The
last paradise islands:
places none of the guidebooks mention
They
really do exist: untouched by civilization, with gently swaying palm
trees, glistening white beaches and the turquoise-blue sea. Off the
north coast of Grenada and in the midst of the Grenadines lie a handful
of islands that seem as though they’ve been taken straight from a
picture book: each of them a Caribbean dream. But the route to paradise
is not easy.
By
Bernhard Grdseloff |
 |
|
By
yacht or fishing boat - that’s the only way you’ll get to see the
islands. Two of them are occasionally visited by day-trippers: Petit Tabac
in the Tobago Cays and Sandy Island off the west coast of Carriacou. They
have both been declared nature reserves which has made them fairly
well-known.
The
others are known only to a few locals and insiders: the second Sandy
Island off the north coast of Grenada and the magical White Island. The
latter is part of a deserted archipelago south of Carriacou - and
inhabited by amazing primeval creatures.
"It’s
a small Galapagos with a very special kind of flora and fauna", raves
biologist Don Dorfman of Monmouth University in New Jersey. "The
dominant species is the Morrocoy land turtle, a remote relative of the
Galapagos turtles." Its habitat is a paradise. But time is running
out.
"These
islands are highly sensitive ecosystems", warns Kurt Cordice, manager
of the Tobago Cays Marine Park. "A hurricane or underwater quake
could destroy them anytime."
Maybe
that’s the reason why the owner of White Island wants to sell his
paradise. The Italian shoe manufacturer is putting the island up for sale
in the Internet for 1.4 million US dollars.
But
there are also cheaper ways to a private Caribbean heaven. Russel Douglas
bagged tiny Green Island without asking anyone and now leads a solitary
life there. And a few hundred meters further on the same outer reef of
Union Island, a clever resident built himself his own island made of snail
shells. Overall costs: 1,500 dollars. Click
here for: +
1 week yacht cruise
to the Grenadines +
Island hopping by
plane and boat |
Million
dollar island: White Island
near Carriacou is up for sale for 1.4 million US-Dollars.
National
park island:
Petit Tabac, pearl of the Tobago
Cays, is strictly protected.
Transformation
island: Sandy Island near Carriacou
is constantly changing in shape & size.
Do-it-yourself
island:
for 1,500 US-Dollars Janti
build himself his own Grenadine island. |
