Bequia Bequia Bequia

 It's like the old Brady Bunch shows when Jan is sick of her older sister and says, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha, that's all I ever hear." This is how we were beginning to think about Bequia. Every person we met in Grenada just went on and on about Bequia. We kept thinking (despite hearing about it) what's so great about this Bequia?

So finally on December 1st 2025 we were released from our hurricane hole by our insurance and we set out to start discovering The Grenadines. The weather wasn't as great as we hoped so the first night we only went about an hour up the Grenadian coast and anchored for the night to get the better weather window. Our marina was excepting about 100 boats from the ARC cruising rally to come in so we all got kicked out. Perfect timing for us as I was more than ready to leave. Most of our friends had been gone for a while. Halifax Harbour was rolly and at one point we looked over to our sailboat neighbor to see the man buck naked and driving his sailboat out of the harbor. It was a shock and something I wish I hadn't seen. Freedom I guess. 

Cruising Again

Naked Neighbor

Sunset at Halifax

After a rolly night we pulled anchor at 0745 from Halifax and made the 72 mile run to Bequia. We had calm 1-3 foot seas and 8-18mph winds. Pretty nice conditions. We went through a couple rain squalls that quickly passed and at 1609 we were dropping the hook in Bequia. Our friend Skip on Raja and Mary and Tom on Toga were here so we were excited to see everyone. 

Passing By Saint Vincent

Heading Into Bequia

Sunset Bequia

We started our first full day in Bequia slowly. Enjoying coffee and our new scenery before lowering the dink to check into customs and explore the town. Bequia is really well set up in that there are several dinghy docks around the town so you are always perfectly positioned for wherever you want to go. At the end of one is the trash, another has a chandlery and at almost all of them there are restaurants. We were charmed from the start and all of a sudden the Bequia hype was making sense. We took our time strolling the nice boardwalk that surrounds the anchorage and the town and at happy hour met Skip at a place called Jack's which has its own dinghy dock and affords great views of the anchorage. Really excellent first day. 

Strolling Around

Anchored in Bequia 

With Skip at Jack's 

On our way back from Jack's the dinghy motor decided not to start. There we were in the dark at the dock at Jack's with no motor. Fortunately some slightly tipsy boaters who happened to be our neighbors offered to tow us back which was super kind. I rode in their dinghy with them and Jeff sat in ours being towed. It's always something. We thanked them and told them we owe them some drinks and said goodnight. 

The next day we had someone come and look at the dinghy motor while Jeff tried to fix our salon a.c. which finally stopped working after constant maintenance in Cartagena and Panama. This day wasn't so fun. 

The next morning A.J the dinghy repairman came back with some parts and fixed the dinghy motor and just like that we were back in business and headed back into town to explore. Today we walked the opposite way from the commercial part of town, away from the restaurants into the more residential sections. It was beautiful and still surrounding the anchorage. We happened to discover (by smell) a good bakery where we got some coconut bakes and some raisin bread. Both were delicious. Back at the boat we took a cool refreshing dip till sunset then we cruised the dink down the isles checking out boats kinda like we were in Catalina. 

Residential Walking

Sheep

Bequia Neighborhood

Bakery

Sunset Dinghy Cruise

There is never a dull moment in Bequia and thanks to the Sea Sisters there are daily activities. Today was an organized pub crawl with a walk and lunch. Mary and Anne were the only two sisters I knew from Grenada but that didn't matter with spouses in tow we all set out to drink and walk and have some fun. Our first stop was what looked like a shack on the beach called the Lion Den where we got rum punch and beers. After a few sips of my rum punch I knew I needed to switch to beer if I was going to make it for the whole crawl. We made our way around and up through Bequia into parts of the interior before ended on a beach opposite the anchorage. The views were spectacular and the stops perfectly planned in order to quench our thirst. I even managed to make a friend at our second stop. One of the owners littler girls came right over to me and started playing with me and then eventually crawled on my lap. Her family seemed a little surprised by this but didn't remove her until the ice cream truck arrived to which I couldn't compete. 

