Customer Reviews

Caribbean Innocents: A 30 Year Love Affair With Bequia, Jewel of the Windward Islands

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My husband and I were considering building a house on an island in the West Indies. After reading this book, I'm certainly concerned about things that I didn't think about. High recommendation for potential homebuilders in far away places.

This is a story of the evolution of Bequia, an island in the Caribbean. When it begins, Bequia is a refuge from civilization, without electricity, phones, and regular transportation facilities. The author, her husband and some of their friends build a small hotel on the island in 1963. Through the next thirty years, they have many (mis)adventures. Some occur on the island and others involve their getting back and forth from their original home in Vinton, Iowa. With no plane or any other travel service to the island, getting back to Iowa involves a boat, some land transportation and getting to the plane on time. A lot of alcohol is consumed by all, although there are no serious consequences to the lubricated revelry.

Now, the island is developed, with all of the modern conveniences, including an airport. While the author understands the advantages of being a modern tourist destination, it is clear that she laments that fact. This is the story of a group of Iowans who escape the Iowa winter and end up starting a thirty-year love affair with an island. As a native Iowan, I enjoyed the story and recognized some of the characteristics that I see in the fellow inhabitants of my state.

Visited the Caribbean Islands two years ago and fell in love with this book. Fischer is an Iowa native and her experiences in this strange little island are great!!!!! A definite read for people who love the beach or who are considering moving to the islands.

I picked this book up in a Bequia store when I visited the island last year. It has a bunch of these cute, short stories about one woman's experiences. The stories weren't about heros...just sort of everyday life in paradise. It wasn't an extremely lengthly book, just a great travel log. I highly recomment this for anyone interested in the Caribbean Islands!!!!!