2 hrs, 2 kms

My plan for the rest of the day is climb out of the Mesopotamia Valley bowl, over to the Atlantic Coast, and start my trek up to the northeastern corner of the island . Not quite sure how to get there--but no rush... it'll be fun to wander along these country roads that meander up and down the hills.

School is out and crowds of middle school students in uniform are crowding the country roads. I can't help but notice how many of them are carrying smartphones or poking at their tablets as they walk along--something I haven't seen when schools let out in the US! Folks might be relatively poor here, but they somehow manage to afford smartphones, not only for themselves but for their kids...

I also scan the crowd for ethnic diversity. Most seem to be of African descent--however I notice some kids that could be at least in part descendants of the Carib, the original inhabitants of the island. I'm not able to observe two distinct cultures here, one Carib and one African--they all seem to be one people.

St Vincent has a different history than some of the islands where the natives were quickly wiped out by guns and diseases brought by Europeans . Here the first "colonists" were actually escaped or shipwrecked African slaves who intermarried with the natives creating their own culture and were known as the "Black Caribs". The Black Caribs resisting fiercely against the British colonists for decades, fighting a series of wars. They would retreat into the dense mountain jungle to not feel the full weight of the British military machine. When they were finally defeated many of them were exiled to tiny islands elsewhere.

I wonder how that spirit of resistance might still be part of the culture today. If beneath the surface there is still a fierce determination to remain free that is passed on from parents to children...

It's lunchtime and I find a homestyle eatery with the typical 6-8 small portions on one plate... continue on my way.

Looks like I won't have to climb out of the Mesopotamia valley--there's a road along a narrow gorge that looks like it will lead me out to the sea.