President Vinos' Visit to St. Vincent

President Francisco J. Vinos, the Area President for the Caribbean Area presided at our last Zone Conference, January 16, 2012.  He is a member of The First Quorum of the Seventy.  We provided transportation for him to his hotel.  He asked if we would like to join him for lunch.  Elder Henderson responded yes immediately.  In my mind I thought about all the things we needed to do that day.  Then my mind said "How many times do you have the privilege of having lunch with a General Authority?" We had a wonderful lunch with President and Sister Vinos and President Gamiette.  Sometimes we think we are so busy that we miss what matters the most.  President Vinos is sitting by President Gamiette, and his wife in the North Island Zone picture.

Our Service with President & Sister Gamiette

This was the only visit that President Gamiette and his family have made to St. Vincent.  We had the rare opportunity to spend an afternoon with them at a beautiful ocean restaurant eating pizza.  What a wonderful family!  They have made many sacrifices and we appreciate their righteous dynamic service.  They complete their three year mission June 30, 2012.

Views From Our Backyard

Our backyard in St. Vincent has breathtaking views. 

La Soufriere Volcano Hike

Volcano Hike, a set on Flickr.

La Soufriere is an active volcano which last erupted in 1979.  One of the most studied volcanos in the world, La Soufriere rises majestically over 4000 ft.  The trail leads you along steep volcanic ridges through bamboo groves, a tropical rain forest and then the final hike up a rocky lava field.   La Soufriere is the highest point in the island country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  It is a strato volcano with a crater lake and is the islands youngest and northern most volcano. 

We go on hikes with our family in Island Park.  We always make sure the hike is an easy one for the old folks(us) and the children.  The sister missionaries could not go on the La Soufriere hike with the six elders unless we accompanied them.  We thought we would try it.  We should have checked on-line first.  Later we checked it and it said rigorous hike and that was an understatement.

There were over 1000 bamboo steps, some of them 2 ft. high. We climbed and climbed and climbed some more. The well-maintained trail was surrounded by beautiful, lush, rain forest vegetation.  As you can probably tell, it was raining that day, which is normal for that area. 
 

Trekker Wants to Go See Something

                Wallililabou Bay and
         The Pirates of the Caribbean

Trekker Hound has cabin fever, we should say apartment fever.  We have been busy teaching reading, math, and music.  We spend many hours helping to strengthen the Branch President and members.  Elder Henderson is the Branch Executive Secretary.  The Mission Office in Trinidad keeps us swamped with paper-work.  They call me the financial guru.  We are an extension of that office.  Elder Henderson is working on a Food Initiative with the Humanitarian Services of the Church Welfare System.



We finally ventured out to Wallilabou Bay.  This was the filming sight for the 2nd and 3rd Johnny Depp movies "Pirates of the Caribbean."  The sight is not commercialized so it is under-developed.  The location is a beautiful tropical setting. 

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Fort Charolette, St Vincent & The Grenadines

Fort Charlotte is on Berkshire Hill, just west of Kingstown in its heyday, it supported 600 troops and 34 guns.  The cannons were mostly pointed inland, to defend against Caribs.  The Caribs were the enslaved native people and other slaves.   With wonderful panoramic views of Kingstown and the Atlantic Ocean coastline it was certainly worth the visit.  Trekker Hound enjoyed the adventure, but was nervous when he saw the narrow steep road to come down, as he looked out the window.

Black Point Tunnel



Black Point

 






Black Point Tunnel

 Black Point Tunnel is about 300 feet long and links Grand Sable with Byrea Bay.  The tunnel was constructed by the British with the help of slave labor in about 1815 to provide an access route for sugar exports.


Black Point
Tunnel