I thought we were going to die….
And we weren’t even on our boat. Our first trip to St. Vincent was on February 7th when we took the ferry from Bequia to Kingstown to scout for a place to moor the following week.
Kids of all ages in school uniforms boarded the 830am Bequia Express with us for their one-hour ride to public schools on St. Vincent. We later learned that the schools were just fine on Bequia, but according to our dive master, and I quote “some parents send their kids to the schools on St. Vincent so they can get into Standford.”
We were greeted as we got off the ferry in St. Vincent by Tucker our taxi driver to take us to Blue Lagoon Marina for our first scouting stop. What is it about island taxis and no seatbelts!? I tried to put mine on as he swerved around the corner going what felt like 60 MPH. There were no streetlights and apparently no speed limits. The hills were steep and the roads narrow. That was my first, “we’re going to die” moment. He gave us a quick tour past the old airport that is now a mall and dropped us at Blue Lagoon Hotel and Marina very un-safely.
After checking out Blue Lagoon, we walked along the road to Young Island Cut to check it out and decided that would be our spot the following week. After lunch we walked up the hill and within seconds, we were swept into a speeding van which is their public bus system. I counted 15 of us in a van for 12 and luckily I was sandwiched in between two large men who would protect me from the impact of a crash, because I thought we were going to die again. This van driver must have been a former race driver as he too, sped around the corners going what felt like 80 MPH, swerved in and out of traffic all with music so loud I could feel the bass in my bones. He dropped us at the ferry very un-safely.
A gentleman named Sparrow met us the following week after the 11 ½ nautical mile sail from Bequia. The winds were out of the northeast gusting up to 25 MPH. Sparrow helped us moor on one of Jimmy’s mooring balls. Jimmy is a self-appointed ambassador for St. Vincent as it’s had a few safety issues that impacted some cruisers like us. Just like anywhere in the world, we are extra cautious and never make it easy to be a target.
Jimmy also became our driver to the infamous La Soufriere St. Vincent Volcano. We made the one hour drive through banana farms and along the windward coast to the trailhead where he introduced us to Mr. Butcher, our guide. Mr. Butcher is one of the 11 men who rebuilt the trail after the April 2021 volcano eruption. We could not believe that we were walking through a rain forest that came back within a year after the devastation to the area. Mr. Butcher and his team built steps out of bamboo for much of the trail. This 50-something gentleman knew every twist and turn and could do it with his eyes closed.
Once we got past the jungle, it felt like we were on a different planet. It was bare and there were gullies carved out by the lava flow. Once up to the top, the winds were so strong, Mr. Butcher had to show us how to stand firmly so we wouldn’t get blown over.
Then Mr. Butcher, a slightly built man of few words started yelling, “Joshua! Joshua! Come out Joshua!” Joshua is the name of the sun and he wanted it to come out so we could see into the steaming volcano as it was covered by clouds. So we joined in yelling “Joshua! Joshua! Come out Joshua!” Our efforts gained us a very quick lift of some of the clouds to see the steam rising from this active volcano.
The wind kept blowing and as we started our decent, the rain came down...hitting us sideways. It was as cold as a Colorado mountain rain…for about 10 minutes. Then before too long, we were back in the rain forest for our easy bamboo step descent.
Here’s more on this devastating eruption https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148176/eruption-at-la-soufriere
Our final stop on St. Vincent was Wallilabou. Our sail there was non-existent because the winds were maybe 3 KPH. The mountain blocked any wind we could benefit from.
Wallilabou is a tiny village where the first Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. We were greeted by several local young men asking to help us and to sell us fruits. Lener, helped us moor and tied our stern to the pylons of the non-existent pier that was in the movie.
We chose Wallilabou as we needed to clear out of St. Vincent before our sail to St. Lucia the following day. Customs and Immigration is only open from 4pm – 6pm so Joe went onto the island a little before 4pm. The staff didn’t show up until 445pm. Ah, Caribbean life.
On February 20, we bid farewell to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a country we lived in for over a month. The diversity and beauty of these islands will forever be in our memories and our hearts.
Cruiser Notes are below our photos.
Our view from Young Island Cut. Right around the corner is one of our favorite snorkeling areas. We can’t anchor so we tag teamed. Joe got to see an octopus which was so exciting.
Fort Duvernette, a short dinghy ride from Young Island Cut. Was built by the British in 1790s to protect their hub where sugar was loaded onto ships bound for English ports. There was a sign saying that it was closed for repairs, but we were told we could climb it anyway. We chose not to. Something about having an injury away from home made us think twice.
The beginning of our climb up La Soufriere St. Vincent. Notice Mr. Butcher has a Coke bottle with water in it. That’s all he carried. And he never drank a drop of it. Notice he doesn’t have a coat either, which was needed at the top.
We just don’t have green like this in Colorado. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, “Do you know how much we’d have to pay for this plant at home?!”
The beginning of the top. All the green you see in all of these photos grew back in only a year after the eruption.
It was so windy that we didn’t get near the edge. No Joshua in this photo.
Mr. Butcher ahead of us in the gullies. There’s no way we would have done this without him.
Finished! Back to warm weather.
Notes for other cruisers/yachties:
Go to St. Vincent and contact Jimmy at Young Island Cut. He's on the SV Facebook page or WhatsApp him at +17845931882
Definitely use him to do the hike as Mr. Butcher was invaluable. We're avid hikers and we wouldn't have done it without him. The beginning is easy, but navigating the top would have been impossible.
We ate at the Mint Cafe in Young Island Cut three days out of four. Obviously we loved it.
Go around the corner toward Duvernette to snorkel. The water is clear and hopefully you'll see the octopus.
Customs and Immigration has better hours at Blue Lagoon, but we didn't want a long sail to St. Lucia.
We felt safe in Wallilabou because there were eight boats anchored/moored there. Lener showed up promptly at 700am the next day to help us get off the pylons.
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