A whale of a time

The tranquil island of Bequia was a late addition to our cruise. A few months ago, SilverSea emailed us advising that Mayreau Island, our original port of call, had been dropped in favour of Bequia. It claimed that Mayreau, the smallest inhabited island in the Grenadines, was still recovering from Hurricane Beryl, which struck in July 2024. As a result, its infrastructure wasn’t up to the task of supporting our ship and its discerning guests.

The change proved noteworthy in that, much like Mayreau, it was another tender-only port. We’re finding that these smaller ports are more rustic, with a more colourful local character. Bequia definitely met the brief today. We saw more of the locals going about their daily lives than in larger ports. 

Bequia is part of the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and lies about 15 kilometres south og the nation’s capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent. We’ll be visiting Kingstown towards the end of our cruise. At 18 square kilometres, it's the second-largest island in the Grenadines. 

Once again, once breakfast was done, we joined a morning tour of the island. Our tour took us to several scenic spots in open jeeps. This included a stop at the remnants of Fort Hamilton, located on a high bluff overlooking Port Elizabeth Cove. Here, our guides regaled us with stories of endless colonial tensions between the French and British.

However, the enormous caterpillars we discovered on frangipani trees nearby delivered the most memorable moment, along with picturesque views of our ship anchored offshore. Our guide identified the brightly striped caterpillars as those of the Tetrio Sphinx moth (Pseudosphinx tetrio), also commonly known as a frangipani hornworm. If you look closely, you'll notice they have the cutest red booties on their feet. Sadly, the moth they morph into is an ugly creature.

We also visited a local model boat builder. The handcrafted models on display were impressive. We even got to meet one of the artists hard at work, carving a new timber hull. In case you’re wondering, it’s USD260 for the smallest model yacht. If we had a way to get the home, I’d have been tempted to buy one. The craftsmanship was exquisite. They’re the perfect man cave accessory.

I also got rather excited to see my first breadfruit tree outside the model workshop. Our guide explained that the enormous fruit hanging from its branches wasn't ripe.  Apparently, they have a few months to go. However, I now appreciate why breadfruit is so popular in the Pacific. You could definitely feed a family a meal with one of these enormous things.

After this morning’s tour finished, Garry and I went for a walk along the waterfront in Port Elizabeth, the island’s only settlement. The town boasts a narrow 800 metre long boardwalk of timber and concrete linking the main wharf with a small beach at the end of Admiralty Bay. Belmont walkway continues over a small headland to a second white sand beach. However, we turned back once we reached the Plantation Hotel overlooking the beach.

Incredibly, as we walked, we could see fish teeming in the shallow waters. In the distance, pelicans were driving and fishing. Other highlights from our walk included a brief stop outside the Whaleboner. The bar and restaurant is named after whale bones that form some of its fittings. This includes whalebone trim along the bar and barstools made from the vertebrae of a 25-metre humpback whale caught in 1995. Guests are also greeted at the entrance by a door arch made from whalebone ribs.

Today’s fun fact: Bequia is one of the few places in the world where limited whaling is still allowed. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) classifies the island's hunt under the regulations concerning aboriginal whaling. As a result, Bequia’s people can catch up to four humpback whales per year using traditional hunting methods, i.e. sailboat and hand-thrown harpoon. The limit is rarely met, with no catches at all occurring in some years.

One final observation. Concrete is a popular building material in the Caribbean. Everywhere we go, we see concrete. If you look closely at the images in this post, you'll see that the road was paved with it and the boardwalk was built with it. Even the local church shown above was constructed entirely from concrete. Sadly, it's often poorly finished, creating a slightly shabby and impoverished streetscape wherever we go.