The tiny island of Bequia has a unique, magical charm all it's own. With fewer than six thousand inhabitants and measuring seven square miles, it feels like home from the moment you arrive. Friendliness comes naturally to the people who live here and the pace is relaxed and easy-going. It was absolutely delightful to be greeted with a warm hello from just about everyone as we walked along the streets. It seems that this innate friendliness is the result of a centuries old dependence on inter-island shipping and trading, Bequians have been eagerly welcoming visitors to their shores for generations!



We discovered, somewhat to our horror, that Bequia is one of the few places in the world where limited whaling is still allowed by the International Whaling Commission. Natives of Bequia are allowed to catch up to four humpback whales per year using only traditional hunting methods of hand-thrown harpoons in small, open sailboats. We were told, to our relief, the limit is rarely met and some years they catch nothing at all. Bequia also has a long tradition of building whaling boats. We visited the small whaling museum on the island that chronicles the regions whaling and boat building history. It was pretty interesting if you could separate out your feelings for these magnificent creatures.



We spent many an evening with friends for happy hour at the Whale Boner Bar & Restaurant. The bar is decorated with whaling paraphernalia, the entrance from the beach is marked by an arch constructed of two whale ribs. Inside, whale vertebrae are mounted on wooden legs to create very unique bar stools. The bar itself showcases a whale rib that runs the full length of the bar.



Virtually every Bequia family has some connection to the sea either past or present, and today's fishermen, sailors and boat-builders are quietly proud to share their marine traditions with everyone who visits the island. One of the most uplifting places we visited was the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary. Mr. Hegg has devoted his life to rescuing injured sea turtles and stranded baby turtles. The turtles, all of which were Hawksbill turtles, ranged in age from 9 months to 18 years. The turtles over five years old lived there permanently as they had some kind of disability that kept them from returning to the sea permanently. The babies stayed at the sanctuary until they were five years old. This is the age at which they become the most viable to survive on their own - mostly because of their size. We paid about $7.00 US to see the turtles, the money is used to support the sanctuary and I felt it was money well spent. However, not all of our cruising friends shared my feelings. A few thought the sanctuary was exploiting the turtles. Seeing a big group of local school children there for a tour, I see it differently. I see the sanctuary as bringing awareness of the sea turtle's plight to the next generation of Beguians and visitors alike. Unfortunately, sea turtles are still hunted in this part of the Caribbean and the fisherman catching them are not real picky about what they catch - even though it is illegal to catch females and juveniles it is still happening at an alarming rate according to Mr. Hegg.



As with most of the Caribbean islands, Beguia has a long history of conflict after Mr. Columbus arrived. In this case, conflicts between Spain, England and France shaped Beguia's destiny. In 1763, with the Treaty of Paris, a significant re-alignment of islands happened in the Caribbean; St. Vincent and the Grenadine islands, including Grenada, were given to the British in exchange for Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia. In 1779 the French seized the island again, despite the Treaty of Paris, but were forced to relinquish control to Britain again soon after. During our tour around the island we visited 'The Fort' - the sight of which made me giggle. There really is no fort, just a few cannons. Originally, the cannons were strategically placed on either side of the entrance to the bay for protection, now they have been conveniently consolidated in one place - affectionately called 'The Fort'.



The early 18th century saw the development of a sugar industry and the production of related products including molasses and rum, this brought with it the importation of slaves to Bequia. We visited the ruins of the Firefly Plantation on our tour of the island. Now days the main house of the plantation has been converted to a bed and breakfast and restaurant, while we did not eat there it is highly recommended by people who have. Probably the coolest part of the ruins was walking into one of the still mostly enclosed spaces and seeing bats hanging from the ceiling and snoozing. Of course, one click of the camera sent them on their way startled and annoyed to be awoken!



Bequia like Grenada has a reading program to help struggling students and like the program in Grenada, cruisers volunteer to help out. Unlike Grenada, here on Bequia they only meet once every two weeks instead of weekly. The program here is much more relaxed, focusing on reading only - no prayers, no songs, no multiplication tables. However, after reading for about 1-1/2 hours each of the students has to report on what they have read (they don't do that in Grenada). In my opinion, the program here is much more successful because they have to really pay attention to what they are reading to be able to report on it afterwards. Anyway, it was a fun afternoon for me spending time with the kids.



To say we liked Bequia would be an understatement, what a charming island with really great people. We ended up spending three weeks here, two more than we planned and way less than we should have. To quote Arnold "We'll be back!"