Good_Things_Magazine_AprilMay_2017

118 goodthingsmagazine.com

T

here’s an island in the Caribbean

that resembles, from above, the

lightning flash David Bowie would

sport on his face - only this one

seems as if it were drawn aer a few drinks.

A tall green ridge runs down the middle like

a knobbly spine, as lush jungle tumbles away

down the slope towards the silky, sandy bays.

Bequia (pronounced Beck-way) is

everything nearby Mustique is not, although

both are part of the Grenadines. Visiting the

former is like stepping back in time to when

the islands weren’t the holiday homes of the

super-rich or the winter playgrounds of the

European jetset. Here, flat bed trucks and

minivans act as taxis, you’re just as likely to

be greeted at the tiny airport by a pig as by

someone holding a sign, and life ebbs and

flows like the people slowly moving around

the diminutive island, constantly pacing the

steep hills and so bays - always smiling.

Where time stood still

Bequia covers just seven square miles. To the

east, taller, stra†glier palms bend to the will

of the Atlantic, and the plantations around

Friendship Bay tend to be more residential -

aside from Bequia Beach Hotel, arguably the

best on the island. To the quieter west, the

island tucks in on itself to create a couple of

Instagram-worthy beaches; namely Princess

Margaret Beach (named aer she popped

by for a dip in the 1950s), and the main town,

Port Elizabeth. A guided tour of the island

(which is well worth doing) only takes two

to three hours; but if you’re rushing around,

then you’re missing the point entirely.

Media-free hideaway

Bequia Beach Hotel (thought to have some

of the best rum punch on the island) has the

kind of colonial feel that makes it appear

like it’s been here for years. Rather, a savvy

businessman bought it and has spent the

last decade creating a gentle hideaway that

echoes a more sedate time. There are no TVs

here, and you’re encouraged to take things

slowly: lounging in your four-poster; lying

by the pool; really only stirring for happy

hour and mealtimes. The Atlantic lies mere

metres in front of the hotel, and the gentle

crash of the waves becomes hypnotic as the

rest of the world over the horizon ceases to

ma•er. On a clear day, you can see Mustique

nine miles away - but even that feels like the

other side of the world aer a couple of days.

This year, the hotel’s charming owner has

taken over and renovated Jack’s Bar - the

most upmarket beach bar on the island -

which makes things even easier when you do

decide to po•er further than the beach.

The island is slowly being dra†ged out of

the past (but only very slowly). There were no

roads at all until the 1980s (and some would

still maintain that calling them 'roads' is

being generous), and no electricity until the

1960s. Yet, despite St. Vincent being only an

hour away by ferry, most islanders are quite

happy living on Bequia.

Up at Port Hamilton at the tip of the

island, canons still guard the main bay

(which inspired the opening scene of the

first Pirates of the Caribbean film, depicting

a fictional Port Royal that was shot on St.

Vincent). Bequia pinged between the British

Georgina Wilson-Powell discovers a tiny corner of

the Caribbean that time forgot

THE beauty OF

BEQUIA

Bequia_MATTCATHY ZP_WITH_MATT.indd 118 04/04/2017 20:37