Caribbean: St Vincent

We hired a taxi for the day (tip: ALWAYS BARTER. Every taxi man/woman offered a 10 seater taxi for $250-300 and we always got it for $150 or below so don't waste money when you don't need to. If they're great taxi drivers offer them a tip (we did every time because we just so happen to get amazing taxi drivers - remember this is the way they make a living so they're all really friendly and helpful but they can be very irritating when all fighting for your business!) ) 

St Vincent is only a small island and the taxi driver suggested a tour of the island before a couple of hours stop at the beach which pleased us just fine. Being British, the taxi driver first stopped at Fort Charlotte which is a fort built by the British in the 18th Century on a tall headland which stopped the french from entering the island. The fort overlooks the Kingstown harbour and has the most amazing views. It's full of history and there is art explaining what occurred on the island and the taxi drivers often double as encyclopaedia's in this instance and will tour you around. I don't think there is any official charge but he charged us $20 for entry (for all 10 of us) but we didn't really mind. It really is the perfect place for photos and to soak up the island's history.

The island is also famous because it is where some of The Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed (although I'm pretty sure all the Caribbean Islands milk that - oh well). My family and I generally dislike busy touristy beaches, or places in general and because we went to Fort Charlotte in the morning, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" beach was deserted with only a couple of tourists which was great! The snorkelling wasn't great as there wasn't many fish but the water was so clear so swimming was amazing and there's a pier to jump off. A problem with the bar was that due to the huge amount of tourists in the morning, there was no Coke left so the Rum and Coke was a no show. We did discover that local beer and local rum did go well together though (yeah, don't judge us). There was home made rum which was deadly. 85% but as strong as pain stripper (tasted nice though). The lemonade is also something to try, I expected a sprite and was greeted with fresh home made lemonade - YUM! The local food is also a MUST TRY. Honestly, there is NO reason not to try it as it's so delicious and you'd seriously be missing out. It is all made right there in the kitchen which you can actually watch them cook. 

We enjoyed it so much there that we skipped the beach, which would no doubt be full of tourists, and relaxed there for the entire day. 

Gee xxx