By crossing the bay from Petite Martinique to Petit St. Vincent we had effectively crossed from Grenada to the jurisdiction of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We had changed our courtesy flag accordingly but the officials accept a delayed formalisation so we have to ‘clear in’ in Clifton on Union Island. This is just a short sail into a busy harbour with the usual ‘boat boy hassle’ but the process was thankfully brief and we made our way to Saline Bay on the west coast of Mayreau where we intend to spend the night. There was a cruise ship anchored in the pretty bay and they had set up loungers and water sports on the beach for their passengers. The bay was returned to a sleepy sanctuary on their departure and we were entertained all around us by shoals of small jumping fish pursued by larger jumping fish which all made the water ‘boil’ and provided some spectacular entertainment for some time.
A trip ashore and a walk up the steep hill, past the vaunted Dennis’s restaurant found the Island Paradise bar/restaurant which we had visited in 2012. To us, this was Caribbean utopia, rum cocktails in lovely surroundings while we waited patiently for the local dishes which were all superb.
Lynn and Paula write:-
Earlier today whilst Nick and Paula worried about the possibly tenuous anchoring, Neville and I swam ashore to explore the ‘exclusive’ Palm Island resort.
Another beautiful beach, a resort not quite as exclusive as Petit St. Vincent but it certainly looked pleasant. We headed for Clifton Bay on Union Island for Nick to clear us all back into The Grenadines. We shopped for our essential provisions only to find we could buy a bag of Tesco mixed nuts for £9.00!!!! Bargain!!!! We then headed for Saline Bay on the island of Mayreau. We swam ashore for a snorkel amongst the cruise liner crowd. Back on board, the fish delighted us with their aqua aerobics display.
We ventured into the village for our evening meal….our choice of a very local restaurant proved to be a winner! We all had quite a few rum cocktails whilst we waited patiently for our meal s to be prepared from scratch…. It does take some time but it is worth it! Our downhill stroll back to the dinghy was escorted by a pack of local ‘friendly’ dogs….well Nick and Paula did not appreciate the company! Now back on board,
Neville is asleep as usual so he cannot contribute through his shut eyelids…so we can all say bonne nuit after a very bonne journee!
It’s like reading ‘memory lane’ but great stuff!