Black beaches

Recognize this? It's from Pirates of the Caribbean

Map of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

 

Population: 117,000

Capital:Kingstown

Religions: Methodist, Anglican and Roman Catholic

Exports: Bananas, Arrowroot and Copra


Flag of St. Vincent (read history)

We got into St. Vincent early in the morning after we dropped anchor we had breakfast. The sail to St. Vincent was a rough all night sail. Captain Matt did a great job despite a blown out foresail. The speedboats came to take us to Baleine falls just after breakfast. It was a hour long boat ride. We stopped at some pretty good places. One stop was at a "bat cave" which was a cave that has some interesting formations. Another one of our stops was at the Pirates of the Caribbean set. That was a great movie!

"The biggest DVD in film history was shot in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.The Ministry of Tourism and Culture of St.Vincent and the Grenadines played host to Disney Films in 2002/2003 for the filming of the box office smash PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. The movie set was built locally at the Ottley Hall Marina and Shipyard and at Wallilabou on the Leeward side of the island.More than half the film was actually shot in SVG"...(More)


Batcave!

Pirates of the Caribbean set

Pirates of the Caribbean treasure cave entrance

The official Pirates of the Caribbean website: Pirates of Caribbean

Along the way was also saw LaSoufriere, St. Vincent's active volcano.


LaSoufriere
St. Vincent Scenery

The waves near the stop for Baleine falls were pretty intense, some of the people on our boat though they were maybe 10 foot waves. It made for an interesting landing. After we landed we hiked up to the falls. It wasn't a paved trail, it was a real jungle hike. We waded though deep pools and streams to get to the actual falls. When we got to the falls, we went swimming and a couple of people in my opinon, who were half crazy, climbed half way up the falls and jumped into the pool below.

Baleine falls

Baleine falls

Landing at Baleine falls

After the falls we went to where the actors stayed during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean at Wallilobou Bay. We had a really good West Indian Lunch. After lunch our speed boat captain took us to a black beach for a swim. The landing was in really deep water and the sand really was black! I brought back a bag of black sand that Tim scooped up for me. The beach was really pretty. It was bordered by Sea Almond Trees that were just starting to bloom pink. After our swim and on our way back to the Mandalay, we were treated to a siting of rare Osprey. (Birds in St. Vincent)

The Osprey, a bird of prey is related to the Hawk and the New World vulture, it is found near water in most parts of the world. American Osprey, or fish hawk, has white underparts and a wingspan of 5 to 6 ft.. It feeds and solely exclusively on all live fish and is usually seen hovering over the water, into which it plunges feet first to grasp its prey.

 

After our day long adventure to Baleine falls we went back to the ship. Dinner and bed felt really good!






Hike to Baleine falls

Hike from Baleine falls

Baleine Falls beach landing

Wallilobou Bay
S/V Mandalay Islands Pirates

Updated: April 7, 2004