Bequia is the second largest island in the Grenadines at 18 km² (7 square miles) (the largest being Carriacou, a dependency of Grenada), with a population of approximately 4,300. It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is approximately 15 km (9 miles) from the nation's capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent. Bequia means "island of the clouds" in the ancient Arawak.
We did a tour of the island. The only really interesting part of the tour was the visit to the Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary. It was founded in 1995 by Bequian Orton King to assist in the conservation of the endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata, german: Echte Karettschildkröte, french: Tortue imbriquée). He picked up hatchlings and reared them till they were old enough to fend for themselves successfully. Now they are reared till they are 5 years old. So far about 800 have been returned to the sea.
Overlooking the Port Elizabeth harbor is the Old Fort, which was a stop on our tour.
All pictures are © Dr. Günther Eichhorn, unless otherwise noted.
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Page last updated on Mon Mar 1 15:54:41 2021 (Mountain Standard Time)
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