OUR VINCY HOME

The house is divided into two parts – 3 bedroom family house and 2 bedroom guest flat. The house and flat are connected by a lockable secure door.

The master bedroom has locally made double bed and would suit a couple. The bedrooms are quiet and cool, as they are situated at the shady rear of the house. See a photo

The second bedroom has a twin beds and would suit two adults or children. There is an outside door in this bedroom which leads directly on to the veranda. See a photo

There is a fully sprung double sofa bed in the living area which sleeps 2 adults.

The bathroom has a British made electric power shower as well as a local tiled "tub". There is a toilet and washbasin in the bathroom. see photo

The kitchenette has an electric mini stove, fridge, toaster, kettle and coffee maker. See a photo We provide all the basic equipment you will need including tea towels and cleaning materials. There is a dining table and a breakfast bar. You can also eat on the veranda if you prefer as there is a table and chairs.

The spacious lounge/dining room adjoins the kitchenette and has double doors on to the veranda. It light and sunny but still cool. There is cable television. The US made TV also has a built in video. There is ample seating for 6+ people, dining table and a writing desk. See a photo

The flat is on one level with a corridor between bedrooms and living area.
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For those of you who need to know about the sanitation aspects of a house, we do have a septic tank. It is imperative that we don’t put anything down it apart from white toilet paper (even tissues can cause a problem!), wee wee and poo poo (Marilla wrote that bit). St Vincent whilst having an excellent water supply does not do sewage treatment at the moment. Water is safe to drink however I would recommend that you boil in the kettle and keep in the fridge a supply of drinking water just to avoid traveller’s tummy. There are also some “quirks” to the plumbing which will be explained to you on arrival. We don’t have hot water in the kitchen (which is the norm) so you have to use the kettle to wash up. We have a washing machine which you can use at no extra charge however washing by hand outside in the back sinks is very quick. We can arrange for someone to do the washing for you but I find just rinsing stuff out in the morning and putting it on the line dripping wet is no hassle.
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This is such an essential part of the holiday especially for returning Vincys! The fresh food is a delight. The market in Kingstown is wonderful for fruit and vegetables. Fish at the fish market (currently being redeveloped) and meat at the meat market (next to each other).
The supermarkets in Kingstown have everything you might need. I would recommend the “Government supermarket” (which is the SVG Marketing Board supermarket near the ferries) which has good prices or Bonadie which has more Caribbean products (think local, buy local). All the supermarkets are supplied by Canadian or US food chains so there is plenty of slightly pricey US style food as well as local basics such as salt fish, cornmeal, peas etc. Easier if you can’t be bothered to go to town or want to do a big shop and get a taxi home, is Greaves opposite the airport. You can ask the packer to go across to the airport to get you a taxi home which is about EC$25/30. Fish can also be bought at Calliaqua rather than in town and is usually fresher as often you have to wait for the boat to arrive.
Closer to home in Brighton, Alda up the road can supply the basics and the bakery at the end of the road near Huffles does very nice bread. The ladies who sell ground provisions and vegetables are out early Saturday morning by the Methodist Church. We also have a farmer's market in Diamond (the next village) on Saturdays. We also get the ice cream van (amplified nursery rhymes) and the fish man (listen for the conch shell blowing!). Feel free to pick and eat as much fruit from the trees in the garden as you want - unless its sour sop and then you will have to fight me for it.
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We usually invite our guests to Sunday dinner but we don't cook for you. We can arrange someone to do that for you - let us know.

Brighton does not have a wide range of restaurants however Brenda (the local bar) does fantastic chicken, souse and various other foods depending on what’s cooking. Huffles at the top of the road does barbecue on a Friday and Brenda on a Saturday! Huffles does good lunches. If you want to eat out further a field, there are plenty of restaurants in Villa / Indian Bay (the main tourist resort), you can easily get a bus or taxi – about 15 minutes away. Currently in Villa, Xcape is really good value and good food compared to some of the other tourist traps. Of course French Veranda can be very very nice but pricey. In Kingstown, I can recommend Eat Well or Rainbow Palace which is local food for locals. The Sunshine Restaurant is really good and has a slightly better ambience. Check out Mac’s Snacks for rotis and also look out for the Ital food stalls on Paul's Avenue which have “chunks and food” lunch box. More upmarket I have enjoyed food at "Roy's Inn" and Cobblestone Inn. Roy's has a great view but Cobblestone is right in the heart of town.

We have pizza parlours and Kentucky Fried chicken if "ground provisions" are not to your taste (or the kid's taste).
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Bequia - This is the nearest island to St Vincent and can be easily reached for a day trip or a weekend night stop over. Its really idyllic and has some great white sand beaches which if our first loyalty was not to St Vincent's black sand would be the best in the Grenadines (apart from all the other islands especially Grenada - don't want to upset anyone here)
Mustique - If you are going to Mustique, try to meet Mr Cardinal Simon of the Mustique Indigenous People's Association and he will tell you of his battles for recognition of land rights with the Mustique Company. Mick Jagger might like it but frankly I find it depressing driving round in a jeep looking at Tommy Hilfigers's totally ghetto fabulous style house. It gets very dry inland but the beaches are pretty.
Union Island Another good day trip or perfect as a stop on your boat charter.
Tobago Cays This is supposed to be epic but I have never managed to make it yet. Friends have dived here and thought it sublime.
Canouan Home to the newly opened Raffles Resort, lovely island not so lovely resort unless you have a lot of money. They have taken over some of the best beaches much to the dismay of locals.
Mayreaux So pretty, so unspoilt, so tiny, so worth a visit.
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The beach road can be done with a buggy no problem (a bit rough at the last bit – the all terrain ones would make it easier). The beach is great for kids but swimming should be done at the left hand end for the little ones as it gently slopes away. It is safe but not when the wind is high as the waves can be deceptive.

There are mosquito nets on every bed. I would recommend coming well prepared with anti-mosquito preparation and put it on them at 5pm in the evening so they don’t get caught out when the sun goes down. Particularly remember to keep it in the hand luggage, we always get our worst bites on the first night as you usually arrive a sun down unprepared. Try not to get them bitten as its hell for them with the itching. Aloe vera and sea bathing helps as well as Rescue Remedy directly on the bite (NB take this advice at your own risk).

You can buy everything you might need for them but the brands are American on the whole. Nappies are expensive as well as formula so if you have luggage space bring your own especially as your little treasure might not like Nestle which is all that’s on offer. You don’t need many clothes as things dry in minutes and they probably won't want to wear more than a swim suit.

Let them climb the trees apart from the bread fruit which is less robust. They can run about as much as they like in the garden, we have managed to remove most of the dangerous rubbish we inherited but they should keep their shoes on. Ours just love it to bits – we hope yours will too.
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