At Petit St. Vincent, You Can (Literally) Disconnect From The Outside World And Take In The Blue Waters And Star-Filled Sky

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It’s obvious all of the ways that technology has furthered society.

But now, just as often as I hear about the pluses of technology, I hear about the negative effects of belonging to a 24/7 tech society. The stress. The emails. The restless sleep because of all of those buzzing blue lights. Clearly, we’re all having trouble coping with this never-ending tech wave. At least I know I’m not alone.

So when an offer landed on my desk (or in my inbox), to take a remote trip to a private island in the Caribbean where I could literally “unplug,” I couldn’t say no.

I know it’s cliché to say, but Petit St. Vincent is like nowhere else I’ve ever been in my life. The private island, located at the tail end of the string of islands called the Grenadines, is remote in both location and connectivity.

From Miami, I took a four-hour flight to Barbados and transferred into a six-seater airplane (including the pilot’s seat) that landed in Union Island (known as the gateway to the Grenadines). I handed over my documents, and was then ushered into a golf cart-like car to meet my final mode of transportation—a 25-minute boat ride across Caribbean waters—before stepping foot on Petit St. Vincent, or PSV as the locals like to call it. If you know traveling, you know that as complicated as it sounds, it always works out in the end. Phew.

Naturally, the first thing you’d do when arriving at your destination after a six-hour trip, would be to check in with your spouse or, in my case fiancé, to say, “Hey, I made it.”

Well, things work differently in PSV. The 115-acre private island is made up of 22 one- and two-bedroom cottages tucked into the island’s mounded hills. There are no televisions, telephones or Internet connections in the cottages. Guests communicate using a flagpole system for requests: yellow for room service, red for “do not disturb,” or simply no flag for regular service.

So without WiFi or TV to distract us, our group naturally headed to the resort bar for a customary rum punch. The locals say PSV serves one of the best in all of the Caribbean. It’s hard for me to compare since—full disclosure—this was my first rum punch. But I have a feeling it’ll be hard to beat.

At this point, there’s no need for a play-by-play of what each day included because the island is all about stopping time, putting the brakes on life and taking a second to breathe.

But what you can’t overlook is the sheer natural beauty of the place: the wildly lush cliffs, the isolated thatched-roof boardwalks that stretch out into endless Caribbean blue waters and especially the deep, dark, star-filled skies. You don’t get that view in densely overpopulated South Florida.

Luxury means so many things at PSV: lounging with a book on the beach without another soul in sight while sipping a fresh piña colada; spending the afternoon at the open-air treetop spa where you can hear the leaves rustle and the light afternoon rainfall during a massage; or simply ordering a decadent breakfast at your private cottage. There’s something about quietly sipping your morning coffee on a private balcony overlooking turquoise waters that forces you to take a mental break.

PSV isn’t for everyone. But if you’re willing to give it a chance, it’s worth detaching from virtual reality for a moment to breathe in something that’s this real and freeing.

PSV Must-Dos

WHERE TO EAT: Order breakfast in your cottage. Try the French toast with cinnamon, nutmeg and honey or the eggs Florentine.

WHAT TO DO: Take a day sailing trip on the resort’s sailing sloop “Beauty”; snorkel at the Tobago Cays and swim with seas turtles.

WHERE TO RELAX: Book a treatment at the Balinese-inspired hillside spa.

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