Starting the Crawl

First Stop 

Beautiful Views

Passed By Goats

My Friend 

Second Stop

Lunch & Third Stop 

Heading Back Down

Final Stop- Jack's For a Drink & Float

After a thorough cool down in the water in front of Jack's we went back to the boat for a little rest and some dinner. Later that night there was one more event- live music at one of the restaurants. One of the men on the pub crawl was playing and some of the crawlers hinted at going. Double headers usually aren't our style anymore but this sounded fun. So with some coaxing and a lot of whining I got Jeff to agree and we piled into the dinghy and went in. The restaurant was packed inside and out and various bands played all while John (from the pub crawl) played keyboard and accordion. Cindy and Mike showed up and it was just the four of us from the crawl but that didn't matter it was a lot of fun and a perfect ending to a great day. 

The next couple days involved football watching and a visit from an a.c. servicer who finally said last rights to the salon a.c. proclaiming the compressor shot and no longer a member of our team. Anyone who knows me knows that besides my a.c. and Jeff there isn't much else that I feel passionately about on the boat. So this was a very harsh blow but not really surprising as we've been getting the poor thing serviced for months and months limping it along. C'est la vie. 

Something is always going on in Bequia and tonight's event was a dinghy drift. Everyone brought a snack to share and a drink of choice and we all tied together and just drifted wherever the wind and sea had in mind. It was nice to have a distraction after the a.c. blow. 

Dinghy Drifting 

With our time winding down in Bequia we decided to take a walk around, get lunch and do some final provisioning before we checked out with customs and immigration. There are such nice boardwalks in Bequia that follow the entire perimeter of the bay and you can walk for as long or short as you want. We decided to end up at Jack's for our final lunch. Full circle after meeting Skip there our first night. We both would admit that not only did Bequia live up to the hype but it exceeded our expectations and now we too will be proud to proclaim, "Bequia, Bequia, Bequia!"

Walking Around Bequia

Nice Boardwalk 

Lunch at Jack's

Anchorage 

Touring Granada With Sam & Friends

 We were both excited for Sam's arrival in Granada and spent several days prepping for her visit. We got groceries delivered, cleaned and got bread, wine and fish from the farmers market. Sam arrived exhausted from a very long overnight flight from the west coast. While getting to Granada from the east coast is no big deal flying from California or anywhere west is a nightmare. Multiple legs, no good times and often times a red eye. Nevertheless she made it and after dinner we all went to bed early. 

The next day we launched the dink and went to the famous Grand Anse beach. We got chairs at one of the beach clubs and settled in with a rum punch for the afternoon. Coming from California Sam is very much a beach girl and if it were up to her would spend everyday there so this was a good start to her trip. After several rum punches, lunch and lots of swimming we got back in the dink and headed back to the marina. We had dinner at the Knife and Fork restaurant at the marina. 

Dinghy Dock at Grand Anse Beach 

Jeff & Sam Grand Anse Beach

The Beach Club

The next day thanks to a recommendation from the Sea Sisters we hired a good driver to take us touring around. Our first stop would be the famous 7 Sisters Waterfall hike located in the Grand Etang National Park, a rainforest that leads to pools for swimming. I heard mixed reviews for this hike everything from, "we would never do that it's too steep and slippery to it's no big deal do it." The drive to the hike was stunning weaving through the interior of Granada in and out of small communities all with lush green abundant foliage. At the hike we were given walking sticks which were much appreciated because the hike was in fact steep and slippery but totally doable. It took about an hour to reach the falls and we were so hot and sweaty that the cold water was a welcome refresher. All three of us couldn't get in fast enough. We bobbed around for a bit then made our way back out again. Before heading back to the boat we made a stop at Grand Eton Lake, a volcanic crater located in the central rainforest. There is no swimming there but we saw tons of fish. Another stunning site. Our driver who has obviously done this many many times also made a stop at a couple of local shops where they also have trained a couple of monkey to eat bananas from peoples hands. Loving monkeys but not loving the domestication we stopped and shopped and played our roles. 

Climbing Up- Marina Below

Lush Granada Interior

In the Tour Van

Starting 7 Sister Hike

7 Sister Hike

Hiking 7 Sisters

7 Sister Waterfall 

Grand Eton Lake 

Monkeys 

Mona Monkey

The following day we really packed in the activities. Grenada is known as the Isle of Spice so it was only fitting that we visit the famous Laura's Spice Garden. Sam and I were really looking forward to this. Jeff not so much. When we arrived a woman who worked at the garden walked us around showing, labeling and describing each plant, tree and herb telling us their scientific name and also their medicinal use. It was fascinating and something I could have listened to all day. The garden was well groomed with nice wood chip paths and perfectly maintained plants. Of course at the end Sam and I bought several spices- allspice, nutmeg and grater and several others. On our way back to the marina we visited Fort Fredrick, one of two famous forts in Grenada, constructed by the French in 1779 after they recaptured the island of Grenada. 

