Bagging more islands - Canouan and Mayreau

After a very rolly night in the quiet anchorage of Friendship Bay at the southern end of Bequia, we sailed south to Canouan - a brilliant sail. 

 Windswept trees on the island

Oops! He so nearly made it!

Canouan? No, we had never heard of it either. We anchored in Charlestown Bay and met a (younger than us!) English couple in a Westerly Oceanlord (a 43 footer) who have the same plans as us. pretty much. They joined us for drinks aboard and left us at about 10.00pm; four hours later they were rudely awakened when a French yacht to windward came off its mooring (missing us by inches probably) and clattered into them. The sailing guide we use warns of taking a mooring (at every anchorage a guy comes out to ask if we want a .mooring ball) as often they aren't maintained properly. Luckily Matt & Charlotte didn't suffer any damage but we now always watch out for potential problems in every anchorage.

This morning we dinghied ashore and hiked up the hills above the anchorage. On the windward side of the island there's an amazing reef-fringed lagoon.

 Our anchorage

The lagoon

Walk completed we were hot and hungry and found a brilliant local's bar where 2 rounds of drinks and 2 rotis ( curried beef and chicken with potato in a wrap) came to $EC 49 (about £12). Really friendly people so it was a good lunchtime break and we got in just before rush hour - regular clientele included road-menders, a uniformed official of some sort and the owners' two children on their lunch break.

This afternoon we set off another 10 miles south to Mayreau and we are sitting in Dennis' Hideaway Bar enjoying some particularly good rum punches, so we'd better stop typing soon! This island is the smallest inhabited Grenadine island and seems really friendly - it has a completely different feel from the slightly-chaotic Canouan. We'll probably stay here another day before going to explore Tobago Cays; from what we've seen so far, they need a new green-keeper at the recreation ground!