Away from It All

One of my breakfast buddies admitted to me this morning that she is totally at sea when it comes to computers and things related to them. This was prompted by my snapping her image with my BlackBerry and sending it to her by e-mail. Funnily enough, she has a website for her business activity, which is tourism on the beautiful island of Bequia (see http://www.bequiavillas.com/). So, she has asked that I give her the benefit of my wisdom and teach her how to upload photographs, understand what is all the fuss about Facebook, put attachments in her e-mails, and download years of pictures from her cell phone. No problem, I told her, just make sure that I get lunch. She smiled, and said sure.

But her business reminded me of what has been on my mind for several weeks: the idea of making better use of the resorts that our islands offer to tourists from north America and Europe, but we seem to forget about ourselves, while we head to those place--admittedly, not for sun and sea but for shopping, mainly. For sure, our local regional airline, LIAT, seems to do its best to make these visits difficulty and less-than-cheap.

But back to the homes near home. What you see on the website for Bequia Villas is not just attractive, it's also nothing compared to the real thing. I visited for all of a day last year, on the edge of a visit to St. Vincent (where I stayed at another lovely resort on Young Island). You get no sense of the hospitality, from the time you arrive at the ferry terminal and are greeted by the ubiquitous "African"--the man who knows everyone and everything, and has a dinghy ready to transport you quickly to the bay of your hideaway. The solitude of the villas is easy to understand, and they are perched on a hillside. But you still have to soak up their quietness. The climb up the hill to the villas is breath-taking, for sure.

Why have I not gone back there for a longer visit? I guess we have too many places like this to tempt, but that's no real excuse. I think I am waiting for an invitation from the owner, and the promise of a weekend of roast fish on the beach.