Gary and Pippa chose Cool Running’s for their 25th wedding anniversary, sailing St. Vincent and the Grenadines from St. Vincent to Palm Island resort. September brought quiet anchorages and blissful privacy.
Written by Bambi Alexander of the charter yacht “Cool Running’s”.
Then along came Romeo. A huge, handsome fella with a sunny smile brought along Fernando and Jason, equally big and beaming. They pulled up alongside in their gaily painted boat, offering freshly caught lobster.
They assured us they could serve a “very” romantic dinner on the beach at Petite Bateau. We only had to bring Gary and Pippa to the beach at 7 pm with glasses, plates, silverware, and their chosen drinks. Honestly, I was concerned and worried about ruining the evening with a flop dinner.
My Captain (and husband) reminded me of the fun of the “Taxi Jam” experience and also pointed out the uniqueness of this venue, chef included, he said “these guys are just too happy for failure”. I agreed and secretly booked “Romeo’s Lobster on the Beach.”
How right he was. They set a table on the beach with a bright plastic cloth and island flowers at the center. A remarkable candelabra, fashioned from a used gallon water jug, looked very “recycled chic,” I thought.
Romeo, Fernando, and helpers built a bush kitchen under sea grape trees, working magic with local land and sea produce. The menu was certainly fit for princes and overly generous.
A platter of delicious garlic potatoes, a bowl of spicy rice, and a dish of mixed veggies arrived. Finally, the lobster—enormous, as if on steroids—smelled like heaven.
For “after,” there was a tropical fruit platter with juicy melons, bananas, granadillas, and mango. All of the above was washed down with many glasses of champagne. It went down singing hosannas all the way!
We started our trip walking the length and breadth of the fresh produce market in Kingstown, St. Vincent. We tasted and selected succulent fruits—the sweetest papaya, bananas, and mangoes. Finally, we enjoyed the contrasting tart flavor of star fruit.
Bought huge bunches of callaloo determined to make the scrumptious soup of the region, stallholders vied for the chance of issuing explicit instructions on how to proceed with this task. Then for the piece de re’sistance we ate homemade
Chicken Roti bought on the street from Mac’s Snacks which has been around for 25 years. We have eaten roti up and down the island chain, and some left our stomachs feeling heavy as lead. These, however, were hot and spicy, with roti skin so light and fluffy it melted in the mouth.
If cleanliness is next to godliness, then the Vincentians stand with the gods. Their island was spotless. Even modest, shabby dwellings near the town center appeared charming, and residents kept the area spotless with no litter anywhere.
We were delayed in town due to thorough enjoyment. We were caught right in the middle of the 5 o’clock rush hour traffic. Lining up with all the workers at the taxi terminus, we felt quite dazed by the hubbub around us.
Eventually, we were pushed like vac-packed hot dog sausages into a taxi that by any standards, anywhere, was already full to bursting! Nevertheless, we were squashed into the seats with laughter and smiles along with supermarket packages and market produce.
I was sandwiched between a young girl with enormous electric blue hoop earrings. They threatened to clip my eye as she swung her head to chat with her friend behind. On the other side sat a huge Caribbean mama.
This remarkably rotund lady had fascinating wobbly jowls and a splendid hat decked with magnificent artificial pink hibiscus blooms. She was hell-bent on engaging me in a rapid-fire conversation, which I acknowledged with smiles and nods not having the faintest idea of what she was on about.
The taxi radio was belting out a strong reggae beat. All the occupants tapped their feet and nodded their heads. The music almost kept time with the sway of the shock absorbers as we skimmed around the bends in the road.
A real “taxi jam” experience and one I would not have missed for the world but would not repeat in a hurry either!
We set sail for Bequia and swam in the sparkling water off St. Margaret’s beach, sailed across the path of a huge pod of dolphin which then ushered us into Rameau Bay on Cananoun.
The following day we sighted two Pilot whales large as life on our stern while sailing towards Mayreau. We watched a heaven sent sunset off Chatham Bay on Union Island, an indescribable blush of crimson that fired the waters for miles and miles.
Some of these fanciful firey remains might have lingered while snorkeling off the northern point the following day; we all felt needlepoint stings all over our bodies and absolutely no evidence of any biters or stingers anywhere.!
Then there was the perfect photo shoot on the tiny island of Mopion off Petit St. Vincent.. Vincent, where we left Gary and Pippa for the morning to play shipwrecked castaways. They said they thought they had died and gone to heaven!
This left us with a hefty problem, how do we top this on the night of their 25th Wedding anniversary? There had been too much perfection above and below the waters, our last stop was to be Tobago Cays, (more perfection) but no restaurants or shore distractions for a typical wedding anniversary celebration. Wining and dining with them in the evening as we had night after night during their stay with us seemed so “same old.”
Finally, we have over the years tended to avoid stopping at St. Vincent due to articles of a negative nature in various magazines regarding the safety of the island, how much we regret this now thinking of how much we missed, and we will if ever we pass this way again make St Vincent a MUST STOPOVER!
Special thank you to Bambi Alexander, host and chef aboard catamaran charter yacht COOL RUNNING’S, for writing and submitting this article to www.bvisail.com.
Bambi’s Caribbean cuisine is a highlight of every charter. You can also read her article on Anegada Island in the British Virgin Islands.
Contact us at 1-321-777-1707 or complete this form to discuss your vacation plans.