Bequia? I didn’t even know there was an island of that name before coming on this trip. Bequia is the largest island in the Grenadines at 7 square miles. It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is approximately 15 km from the nation's capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent.

Today we took one of the few excursions we had booked: diving into sea salt production. We loaded into the bed of a pickup truck to take a very “interesting and exciting” ride up the mountain.

When we arrived at the production site, we learned that there was no active salt production taking place. What we didn’t know was that hurricane Beryl made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in July on the Caribbean island of Carriacou in Barbados and close to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, leaving a swath of destruction as it kept moving west and strengthening later into a Category 5. It literally wiped out some of the islands and did extensive damage to Bequia.

It could have ended right there if not for Jerry.

Jerry Simpson is a former photographer and filmmaker who has fallen in love with salt. It was apparent from his first words. He moved to Bequia about 7 years ago and spent time restoring some historic structures on the property before creating a unique method of harvesting sea salt that requires no chemicals and because of the water composition around Bequia is much higher in minerals than other salts.

Finishing salt is what he does. It’s the salt that goes on the food after cooking; it’s not added during the cooking process. Because the salt is produced through an evaporation process, the crystals develop at different rates. These random sizes are what makes his salt unique: the salt dissolves in the mouth at different rates giving a range of enhancements to the food.

Upon arriving, he gave us a great introduction to the island, to the salt industry, and to his property. His helper spent time showing coconuts to us. Not just one, but many in different stages of development. We’re Survivor fans so we thought we knew all about coconuts. Well we don’t. I didn’t know that a green coconut has some liquid in it, but no “nut” in the center. That’s not developed until after the coconut falls to the ground and develops over a matter of weeks.

We also learned about sugar cane and its role in the sugar market. Jerry had an interesting device that crushed portions of the cane stalk to render a pure syrupy liquid.

We didn’t have nearly enough time to take in all that he had to offer. But we did purchase some of his finishing salt (he creates mixes with natural ingredients like mango/lime, nutmeg/cinnamon, and coconut).

At the end of the visit we walked up the hill a bit for a spectacular view and homemade rum punch or a local beer. I chose beer.

Back at the port, Mae posed with an antique cannon as she has been doing for over 40 years now.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and after spending the day in Barbados, we’ll anchor off the coast close to their fireworks for a spectacular show.