Day 1 St. Vincent - East Coast

Continuing north we broke away from the beach briefly at this point, then dropped down to New Sandy Bay Village which can be seen in the distance.

As we were leaving New Sandy Bay Village, we were flagged down by these three school hitchhikers (Danicia, Niquente, and Fiona) who would have had to wait two hours for their school bus. We gave them a ride to charming Owia Village which was up on a bluff. Niquente (in the middle) was 19, and had been to New York with a dance troupe doing calypso and garifuna (Belizean) dancing.

We reached the village of Fancy. The road deteriorates as it passes through town, but there aren't really any cars on the road, as this is the end of the line. We met several very friendly people of varying ages in this village, and they all invited us to come back the following day when the country celebrates Joseph Chatoye Day. (They wanted us to know that they were bringing a band in.) Here's why Joseph was the first hero of St. Vincent (taken from the Wikipedia:
	Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St. Vincent until the 18th century. Enslaved Africans -- whether shipwrecked or escaped from Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada and seeking refuge in mainland St. Vincent, or Hairoun as it was originally named by the Caribs -- intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Garifuna or Black Caribs. Beginning in 1719, French settlers cultivated coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar on plantations worked by enslaved Africans. In 1763, St. Vincent was ceded to Britain...Conflict between the British and the Black Caribs, led by defiant Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer, continued until 1796, when General Sir Ralph Abercromby crushed a revolt fomented by the French radical Victor Hugues. More than 5,000 Black Caribs were eventually deported to Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras. (More on how the Black Caribs left St. Vincent, and ended up in Belize and elsewhere.)
Upon returning I read in an old guidebook about St. Vincent that as of the 1960's, the only full-blooded Carib Indians still living in St. Vincent were located near Fancy. Simply on the friendliness of the people, this would be a great place to celebrate Joseph Chatoyer Day.

End of the road, looking back at Fancy on the north end of St. Vincent where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean.

This is a trail which leads from the end of the road, and one to follow on the next trip.

As we were leaving town, we were turning around, and decided to ask this woman where to eat in the area. She liked the idea of being photographed at her counter, which led to the pictures below. Eventually, we ended up spending a fascinating half-hour with Ms. Doris Ballantyne, the postmistress of Fancy for the past 20 years. (No, she does not have to wander around the hills delivering mail: the townspeople come to her.) Ms. Ballantyne led us to the nearby bar which was run by a friend/relative of hers. Unfortunately, they were finished serving lunch, but we drank some kind of mildly-alcoholic West Indian malt drink with her which she recommended. (Actually, Ms. Ballantyne didn't drink it, but took it home with her.) Another very friendly and hospitable person in a country filled with them.

We dropped by the Lime N Pub to pick up a couple of rotis for a very late lunch. We took some photos off their dock while waiting for them. (Well, actually I dropped Libby off, then drove a hitchhiker from Trinidad near the airport. But that's another story.) We really liked the Lime N Pub, and ended up eating all three of our dinners there, as well as this lunch. (We ate mostly soups, rotis, and salads on the peasant food side of the restaurant.)

We then decided to drive into town to see if we could find any other restaurant, and we ended up driving over the west coast, following the very rapidly- fading sunlight. We didn't realize how long it would take for the road to reach the coast. But it was the first time we'd driven extensively at night in St. Vincent traffic, so the trip was exciting just within the glare of the headlights. When we did reach the west coast, it was dark, not unlike what you can see on the left, but with a few lights. But it's amazing what digital software can salvage. That's Layou Bay in the background.

We returned to another homey experience and delicious meal at the Lime N Pub. We had become regulars.


We love this piece of mahogany!!