Turtle Watching

At a swap meet, I was able to purchase these goggles with a built in camera for only 95 EC (about $35 USD).  Soon I discover why they were for sale.  As the original owner stated, the camera works fine and the goggles do not leak, but what they forgot to mention was that they tend to fog up - really bad.  I have tried tooth paste, Joy detergent, and even went to a dive shop and bought anti-fog spray.  They are slowly getting better.

Pollie: “You look like a real nerd with those goggles!”

Detractors and fogging issues aside, the camera goggles work pretty well once you get the hang of them.

With the camera goggles your hands are free for swimming, but you still need to use your hands to click the shutter.  However, you can turn on the video function and then swim around hands free.

Click to start video:

No turtles were harmed while filming the above video, but some sea grass was consumed.

Mustique

In his novel The King of Torts, John Grisham aptly describes Mustique as, “…the exclusive island owned by the rich and famous, an island with everything but a runway long enough for private jets.  Rock stars and actresses and billionaires had mansions there.”

Celebrity such as Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Bowie, Raquel Welch and Shania Twain are said to be regulars at Mustique.  But, we had no celebrity sightings.

Anchoring is not permitted, and the fee for a mooring ball is $200 EC ($75 USD) for the first night, but then you get two free nights.  This has a tendency to discourage many cruisers on a tight budget.

Because Mustique was our first stop in the Grenadines, we were required to check-in with customs and immigration.  This involved a quick “taxi ride” (pickup truck with benches in the bed) to the airport where affairs were easily handled.  John Grisham was right; Mustique’s runway cannot handle jets.

Of course Mustique has the obligatory boutiques that Pollie found interesting.

And, I found the bakery and coffee shop.

To work off the pastries, we found many interesting places to walk or bicycle.

Tortoise Corner

The plaque associate with this sculpture said that the art work was gift from a couple to their many friends on Mustique.  There has to be a story behind this bequeath.

Should one tire of the normal island activities, Mustique has an equestrian center.

Of course the tack room is clean and orderly.

One nice tradition in Mustique is that most all businesses close from noon until 2:00 PM for lunch and siesta.

Dinning on Mustique can be expensive.  At Basil’s we had three beers and four shrimp for a total of $120 EC.

The pricing was somewhat justified by the décor and view.

However, the next day we found the locals restaurant, The View.  There lunch for two consisting of curried turkey, rice, and a salad along with three beers was $55 EC.  That evening on the boat we had grilled lobster purchased from local fisherman for $16 EC a pound. 

Mustique is a great playground for the not so rich and famous too.

Entrepreneurial Island

Photo courtesy of Kenmore Henville

www.bequiaphotoaction.com

As we approached Admirality Bay in Bequia, a crazy man in a dinghy started circling our boat.  He was standing up, jumping waves, driving with one hand, taking pictures with the other, and blowing a whistle to get our attention.  Soon he waved, and then took off to intercept the next boat.

Kenmore was just the first of many small boats that came by to offer us services from laundry to teak refinishing.  All were very polite and professional.  The morning after our arrival, Kenmore stopped by with a framed proof and USB drive with about 35 shots of our boat for our perusal.  He later dropped by to take our order.  We now have the photo for our Christmas cards.

Fuel, water and ice were available from other vendors. Frizy, on Phat Shag came by and collected money for the mooring ball. They would even take your garbage so you would never have to leave your boat.

Except, you must find this building to check in to the Grenadines with customs and immigration.

Then you are free to roam the island.

Bequia is a popular dive destination with many nearby sites to explore.

The hotels for the divers are fairly low key.

As well as the eateries.

Unfortunately, we never did find the Whaleboner Bar open.

I did my own diving while we were there, breaking out the compressor to clean the bottom and check the zincs.

Soon it was time to move on, so we moved on down the Grenadine chain of islands to Union Island to check out.  There we had to anchor in fairly deep water (27’) behind a reef.

 

Union Island does not have much to offer the cruiser, but we did have fun meeting Bill and Debra and having drinks on their great yacht Renegade.