New Montrose Hotel Kingstown

... so that we could see into the volcano crater and take photos………but ……nothing. It was too cold to wait motionless for long – so it was time to retrace our steps back to the minibus for a celebratory rum punch! Fun!

That cloud heralded our only run of bad weather…..and boy, does it know how to rain in the Caribbean!......so, many crosswords and sudokus later, it was off to the airport for our flight to Barbados!

... to eat or drink, the heavens opened (remember those tropical storms) when we'd finished -all over and beach time again....thank you someone.
However, it was time to move on to St. Vincent (the main island) to meet up with Jo and Charlie and Ben and Clare, but this time by ferry, although those severe weather warnings were still there.
Journey time and hour and a quarter.....distance travelled by one's body (especially head) inestimable. The ...

... and somewhat more substantially constructed, is the jetty. This is the island's lifeline and where the daily ferry to St. Vincent island plies to and from. Shopping is done by phone/email to St. Vincent, and you pick up your parcels at 5pmish (or after siesta - local time). So life sorts itself out into this manageable cycle. Morning, do stuff like go to the beach/play tennis (on a busy day - possibly both ...

... cretin from an Asian prison camp, eating noodles while barreling down the road at 130 clicks, dodging potholes the whole way. It figures, after watching the Indonesian **** MVDO's that filter over here to nourish the Javanese diaspora. It's not as bad as the bus driver in Tierra del Fuego a couple months ago, though. I swear he played some song by Marco Antonio Solis approximately twenty-seven times in succession until I almost memorized the words ...

... to ring the bell for the 9:00 service. This lovely woman was raising funds for a trip to St. Vincent for a medical procedure. We bought a few trinkets from her and she proceeded to tell us about their newly acquired electricity. The church service was wonderful. In the absence of a priest, we had a Communion Service with the best music we've encountered in a long time. It didn't matter that we didn't know the songs, there was so much harmony going on that we just added ours to the mix.

... Bequia host an big Easter Regatta, so there were hundreds of boats in Port Elizabeth when the ferry got in. I checked into my hotel and sat down to a late lunch of flying fish sandwiches (they were awesome!). The mood was really great and I met heaps of people from all over the world. I saw Bangladesh beat South Africa in the 'Salty Dog' bar, and the fruity local Hairoun beers flowed quite freely. The next morning I left the pier at 7am, on a sailing tour ...

... The greatest risks to your safety and well-being are from the manchineel trees located along the beaches. If touched they may cause an aggravating skin rash. At the time of writing there were several reports of armed robbery occurring along the wooded paths leading to Princess Margaret Beach and Lower Bay Beach. It is best to use precaution and walk in groups or take a water taxi. At the very least, ask your ...

... been more apt, out sole aim was to hang out, and see how much we could get away with. In the 1st week, that pretty much consisted of...tying knots, or in my case practising my surly 'underpaid, overworked and dressed as a f**king sailor' look, I got it down to a fine art, even scared one of the catering ladies I think! In the 2nd week though, being British and therefore marginally alcholic, our spider senses sniffed out a bar in the corner of the bay, which we ...

... it with...Red Bull. I swear, I don't even like Whiskey, but I could see only bad things could come of this! After several of these, they peruaded Ben and I to duet on 'Cecelia', it went OK(ish) But I swear, if you had enough whiskey, tilted your head at a certain angle, and squinted your eyes just enough, this little beach bar, could have passed for Maddison Gardens, and the crowd of bemused, tipsy locals, could pass for fans, so why not keep singing? And sing I did ...

... all watching and nearly passed out. They were cutting up the fish and weighing the results. I think I turned green and ran out of the crowd. I ended up right in front of a man with a bullhorn speaking. He was literally standing on a soapbox talking saying things such as "we wont' stand for this" "They can't do this anymore" "We will put a stop to .....". I was still reeling from the fish guts so the specifics of the soapbox speaker didn't sink in until later.