(mini) Vacaion

I just got back from taking 3 days off to explore St. Vincent- the largest of the country's islands. It was just what I needed.

5am wake up to catch the 6:30 ferry to get a van to reach Georgetown (up the eastern side of the island) by 9am. Already it was so nice to see a bigger island with mountains and villages. St. Vincent made Bequia seem like Dubai in comparison- polished decadence. The van ride was beautiful, I was sitting by the window in the open air watching us drive in and out of little fishing villages on the coast, at one point we stopped and picked up 15 schoolkids. In a 12 seater van.



Arriving in Georgetown we hiked up to Hells Gate falls, then continued up to the Volcano through a rainforest so rainforesty it seemed like you were walking through a contrived sketch of the ideal rainforest. All that was missing were the animals- there's nothing breathing in these islands, but it also means there's no leeches, poisonous snakes, spiders, etc.



Up up the windward side of the island into rain and fog and mist and finally we reached the top of the crater, where we walked along half the ridge, paused for lunch (and got overtaken by 3 barefoot Ganja farmers - the area around the volcano has A LOT of ganja plantations, but another post about that later) and then down the leeward side of the island towards the Caribbean sea. What surprised me is the difference in humidity and plant types just on the other side of the island. We walked through farmyards, gorges and on black sand beaches until we finally reached our destination for the night.



Next day was another early start to hike to Trinity Falls through a countryside filled with fruit trees, tiny farms and overgrown forests- it reminded me so much of Vinales in Cuba. Everyone we passed along the way, most yielding large machetes in one hand and a joint in the other were so heartfeltly friendly it made my day.



Then came my favorite part of walking through the bush and up a river (yes, in the water- sometimes up to the waist) to AMAZING hot springs coming straight out of a rock and joining the main river. We spent a few hours laying in pools of water with our bodies in warm and our feet in the cold water in the middle of nature without another person in sight. I have never just walked in nature or up rivers without a path but its definitely something I've gotta start doing.



The last day was an early swim in the Dark View falls then walking through little villages (which to me was the highlight of the trip) and waiting for hours for a van (loved it mostly cuz it got me into traveller mode again) to take us back to Kingstown to the botanical gardens and finally home- tired, sore, blistered and happy.