It turns out I’ve been liming most of my life. I just didn’t know it until I got to the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent. Liming, verb: Idling in a public place or wasting time on a job. Oh yes, I’ve been liming for years, and in Saint Vincent I’ve found my spiritual home.

When you’re in full liming mode, you don’t walk, you saunter. And you don’t saunter far. Mostly you sit under shade, sometimes alone, preferably with friends, watching the world go by.

Which is more or less what Saint Vincent has done since gaining independence from Britain in 1979. It is by far the largest of the 32 islands which, collectively, make up the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Grenadines form a comet’s tail of islands and islets curving south for 60 miles through turquoise sea. Saint Vincent itself is the comet: a big, green, rugged mass.

Admiralty Bay, Bequia Island © Pkazmierczak | Dreamstime.com

Despite its geographic preeminence, the island of Saint Vincent remained something of a backwater. The Grenadines are bejeweled with high-end tourist resorts while Saint Vincent remains largely untouched, with an economy based on the export of bananas and arrowroot. All that is about to change.

Saint Vincent’s great handicap has been geological. The island’s volcanic origins produced a striking landscape of precipitous hills and valleys riven with streams and waterfalls and covered in tropical forest. These spectacular contours have come at a price: The dearth of flat ground prevented the building of an airport large enough to handle direct international flights.

Saint Vincent’s existing airport, suitable for regional turboprops, crowds beside the cricket stadium on a patch of land fringing the town of Arnos Vale on the island’s southern tip. It has been an enduring national indignity that international tourists heading to the Grenadines have usually done so via Barbados.

Vincentians knew that to build an international airport would literally involve moving mountains. For decades it remained a pipedream, but no longer. A site was identified at Argyle, on the east coast. Ground was broken on the $240 million project in 2008, and while it would be an exaggeration to say work has continued apace (little gets done at pace on this island), the project is now nearer the end than the beginning, and Vincentians are contemplating the dramatic changes an international airport will bring to their sleepy shores.

Tourists (and, for good or ill, resort developers) will find much to discover when Saint Vincent properly opens to the world. The western, leeward coast (that is, the coast sheltered from the prevailing winds off the Atlantic) boasts some beautiful, white-sand beaches, while fashionable Young Island, a short water taxi ride from Arnos Vale, is a long-established retreat for the beautiful people and was one of several Vincentian shooting locations for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Idyllic beaches and smart resorts, already a dime a dozen in the Grenadines, will no doubt be one of the attractions of the new, interconnected Saint Vincent. But they will not be the only attraction. For instance, no other island offers anything quite like the Owia Salt Pond, a natural coastal pool nestling within rugged volcanic rock formations on the windward coast. Here you can swim — and lime — with Vincentians. Just be careful not to step on any sea urchins when wading.

The island’s star attraction — which none of the Grenadines can compete with for sheer scale — is La Soufrière, the massive, brooding volcano in the north of the island. Several trails of varying difficultly trace up and around the mountain’s eroded flanks. The most ambitious route takes you coast to coast via the cratered summit.

It’s spectacular, but no walk in the park. A local guide must accompany foreign hikers to ensure they’re prepared for the vagaries of weather and terrain. Volcanic eruptions are unlikely but not impossible; La Soufrière last blew its top in 1979.

The holy grail of the island’s forests is the Saint Vincent parrot, an attractive, multicolored species that came close to extinction in the 20th century, though numbers are now increasing. If you don’t spot one in the wild, try the next best place: the Saint Vincent Botanical Gardens in Kingstown, where you can see them up close in an aviary.

The blustery Atlantic winds create a challenge for flying, one of the reasons parrot populations have chosen to stay put on individual Caribbean islands, gradually evolving into distinct species. Even light aircraft sometimes find themselves necessarily grounded, though there is an alternative means of getting around this nation of islands: inter-island ferry. When my flight from Arnos Vale to Bequia (pronounced Beck-way) was canceled due to a gale, I headed to the quayside in Kingstown and hopped on the next available boat.

The crossing took an hour through choppy seas. For a landlubber, the conditions proved uncomfortable, but they hinted at one of Bequia’s great selling points. Although a fraction of the size of Saint Vincent, it is the largest of the Grenadines and boasts a perfect natural harbor fringed by the island’s unassuming capital, Port Elizabeth. When we steered into the tranquil waters of Admiralty Bay, the ferry carefully picked its way among dozens of moored yachts. Bequia is a sailing paradise.

Caribbean-style grilled filet of cavalli kingfish with a view of Admiralty Bay © Robert Lerich | Dreamstime.com

From the quayside, I was rowed out to one of the yachts, feeling perturbed after the rough ferry crossing. The crew busied themselves with preparations and hauled up the anchor. We slid serenely away and tracked down the leeward coast of this S-shaped island.

Beyond the cover of the southwest tip, the gale that had precluded flying to the island’s little airport filled the sails. The yacht tipped to a sporty angle and the bow sliced gloriously through the waves. My childhood dreams of pirates and buccaneers were made real.

Mine was just a half-day voyage. I returned to Bequia in late afternoon and settled into the easy cadence of the island’s barefoot life. The rest of the Grenadines would be saved for another trip: exclusive Mustique to the southeast, the privately owned island that is a favorite hideaway (in a literal sense) of royals and celebrities; Canouan, with its golf course and superb diving; and Union, the southernmost Vincentian Grenadine island (the islands beyond are administered by Grenada). With its mountainous interior, Union is Saint Vincent in miniature.

All that is for the future. When I woke up to a full day on Bequia, my schedule was clear. My only plan was to find a shady spot on a quiet beach and to spend the day liming.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Info to Go

Currently, most international visitors arrive via Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados. Scheduled and charter flights fly from there to Saint Vincent and individual Grenadine islands. Saint Vincent’s E.T. Joshua Airport at Arnos Vale offers regular flights to neighboring Caribbean islands and to Puerto Rico. There is currently no official completion date for Saint Vincent’s new international airport at Argyle, though the current target is the end of this year. Admiralty Transport operates ferry service between Saint Vincent and Bequia, and companies like Island Time Holidays offer crewed yacht charters for exploring the islands.

Where to Stay in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Bequia Beach Hotel This luxurious yet laid-back beachside property features beachfront suites or, for greater privacy, private villas with their own pools. Friendship Beach, Bequia $$$$

Buccament Bay Resort Perhaps the shape of things to come: a beautiful, all-inclusive resort on Saint Vincent’s largely untouched (for now) west coast. Saint Vincent $$$$

The Cotton House The Cotton House is a byword for exclusivity, and the Caribbean resort of choice for royalty and celebrities. For now, access is usually via Barbados. Mustique $$$$

Restaurants in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The Fig Tree In a lovely location overlooking Admiralty Bay, The Fig Tree serves Caribbean specialties (roti, curried mutton) and seafood. Belmont, Bequia $$

Firefly Restaurant It’s strictly reservations only at this fine-dining restaurant with Caribbean flavor. Don’t be surprised to find yourself rubbing shoulders with international celebrities. Firefly Hotel, Mustique $$$$

The French Verandah Restaurant Enjoy local ingredients with a French twist at this restaurant with a pretty setting on the southern shore of Saint Vincent facing Young Island. Mariners Hotel, Villa Bay Beach, Saint Vincent $$$