Mustique Part 3 - The People And The Houses

Mustique - a hide away for rich and famous.

The fruit and vegetable stand.

This man is an avocado expert giving me avocados for today, tomorrow and "No Mam, that one is for Wednesday, 3 days from now. ".

The fisherman's market

It is what it says: The Food Store.

It is what it looks like: The Pink House and The Purple House. Filled with souvenirs and beach clothes.

The main bay.

The palm tree drive way to Mister's house.

Mister's house. Or lets call it palace shall we.

Oh yes. I could cuddle up there with a good book. Or crochet for that matter. :)

Mister's private beach.

What the kids were ooohing over the most, was the outdoor TV screen coming up from the ground.

Lets have lunch on the water shall we?

Dinner parties is a common happening in Mister's house. And many people are always invited.

Our villa with tons of character and charm. Loved this villa.

In the back was a small cabin for Anne and Syl who were our maids, cooks and chat boxes for the week.
The sweetest girls ever.

The kids were doing acrobatic water shows every night in the pool.

Backgammon. What a fun game. And little Emmy Bo won every single time. :)

Jay showing the kids and Syl's son Reggie how to make a lizard trap from leaves.

Nelly Bo caught a couple of lizards with her trap. This was seriously tricky business.

Macaroni Beach.

Going back home with this little airplane to St Lucia where we changed to British Airway and the big plane.

Mustique airport. Very charming and teeny tiny!

Mustique is an island for the rich and famous. It is truly surreal to walk over the properties of Jay's employer, who is a very rich business man. There is the welcoming Palm tree alley, the private beach, the movie screen TV coming up from the ground outside for entertainment. There is the main house, looking more like a palace, with large lounging sofas, dinner areas for big parties... A lunch terrace right on the water and a large restaurant kitchen with a handful of staff for Jay to work in.

But where there are rich and famous you also find hard working servants. Most workers come from St Vincent, which is one of the larger islands of the Grenadines. They come to live here and take care of properties, cook, clean and maintain high level service. Often they are away from home and families for months on end. The salary is not big but good compared to local wedges back home. They come here to give good education to their kids, to take care of their parents or sick family members. Many women leave their children with their parents or aunts at a young age. When I hear Anne and Syl tell me their stories I am struck by the difference in the cultures. For them this is not a great sacrifice, for them this is a great opportunity. Both of them have children at home in St Vincent and they go back home only a couple of times a year to see them. And still they laugh and have a smile on their face all-the-time!

After 6 days on the island we are starting to get the restless itch. There is not much to do and no entertainment part from the 3 restaurants and the 200 m long shopping street down at the main bay with one grocery shop, a couple of souvenir shops, a hard ware shop, and the local fisher men and fruit and vegetable supplier. You can enjoy water sports and diving of course, but that is not for us normal vacationers.

We have spent hours on the beach and in the pool, snorkeled, Jay has shown the kids how to catch lizards with lizard traps, we have had backgammon tournaments in the evenings, explored the island on the width and the length with hikes. The kids are ready to go back home and celebrate Christmas. They miss the kittens and the Christmas tree and I have to admit I do too.

We spend 300 dollars on T-shirts with a MUSTIQUE print on the front for the whole family, we spend another 50 dollars on souvenir bracelets and I resist the urge to buy yet another beach dress when I read the 400 dollar price tag...

We return home leaving the man of the family behind to work hard and earn our living, and it is hard to leave him there. We have had such a magical time on this island. And being together and experiencing this together as a family has been the best part. Once in a life time... What an adventure it was. Mustique in our memories forever.

PS I'm so sorry about the photo overload. But you see, every picture is special and I share this with close family here on the blog. I hope you have enjoyed it. From now on my blog posts will go back to a decent normal. :) Thanks for joining me on my Mustique journey. This was a very special trip that I never in a million years ever thought would happen to me in life. I feel very privileged.

Kärlek
Annette

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