Mustique is famous for being home to approx 100 villas owned by famous and perhaps not-so-famous, but all of them insanely rich people. Wouldn't you like a peek behind some of these closed doors?

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The torrential rains went on for most of the night, and most of the morning as well. When we checked on dinghy during one of the dry spells, this is what we saw,



sure made us thankful that one of our routine evening inspections has us ensuring that the gas tank airlock is closed quite tight. No and's, if's or but's on that one!

The job at hand was then to remove the water, not by the iddy-biddy scoop, but by the very large bucket-ful !!



After a morning of WiFi and chores, followed by lunch, we noticed the rains had slowed to a light drizzle and the skies looked less ominous.

"Let's head out" I said, my legs itching to get moving !!



We came across this statue of,



The Lord Glenconeer, aka Colin Tennant, a Scottish Noble, who in 1958 bought the island of Mustique for the modest sum of £45,000.

Interestingly enough, Wikipedia states:

"The cost of running Mustique depleted Glenconner's family fortune and he took on business partners. Eventually, he went into exile on St. Lucia, where he ran for many years the "Bang Between the Pitons" restaurant (now sold to the adjacent Jalousie Plantation hotel)."

We came across this entrance to a hidden villa, this being the gate-house of sorts,



followed by this very ornate and impressive (and very locked) gate,



and what lies beyond as far as the camera could see.



Back out to the main road and further on down we come across an elementary school here, and a library,



and tennis courts and sports fields. Horse stables behind the white picket fence off in the distance,



a speed limit of 20 miles/hour and signs warning you to be cautious.



A few of these creatures that had come out to play, or rather, graze on the wet green grasses,



which truly makes me wonder what these guys looked like in pre-historic times?

And then finally, our intended destination,



the airport,



where we were hoping someone would be around to clear us out of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Cruising Guide indicates that there is a 50-50% chance of being able to do so, and we thought with nothing better to do on this wet day, why not give it a try?

The very friendly lady behind the Customs desk waved us into her air conditioned office, and confirmed that yes indeed, we can check in/check out of Mustique, anytime.

So armed with the paperwork to complete we sat down to start the process, while she texted the Immigration guy to tell him that he would soon be needed and sure enough he was there within moments, way before we were even halfway through the form.



What an easy and pleasurable process this was, with very friendly agents and will sure save us a few hours of anchor down/prep dinghy/dinghy ashore/clear out/anchor up process in Union, before arriving in Carriacou.

We continued on our walk, and given the late start to the day, knew we would not be able to circumnavigate the entire North Shore with its array of private villa's,



like we had originally planned to do, so opted for a shorter circumnavigation around the airport grounds instead, visiting the (closed for off season) Cotton House



the oldest building on the island, now an exclusive hotel and villa rental.

Towards the beach (with what looks like it could be a private beach behind that cliff).



where even the foot baths are unique and inventive, n'est ce pas?



The grounds even this being off season were immaculate and groomed to perfection,



the rain having given added life to every flower and blossom,



and the Sugar Mill Museum, also closed (yes I double checked).



We walked down roads such as this,



peeked through gates that housed villas such as these,



and what? No signs for Turtle Crossings?



It was late afternoon and time to head back, but we didn't want to pass up a refreshing cold beverage at The View,



with What A View!! Two beers here for $10EC.

With a quick stop at the grocery store for a few things, although they were out of bread as the shop hadn't come in),

"Tomorrow, comeback tomorrow" said the kind gentleman as he handed me the eggs.

Back into dinghy and back to Banyan for a refreshing swim with the many diverse schools of fish that had been busy cleaning Banyan's bottom, saving us the chore.

Rain Day or not, we got alo done and it was fun to be out and about exploring, and peeking behind closed doors!!