From The Deck Chair: Silver Spirit Day 3

The beautiful Silver Spirit at anchor off Bequia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Photo © 2010 Aaron Saunders

What do you picture when you think of the word “Paradise”? I’ve always pictured crystal-blue seas, white sand beaches and lush green palm trees. Something where the people are laid-back, and the ‘real world’ ceases to exist.

This morning, when Silver Spirit dropped anchor just off of the little island known as Bequia, I found my own personal paradise. Caribbean Blue by Enya was running through my head all day – and still is. To me, it could be the island’s unofficial soundtrack.

Bequia (pronounced beck-way) is the largest island in the Grenadines, part of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, which sounds a little bit like a rock band. It is part of the chain of islands known as the Windward Islands. Roughly five thousand people call the island home.

For an island that measures just seven square miles, Bequia has a rich history. The island fiercely resisted the European colonization that swept the region in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, mainly due to the presence of the indigenous “yellow” Caribs, who formed an alliance with many shipwrecked African slaves seeking refuge on the island. Britain and France were so terrified of these “Black Caribs” that both agreed to leave the islands alone – remarkable given the fact at this time both countries were ravaging just about everything in sight.

By the 18^th century, France had mustered up enough courage to develop a working relationship with the Black Caribs, who granted French settlers the right to grow crops of indigo, sugar, lime and cotton. Bequia was now considered to be part of French-owned Grenada. This allowed the French to really stick it to the British by prohibiting their ships from docking or provisioning on the island.

Paradise: Princess Margaret Beach

Photo © 2010 Aaron Saunders

Over two hundred years later, we stepped off our own floating paradise and boarded the ship’s tender for the island with no real plan. Exhausted from our hike in Grenada yesterday, we wanted to do as little as possible today.

We’d learned from the onboard local representative of Bequia, who was stationed at the shore excursion desk in the reception area, that a water taxi could whisk us from the tender pier to nearby Princess Margaret Beach. Having a local representative aboard makes a huge difference and enabled us to properly figure out what we were going to do before we even stepped off the ship.

The unbelievably-clear water.

Photo © 2010 Aaron Saunders

Princess Margaret Beach boasts everything a good paradise should: warm sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. Beach chairs are available to rent for $15 a chair, and there is a decent-size bar on location as well. It’s warm waters are ideal for swimming or snorkeling, and just like we did, you might even catch a sand crab or two scuttling along the beach.

Bequia: laid-back and un-touched.

Photo © 2010 Aaron Saunders

After spending about two hours on the beach, we headed back to the tender pier for a walk around Bequia. While there isn’t much in the way of shopping available, to me that’s the whole point of calling here: it’s not overrun with tourists streaming off eight ships. There’s no Margaritaville or Diamonds International; just plenty of ways to relax.

Enjoying lunch in the warmth of the verandah at La Terrazza, Deck 7.

Photo © 2010 Aaron Saunders

Back on board our own floating paradise, we had a late lunch on the outdoor terrace at La Terrazza on Deck 7. The outdoor terrace is an absolutely fantastic feature for warm-weather itineraries; there’s nothing like having a glass of wine and some good food under the shade of the awning while taking in the warmth of the Eastern Caribbean.

More to the point, there was a tremendous variety on offer at La Terrazza. Everything from the remarkable cheese trolley to the fresh fruit and seafood, to specialty items like the chimichangas, ensured there really was something for everyone. And I’m still catching myself reaching for my keycard every time someone gets me a glass of wine before realizing that’s not needed here. That growing sense of unease many people experience a few days into their cruise as they contemplate their onboard spending just doesn’t exist aboard Silversea.

At the same time, they do offer some tremendous, for-purchase wines, whiskies, cognacs, and caviar for the true connoisseur. I know there’s been some debate about whether that makes Silversea truly all-inclusive or not, but let’s not split hairs: not everyone will be ordering the $500 tin of rare caviar, or the $23 Montecristo. The free-pour drinks – too numerous to list here – are likely to satisfy the vast majority of the passengers. But for those looking to celebrate a special occasion (which a Silversea cruise is) might just want to induldge themselves in a rare-vintage wine.