Our fifth Lesser Antillean island on the Saga Caribbean Calypso cruise was Bequia. This is a small island in St Vincent and the Grenadines. St Vincent is the main island and lies about nine miles North of Bequia. The Grenadines are a set of thirty-two small islands to the South of St Vincent. It is only seven square miles in size with a population of around five thousand.
There were a few Magnificent Frigatebirds cruising overhead as we came into the port
There were a number of expensive boats moored in the bay
Some of the boats looked better than their neighbours
Bequia was a very different island, compared to the hustle and bustle of the large islands we had visited so far in the cruise. There are no docking facilities for large ships, so we moored in the bay & went in on the ship's lifeboat tenders.
The local ferry to St Vincent: This was about the largest ship that could be berthed on the island
We needed one of the ship's lifeboat tenders to get ashore: We weren't going to get ashore quickly as the passengers had first priority on getting onto the island
Finally, we got the confirmation that we could go ashore. There were no target species for me on the island, so I went ashore with Jan, Charlotte & Terry. The plan was to visit a small Hawksbill Turtle sanctuary, before going swimming off the beach.
There was a nice sleepy beach by the pier we landed at
This low wall protects the small town: The waterfront buildings aren't much higher than the top of this wall above the waterline. Sea levels rises are going to have a serious impact on the future for the town
West Indian Mangrove Buckeye: I saw a few just as we got ashore. The photos weren't great and I thought I would see some more, but they were the only ones I saw
Terry had been to Bequia before. The first thing we needed was a taxi to take us to the other side of the island to King's Turtle hatchery.
Who better to take us than the island's best dressed taxi driver
Charlotte, Jan & Terry are ready to get going
A view over the island after we left the main town of Port Elizabeth: The town was named after Elizabeth, when she was still a Princess back in the late 1930s
Passing the walled garden of a private house
There are some nice beaches and bays around Bequia
After a ten minute drive we were here
The Turtle Sanctuary is a set of concrete tanks where Hawksbill Turtles are reared over seven years, until they are large enough to release. The guy who set it up reckons that the ones they rear have a much lower mortality than the young Turtles have when they hatch in the wild. However, it felt like a way to make a nice living from tourists of the back of the Turtles, albeit they will need to provide a lot of fish in the many years they are there. I would have been happier if they were rearing young Turtles, before releasing them into a large sea pen where they could learn to fend for themselves, as well as, being fed. I left with mix feelings about whether this was a good scheme or a money-making exercise.
Hawksbill Turtle: Unfortunately, we didn't see any Hawksbill Turtles in the seas around Bequia and it remains a Tick for me
Hawksbill Turtle: These individuals were in a longer tank where it was possible to swim lengths, before they turned
Hawksbill Turtle: Hawksbill Turtle have a very pointy head shape with two pairs of pre-frontal scales in front of the eye. Green Turtles have one larger pair of pre-frontal scales in front of the eye
Hawksbill Turtle: Hawksbill Turtle only have four scutes (scales) along each side of the shell. Green Turtles also have four scutes along each side of the shell. Kemp's Olive Ridley Turtle and Olive Ridley Turtle have five and at least six scutes, respectfully and Loggerhead Turtles have five or six scutes
Hawksbill Turtle: Tucking into a snack of chopped up fish
Hawksbill Turtle: This shows the head shape well with the longer & more pointed head
Hawksbill Turtle: Apparently, this individual was due to be released later during the day
Hawksbill Turtle: Charlotte appeared to want to stay & work at the Turtle sanctuary
I think Charlotte would have liked to have adopted this individual
The island had that idyllic Caribbean feel that the bigger islands lack
It was time to head back to the town
I will cover the rest of the day on Bequia in the next Blog Post.
