Dec 30

Written by: chris
12/30/2009 

There is an inverse relationship in travel between the ease of travelling to a place and the unspoilt nature of that place. And by ‘unspoilt’, I mean the degree to which the destination remains true to its own culture and not homogenized into "AnywhereVille". And so St. Vincent and the Grenadines remains true to its Caribbean roots, the vibrant fusion of native, African and European peoples that epitomises what is so wonderful about this part of the world, and where we chose to confirm our commitment to each other after 30 years of marriage.

St. Vincent

The ‘big’ island (it’s only 29 by 18 km) fully lives up to its reputation as ‘the Caribbean you’re looking for’. It’s lush: green is everywhere, punctuated by bursts of intense flower colours. It’s mountainous: almost everything is built on slopes that lead up to cloud-wreathed mountains over 4,000 feet high. The coastline is dramatic, with a wild Atlantic coast of black sand beaches and a gentle Caribbean coast of golden sands and sheltered bays (the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in one of these); we saw much of this in the knowledgeable company of Clint and Millie Hazell, owners of HazECO Tours, on an exhilarating speedboat trip up the coast. And St. Vincent has a classic, awe-inspiring volcano that is the centrepiece of one of the Caribbean’s most exciting hiking trails.

You inevitably meet and interact with the people if you choose one of the many hotels and resorts that are small family owned and managed properties with maybe 20 - 30 rooms. We stayed at Grenadine House overlooking the colourful capital town of Kingstown – highly recommended.

Restaurants are a similarly authentic experience. Local dishes are available everywhere – and you hotel may well grow fruit and vegetables on their property. Worst case it is fresh that day from the local produce market. Fish include delicious Mahi-Mahi, Snapper and Kingfish either plain or with Creole sauce. Breadfruit is a common accompaniment and the traditional soup is Callaloo – made from a vegetable something like spinach. Restaurants that we enjoyed include the Sapodilla Room at Grenadine House, the Cobblestone Inn in Kingstown, the French Verandah and the Driftwood restaurants, both right on the shore opposite Young Island.

Young Island

I cherish tiny island resorts: they appeal to the big kid in me as I play Robinson Crusoe by day, knowing there is good food and a soft pillow by night. The Grenadines are richly endowed in these rare and unique escape resorts. We stayed at Young Island Resort, just three minutes ferry ride from St Vincent but an ocean away from the real world, full of jungle paths, blissful pools and spectacular sunsets. Our hilltop villa overlooked the impressive rock of Fort Duvernette and this was where we broadcast the radio shows with our warm and wonderful host Bianca Porter, GM of Young Island Resort, and the dynamic Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Glen Beache.

Bequia

The island of Bequia is a bracing 60 minute ferry ride south of St. Vincent. Here the languid pace of life on the main island seems almost frenzied by comparison. Everything is relative. Old forts, model boat craftsmen, barefoot beach restaurants, a colourful and fruity-pungent food market, flower-lined trails and a Hawksbill turtle sanctuary where Brother King entertains as a poacher turned born-again gamekeeper. His pet Hawksbill, BusyBody, swims over at his calling and expects to be petted…And time to drift away in a hammock beside the perfect beach at Bequia Beach Hotel.

Canouan

The island of Canouan is largely given over to the luxurious Raffles Resort. Beautiful villas tucked into the hillside have stunning views. The spa is built over water, Polynesian-style, and you can lie face down on the massage table looking through a glass floor at the myriad colourful fish below. The bar menu includes a $300US Martini where the olive comes on a 24 carat gold cocktail stick. Despite this the atmosphere is casual and relaxed. The Guest Services Manager told me that when the resort was first built they had to “teach the locals how to work. However, they also taught us how to relax….” We stayed at the Tamarind Beach Hotel and Yacht Club which is under the same ownership as Raffles, where the beach front palms trees whispered sweet nothings to us on the trade wind breezes as we sat on our balcony.

Tobago Cays

Somewhere in the glorious hodge-podge of uninhabited islands that comprise the Tobago Cays in the Grenadines, I knew that I had finally switched off. We had sailed from Union Island on a catamaran with The Moorings, crewed competently and discretely by Merion and Jennifer. It was good to be under sail and moving between heaven and earth over the improbably turquoise waters of this protected Marine Park. We dropped anchor (carefully, not touching the fragile coral), donned snorkel and mask, and Dara and I let the warm current waft us over the coral reef and brilliant tropical fish as we floated hand-in-hand in our very own universe.

Petit St. Vincent

And so it was in a very relaxed frame of mind that we arrived in the private island resort of Petit St. Vincent (universally known as ‘PSV’) for our vow renewal, to be greeted by the charming Charlie Carroll and Christie Knoff. PSV is the epitome of luxury island escape. Secluded villas nestle all around the island. If you need anything at all you write your request, lodge it in a bamboo tube and raise your flag….. and your drink, snack, dinner reservation or whatever will be taken care of. Here in a world of laid-back privacy, luxury and tranquility we lunched in a villa overlooking a pristine beach and prepared for our ceremony.

Mopion

What to wear for such a unique event? I am “Mr Tilley” when it comes to clothes – I live in this informal travel gear – so I wore a blue shirt, khakis and the crowning glory of a famous Tilley hat. Dara also chose a Tilley hat and a simple white top and skirt that fell un-creased from the suitcase after a week. It was light and cool, and performed wonderfully as we waded from a small speedboat to the shores of Mopian Sand Cay – our chosen venue.

Stripped down to the bare essentials of a Minister (Father Andrew, an avuncular priest from near-by Union Island) and two witnesses the ceremony itself was quite lovely and very moving. Charlie from PSV came along as a witness as did Janice who did Dara’s makeup and also provided motherly hugs. It’s not that we took our marriage for granted after 30 years, but somehow you do take short cuts and rely on “of course you know”. So making the effort to go to this beautiful, remote, romantic place and say out loud in public that you love each other is very special.

I’m a guy, and half British too, so a stiff upper lip normally sees me through occasions such as this. But on a tiny sand cay in the middle of the Caribbean, hand in hand with a lady who has no business looking as beautiful as she does after 30 years of being married to me, my radio voice cracked as I renewed my commitment to her in front of our family for the day…and the gentle swash of turquoise waters on the pure white sands.