Celebrity estates and killer trees on Mustique Island

Today we departed Port Elizabeth in the morning on a catamaran trip to the island of Mustique. We are a group of about 20 and there is plenty of room on this huge (60+ foot) catamaran.
We made a few stops along the way. First to a former whaling station in the area. As mentioned in the last post, there is still some whaling done by the islanders but this whaling station is primarily ruins from a bygone era.
Next we cruised by Moonhole which was founded in 1964. Originally, there was one home built in a natural rock arch by the Johnston family. It eventually grew to 17 houses built into a steep rocky ledge.

While it provides incredible views it is very secluded and open to the elements. In fact, it has been mostly destroyed by hurricanes and is in the process of being restored. It is very funky and difficult place to live as all provisions must be brought in by boat and then carried up to the homes.
Our destination is the island of Mustique.

As we approached from the sea we got the “who’s who” tour of the island of homes (not little cottages) and their owners, the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Mick Jagger, Shania Twain, the Guinness family, the Cartier family and on and on.

There are about 100 estates on the island with many smaller cottages for the support personnel – some on their estates and some in the little village on the island.

Upon arrival we did an inland tour of the island and felt like we were on a celebrity tour in Hollywood of the rich and famous. Been a long time since we felt like groupies… While on our tour we saw this sign.

Now why would you even plant one of these???
We had lunch at Cotton House which is the only hotel on the island. We were a group of 8 and had a spectacular time. There were squirt guns on the tables, which are used to shoo away the birds – well you can only imagine how we behaved, especially when there were other World Residents at other tables nearby. OK, we went from groupies to immature children in no time at all!!
The lunch was really quite marvelous which surprised us. The host recommended a variety of appetizers and we followed his suggestion. We thought this presentation of sashimi on chilled rocks was really quite clever.

Some people chose to take a swim and we chose to do a little boutique shopping.
Back at the catamaran and a speedy ride back to Port Elizabeth where we boarded our tenders and headed back to the Ship.
Tonight was a very rare dining treat. The platform on the stern of the Ship was down and about 8 tables were set up. This is on the 5th deck so you feel like you are on the water. This is a Resident favorite dining spot and we were lucky enough to get a table on the deck. It was a most fantastic evening for outdoor dining. In fact, the Ship’s lights attracted many fish for our viewing. Magical!