St Vincent, the northernmost island, is the country's commercial and political center, accounting for 90% of both the land area and population. The volcanic island is lush and green, its deep valleys cultivated with bananas, coconuts and arrowroot. The northern third of the island is dominated by a mountainous interior peaking at La Soufriè, a 4000ft (1200m) active volcano. Nearly year-round, the sharp peaks of northern St Vincent are shrouded by clouds formed by cool southwesterly tradewinds blowing moisture in from the Atlantic. Little of this rain gets past the mountains, keeping the southern two-thirds of the island much drier than the north. The Grenadines range from rocky volcanic headlands to tiny cays that barely break the surface of the water. The largest, Bequia, is only 7 sq miles (18 sq km); the smallest, the Tobago Cays, are a few acres each. Many are dry and scrub-covered, and few have any fresh water other than rainfall.
Most of the interior of St Vincent is tropical rainforest. The lowlands are thick with coconut trees and banana estates. The Mesopotamia Valley, northeast of Kingstown, has some of the island's most fertile farmland and luxuriant landscapes.
The national bird is the endangered St Vincent parrot, a multicolored Amazon parrot bird about 18in (45cm) long that lives in St Vincent's rainforests, as do numerous other tropical birds. The forest also provides a habitat for opossum (locally called manicou) and agouti, a short-haired rabbit-like rodent. St Vincent's three snake species, all harmless, include the Congo snake, which coils itself around tree branches.
When Spanish explorers first sighted St Vincent, the island was thickly settled with Carib Indians who had driven off the earlier Arawak settlers. Heavy Carib resistance kept European colonists at bay long after most other Caribbean islands had well-established European settlements.
African slaves became the first permanent non-Carib settlers in 1675, when they made it to shore from a sinking Dutch ship. None of the European crew survived, but the Africans were absorbed into Carib society. Their descendants became known as Black Caribs, as distinct from the native Yellow Caribs.
The Caribs were generally hostile to all Europeans, but they tended to find the British, who claimed Carib land by royal grants, more objectionable than the French. The Caribs allowed the French to establish the first European settlement on the island in the early 1700s. Shortly after relinquishing control of St Vincent to the British under the Treaty of Paris, the French instigated a riot of Black and Yellow Caribs against English settlers, killing many Brits and burning their plantations. In retaliation, British troops landed on St Vincent and removed over 5000 Caribs to Roatan, an island off Honduras. A number of Yellow Caribs were moved to a reservation at Sandy Bay, in the northeastern corner of St Vincent.
With native opposition gone, plantation owners enjoyed stability and success - until 1812, when a major eruption of La Soufrière destroyed most of the coffee and cocoa trees. Around the same time, the abolitionist movement was growing in Britain and by 1834 slavery was abolished and plantation owners forced to free more than 18,000 slaves. Blacks turned away from plantations and planters began bringing in foreign laborers. But a hurricane in 1898 and another eruption of La Soufrière in 1902 destroyed what remained of the plantation economy.
In 1969 St Vincent became a self-governing state in association with the UK and in 1979 St Vincent & the Grenadines acquired full independence as a member of the Commonwealth. La Soufrière erupted that same year, spewing a blanket of ash over much of the island and causing the evacuation of 20,000 people to St Vincent's northern villages. Major hurricanes in 1980 and 1986 wrought further havoc on the islands.
James F Mitchell has been prime minister of this stable and tranquil democracy since 1984. In the 1994 legislative elections, Mitchell's New Democratic Party won a large majority of seats. The country has been relatively free of the unrest that's affected its neighbors in recent decades. It's the kind of place where a one-person protest against utility rates can make headlines.
St Vincent & the Grenadines share traditional West Indian culture, giving it a multi-ethnic twist of African, Black Carib, French and British influences. Musically, islanders go for reggae, calypso and steel bands. Sports-wise they prefer British forms like cricket and soccer. Some of the Grenadine islands, Bequia in particular, have long been reliant upon the sea for a living; boat building, both full-scale and models, is an island art form. The local patois is a mix of French, Spanish and various African languages.
St Vincent has rich volcanic soil and produces most of the fruits and vegetables sold throughout the Grenadines. Seafood is abundant, with conch, fish, shrimp, whelk and lobster appearing on most menus. Common West Indian foods include callaloo soup, pumpkin soup, rotis, saltfish and various breadfruit preparations, including the national dish, which is breadfruit and fried jackfish. Try the sweet and juicy St Vincent orange, which is ripe while still green, or the locally distilled Captain Bligh Rum.
The more sheltered Richmond Beach, just east of Big Sand, has better swimming. Richmond Beach is a 25 minute walk northwest from Clifton, and Big Sand Beach is just a few minutes more to the east. The road from Clifton skirts a large salt pond with good birdwatching.
There are exceptional white-sand beaches on virtually all of the Grenadines and some tan and black-sand beaches on St Vincent. Apart from sunbathing or building sand castles, the islands offer first-rate diving and snorkeling. The waters offer excellent visibility and coral reefs. Divers will find colorful sponges, soft corals, great stands of elkhorn coral, branching gorgonian and black corals, and a few sunken wrecks. There's a range of dives for any level of experience.
Owia Bay, in the northeastern corner of St Vincent, has good tidepools and a popular swimming hole. Lower Bay, at the southern end of Admiralty Bay on Bequia, has some of the island's best swimming and snorkeling. Canouan, midway in the Grenadine chain, has beautiful beaches and great reefs for snorkeling. Unimpeded tradewinds make the Grenadines great for windsurfing; try Bequia's sandy Friendship Bay.
Getting between St Vincent & the Grenadines is easiest by boat. A ferry makes a one-hour run between Kingstown and Port Elizabeth on Bequia several times a day. An inexpensive mailboat carries passengers and cargo three times weekly between St Vincent, Bequia, Canouan, Mayreau and Union Island. From St Vincent, times range from one hour to Bequia to over four and a half hours to Union Island. You can also fly between St Vincent and Union Island and Bequia, though it's more expensive and generally less convenient than catching a boat.
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