Bequia is a lovely little Caribbean island, still with the painted colorful houses and vibrant flower filled yards of old. Very charming and quaint. Its is small with lots of curvy hills, and this villa sits about 3/4 of the way up one of the hills less than 10 minutes from the main town.
The villa starts on the second story with the garages,pool room and laundry underneath, and so the extra elevation affords one a sweeping view of the countryside below, and the endless ocean vistas. You enter around the rear of the villa down a lovely flower lined pathway and into the kitchen and living area. The entire villa is done out in soothing Caribbean colors, light tile floors, pretty soft turquoises and creams and so although compact, is very soothing to the eye and seems spacious and uncluttered. The kitchen is well equipped with every bowl, plate or glass you may need, including serving and Tupperware (not always a given in these rentals) and so was a pleasure to cook in.
The bedrooms are on either side of the great room, with one being reached through the extensive bathroom and walk in closet, which is great if you are travelling with kids as it gives you more separation at night. Both bedrooms lead out to the verandah as well. The bedrooms have very pretty mosquito canopies and very traditional wood beds. The netting is imperative as there are tons of grasshoppers and whatnot at night and it is best to put all the netting down before sunset. We also learned to give a good spray of bug spray behind the furniture and in the closets during the day, when the mossies would be looking for these cool areas to rest in. Once one has a plan in place, it is all quiet manageable -but be aware- you are in the deep tropics here, and there is lots of insects. They are often quite pretty, giant moths and multi colored beetles, and so we really enjoyed seeing them....just as long as they weren't in bed with us.
The exterior of the villa, which is almost 50 percent of the space, is magnificent. There is a generous roof overhang for shade and protection from the little rain showers, which happen sporadically, just long enough to cool everything down. There are a couple of seats under the overhang for perching in when one needs respite from the heat. The huge dining table is located in a deep alcove, so it remains cool and dry and a perfect spot for alfresco meals.There are good sun loungers next to the pool. Not in any of the pictures, is an excellent couch and table set at the end of the long verandah under a ingeniously rigged umbrella, where my husband and I enjoyed our morning coffee and watched the sunrise over the ocean- brilliant way to start !!! The pool was a miraculous temperature all day and night- so perfect for swimming at all hours, no waiting for it to 'warm' up. It is cantilevered over the hill, and so the effect is that you are swimming out to sea. There is an underwater ledge at the deep end, ideal for sitting and sipping a cold beer or cocktail and admiring the view. The sky is fantastically large, and watching the little puffs of clouds transverse the sky and cast shadows over the ocean and the out lying islands, was enough to fill all our days. Even our teenagers were taken with how many shades of blue developed as the sunlight played through the clouds and how the ocean glistened, it was truly enthralling.
The hosts were lovely people and made us feel welcome immediately, explaining how everything worked. Their house is next door, up a hill and separated from the villa by an extensive and lush garden. They keep a very respectful distance but are there at the drop of a hat if one needs fresh linens or any other thing. The house keeper and grounds man kept the villa crispy clean and were friendly but unobtrusive.
One of the highlights of the holiday was the fresh tropical fruit and veg from the "rasta" market down in town- a great bunch of folks who love to haggle and cajole. They will offer you tastes of the sweetest melons and sour sops and mangoes -delicious ! Make sure you walk to each booth first to see who has the best of each item and then try buy a little from each -this keeps it equitable and everyone happy. We never did find the fisherman, which was a disappointment.
Beaches and restaurants were lovely, as is the stone walkway along the cliffs in town where all the restaurants were, but honestly our best time was spent on the lovely verandah, eating our day's "catch" of fresh fruit and watching the clouds whizz across the ocean. This villa is better than its pictures and highly recommended.
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