I think this is the most fun we will ever have.
Curiosity in Colour path:
LONDON 🛫⇨ TRINIDAD 🛫 ⇨ ST VINCENT 🚢⇨ BEQUIA 🚢 ⇨ ST VINCENT 🚢 ⇨ UNION ISLAND 🚣 ⇨ CARRIACOU 🚢 ⇨ GRENADA 🛫⇨ LONDON
The Windward Island trip is a two-week holiday that has interested us for the longest. Many people’s dream location is the Caribbean because the weather never disappoints 🌡, and the beaches are picture perfect 🏖. However, these weren’t the main reasons why we were counting down the days until we were off to the Caribbean. We booked the flights a full year in advance, so there were quite a few days to count down.
Of course, we were extremely excited to visit beaches with talcum powder soft sand and clear blue water. But if you asked us what we were excited for the most. Why we looked nervous and even scared when talking about visiting the Windward Islands. The reason for our fearful demeanour was because we knew that the greatest show on Earth awaited us.
We can confidently say that Trinidad & Tobago is the home of the greatest pre-Lenten celebration in the world! Yes, we’re standing by this statement, saying it with our full chest and are not sorry if we upset any Brazilians. Trinidad & Tobago carnival is more than a street parade that lasts for two days. It’s more than dancing 💃🏻 to the latest soca tunes. Trinidad & Tobago carnival is a fully immersive experience that allows you to have FUN and let loose!
The Windward Islands trip was made up of three parts – carnival, relaxation and adventure:
(L – R: Trinidad carnival, island hopping in the Grenadines and driving through the Grenada rainforest)
Trinidad & Tobago carnival
If feteing, liming and whining (we're not talking about drinking 🍷 fyi) are brand new words – let us explain. Carnival starts on Boxing Day and finishes on Ash Wednesday. Fetes (festival/party) take place in the months leading up to carnival Monday and Tuesday, with the biggest and best being the week before carnival Monday. It’s hard not having FOMO and wanting to attend every fete however, we have some useful tips that can help you make the right decision.
Following reading this great blog, we decided that Soca Brainwash was a fete that sounded right for us. We knew that we would be fed, watered and have soca music playing. Soca Brainwash did this and so much more! It provided an environment and experience like no other. DJ Private Ryan we salute you, however, more so thank you to the thousands of people that came to Soca Brainwash with one intention – to have as much fun as legally possible.
We might have had too much fun 😅
We didn’t want to leave Soca Brainwash, however, we also didn’t want to miss an opportunity of a lifetime. Attending Panorama, to see the steel pans up close – we’d practiced for this moment. Panorama is a steel pan competition, which is held on the Saturday before Carnival at the famous Queen Park Savannah. Being in a steel pan yard listening to a band play in harmony with energy, passion and soul will give you a feeling like no other.
When the feteing is over, it is then time to hit the road for carnival Monday and Tuesday! Carnival Monday and Tuesday are best experienced if you become a masquerader and join a mas band. To read how we decided on what the best band for us was click here.
If Tuesday is the main event, then Monday is the rehearsal. We would describe Monday as being about two things:
Preparing your feet for the work that is coming their way tomorrow (it didn’t work)
Getting your moves for Trinidad & Tobago TV ready (it didn’t help)
Tuesday is the real show! In full costume you hit the road and get ready to show the judges why your band deserves to win.
We tried our best, but as you can see, we didn’t prepare for being on Trinidad & Tobago TV:
Relaxation in St Vincent & the Grenadines
St Vincent & the Grenadines is a magnificent archipelago made up of 32 islands and cays. We had planned to visit Bequia (pronounced beck-way), Union Island and the stupendously scenic Tobago Cays (not to be confused with the Trinidad’s twin island Tobago). Not knowing exactly how we would island hop between these beautiful islands, we went in with a Caribbean mentality – what will be will be.
Upon arriving at St Vincent airport, we grabbed as many free tourist guidebooks as possible and started looking at the different ferries that were available to us. The first stop on our island adventure was Bequia and according to the guidebook all we needed to do was get was the Bequia Express.
Bequia
The guidebook was correct! To get to Bequia, all you need to do was take one ferry from St Vincent. The ride was smooth, and we were going in the opposite direction to the thousands of tourists coming off the massive cruise ship that just docked at the port. We arrived at the port in Bequia and our island dream was restored – there wasn’t a tourist in sight.
After the excitement that was Trinidad carnival this was the first time we could truly appreciate being in the Caribbean. We’re budget travellers, so we were pleasantly surprised when our accommodation, that we believed to be one of the cheapest close to the beach, once hosted The Queen of England! Her room might have been better than ours but to us, we felt like royalty.
Union Island
Union Island wasn’t as straight forward to get to as Bequia. The information in the guidebooks is outdated and we were laughed at when we enquired how we buy tickets for one of the ferries listed.
Our only option was to go back to St Vincent and take the cargo boat to Union Island. In the guidebook and at the tourist information centre in Bequia, we were told that our boat to Union Island would leave St Vincent at 11:00am. An hour later and frozen meat parcels were still getting passed over our head to be packed away. The commotion, diesel fumes, searing heat and jam-packed deck are not for the faint-hearted. To this day, we still don’t understand why all the passengers were held on the loading deck whilst a week’s worth of cargo for all the islands we were about to stop at were driven onboard around our toes and unloaded at our feet.
A mere five hours later we arrived at Union Island, which is one of the best places to take a day trip to the Tobago Cays.
We found it quite difficult to find information about tours to the Tobago Cays before arriving. At check-in our host presented us with a couple of options, recommending Yannis Tours as great value. At first, we were unsure about this tour as we couldn’t find any reviews and were given vague information. However, this tour turned out to be the highlight of the Grenadines.
Yannis tours has a very slick operation and we cannot recommend enough. Even for the most basic package (which we chose, approximately £70 each), to us it felt like a truly luxurious experience. A modern yacht with a handful of passengers, open bar, fully equipped with snorkels, flippers and safety dingy as well as a sumptuous breakfast and lunch. They guided us around the highlights of the Tobago Cays effortlessly with short stops at each location. Our favourite stop being snorkelling with turtles in the open sea metres from where The Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.
Adventures in Grenada
The most difficult journey of our travels. We managed to find a private boat that travelled twice a week to Carriacou (depending on demand). As a service Troy from Lady JJ does what he says, which is very little. As promised, we got to Carriacou on his fishing boat with plenty of time to get the onward ferry to Grenada. However, this is all he said so be prepared for sporadic communications with him when organising your departure. We were asked to hand over our passports at the beginning of the trip. We received them back after the two-hour boat journey and 20-minute bus journey (not included in the Lady JJ package) to the immigration office. None of this was communicated to us. Word to the wise, this is the cheapest way to travel from Union Island to Carriacou – just make sure you’re not in a rush.
Grenada, nicknamed the spice island for its abundantly growing natural resources such as nutmeg, was our final stop. It’s a small island, approximately 21 miles long and 12 miles wide with a huge amount of rainforest. So, we decided to rent a car to explore as much as possible (mini Jeep recommended). Grenada is one of the hardest places I’ve driven, so please be careful as people don’t tend to stick to their own side of the road or the speed limit.
We had four days in Grenada, which we used as a mixture of beach days and exploring the island. You don’t necessarily need a car everyday but read our blog for recommendations on a variety of things to do whilst you’re there.
If you have any questions on Trinidad, St Vincent & The Grenadines or Grenada please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
#WindwardIslands #Trinidad #StVincentandTheGrenadines #Grenada #Carnival2019 #Caribbean #FUN
Comentarios