Friendship Bay
22 July 2007 | Bequia
Randy
Today we motored around to the south side of the island to try out Friendship Bay. Along the route we passed by Moon Hole. This little settlement is the embodiment of a vision had by late architect Tom Johnson. The development is a no-power, all natural, sprawling set of stone structures built into the bones of the rocky cliffs. It spreads out along the western tip of Bequia with the original structure located inside a stone arch, known as the Moon Hole. A boulder fell from the top of the Moon Hole a while back and made that unit a bit less desirable. The project has since spread over a considerable area and consists of organic lines and stone construction with no right angles to speak of. This is one of the places that we really wanted to visit but didn't get a chance to. We did get a 360 degree view as we motored all around the point and the trip was worth it just for this.
Friendship Bay was a great surprise. It is just a short walk from Lower Bay in the Admiralty Bay area but a world away. There were literally no cruising boats here other than Kelp Fiction II and Swingin' on a Star, compared with close to one hundred in the greater Admiralty Bay area. The only other boats in Friendship Bay were three small fishing boats on moorings, and only one of those moved the whole time we were there. Friendship Bay can be rolly for mono hulls so a stern anchor is a nice idea. This is not a problem because there's plenty of room, at least in the off season.
After securing the big boats we all went ashore to visit the Friendship Bay resort and Mosquito Beach Bar. The resort is picturesque and out of the way. It has lovely grounds with well cared for gardens. Mosquito was just as you would imagine an idyllic isolated Caribbean beach bar to be.
We were the only clients in the Bar the entire time we were there, and we were there for about six hours! We had a relaxed lunch just feet from the beach. We were also very happy with the cuisine especially the fish. After cooking our lunch we saw the chef walk out to the beach and take a swim. I want his job.
After lunch we retired to the bar which has swinging chairs hung from the ceiling all about. We enjoyed each other's company and had some interesting discussions with the chef and the Bequia folks as the afternoon waned. Mosquito also provided free Internet access so we all spent a bit of time browsing and catching up with friends in other places.
As the sun began to set the place got crowded, two folks from the resort came to the bar. What?! Now there would only be a ratio of one staff per client. Intolerable. We left before it got too dark and dinghied back to the big boats for a contented nights sleep.