The main island of SVG, short for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, isn’t drastically different from St. Lucia. The style of construction and way of life are quite similar. Compared to Havana, however, this feels more like a suburban settlement, which says a lot about where the centers of power were historically located.
The nature is beautiful, at least as much as we could experience, because renting a car or getting a taxi between Christmas and New Year’s was nearly impossible. We waited for hours at the reception desk day after day, hoping they could arrange a vehicle for us, but eventually, we gave up. A walk was welcome after spending so much time on the boat anyway.
We went to the reception so many times that whenever the receptionist saw us, she would immediately wave her hand, indicating that she hadn’t managed to find anything. And even when she did find a vehicle, it would never actually show up (we had this happen several times). How the locals get around the island is beyond me, especially considering that no one seems to know when the buses are running.
The capital, Kingstown, is about a 30-minute walk from Blue Lagoon Marina. On the opposite side of the road, towards the cape, there seem to be some more luxurious properties. The beaches are nice, at least those around Blue Lagoon, so there are places to swim and stroll. Swimming in the marina itself, however, is definitely not recommended.
The island boasts the magnificent La Soufrière volcano, which is over 1,000 meters above sea level. Due to the lack of transportation, we weren’t able to visit it this time. There are apparently many hiking trails there, and it’s supposedly possible to climb almost to the summit, or so the Lonely Planet guide says. It seems this will have to wait for a future visit.
The locals are very friendly, which seems to be their general demeanor and not just related to the holiday season. The marina has a small hotel that was completely full, indicating that the town itself was also quite crowded with tourists. It seems this is a popular Caribbean destination, although I’m not sure I’d have a strong desire to come here specifically as a tourist on a small plane, for example.
Everything is ready for our departure. We’ve rested a bit, repaired all the minor issues, including the mainsail rope, and now we’re ready to move on to Canouan Island, also in St. Vincent & The Grenadines.