Laura's Gardens

Touring the Gardens

Laura's Gardens

Fort Fredrick 

View From Fort Fredrick

Our Marina From the Fort

Our touring concluded just in time for lunch. We waited to try a place called Vegan Vibez on Sam to arrive. A one man operation by a very sweet man who is owner and chef and features a single plate of the day which was a feast full of food. We ate veggies, bread fruit, rice, veggie patties and everything was fresh and delicious. 

Outside of Veggie Vibez

Lunch at Veggie Vibez

Back at the boat we chilled and rested up for the night in order to go to the famous Dodgy Dock for dinner and live music. Every Wednesday the True Blue Bay Resort in Grenada hosts something called Dodgy Dock which features several restaurants all providing catered food, a full service bar and live music and dancing. When you arrive you walk around and see what food items you might be interested in for dinner from circular tables full of chaffing dishes filled with a variety of foods from salads, to veg to meat and it item cost a certain number of tickets. You purchase that amount of tickets and then exchange them for your dinner. All while pounding rum punch and working up the nerve to dance to wonderful local live music. As you can imagine it was a very fun and memorable night. 

Our Table at Dodgy Dock 

The Dinner Set Up

The Band

The next day and Sam's last full day we took a cab into St. George's the capital of Grenada and visited the spice market where I got nice little Christmas gifts for my mom, sister and girlfriends. It's full of various tables of mostly the same spices and you are hard pressured to buy. The one who applies the most pressure wins. From there we visited the chocolate museum which defiantly was a highlight. It's basically a big chocolate store that also provides a demonstration about chocolate making. It was informative and of course we all left with bagfuls of chocolate. We went to a nice lunch at a place called Sails where we were afforded  nice water views. And of course in true Sam fashion she was jonesing for the beach so at the very last second before sunset we pilled into a cab and in rush hour traffic made it to the beach as the sun was going behind the mountains. We dipped in the water a bit before returning to the boat. 

Spice Market

Chocolate Museum 

Eating Chocolate Ice Cream and Listening to Chocolate Presentation

Sunset at Grand Anse Beach

The next day November 7th, 2025 Sam was leaving Grenada. The driver wasn't coming until 1:30 and we had one last place we wanted to take Sam for lunch, Patrick's across the street from the marina for the famous national Grenadian dish Oil down. A traditional one pot stew like dish made with breadfruit, meat, dumplings, callaloo and other vegetables all slow cooked together in coconut milk and spices. This is cooked until all the liquids reduce, leaving an oily layer at the bottom giving the dish its name. Patrick's will make a vegan version if requested a few days in advance and this was our bon voyage lunch with Sam. This was the first time Jeff and I were trying the dish as well so it was nice for all of us. After lunch we said our goodbyes and Sam made her way to the airport and the long flight back to California. 

Lunch at Patrick's 

We spent the next several days putting the boat back together and starting to make our final plans before departing Grenada. We knew there were a few more touristy things we wanted to do so we called our driver and made a plan with Chad to visit the Mount Carmel Waterfalls and also take tour of the Grand Antoine Rum Distillery. 

Mount Carmel Waterfalls Hike

Hiking With Chad

Stream on the Hike

Mount Carmel Waterfalls

Swimming in the Lower Falls

Driving to the Distillery 

Grand Antoine Rum Distillery 

The last place we wanted to visit before leaving Grenada was a place called Aquarium for dinner. It was listed as one of if not the best restaurant in Grenada and we didn't want to miss it. Chad drove us and we enjoyed the lovely view over the water while have a cocktail and a wonderful dinner. 

Dinner at Aquarium 

Getting a little nervous that we wouldn't be in Granda much longer we decided to hop on the free Meat and Meat van for one last time at the market, swimming in the Phar Blu pool and enjoying our final roti. Fortunately our friends Ella, and Bill and Kris were going as well. We shared cocktails, swimming time and lunch together and this truly felt like our last hurrah before everyone was departing. Cheers. 

The Final Meat & Meet