little slower.  The white buses are shuttles and don’t seem to have a route and will stop anywhere and cram people in.  They’re less comfortable but a fun way to see how the locals do it.

         

With more boats arriving in the anchorage as people made landfall after their Atlantic crossing it was a pretty social time both on boats and on the beautiful white sand beach of Carlisle Bay with several impromptu evening beach parties.  Landing the dinghies proved fun especially with a bit of a swell rolling in and one couple (who shall remain nameless) managed to give their outboard a saltwater swim!  The local cruising club was a great place for a sundowner as well with beautiful views over the bay.

On Friday night we headed to Oistens…..a fish market on the south coast where small shacks fry up local delights including flying fish, lobster and wahu.  We went for the flying fish and it was fantastic – served with grilled breadfruit and macaroni pie.  The local dancing was a highlight – can those boys move!!

Another night we headed off to Kensington Oval to watch a 20/20 cricket match – the Windward Isles vs the Leewards.  What atmosphere, what fun…both on and off the field.  David squeezed in a trip to the Mt Gay rum factory (the oldest rum in the world) and we snorkelled on the wrecks in Carlisle Bay which were full of fish – the most we’ve seen for some time.

With the arrival of the Russians (Roman Abramonavich’s 553ftmotor yacht Eclipse) we decided it was time for us to move on so we headed to Bequia – an overnight sail. 

Atlantic crossing 2011/2012

Most of you will have been kept up to date during our Atlantic Crossing on our other blog – www.blog.mailasail.com/yachtbandit

 
I don’t plan on repeating it – so check that blog out.  All I will say here is that we had a pretty swift crossing – 13 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes to be precise, an average speed of 6.3knots, covering 2110miles. We left Mindelo Cape Verdes on December 21 and arrived in Barbados on January 4. That meant of course we had both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day at sea.  Christmas dinner was roast lamb and veges served in bowls as it was very rough.  Christmas breakfast ended up all over the galley bench when a rogue wave hit – not much fun for the cook!!
 

I’d like to say it was a breeze but we had a few scruffy days that were trying.  But….sailors have short memories and as we sit in the anchorage at Carlisle Bay, Barbados, sipping rum punches, the nighttime squalls, strong winds, big seas and grey gloomy days are all in the past!
 
We didn’t take many photos – it was all too hard to get the camera out, try and keep it from getting wet, balance yourself etc.  But here are a few.  And why is it that the damn sea flattens out in photos – noone would believe we had 3m swells!!
                      
flying fish on deck – bad pilots!                    skipper’s breakfast – flying fish!

                                     
         celebratory rum on arrival in Barbados – rum never tasted so good!!!

Mind boggling Mindelo

Ringed by amazingly sculpted mountains, Mindelo, in the Cape Verde islands, looms out of the twilight and appears to be a spectacular anchorage. We’ve had a boisterous sail from the nearby island of Sao Nicolau in 30knots with a lumpy swell. The island greets us with sheer cliffs, an amazingly rugged skyline and some spectacular looking surf beaches 

We’re here to provision, catch our breath and refocus before heading out for the next stage of our Atlantic crossing….the biggie….two weeks (give or take a day or two) and 2000odd nautical miles to Barbados. Mindelo is on the island of Sao Vicente and is the biggest town on the island. After Sal, we’re not expecting great things which is just as well. As we get closer we see that Mindelo Bay is full of rusting hulks as well as sunken and partially sunken ships, fishing boats and abandoned yachts. We are disappointed to find what could be a spectacular spot is marred by such eyesores

      

After a good night’s sleep we head ashore and the delightful town revives our sagging spirits – it’s bright and colourful and full of intriguing characters. Women wandering along with bowls of produce balanced beautifully on their heads, men dragging huge mahimahi and wahu around (presumably to sell), brightly dressed girls selling bowls of banana and papaya on the footpath.

                 

                                 street scenes - Mindelo

It’s a sensory delight – our ears are assaulted with reggae music blasting from speakers in the local square, the aroma of freshly baked bread is overwhelming and our eyes are on stalks at the wonderful array of produce on offer by the most colourful characters we’ve ever seen. Pitch black faces with heads swathed in bright scarves, knitted hats (it’s 30 degrees plus!) and women wearing the most amazing clothes.

       

The buildings are glorious. Portuguese colonial style architecture accentuated by the use of some intriguing colour combinations – obviously painted by someone not scared to experiment. There’s lime green edge with orange or canary yellow; royal blue with deep parrot green and pastel pink teamed with white to look like a birthday cake decoration. Some are recently painted, others are distinctly shabby - it’s all a feast for the eyes.

                              

Provisioning is a headache. Prices are eye wateringly high and there seems little movement – cruisers are seen as cash cows obviously. Sticking to the local specialties (cabbage, sweet potato, oranges, banana, papaya and green pepper) means we can stay on budget and at the local fish market mahimahi, swordfish and tuna is as cheap as we’ve ever seen it. Tempted as we are to buy, the Bandit fishing machine has done well lately and we’ve still got tuna in the freezer.

      

Cruisers tend to collect in Mindelo and it’s fun catching up with some we haven’t seen since the Med. We have a fun meal out with Ventana and Resolute but the pizza is nothing remotely like an Italian one – think cheddar cheese, tomato ketchup and sweet corn (the menu wasn’t in English!).

We’re keen to get going and Mindelo isn’t the place one lingers (well we didn’t feel like lingering). Internet connection is appallingly slow…..I’m sure I bring the entire island to a grinding halt when I attempt to send a story and pix to the Marlborough Express! It takes an hour and I only get three photos sent. So frustrating when we are used to high speed connection…..is this a good or bad thing? We debate the topic for some time with  no conclusion.

                     

                Wahu at the Mindelo fish market

Frustration sets in again when we head off to collect the laundry. It was dropped off at 10 to be ready at 4pm but when we arrive it’s still sitting there unwashed. A Lost in Translation incident no doubt……but it causes much anxiety. Paying in advance may be the key so I fork out $8 and return in two hours to find it all beautifully washed, ironed and folded.

   

Final provisioning becomes a nightmare when we find massive queues at the handful of money machines – they’d been closed the day before as it was a public holiday and the entire population (it seems) is out to withdraw cash today. I stand in line for ages and when my turn comes am so stressed that I press an extra 0 and extract the equivalent of 200 euros instead of 20. I’m almost in tears and curse my stupidity. Believe me there is nothing in Mindelo I can spend the money on (except overpriced food) so I queue again at the bank to exchange it into US dollars. A frustrating morning over, provisioning done, we have Mark and Amanda from Balvenie onboard for coffee (they’ve just arrived from the Canary Islands) and head away. Moonshadow (Richard and Alexandra) and Inammorata (Steve and Carol) leave with us and it’s a wonderful feeling to see three sets of sails heading away from the island, bows firmly pointed west. Barbados here we come!