Friendship Rose sailing trip to the Tobago Cays (“Keys” for those of you unfamiliar with island speak)
Funny how I can’t get my lazy ass to work before 9 a.m. but was able to be up and at ‘em at 6:30 this morning ready to head down to the dock to go sailing for the day…. I was even my unusual chipper self!
I was one of about 30 people on the boat and the crew and the guests were all quite friendly. I met a bankruptcy lawyer from Hawaii who was here buying land, contrary to the advice of all of his logical friends. Buying land here is kind of like opening a restaurant in NJ in Tony Soprano’s hood. Can’t trust anyone and if you hire someone who isn’t politically connected in St. Vincent you can get really screwed. The government requires an alien landholders permit which is basically like an FBI application. It is the unanimous opinion of the locals that Bequia is in its last days of being a sleepy, quaint and unknown paradise as they watch the government put uninhabited parcels of land up for sale at prices that only affluent foreigners can afford. Many blame the Firefly (http://www.fireflybequia.com/) for speeding up the process. The Firefly is one of only 2 hotels in Mustique, and it recently opened a hotel and restaurant here. It is not far from where I am staying and goes for around $600/night, while rooms at the world-famous (but rustic) Frangiapani start at $50/night (although you have to share a bathroom and may not always have water……………). So if any of you were thinking of buying a part of paradise, do it now. You can hire me to scout out the place for you :)
I slept on a cushion on the deck on the 3-hour sail down to the Cays, and when I woke up I was thrilled to see the beautiful turquoise water and white sand on the teeny little islands that make up the Cays. There isn’t much to do other then enjoy the beauty, swim and snorkel but that was just fine by me. We were served an incredible lunch with wine, followed (as usual) by too many rum punches which made for a very relaxing sail home. It was an uneventful day but I was exhausted and spent the evening on the couch and had a great night’s sleep – finally.
Funny how I can’t get my lazy ass to work before 9 a.m. but was able to be up and at ‘em at 6:30 this morning ready to head down to the dock to go sailing for the day…. I was even my unusual chipper self!
I was one of about 30 people on the boat and the crew and the guests were all quite friendly. I met a bankruptcy lawyer from Hawaii who was here buying land, contrary to the advice of all of his logical friends. Buying land here is kind of like opening a restaurant in NJ in Tony Soprano’s hood. Can’t trust anyone and if you hire someone who isn’t politically connected in St. Vincent you can get really screwed. The government requires an alien landholders permit which is basically like an FBI application. It is the unanimous opinion of the locals that Bequia is in its last days of being a sleepy, quaint and unknown paradise as they watch the government put uninhabited parcels of land up for sale at prices that only affluent foreigners can afford. Many blame the Firefly (http://www.fireflybequia.com/) for speeding up the process. The Firefly is one of only 2 hotels in Mustique, and it recently opened a hotel and restaurant here. It is not far from where I am staying and goes for around $600/night, while rooms at the world-famous (but rustic) Frangiapani start at $50/night (although you have to share a bathroom and may not always have water……………). So if any of you were thinking of buying a part of paradise, do it now. You can hire me to scout out the place for you :)
I slept on a cushion on the deck on the 3-hour sail down to the Cays, and when I woke up I was thrilled to see the beautiful turquoise water and white sand on the teeny little islands that make up the Cays. There isn’t much to do other then enjoy the beauty, swim and snorkel but that was just fine by me. We were served an incredible lunch with wine, followed (as usual) by too many rum punches which made for a very relaxing sail home. It was an uneventful day but I was exhausted and spent the evening on the couch and had a great night’s sleep – finally.
1 comment:
Y NO SCUBA DIVING;(FROM KEVIN
Post a Comment