CaribbeanSt Vincent & the Grenadines

I want to explore Moonhole in Bequia

By July 19, 2020 2 Comments

On June 22nd I set sail from St Lucia bound for Grenada, so I could store my boat and fly back to The States for hurricane season….but that is a whole different story that I will share later :). I chose to break the 130 mile trip up into two long day sails and anchored in Bequia overnight. I knew I could not go ashore, but the next morning as I was heading out I made sure to sail close to shore down the western peninsula. The reason was that I wanted to at least see Moonhole from the boat. This is one of the few places I have yet to check out on Bequia in the Grenadines, but have read about. Let me tell you, the sail-by only whetted my appetite even more. Now I really want to go ashore and explore the ruins!!!! This is what Wikipedia had to say about Moonhole:

Moonhole is a private community on the island of Bequia (Bek-way) in the Grenadines. Moonhole derives its name from a massive arch formed in volcanic substrate through which the setting moon is sometimes visible.

Founded by Thomas and Gladys Johnston in the 1960s, Moonhole is now a private nature preserve. In the late 1960s, the Johnstons retired from an advertising business in New York and founded the Moonhole community on the narrow western tip of the island. Tom and Gladys began building a house beneath the arch with the aid of local masons from the nearby village of Paget Farm. Using whalebones, native hardwoods, and objects recovered from the sea, they built large open rooms with sea views. Without wells or electricity, they collected rainwater from the roofs and stored it in cisterns for bathing and washing. The master bath had a large tree that grew right up through a large hole in the roof. Large windows facing the prevailing trade winds had plexiglass panes that could be lowered into place. The bedrooms surrounded a central dining room, veranda and large bar made from a humpback whale’s jaw bone. In the early years there was not even a road to Moonhole. People from Paget Farm walked in daily to bring in fresh fruit and freshly baked bread and to do any necessary cooking.

Tom and Gladdie later formed Moonhole Company Limited and contributed the approximately 30-acre (12 ha) property to the company. Tom bequeathed his controlling interest in Moonhole Company Limited to a trust for the protection and preservation of Moonhole for posterity. The Thomas and Gladys Johnston Moonhole Conservation Trust Limited is dedicated to preserving the unique architecture, lifestyle, and vision of the Johnstons and to protecting the birds, wildlife and marine life on the peninsula at the western end of Bequia. There are now eleven privately owned homes at Moonhole and four houses owned by Moonhole Company Limited. Some of these properties are available for rent throughout the year.

2 Comments

  • Shane says:

    Karl,

    Cool. I am going to check it out next time I am on Bequia! 🙂

    Shane

  • Karl Stein says:

    We hiked up there one afternoon. Scenery is spectacular, but most of the place seemed run down and overgrown. Still it was a nice trip.

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