Caribbean and Central America Travel

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has its history tied with England, being one of the British colonies in the Caribbean. Today, however, they are now an independent nation and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Located in the Lesser Antilles, it is composed of the island of Saint Vincent, and two-thirds of the Grenadine group of islands.

Among the 600 islands, these are the Grenadine islands under Saint Vincent:

• Bequia
• Petite Nevis
• Quatre
• Bettowia
• Baliceaux
• Mustique
• Petite Mustique
• Savan
• Petite Canouan
• Canouan
• Mayreau
• The Tobago Cays
• Union Island
• Petit Saint Vincent
• Palm Island

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ history is not much different from the other islands in the Caribbean. Like most, the first inhabitants were the Caribs. In came the Europeans, battled with the natives and won. After a long struggle and several change of hands, Saint Vincent finally ended up as a British colony. In October 27, 1979, they gained their independence.

Saint Vincent, the main island, is considered a volcanic island. Though there is very little level ground in the whole island, the leeward (lower side) of the island has spectacular sandy beaches. Its windward side though is very rocky. The highest peak in the island is the Soufrière Volcano, which stands at 1234 meters (4,048 feet). The volcano had a history of violent eruptions, killing more than a thousand people in 1902. Its most recent eruption was in April 13, 1979.

Still, Saint Vincent remains one of the favorite holiday destinations in the Caribbean. Part of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean were shot in Saint Vincent, mainly at Walliabou. Many of the sets of the film were still in place, and it continues to draw tourist into the island.

Though July is one of the wetter months in the Caribbean, take a chance to visit Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to experience the Canouan Carnival. This year’s carnival promises to be a “unique cultural blend.” Carnival this year runs from July 26 - August 1, 2007. For more information, head on to the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism website [link].

This entry was posted on Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Caribbean, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.