Before I begin, I must thank Bank of America for sponsoring this wonderful trip........................
One thing I knew before I arrived here is that island folk do not live on the same hurried schedules as we do, but it is easy to forget. Case in point: my 1130 flight to St. Vincent took off “on time” at 1150, and the 1pm ferry left “on time” at 130. I waited longer in the line at the airport in Barbados for a 30-passenger flight than I did in Chicago for a 300-passenger flight. At least in Barbados the line was outside and I was able to enjoy the warm weather. While the customs officer in Barbados quickly stamped my passport and told me to have a nice trip, the customs officer in St. Vincent wanted my life history and reprimanded me for not having a printout of my full itinerary for the next month. Perhaps the former incident was not normal because of the fact that it was at 130 in the morning and the guy just really wanted to go home.
What I love about the smaller and more distant islands in the Caribbean is experiencing the local cultures, but I was quite surprised to be one of very few white american tourists on the flight from Barbados and on the ferry to Bequia. I spoke with the other two tourists on my flight, a retired couple from England, who were coming to Bequia to surprise their grandchildren. Let me tell you, those kids sure were surprised when they got off the boat! Then I thought I was doing really well with my social skills when I met another couple frantically running for a taxi to catch the 100 ferry like myself and asked if I could share with them. Turns out they are my age and have a house here and come down every month from Florida. Nice.
The ferry is very much for commerce and the passengers are kind of incidental. I watched them load building supplies, truckloads of gravel, food and lots and lots of mysterious boxes. I also watched a local merchant hack up a bunch of some sort of really big green/orange/yellow fruit at the dock with a machete so that people could drink from it. As much as I wanted to run down and try some I figured I will save the food adventures for later. While on the ferry I saw some people with beers so I decided to get one, not realizing that you have to venture down to the very depths of the boat where all the locals hang out. I had gone too far to turn back but a word to the wise - do not go to the depths of a ferry without your sea legs. I almost fell over about 10 times.
When I arrived, Koko the dog greeted me and Liz showed me around this charming villa. I have my own pool with an incredible view and a great private outdoor lounge area for reading and relaxing. My driver Raleigh set me up with a mini moke which he just delivered and I will quickly have to adjust to driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the super skinny roads. Be very afraid for me!
Until I locate a USB cord, you all are going to just have to imagine how beautiful it is here. Words and pictures can’t do it justice.
One thing I knew before I arrived here is that island folk do not live on the same hurried schedules as we do, but it is easy to forget. Case in point: my 1130 flight to St. Vincent took off “on time” at 1150, and the 1pm ferry left “on time” at 130. I waited longer in the line at the airport in Barbados for a 30-passenger flight than I did in Chicago for a 300-passenger flight. At least in Barbados the line was outside and I was able to enjoy the warm weather. While the customs officer in Barbados quickly stamped my passport and told me to have a nice trip, the customs officer in St. Vincent wanted my life history and reprimanded me for not having a printout of my full itinerary for the next month. Perhaps the former incident was not normal because of the fact that it was at 130 in the morning and the guy just really wanted to go home.
What I love about the smaller and more distant islands in the Caribbean is experiencing the local cultures, but I was quite surprised to be one of very few white american tourists on the flight from Barbados and on the ferry to Bequia. I spoke with the other two tourists on my flight, a retired couple from England, who were coming to Bequia to surprise their grandchildren. Let me tell you, those kids sure were surprised when they got off the boat! Then I thought I was doing really well with my social skills when I met another couple frantically running for a taxi to catch the 100 ferry like myself and asked if I could share with them. Turns out they are my age and have a house here and come down every month from Florida. Nice.
The ferry is very much for commerce and the passengers are kind of incidental. I watched them load building supplies, truckloads of gravel, food and lots and lots of mysterious boxes. I also watched a local merchant hack up a bunch of some sort of really big green/orange/yellow fruit at the dock with a machete so that people could drink from it. As much as I wanted to run down and try some I figured I will save the food adventures for later. While on the ferry I saw some people with beers so I decided to get one, not realizing that you have to venture down to the very depths of the boat where all the locals hang out. I had gone too far to turn back but a word to the wise - do not go to the depths of a ferry without your sea legs. I almost fell over about 10 times.
When I arrived, Koko the dog greeted me and Liz showed me around this charming villa. I have my own pool with an incredible view and a great private outdoor lounge area for reading and relaxing. My driver Raleigh set me up with a mini moke which he just delivered and I will quickly have to adjust to driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the super skinny roads. Be very afraid for me!
Until I locate a USB cord, you all are going to just have to imagine how beautiful it is here. Words and pictures can’t do it justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment