Tucked into the southeast corner of the Caribbean Sea is a meeting place of delicious proportions. Here, after flowing unimpeded for mile after mile, water at last bumps into land. Here, sun meets sand; sails meet the wind; palm trees stretch up to greet the blue, blue sky.
And what of the visitors lucky enough to find their way here? They will meet up with friendly folk, charming towns and untouched villages, fragrant flowers and pristine beaches. They will come in contact with traces of a past filled with drama and adventure, and hints of a future where change may not always be for the better. They will meet various forms of sea life, myriad tropical vegetation and creative rock and lava formations.The list is impressive. But there is one thing more that the truly fortunate find: contentment. Forget the fast lane - or even the slow lane. Many of these places have no lane at all. But they offer a chance to sit back, to enjoy, to meet Caribbean life on its own terms and revel in that meeting.
The names of these tropical islands are hardly household words: Bequia, Carriacou, St. Vincent, Mayreau, Palm Island, Tobago Cay. They are part of an island group known as the Grenadines. Grenada (oh, yeah, didn't something happen there a while ago?) is a kindred spirit to thesouth. And with Martinique and St. Lucia to the north, they also form the chain known as the Windward Islands.The Grenadines are volcanic in origin, with steep mountains and craggy peaks. They are tropical in climate with lush vegetation that covers like a carpet.
Most of them were sighted by Columbus on his third voyage to the New World in 1498, but it was the English and French that fought over them, ousting the fierce Carib Indians in the process. The English eventually gained the upper hand and made fortunes on sugar and slave trade here and elsewhere in the Caribbean. (And they lost a few fortunes as well to the pirates who plied these waters in the 18th century - another colorful chapter in the history book.)
Today, the majority of inhabitants are black or mulatto descendants of slaves who escaped, were shipwrecked or gained their freedom. St. Vincent and Grenada are independent countries with ties to the British Commonwealth. Of the 40-plus Grenadines scattered between them, only a handful are inhabited (with a total population of about 18,000). A few are privately owned, the majority are under the jurisdiction of St. Vincent and a couple controlled by Grenada.
Most of the natives speak English - with lilting charm - as well as their native Patois, a dialect with French and English roots.The Grenadines are not the most accessible part of the Caribbean - which is, of course, part of their appeal. Grenada and St. Vincent have airports and ports big enough to accommodate the large cruise ships. But most of the smaller islands are reached only by sailing ships and private or chartered sailboats. (I was on a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise, aboard the Mandalay, a 236-foot yacht, that set sail from Grenada and took a week making its way up through the Grenadines to St. Lucia.)
This is sailing country of the first order, with short distances, strong winds and smooth seas (even during hurricane season, the storms rarely rage this far south). Some of the anchorages are considered among the best and most beautiful in the world.
And while each of the individual islands shares common bonds with its neighbors, each offers something a little different as well.
Grenada is sometimes called the Spice Island because of the nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, mace and cocoa that grow there. In fact, 25 percent of the world's nutmeg is grown on Grenada.
The island was first settled by the French, but the English had the final word as to pronunciation: You say it gre-NAY-da. St. Georges, the capital, has one of the prettiest harbors in the world, with the picturesque Carenage lined with 18th-century warehouses, homes and restaurants.
In the interior of the island is Grand Etang National Park, an extinct volcano that now houses a lake and wildlife preserve.
Grenada came briefly to national attention in 1983, when U.S. and Caribbean forces invaded the island after the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.
Whatever the opinion of the rest of the world, the Grenadians consider the invasion a blessing. They speak with affection of "Uncle Reagan" who sent "the boys" to their defense. Their heartfelt thanks is still expressed in billboards and signs around town.
Grenada also controls nearby Carriacou (CARRY-cou), which at 13 square miles is the largest of the Grenadines. Hillsborough, the island's "big town," is popular with sailors and snorkelers - as are the crystal waters and coral reefs off shore.
The people are friendly, proud of their visitors center, their museum and their resort hotel. And most can tell you the African tribe to which they trace their ancestry.
St. Vincent is sometimes called the "Breadfruit Island" because it was the first in the Caribbean to be planted with the legendary fruit brought from the South Pacific by Captain Bligh. It also has the oldest botanical gardens in the Western Hemisphere, founded in 1765 and today a showplace of flowers and finery.
Fort Charlotte provides a spectacular view of the harbor as well as a look at the past - days when cannons were mounted facing inwards because the biggest threat came from marauding Caribs who lived in the hills, not the pirate ships that came by sea. If you're lucky, you might find a guide named Elvis to show you around.
The black-sand beaches on St. Vincent are probably not the best because of the rugged cliffs - but the rest of the Grenadines more than make up for it.Look up "ideal" in the island-making recipe book, and you could likely find Palm Island, which has an almost-perfect blend of island ingredients.
The resort island has been developed by John Caldwell, author of "Desperate Voyage," an account of his youthful voyage around the world. The island boasts white beaches, spectacular water colors, thousands of palms, 20 beachfront cottages and Highway 90, a 11/2-mile path around the perimeter.
Bequia (BECK-wee) is another little gem with an easygoing, lighthearted atmosphere. It is an old whaling port and still a favorite with sailors; Admiralty Bay is often packed with yachts. The waterfront is lined with restaurants, houses and boutiques, including a pizza parlor where the specialty of the day is likely to be lobster pizza.
And there's Mayreau, with its perfect little Salt Whistle Bay and one hotel on one side of the island and a lovely stretch of beach lined by sea grape and palms on the other. Where the people live by farming and fishing, and where in an open-air classroom next to the church at the top of a goat-nibbled hill, the children sing a song about the fire of the sun and the power of the wind and the beautiful planet in the sky where we all live.This, say those in the know, is the Caribbean the way it used to be before the advent of high-rise tourism.
Here, the luxuries to be found are those served up by Mother Nature: a sunset, a changing palate of water colors, a sparsely inhabited beach.
The sun, the sand, the wind, the sky. It's enough to make you lie back and let the contentment sink into your bones. Ah, yes, you say. Tell me when the next ship will come. . . .
- Carma Wadley visited the Caribbean as the guest of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises.