If I had asked where I could rent a car on Bequia back in the 70’s my question would have produced either blank stares or peals of laughter, there were very few cars on Bequia and they were certainly not rental vehicles! Dollar buses were a thing of the future, and the number of taxis could be counted without running out of fingers. Considering the state of Bequia’s roads it was probably a good thing that visitors couldn’t rent cars, driving between the broken strips of concrete and numerous potholes was definitely a challenge.
In the late 80’s a company called Interboten/Ham arrived from the Netherlands to begin construction on Bequia’s airport, and another group of Civil engineers from Trinidad (Seereeram Brothers Ltd.) moved in to construct new roads. Such progress, an airport and proper roads all in one “go!” There were a lot more vehicles on Bequia now that it was easier to get them here, and new roads were badly needed. The Trinis did a fine job, and it wasn’t long before smooth surfaces replaced the broken concrete and potholes.
Bequia Villa Rentals was progressing along with the Island, and more and more people wanted to rent vehicles. Philmore MacIntosh began renting cars, and as he had just a few vehicles I began reserving them in advance whenever clients asked me to. Philmore was easy to deal with and never let me down, if my client’s name was on his list a car was made available. The vehicles were not fancy, but visitors were happy to have a set of wheels with which to explore the Island. Those renting had to get a local drivers’ permit from the post office ($25.00 EC) before they were given the keys to their vacation vehicle. Any visitor driving a car had to have a local license, it was illegal to drive without one.
One year I rented “Overlook”, a house located at Friendship, to a family from the United States. I met them when they came to eat at the Pizzeria, a lovely couple with two teen-aged children. They had rented a car from Philmore, and were ecstatic about everything – the house, the car, the Island and their pizza! Happy campers were what I liked best, there was nothing worse than clients who weren’t enjoying their stay, and the family was obviously having a wonderful time.
Not long after their arrival the family had lunch at the Friendship Bay Hotel. They became friendly with the bartender, and it was agreed that he and the teen-aged son would take a drive around the Island when the fellow got off work at 3:00. Mom, dad and sister walked back to the house, and the son settled in to wait for the bartender’s shift to end. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize what a punch the rum punch packed, and by the time 3:00 arrived he was three sheets to the wind. Realizing he was in no condition to drive, he told the bartender they would have to reschedule their jaunt around Bequia.
The bartender was disappointed and also somewhat surprised, people drove after drinking rum punch all the time on Bequia! He had been looking forward to the car ride all afternoon, and when his new friend insisted that he was in no shape to drive he offered to take the wheel himself. That made sense, he was sober after all, and the two of them climbed happily into Philmore’s rental car.
I heard the commotion from my house at Belmont. There was a loud crash, and in no time at all a large, excited crowd had gathered on the road. I rushed down the hill, and to my dismay saw a car upside-down, the driver had flipped off the Mount Pleasant road and had landed in a crumpled heap on the main road. To my further dismay I recognized the car, it was the vehicle my guests at Friendship had rented. Miraculously, neither the driver nor the passenger was seriously injured in the crash, it could have been much, much worse.
The bartender may not have been drunk, but he should never have been allowed behind the wheel of a car! The young fellow didn’t have a drivers’ license, in fact he had never driven a car before, a detail that came to light when the police arrived to investigate the accident. The poor father had to pay Philmore for the car, it was a write-off and the insurance would not pay because the driver lacked a license. Philmore was very apologetic, paying for a car had not been part of the family’s vacation budget, but the vehicle DID have to be replaced. The father didn’t blame Philmore, but once the relief that his son was alive had worn off, I am sure he directed his anger in the appropriate direction!