TRAVEL TALES

Young Chang

Good food, good company and clear waters made three couples’ vacation

last month seem almost like a dream.

“My husband recently retired, and this was the trip of a lifetime for

him,” said Newport Beach resident Mari Ann Haight, a retired

schoolteacher. “He had been thinking about it and thinking about it, and

so he put together three couples who got along well and enjoyed sailing.”

Haight and her husband, Dan, as well as Alan and Sandy Waters of

Newport Beach and John and Beth DiCaro of Bonsal, Calif., visited the

Windward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean for almost two weeks.

They sailed, snorkeled, explored and shopped. Their boat was a 42-foot

catamaran that could hold 10 but instead spaciously housed six. And the

group slept on board most nights.

“It was beautiful and windy . . . and I saw more stars than I’ve seen

since I was a little boy. It was like being on another planet. It was so

far away from being in our normal lives,” said Alan Waters, who is

president of an information technology consulting company.

The couples visited Admiralty Bay, Grenada and other islands.

The group had read up on Caribbean history before starting their

adventure and learned that the islands were once inhabited by Carib

Indians, before Columbus arrived, and that black slaves were later

brought there.

The islands are “very well-known for their spices -- nutmeg, cinnamon,

everything, and they’re very famous for their islands,” Haight said

Haight said the travelers had planned to eat most of their meals on

the boat, but that the local fare of Caribbean restaurants were too

enticing.

“My favorite part of the trip was at Bequia. The restaurant, the food

there, was extremely good. The people were friendly,” Haight said. “It

was Caribbean food -- pork and conch, along with their local spices.”

The travelers also agreed that the natives made them feel welcome. The

travelers said they felt they were someplace “more adventurous than

Disneyland,” and the mellow ways of the island stuck.

“Even the dogs glide,” Dan Haight said. “They just kind of lope down

the street. It’s one of the most laid-back places I’ve ever been.”

* Have you, or someone you know, gone on an interesting vacation

recently? Tell us your adventures. Drop us a line to Travel Tales, 330 W.

Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; e-mail young.chang@latimes.com; or fax to

(949) 646-4170.