ST VINCENT was actually the first stop on my 14-day Caribbean cruise and so I felt excited to leave the “confines” of what was my spacious cabin to stroll along the city streets of Kingstown. This was my second visit (that I can recall) to St Vincent and my first as a cruise ship passenger.
As I later walked beyond the cruise terminal, I felt as though I was transported back to the 1970s in Barbados. This is not to reflect badly on St Vincent and its development. Rather, it was which distinguished St Vincent from other Caribbean islands I had previously visited.
Cruise ship passengers were greeted by friendly but “businesslike” taxi drivers who were obviously trying to earn their living. Most were only keen on knowing if an island tour would be part of our stay. I declined. I was not so much interested in the sights and places of interest in St Vincent as in communicating with and getting to know more about Vincentians.
While it was my first visit to St Vincent in over 13 years, I recalled some of the Grenadine islands I had previously visited; like beautiful Bequia, mesmerising Mustique, the lovely Union Island and one of my favourite places – Canouan. Thoughts of stretches of white, sand and beautiful, turquoise beaches came to mind as well as miles of secluded land and villagers who were always so willing to make each visitor feel at home, welcome and appreciated.
It is the norm for Vincentians to offer something for sale – be it craft, jewellery, souvenirs or brightly-coloured sun dresses, shirts, skirts and saris that are so common in Caribbean islands.
I made my way out of the cruise terminal after some browsing, and my attention was caught by the sweet sounds of the St Vincent and Grenadines Police band.
Standing to my left in full “official attire”, they entertained visitors by singing some of the most popular Caribbean ballads and tunes.
They rendered various selections while a nearby container was ready to accept small tokens (money) as a contribution for their efforts. They were not disappointed as many cruisers opted to give.
Once in the city, (directly outside of the cruise terminal) I made my way to the nearby supermarket before venturing further to some of the local shops.
New and dated buildings share the city space. I watched as most Vincentians went about their business in the most laid-back manner, except of course the “minibus” drivers who were hustling to make a few dollars, somewhat like ours in Barbados. They refused to be content with a few passengers on board. And so it was that after more than 20 minutes sitting in one of these “buses,” I felt I had already wasted too much time. In fact, I kindly asked to be “let out” when I discovered that the driver had only driven the vehicle around in a circle, to make believe he had actually started the journey.
So much for a minibus ride in St Vincent.
I took in a bit more of the city on foot, even purchasing a few items and taking time to chat with store owners and sales personnel. One young man was so kind as he literally walked off his job to lead me five minutes away to an office, for which I was searching.
St Vincent and the Grenadines consists of the main island St Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines. These are a chain of small islands stretching south from St Vincent to Grenada. There is a total land area 390 km² of which 342.7 km² is the island of St Vincent.
Most of St Vincent is mountainous and consists of very little level ground. There is also a vast difference between the coastlines on each side. The Windward area tends to be extremely rocky while the Leeward side possesses some strikingly, beautiful beaches and bays.