Princess Margaret Beach, Bequia: What a Perfect Place for an Afternoon of Calabash Crafts 101.

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We've been busy having fun hiking in Bequia. And thought somehow, others might like it too. And since we've met up with Sunny and John (SV Notre Vie) and Gwen and Guillaume (SV Slow Waltz) we somehow all came up with the The.Greatest.Idea.Ever, which was, since they hadn't ever been, we experienced and seasoned silly ones (as in Dalynn & Glen and Dave & I), would go with them up to Peggy's Rock. Again.

(Like once wasn't enough?)

Long Hike Short, we gathered at the beach bright and early, walked through town, past the views of the Whaling Station, did a sharp right turn and up the hill, turned at the Bright Red Jeep and sweated our way up the hill to the Top, thighs burning and bodies relatively unscathed but definitely hot and sweaty. And all the while, once again, empowered by the most impressive views,



checking out the small airport landing strip,



and thanks to Gwen's Camera with it's remote control access and a slight tilt to the rock it was resting on, we got a perfect group photo.



Fun Times complete with Red Cheeks was had by all.

We started the long walk back down, same way we came, cameras tucked away and clambering down over the boulders trying not to get fingers or shins pierced by the yucca plants as we slipped our way down.

However it was thanks to Guillaume's Eagle Eyes who spotted the small bit of blue Oreo Cookie Wrapper Nailed to a tree that pointed the road, a path, a bend in the trees that might signal the way straight down the steep incline of the mountain and into Lower Bay. Dalynn and Glen had been chasing, looking for this path for the past couple of years, trips.



It was a sheer hell type of clamber trying to find the bent twig that signalled the way,



trying very hard to not get pierced by the thorns and things whipping us along, and we even discovered a very hidden and very mysterious grow-op along the way,



where, who knows how long later, the dusty and dry waterbed finally spit us out



on a path, road to the village cluster of houses and where thank heavens, we found this...



A Cold. Drink Stop. Where we rested for a moment with something very cold and refreshing.



After the fact I read the following by Chris Doyle, who describes the path we used as follows: "...if you stand on the edge of the yucca you can see the good trail just a few thousand razor-sharp prickles away on your right. Take a few steps back and find your way over. The trail after that is quite clear and the first part is marked here and there with red tape (this may be the only time I have been thankful for red tape). At first it is clearly a cut trail then it turns into a dry stream bed. It is very steep and full of slippery dead leaves, so take it slow. Down, down, down, slipping, scrambling, grabbing for trees..."

While in the shade in the few houses that is the village of Lower Bay we noticed we were sitting under a Calabash tree with many large green gourds ready for the taking. After asking for, and receiving permission, we had ourselves a bit of a scramble trying to get some,



and thank goodness for Dave's quick catch, we each got ourselves one !!



Then it was another long walk back uphill, downhill and across the beach and back to the boat, however it went by rather fast as we were all excited to reconvene for Afternoon Calabash Crafts 101.



Where much discussion about tools ensued,



Enuf said :)

The gourd's were sliced and drilled,



the inside stinky brown icky mess scooped out,



and everyone



had their turn,



working on their own respective projects.



The gourds were then ready to be placed in the sun where they will sit for a few days to dry out and brown... at which time we will sand ours down, finish the edges, pretty it up and voila... a possible lampshade for our new cockpit light! Will post photos when it's all said and done.

Wasn't long thereafter before we all headed back home to rest - what a day !! Arts and Crafts can be very tiring :)