70) Bequia

Port Elizabeth, Admiralty Bay, Bequia (Bek-way), The Grenadines

13° 00.618 N 61° 14.455 W

  

I arrived at the dive shop a bit before 9.  The commute was easy.  I could have swum there. Onboard there was a dive guide, the boat captain and 5 of us who paid to go.  We went for a 6-mile run that took us to tiny little Pigeon Island off the south coast.  Bequia itself isn’t very big, either.  The water temperature at depth was 81° and very comfortable.  The only mishap was that the batteries in my camera that I thought I replaced for this dive trip were dead.  The underwater scenery was again spectacular.  I met a couple that was crewing on a catamaran that came from Spain and was ending in Grenada.  We compared notes and had many similar experiences.

  Admiralty Bay

The group plan today was to go to the Spring Restaurant up the hill and down the road for the popular Sunday brunch.  We took the dinghy to the pier that was closest to the hike and asked around for some directions to the place.  Several people said, oh no you should take a taxi.  We thought it can’t be that far and we have some time so we walked.  Besides, the guidebook said it was within walking distance.

  

The best part of trekking through town on foot is the sights you won’t see from a car.  We walked uphill for a while and throughout the neighborhood saw derelict homes, much nicer homes, the high school, lots of trash and beautiful flowers.

The restaurant turned out to be a bit farther than the book or the street sign that said one mile.  Maybe going up and down hill made it harder.  The meal at the restaurant was very good and the outdoor seating area was full.  The place reminded me of a winery in the sense of the atmosphere.  During the meal John and Nancy recognized a cruiser that they had met a couple years before in Spain.  His viewpoints on cruising, vacation and life in general were very enlightening or entertaining.

 

Spring Bay

While at the restaurant we were able to see a beach through the trees not too far in the distance.  We decided to go there since we were so close.  It was called Spring Bay and was a fairly secluded undeveloped beach.  It had all the classic elements of a deserted tropical beach. 

  

One of the benefits or hazards of the tropics is rain.  On the walk back to the dinghy dock it started to rain.  Nancy and I were ahead and made it under cover before the heavy rain.

Spring Bay

  

Earlier in the day John procured 4 small lobsters from a guy in a small boat and we planned to have them for dinner.  I offered to cook this meal.  Trying to boil a big pot of water with this gas stove is a challenge.  I sped up the process by boiling the big one and another smaller one at the same time.  The tails were small but this lobster was great. 

Snorkeling at Devil’s Table, Admiralty Bay