St. Vincent &The Grenadines - Culture

St. Vincent, and its 32 sister islands and cays which make up the Grenadines, were until fairly recently, almost unknown to tourists except yachtsmen and divers. They remain uncrowded. St Vincent is very picturesque, with fishing villages, coconut groves, banana plantations and fields of arrowroot, of which the island is the world’s largest producer. It is a green and fertile volcanic island, with lush valleys, rugged cliffs on the leeward and windward coasts and beaches of both golden and black volcanic sand. The highest peak on the island is La Soufriore, an active volcano in the north rising to about 4,000 ft. It last erupted in 1979 but careful monitoring enabled successful evacuation before it blew. The steep mountain range of Morne Garu rises to 3,500 ft and runs southward with spurs to the east and west coasts. Most of the central mountain range and the steep hills are forested. St Vincent is roughly 18 miles long and 11 miles wide and has an area of 133 square miles, while the Grenadines contribute another 17 square miles all together.

About a quarter of the people live in the capital, Kingstown and its suburbs. 8% live on the Grenadines. Sixty-six percent of the population is classed as black and 19% as mixed, while 2% are Amerindian/black, 6% East Indian, 4% white and the remainder are ‘others’.

Kingstown is the capitol and main town on St. Vincent. A visit to the Kingstown Market on an early Friday or Saturday morning is essential. The market is full of people from all over the island who bring their vegetables, fruits, spices and meats to sell.

Kingstown is filled with interesting architecture including St. George's Anglican Cathedral, built in the early 1800's and St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral built in 1823. Even the streets in town have retained an old Caribbean look. Arcades and cobblestone sidewalks line the edges of even new buildings in Kingstown.

Fort Charlotte sits high on a peninsula just outside town and comes complete with cannons and a small museum which describes the history of the Black Caribs.

The Botanical Gardens, built in 1763, are the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. Located just a good walk from the center of town, they host a large variety of tropical plants from all over the world. Knowledgeable guides will make this a worthwhile trip as they identify and describe local uses for each plant. The small zoo there houses a few specimens of the endangered St. Vincent parrot. The gazebo in the middle of the gardens is a popular spot for an island wedding.

Not far north of Kingstown, on the west coast near the town of Vermont, the Buccament Valley and Vermont Nature Trails are well worth a hike. The trails pass through a cultivated area with callaloo and breadfruit trees into a tropical rainforest which is home to the St. Vincent Parrot. It is best to go in the afternoon to see the parrots. Pick up a guide in Vermont to make the trip more interesting.

There are several picturesque villages along the coast. Wallilabou is on a pretty bay and has a good restaurant. Barrouallie is a pilot whaling village and the whaling station can be visited. The old skills of what was once a thriving industry, are dying out.

Cumberland Bay is a beautiful bay and great for photos.

At the far northwest end of the island and accessible only by boat the Falls of Baleine make a great day trip when combined with diving, snorkelling and lunch. The 60 foot falls are located in a narrow valley and plunge into a cool pool. Visitors get a kick out of climbing up under the falls, diving into the pool and swimming in the cool water.

For a great day trip, take a drive up the Leeward Coast and make Trinity Falls one of the stops. The beautiful triple waterfalls are accessible by a short hike through the rainforest once you drive up the rugged path in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The falls are located near the end of the road, a long, but enjoyable drive from the Kingstown area. Enjoy a picnic at the falls and a dip, but be careful of the undertow!

Much of the interior of St. Vincent is unreachable by car, but the southern end of the island is a maze of small roads that twist and turn through the rugged steep mountains and the lush, green Mesopotamia Valley where many of the islands crops are grown. Almost vertical gardens line the slopes. The views are breathtaking. If you drive yourself, be prepared to get lost and have to ask directions to find the way home. Look for the section of road that parallels the roaring Yambo River as it runs toward Peruvian Vale.

Bequia

This delightful, hilly, green island is just an hour's sail south of St Vincent. The largest of the Grenadines (though that's not saying much), it was once a center of shipbuilding and whaling. Today, most maritime activity is confined to yachting and model boat building. The island's commercial center is Port Elizabeth, which fronts Admiralty Bay on the western coast. The town strikes a nice balance between quaintness and convenience. It has an international mix of residents, and many of the restaurants and shops are run by experts. Many of the waterfront businesses cater to the boaters and shun touristy glitz. Friendship Bay, on the southern coast of the island, is oriented more toward the tourist. The bay has a golden-sand beach and offers good swimming and windsurfing. You can view the paraphernalia of Bequia's whaling past at Anthneal's Private Petite Museum in Friendship Bay.

Union Island

The southernmost port of entry for the country, Union Island is more of a jumping off point for the Tobago Cays than a destination in itself. Consequently, if you wander out of the port of Clifton, you'll discover a decidedly local atmosphere that's virtually untouched by tourism. About 3 miles (5km) across at its widest point, the island is rocky and dry, covered in thorny scrub and dotted with cacti, the consequence of decades of foraging by free-ranging goats.

Clifton, in the island's south eastern corner, is the commercial center of the island. More functional than quaint, it's the hub of the Tobago Cays tour junket industry. Short walks from the center of town offer views of the island and its neighbours. Few tourists make it to Ashton, on the island's southern coast, making it a great place to walk around and soak up the West Indian atmosphere.

Tobago Cays

The Tobago Cays are a group of uninhabited islands near the southern end of the Grenadines. Many consider them to be the best in the chain, citing their fine coral reefs and turquoise waters. The islands are rocky and studded with cactus, fringed with coves and beaches of powdery white sand. The country has set the cays aside as a national park. Snorkelling, swimming and tanning are the cays' major attractions.