SAINT VINCENT & GRENADINES
Comprising the island of Saint Vincent and the northern islands of the Grenadines group, St Vincent and Grenadines is an independent country in the West Indies, with Kingstown as its capital.
This island nation forms a part of the Lesser Antilles Chain and the country, which has a French and British colonial history and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations and CARICOM.
Until the 18th century the Carib Indians successfully prevented British settlements on the land but had to relent to French settlements in the late 18th century.
In 1763, St. Vincent was ceded to Britain and became the last of the Windward Islands to gain independence on the 10th anniversary of its associate statehood status, October 27, 1979.
In the 19th and 20th centuries the country has seen several natural disasters resulting in thousands dying and thousands being evacuated.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
The total land area of the country is 389 sq. km, out of which 344 sq. km is constituted by St Vincent alone and except for the active volcano named La Soufriere that dominates the island of Saint Vincent; lush green rain forests blanket the mountainous interior of the island. To the north of St Vincent & Grenadines lies St. Lucia and to its south lies Grenada.
The country has a tropical climate and the weather is pleasant the year round. September, with an average temperature of 27 degree C is the warmest and January with an average temperature of 25 degree C is the coolest. The rainy season falls between the months of May or June and December.
ECONOMY AND CURRENCY
The country has a lower-middle-income economy dominated by agriculture although tourism is also growing in importance. Bananas, sugarcane, arrowroot, and coconuts are the chief commercial crops, which are grown and exported. The movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ has been shot here, increasing the tourist inflow.
The monetary unit employed by the country is East Caribbean Dollar (XCD).
PEOPLE, CULTURE AND LANGUAGES
The latest estimated population of the country is 104, 574, and it has one of the highest population density in the Western Hemisphere. The great majority of the population is of Blacks, who are descended primarily from Africans who were brought to the islands in the 18th and 19th centuries to work as slaves. Other than these small minorities of whites and East Indians are also there.
Music has always been an integral part of Vincent culture and it includes big drum, calypso, soca, steelpan and also reggae, rap, R&B and a variety of other North American music can be heard throughout the islands. The carnival forms an important part of the culture and although still highly traditional, it has become a fashionable celebration of costume parades, street parties, beauty pageant shows and concerts of calypso, steel band and soca music.
Many of the locals speak a dialect called Vincentian Creole but English is the official language which is used in education, government, religion, and other formal domains.
HOW TO REACH
Air
You can get to the country via Barbados, Grenada, Martinique, St Lucia or Trinidad and Tobago, and then on to St Vincent and the Grenadines in a prop plane and LIAT is the chief airline serving the country. The main airport ET Joshua (SVD) is 3km (2 miles) southeast of Kingstown and additionally there are also small airports on Bequia, Canouan, Mustique and Union Island for light aircraft.
TRAVEL DESTINATIONS AND ACTIVITIES
St Vincent
Take a boat trip to the northern tip of St Vincent and see the Falls of Baleine- the freshwater falls that stream from volcanic slopes and form a series of shallow pools at the base.
Visit Young Island which provides an excellent view of the procession of yachts sailing into the harbour of St Vincent and stay in one of the 29 rustic cottages of the Young Island Resort that comprises the whole of the island.
Take a hike to the strenuous but very popular La Soufrière volcano.
Visit St. Vincent’s capital, Kingstown, with its lively port and market having a variety of shops and a busy dock area, which is the center of commerce for the islands. Also visit the St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral at Kingstown, which is built of grey stone, it is a graceful combination of several European architectural styles. The Botanical Gardens in Kingstown are the western hemisphere and contain a display of tropical trees, blossoms and plants, including a breadfruit tree descended from the original one brought to the island in 1765 by Captain Bligh.
When at St. Vincent don’t miss seeing the fishing villages of Questelles, Layou, Barrouallie and Châteaubelair, all of which have charming pastel-colored cottages and excellent black-sand beaches from which fishermen set out daily in small brightly painted boats.
The Grenadines
At the Admiralty Bay, which is the island's natural harbour and a favorite anchoring spot for yachtsmen from all over the world, watch the men building their boats by hand.
On Bequiam, which is encircled by gold-sand beaches, try one or all of these- snorkeling, scuba diving and sailing. Accommodation styles vary from luxurious resort cottages to small, simple West Indian inns and much of the nightlife centers in the hotels and beachside barbecues, almost always accompanied by a steel band.
Head south to the privately owned island of Mustique, which has verdant hills rolling into soft white-sand beaches and turquoise waters, making it a hiding place for the rich and famous, including members of the British Royal Family.
At Tobago Cays you can see some of the most spectacular coral reefs in the world and visitors can sail, snorkel and beach-comb in complete seclusion.
Visit Bequia Island, the largest of the Grenadines and as the center of the island is hilly and forested; it provides a dramatic backdrop to the bays and beaches. Due to its seclusion, Bequia's age-old traditions of boat building and fishing are largely retained.
On Canouan Island you can discover some of the best beaches in the Caribbean with their long stretches of powder-white sands, wide shallows and coral.
The Mount Parnassus, the mountainous island on Union Island in southern Grenadines, s fringed by superb beaches and is the stopping-off point for yachtsmen and visitors heading to some of the smaller Grenadines.
Shopping
You can buy the sea-island cottons and get them stitched into clothes in a number of tailor shops around. Other than the cottons, one can purchase handicrafts and all varieties of straw-made items, grass rugs and other souvenirs at a number of workshops and gift shops.
Nightlife
It is best to ask at individual hotels for a calendar of events as most evening events take place in hotels.
The Aquatic club and the Buccama Club are the popular nightclubs on the Leeward Coast.
A wide variety of music during the week and live entertainment at weekends can be enjoyed at the Kingstown club, The Attic.
There is one casino at Peniston, on the Leeward side.
Cuisine
At St Vincent good and authentic West Indian cuisine can almost always be enjoyed in hotels and there is also plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood on offer.
Don’t miss to sample the national favorites in cuisines: Red snapper, kingfish, Lambi (conch), Callalou soup and Souse, which is a pickled meat or seafood.
Wash down this Caribbean flavor with such national drinks like- Sea-moss drink, Vincentian beer and rum, which is a major ingredient in punch and cocktails and there are also a wide variety of local exotic fruit juices.
GETTING AROUND
Air
For inter-island travel, small planes can be chartered and regular services to the Grenadines are run by Mustique Air, SVG Air and TIA.
Water
One of the best ways to explore the Grenadines is by locally chartering a yacht, with or without a crew. Alternatively there are frequent sailings to Bequia by two ferries.
Road
Throughout St Vincent there are regular bus services and small minibuses run a shared route-taxi service with a standard fare anywhere along the route? Public transport is cheap in the island nation, though it can be crowded, so alternatively one can hire taxis and cars as well, for more comfort.
WHERE TO STAY
Accommodation styles in St Vincent and the Grenadines offer something for every taste and budget and range from the casual and economical to elegant and exclusive kinds. You can opt from a rustic cottage on the beach or a historic country hotel in the mountains, to a luxury resort with an island to itself.
There is no grading system of hotels but many hotels in the Caribbean offer accommodation according to one of a number of plans, like: FAP (Full American Plan), with room and all meals supplied (including afternoon tea, supper, etc.), the AP (American Plan), with room and three meals supplied, the MAP (Modified American Plan), with breakfast and dinner included with the price of the room plus, in some places, British-style afternoon tea, CP (Continental Plan), with room and breakfast only and EP (European Plan), with room only.
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