SAINT VINCENT & THE GRENADINES |
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images : getty ; Karolina Wiercigroch |
“ It ’ s worth flying just for this ,” says a local lady , wrangling with her grandson on her knee . “ To see the Grenadine chain from the sky .”
Barely 15 minutes later , we touch down on Union Island . With a population of around 3,000 people , this coral-fringed Grenadines ’ hub is a popular anchorage for those exploring the region by sail . But at just three miles long and one mile wide , with few cement roads and more free-roaming goats than tourists , Union is a blissfully rustic retreat . The island ’ s hilly interior , carpeted in tracts of tropical dry forest , brims with biodiversity , including a species of gecko discovered as recently as 2005 . Led by guides from Union Island Environmental Alliance , I hike trails through dense tracts of white cedar , kapok and ‘ haul back ’ ( acacia ) trees , so-called locally for the tiny , barbed spikes on leaves that snag careless passersby .
A concentrated hush falls as we walk , to help us avoid getting tangled but also for the team to sharpen its focus : these prized
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lizards are no larger than a paperclip . The guides go ahead , careful to keep the geckos ’ exact location unknown , safeguarding them against poachers . They return with two tiny creatures carefully contained in a lensed specimen dish , their jewel-like scales recalling tropical fish .
“ We still know so little about them ,” says Alliance co-founder and guide , Roseman Adams , before they ’ re released back to the forest . Are they poisonous ? Do they make a sound ?
Such natural wonders come thick and fast in Union . At Ashton Lagoon , on the south shore , I spend an afternoon strolling along the sandy , shady walkways and little bridges criss-crossing what are the Grenadines ’ largest mangroves . A key spot for bird-lovers , the lagoon and mangrove are home to the likes of whimbrels , magnificent frigatebirds , royal terns , plovers , sandpipers and herons . Abundant species have flocked back here since 2019 , when local environmental group
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SusGren completed a renovation project to revive and protect the fragile mangrove ecosystem after it was damaged by a failed marina project .
Not just a home for migratory birds , mangroves are a vital nursery for reef fish , and sustain a network of marine life with nutrients , cool waters and high levels of oxygen . Union ’ s biodiverse shores welcome healthy populations of green , hawksbill , leatherback and loggerhead turtles . I skirt its coastline seeking them out , in a zippy speedboat from Clifton Harbour . “ I take people as far as Martinque sometimes ,” says captain Quency John , owner of Affection Tours boat charters .
Turtles are his mission today , and we decide to motor into Tobago Cays Marine Park , moments from Union ’ s shores . I ’ m tempted to stop en route at Happy Island , a floating bar made out of conch shells , but it ’ s hot and the sea is calling .
Once we ’ re in the park we soon spot them : two snouty hawksbill turtles , nostrils
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fall 2024 • 37 |