Mustique is the domain of the rich and famous and Princess Margaret had a home here. Many yachties avoid it, as it's known for being expensive and people believe that they are not allowed to wander around on shore. Anchoring is not allowed and the charge for taking a mooring buoy is US$85 or 220 EC, for boats up to 70 metres in length. However, having paid for a night, you are gifted up to 2 extra nights free, such that the charge for 3 nights is actually cheaper than 3 nights in Tobago Cays. Nessa V and Muirgen would be staying for 3 nights. Only around 6 of the 20 buoys were taken, so we managed to pick up buoys close to the shore and just south of the jetty and Basil's Bar. There is a reef along the beach, so I went snorkelling with Sara and Nigel, for an hour. Much of the coral is dead or dying but there are still plenty of fish and turtles galore. We saw a massive (5 or 6 foot) barracuda, hovering, alone, over the reef, with its mouth open, showing its impressive set of teeth. We also saw an eagle ray, which flew away from us and off into the murky waters, where the waves crashed onto the reef. Reef fish included sweetlips, parrot fish, angel fish, box fish, butterfly fish, wrasse, snapper, jacks, including a large barjack (good eating) and flying gurnard. On the sand, we spotted rays and several turtles. In the afternoon, it was ridiculously hot and we spent it dipping in and out of the water. We also ate some of the soursop, which was delicious but I couldn't get on with the texture. At 5pm, we went ashore for a sundowner at Basil's, where we were joined by Sara and Nigel. The prices on the menu seemed reasonable and we ordered a beer and a cucumber mojito before noticing the small print at the bottom of the menu, which stated that prices were in US dollars and a 12% service charge would be added. The actual cost was 3 times what we would usually pay. Consequently, we didn't stay for long.
I was up at 6am the next day and it was raining, so I spent some time updating the blog, before having a swim, while Pete slept on. Sara and I went paddleboarding along the reef. We could see the fish and turtles, as the water was very shallow. The offshore breeze started to freshen and we were beyond all of the boats and mooring buoys, so we turned round and paddled hard to move back inshore. Nessa V had to move buoys, as there was going to be a ship coming in the bring fuel and they would be in the way. Then they went ashore to walk, soon to be followed by us. We walked south, along the coast, sometimes in the water and other times under the palm trees. Along the way, there were picnic tables, with straw unbrellas and other shelters, which can be reserved by the residents or the hotels, for lunches and dinners. Nothing was reserved for today, that we saw, although Sara and Nigel did see one all set up for lunch in Lagoon Bay. The island and shoreline were beautiful and picturesque, as well as being very quiet, as we were no longer in peak season. We found a lagoon, with an island made entirely of conch shells and here we spoke to a ranger about the coral and the increased sea temperature, as well as el nino. He said they had lost a lot of coral last year and were planning to move their coral nurseries out to deeper, cooler water, to try to save them. He also commented that, although they had never had a hurricane there, the team had had a hurricane meeting that morning. It is generally expected that the season will start sooner then usual and be more active than usual, due to the unusually high water temperature. We had reached a 'private property' sign so turned back and took shelter from the sun under an umbrella. There, Nigel and Sara caught us up. They had gone beyond the sign and found a path around the saltwater pond, where there was a ground plaque for HRH and a glitter ball hanging in the trees. The 4 of us climbed the hill to go inland, passing the gated driveways of private villas and then turned left, downhill again, to the Depot, Mustique's hardward store. It sold everything from homewares to plants and aggregates but were out of stock of everything we wanted, including noodles for exercising. We continued down the hill, turned left and over a small rise, before turning right into the local village of Lovell. Uphill again, we were getting our exercise today, we passed the post office and the police station and asked for the Embassy Bar, which we could see on Google maps but couldn't see an entrance to. We were actually stood outside it but needed to walk down the side of the house and round the back. Inside, although this was obviously a bar for the locals, there were film posters signed by Hugh Grant. The locals were buying lottery tickets and having a quick beer and lunch. We opted to have the chicken roti on offer, with a couple of beers apiece. The bill was 61 EC, about £18, so a bargain and there was a lovely view from the balcony. We walked downhill, passed the grocery store, the cafe / bakery, the boutiques and the fish market, all closed for lunch between 1pm and 3pm, passed Basil's to the dinghy dock. Pete went snorkelling for a short while and then we had a snooze before I went snorkelling with Sara and Pete listened to the rugby. Sara and I saw a few rays and many turtles, including one that raised itself on it's front fins to look up at us before swimming up towards us and beyond us. Sara got some decent photos on the Go Pro. As I reached the boat, Pete was just returning in the dinghy. He had been to the Coreas store for beer for the second half of the match. Sundowners were on Nessa V and we had another lovely evening.
Next morning we had a visit from security to inform us that the ship was coming in and they would be running a pipeline from the ship to the shore, so if we wanted to go to the dinghy dock, we would have to go around the ship. While they were with us, they gave Pete a telling off for having lifted the buoy up to the anchor, which he had done because it was constantly banging on the side of the boat and leaving heavy, black marks. Pete released it but lifted it again later, when the ship and security had left. Sara and I paddled to the beach, with Sara being thrown into the water as the wave crashed her board sideways up the beach. We pulled the boards up under a tree and laid them face down, fin up, before heading to the bakery for a coffee and croissant and to buy bread. It wasn't cheap but not extortionate either and we spent a pleasant hour there before browsing the boutiques. It was great to do girly things for a short time. Bread and belongings went in the dry bags and we paddled back to our boats.
After lunch, Pete wanted a beer so, the ship having gone, we took the dinghy ashore and walked up the steep hill to the Embassy Bar. We found a shortcut up some steps, that came our near The View restaurant and bar. The Embassy Bar was closed, as was the View, strange for a Saturday we thought. As we needed to wait until 3pm for the Coreas store to open, we had to have a beer in Basil's. We drank it slowly! The Coreas store was well stocked and we bought beer and provisions. I decided not to buy wine at those prices though, as they sold top end wines. We returned to the boat but not for long as we had agreed to meet Sara and Nigel at the Embassy Bar for sundowners. Pete phoned to make sure they were open as we didn't want to climb that hill again, if not. On the way there, we went to Purple House, one of the boutiques and I bought a dress and a UV sailing top. When Sara and Nigel arrived, some time later, they reported that there was some great Reggae music coming from Brookies Bar, just down the road, so we decided to give it a try. As we approached, we could smell barbecue. The bar was little more than a corrugated iron shed, which housed a bar, a pool table and a bench seat at the far end and it was full of locals. We ordered drinks, beer for the boys, rum and ginger for the girls. Pete and I hadn't eaten, so decided to order food. The choice was chicken or pork, 15 or 20 EC respectively, so we went with the pork; a portion to share. We all sat down on the bench at the rear and proceeded to watch the pool tournament, picking our favourites and cheering them on. The food arrived in a takeaway container, with pasta salad and it was delicious and plentiful, all for £6. We had more drinks and a local man came over to speak to Pete. He said they were really happy to have us there and joining in and then, because I was jigging around in my seat, he got me up to dance. It was a fantastic night out and cheap as well. We would have definitely gone back, had we been staying longer in Mustique. We returned down the steep hill and took the dinghies home.