St Vincent & The Grenadines
The island of St Vincent is an authentic and beautifully unspoilt tropical paradise. Blessed with rich, fertile soil the island is cloaked in lush, tropical rainforest where banana and coconut palms grow and is also home to the colourful St Vincent parrot. Crystal clear rivers and streams tumble down from the majestic mountainous peaks in the north of the island, forming spectacular waterfalls such as the Falls of Baleine which drop to a huge, rock-lined pool formed by the Falls. Trinity Falls descends in three cascades into a circular pool, then drops another ten feet into a second pool perfect for swimming. Dark View Falls in the forest-clad Richmond Valley on the North West of the island, is actually two separate falls in step formation, an uncommon feature for one site, with elevations of up to 229 feet.
At the far north of the island is the Natural Salt Pond at Owia Bay, consisting of a huge bathing pool enclosed by lava peaks and ridges. The pounding waves of the Atlantic Ocean crash into this barrier and then gently cascade into the pool.
Secluded coves and fishing villages dot the coastline and diving sites abound in the turquoise waters surrounding these volcanic islands. The diving ranges from the gentle, even lazy, to the exhilarating. The deserted cays, rocks, sand bars and lagoons are teeming with sea-life and alive with colour. St. Vincent & The Grenadines is one of those all too rare, virtually undiscovered dive destinations and boasts an almost infinite selection of wall diving sites complete with pristine corals. SVG was awarded the 2006 “BEST DIVING ISLAND OF THE YEAR” from Caribbean World.
Abundant reef-life, normally found at 80-ft in most dive destinations around the world, flourishes in shallow-water reefs along the coast at depths of only 25-ft, with an extraordinary variety of tropical reef fish such as angelfish, sergeant majors and peacock flounder, making it perfect for snorkelling.
The Sailing in St Vincent and The Grenadines is some of the best in the Caribbean and the world. In 2005, for the second consecutive year, it was awarded the 2005 “BEST SAILING & YACHTING ISLAND OF THE YEAR” from Caribbean World. While at sea you may see dolphins and whales, six types of dolphin are found in Vincentian waters, including spinner, spotted, Fraser and bottlenose. Orcas and pilot whales can also be observed.
St Vincent is an ex-British colony. Colonized in 1719 and fought over by France & UK for most of the 18th century until Britain claimed the island for England in 1783, it remained a British colony until internal autonomy was granted in 1969. It gained full independence in 1979 and maintains ties to the British Monarch represented in Barbados by the Governor General.
St Vincent is home to the oldest Botanical Gardens in the Western Hemisphere which were founded in 1762 as a commercial breeding ground for plants brought from other parts of the world. (St Vincent was Captain Bligh’s original destination when the mutiny on HMS Bounty delayed his first scheduled arrival. He eventually completed a second voyage and a descendant of one of his original breadfruit trees thrives in today’s garden).
Wallilabou Bay on the west coast of St Vincent was the principle Caribbean location for Disney’s 2003 hit movie ‘Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl’, and sequels ‘Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean - At Worlds End’. The bay was transformed into the 17th century town “Port Royal” – the set and props are still in situ and can be visited.
Key Facts
Population
110,000
Capital
Kingstown
Area
344 sq km/133 sq miles; 29 km/18 miles long 18 km/11 miles wide
Geography
St Vincent is a volcanic island. The northern third of the island is mountainous (parts of this area are accessible only by boat because roads cannot be built on the terrain). The highest point is La Soufriere volcano - 1,234 metres. Most of the island’s population lives near the southern coast. The island has a total of 84 km of coastline.
The island has 5 administrative parishes – Charlotte, St Andrew, St David, St George, St Patrick
Time Difference
GMT -4
Language
Official language is English
Monetary Unit
Eastern Caribbean dollar - EC$ (fixed to the US dollar); US dollars are widely accepted
Airport
Local airport, E T Joshua Airport, in Kingstown in the south of the island; an international airport is planned for 2011 +
Flight Times
5 major gateways – Barbados (30 mins) Grenada (30 mins) Martinique (45 mins)
St Lucia (20 mins) Puerto Rico (21/4 hrs); 5 x flights daily from Barbados (LIAT)
Climate Tropical climate with little seasonal temperature variation averaging 27°c; average daily sunshine is 8 – 9 hours; seasonal rainfall between May and November
Location
St Vincent is the largest and most populated island of the 32 St Vincent & the Grenadines islands and cays. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Southern Caribbean region and lies 100 miles west of Barbados
Government
St Vincent is an ex-British colony and has been an independent state in the Commonwealth since October 1979; Governor General - Sir Frederick Ballantyne; Prime Minister - Ralph Gonsalves
Economy
St Vincent is emerging as a well-governed and regulated financial jurisdiction, the main activities being banking, trusts, insurance and mutual funds. The registration of International Business Companies has also become a strong growth area.
Tourism
St Vincent is a new, unspoilt tourist destination. It is currently visited by ocean cruisers from the UK & US for day trips. High season is January to May. There are @400 rooms on the island, and no hotel is above a 3 Star.
A final thought . . .
"Glabally, International arrivals have grown by 400 million people since 1990, a growth rate of 94%, averaging 3.6% per year since 2000. Within the Caribbean, international arrivals have increased by 8 million people within the same period, an increase of 41.2%, within the avaerage of 2.2% since 2000."
Figures from World Tourism Organisation.
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