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Cool Caribbean Beach Bars
Joe Yogerst October 26, 2007
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"You wanna 'nother?" asks the tall man behind the bar. All I have to do is smile for him to slide another ice-cold Hairoun beer down the burnished wooden counter. And I think to myself: Is there another place on the planet where the former head of state is the guy serving up the amber nectar? Because this isn't just any bartender. It's Sir James Mitchell, the long-time prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
And it's not just any joint. It's the funky old Frangipani on the shores of Admiralty Bay on the leeward side of Bequia island. His daughter Serena owns the tavern, but Sir James is always buzzing around, lending a helping hand wherever he can, laying on tales about the days when he lorded over the entire archipelago rather than just the beachside bar.
See our slideshow of Cool Caribbean Beach Bars.
But that's not to say the "Frangi" isn't cool. Lodged inside a shingle-sided mansion built more than a hundred years ago by a Bequia sea captain, the bar looks out over a white-sand strand shaded by coconut palms and a bay filled with yachts from all around the globe. A lot of people grab a cocktail—maybe like a Tamarind Teaser or a Brown Skin Girl—and saunter right into the water. "Liming" is what they call it in this part of the world—hanging out with friends at your favorite watering hole.
And there are an awful lot to choose from in the Caribbean. As Jimmy Buffett croons in any number of songs, there are so many places to get wasted on those islands between the bottom end of Florida and the top of South America. Dozens of "Saint Somewheres" that beckon us with rum, reggae and one romantic sunset after another. Everything from hip resort lounges and flashy music clubs to harbor-front dives and beachside grass shacks.
While it may be a stretch to call them cultural icons, beach bars very often reflect the cultural heritage or traditions of their home islands. Places like the moody Blues bar in Curacao, the Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela.
Perched at the end of the Avila Beach pier in Willemsted, the island capital, Blues is the island's coolest joint in both temperature and atmosphere, the breeze floating through the big open windows and everyone dressed to the nines - women in tight, tight skirts, the men in jackets and ties. And so many different faces, people who look like they've come from every corner of the globe, but most of them actually local - driving home the point that Curacao, with more than 50 ethnic groups, is one of the world's great melting pots.
Waterfront ambience aside, they cruise into Blues for the live music - willowy divas or emotive sax players belting out blues and jazz on a multi-level stage above the bar. It might be Randal Corsen, the island's latest homegrown jazz maestro, a tradition that stretches back more than 70 years. "Jazz really took off in the 1930s," says Mike Balentina of the Curacao Jazz Foundation. "It was more swing and big band back in those days, and people like Cab Calloway and Satchmo doing gigs on the island. Curacao has loved jazz ever since."
Reggae is the music of choice at Floyd's Pelican Bar, a raggedy homemade shack on a sand bar off Jamaica's south coast. Red Stripe, rum and whatever local fishermen can snag from the sea on any given day are served on rickety bench seats around simple wooden tables. But the ambience is sublime. Guests can play a round or two of dominoes, then cool off with a dip in the Caribbean, just a leap away.
Proprietor Denever "Floyd" Forbes claims the idea for the Pelican Bar came to him in a dream. But hotelier Jason Henzell of nearby Jakes's Treasure Beach resort - who has helped Floyd rebuild the bar after three different hurricanes - spins a more down-to-earth tale: Back in the days when Floyd was fishing full time, he would always stop at a certain sandbar to clean his catch at the end of the day. Other fishermen used to tease him about building a bar so they could bring tourists out for a cold beer.
"Although it was a joke," says Henzell, "this sparked Floyd's interest and soon after he was seen jamming wood into the sand at the sandbar. People were talking, saying that he lost his marbles. But it was an instant success! Drinking a Red Strip in the middle of the ocean in two feet of water is the quintessential Jamaican vibe."
At the opposite end of the West Indies watering hole spectrum are posh waterfront pleasure zones like the Encanto Beach Club in Puerto Rico, where the vibe is more like Caribbean goes Hollywood. Situated at El San Juan Hotel on the eastern outskirts of the Puerto Rican capital, the sprawling club wraps around the lagoon pool and overflows onto a wooden deck with drop-dead views of Isla Verde beach. Patrons lounge in groovy 60's style pod chairs, hammocks or luxurious daybeds with gauzy canopies. The roving mojito cart serves its signature cocktail seven different ways, including mango and watermelon. And the music, of course, is hardcore Latin - salsa, meringue, mambo and reggaeton.
"The overall concept is beach theater," says El San Juan managing director John Paul Oliver. "Encanto is like being on the beach in Ibiza or the south of France, only all year round - the only beachfront private outdoor nightclub venue in Puerto Rico." Despite all the flash - including private poolside cabanas with wireless internet - Oliver actually prefers the bar's more quiet side. "My favorite place is the hammock area, over in the shade, with the pool and beach action in the background."
Another Caribbean tradition is the beachside bar as community center. Places like Skinny Legs on St John and Nippers in the Bahamas are not just places where tourists can grab a drink, but also social hubs for the seaside villages in which they are located. They host community sporting events and charity functions, family Christmas parties and Easter egg hunts. The vibe is light years different on holiday weekends - when hundreds of outsiders come to town - than during the rest of the year, when these beachside bars are a great place to meet the locals and snatch a glimpse of regular island life.
See our slideshow of Cool Caribbean Beach Bars.
The Ritz
Leslie Graham is the Guest Relations Coordinator at the Ritz St. Thomas. A native of the US Virgin Islands, Graham joined the Ritz in 2004.
BEST RESTAURANT
Agave.
BEST GIFT FOR A SPOUSE
Jewelry from Little Switzerland.
BEST GOLF COURSE
Mahogany Run or Old Stone Terrace.
BEST DAY TRIP
Take a boat to St. John for lunch, snorkeling, shopping (it's better than downtown St. Thomas). The boat stops at Honeymoon Beach, which is very quiet.
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