We decided that since the Cays were so beautiful and relatively quiet, at least in the evening when the charter boats had gone, we would stay for two nights. Griff wrote about the first day snorkeling and exploring the beach in his last blog. Our second day was primarily a day of rest. The sea was quite choppy and the boat was rolling a lot so we were unable to snorkel in the 
morning. The four of us spent the time reading and
relaxing. In the afternoon Griff and Aleitha went snorkeling while Randy and I manned the boat. Neither of us felt like braving the choppy water. They came back with tales of the creatures they had seen.
morning. The four of us spent the time reading and
relaxing. In the afternoon Griff and Aleitha went snorkeling while Randy and I manned the boat. Neither of us felt like braving the choppy water. They came back with tales of the creatures they had seen.The next morning we headed out to Union Island after a leisurely start. 
Union Island is the last island of the Grenadines and we have to stop there in order to clear out of the Grenadines so we can head down to Carriacou and Grenada. The distance we had to travel was only 4 miles so it only took a little over an hour to get there. It was a little tricky finding a place to anchor. Mooring balls were available, but Doyle’s book said they were not reliable. Also there were permanent mooring balls for the charter boats and they didn’t care who was anchored where they just automatically took their mooring ball. We found a place to anchor and it was not too rolly. We were running out of food and decided to go into Clifton for some shopping and to clear out of the Grenadines.
Union Island is the last island of the Grenadines and we have to stop there in order to clear out of the Grenadines so we can head down to Carriacou and Grenada. The distance we had to travel was only 4 miles so it only took a little over an hour to get there. It was a little tricky finding a place to anchor. Mooring balls were available, but Doyle’s book said they were not reliable. Also there were permanent mooring balls for the charter boats and they didn’t care who was anchored where they just automatically took their mooring ball. We found a place to anchor and it was not too rolly. We were running out of food and decided to go into Clifton for some shopping and to clear out of the Grenadines. 
The town was unique, as have been all the communities 
we have visited. Before we even started our shopping we saw a fellow on the dock cleaning conch, the shellfish. I asked about the shells because I was aware that they just throw them away after the meat (it is called lambi) is removed. He went to the other side of the dock and picked out some shells for us.Griff figured out that we should do our touristy thing first and then do
grocery shopping on our way back to the boat. This worked out well. The first stop was at a souvenir shop. We bought our souvenir for the Grenadines, a couple of colourful figures that are meant to sit on the edge of a shelf. I can picture them on our TV unit at home. I also bought a cookbook that is beautifully illustrated with pen and ink drawings and includes information about the foods available in the islands and some of the island history. In front of this shop was a little park where we had to do the touristy thing and take our picture with the island welcome sign. Across from the park was a square ringed with colourful booths, more about these later.
grocery shopping on our way back to the boat. This worked out well. The first stop was at a souvenir shop. We bought our souvenir for the Grenadines, a couple of colourful figures that are meant to sit on the edge of a shelf. I can picture them on our TV unit at home. I also bought a cookbook that is beautifully illustrated with pen and ink drawings and includes information about the foods available in the islands and some of the island history. In front of this shop was a little park where we had to do the touristy thing and take our picture with the island welcome sign. Across from the park was a square ringed with colourful booths, more about these later.
We continued walking down the main street going into various stores along the way with Randy talking it up with all the locals
he could find. The main street continued past the stores up a fairly steep hill. We decided to walk up the hill because it looked like we would be able to see the other side of the island from the top – we couldn’t, but we did find the hospital and a view of the end of the island further west from where we were anchored. We turned around and walked back down the hill stopping for some lunch 
at a small restaurant/bar/grocery store. It had been recommended for local fare. We tried the fish and chicken, both good, and the callalou soup. Callalou soup is supposedly a specialty on the islands. It is made from the leaf of the dasheen plant which we saw growing on Dominica. Randy has now had callalou soup at three different places and he said this was the best. It was quite flavourful.
After lunch we continued with our shopping, this time for groceries. We went into a number of grocery stores. One we went into Griff described as feeling like we were shopping in a low end Sally Ann. The others were clean. When we were down to just needing f
resh fruits and veggies we headed back to the dock area. Here was the square mentioned earlier in this blog. The booths ringing the square were all independently owned stores filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. They all had much of the same things for sale so we bought a little bit from a few of them. Then it was back to the boat for supper and another round of crib. The next morning we had a leisurely start to our day. Headed back to Clifton for fresh croissants and coffee, but could not find any place that was serving them because the tourist season is basically over. We finally found one place where we were able to get breakfast and watch fish in a salt-water aquarium. About 0900 we left the bay headed for Carriacou, out first stop in Grenadian waters.
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