World's Best Beach Bars: a man wanted a remote desert island. So he built one out of conch shells.
What happens when you want to live a simple, happy life on a remote desert island, but all you're missing is that elusive remote desert island? Why, you build your own, of course.
That's exactly what Janti Ramage began doing in 2002, deep south in the Grenadines, just a few hundred moist steps off the coast of Union Island. Starting with nothing more than a pile of discarded conchs (known as "lambi" shells), Janti slowly but surely built his ecstatic empire from Clifton Harbour's shallow sea floor.
A byproduct of fishermen who plunder the conchs solely for their succulent meat, empty shells actually became a big problem on Union Island, where Janti served as the volunteer environmental officer. Tasked with cleaning up all the discarded conchs that littered local beaches, Janti came up with one heckuva brilliant, happy solution.
He began gathering all the discarded lambi shells until he had enough of a foundation to prop up a small hut with a couple of chairs. Before long, a few people began rowing out to the tiny roost for sunset cocktails. Janti added a few more (okay, a lot more) conch shells here and there, a little bit of concrete mix to help bind the shells together, a few palm trees donated by imbibing friends, and voilà: Janti had created his own personal rum-soaked paradise.
Tasked with cleaning up all the discarded conchs that littered local beaches, Janti came up with one heckuva brilliant, happy solution.
Gradually, over the last 20 years, that one simple hut has morphed into a sizable isle with a dozen or more picnic tables, a tiny bit of indoor seating, and a space large enough for Janti to call the island his full-time home.
Janti is an all-smiles-on-deck Rastafarian. True to his environmental roots, Janti utilizes abundant solar energy to fuel the island's activities (mostly blender related), and he collects and filters fresh rainwater through a cistern system.
A natural reef largely insulates Happy Island from rough seas, while creating a blissfully serene spot for a swim. In addition to its unshakable happy aura, Happy Island serves delicious and affordable tropical concoctions, with a particular emphasis on rum punch and piña coladas. There's no food menu, but if you call or radio ahead (VHF Channel 16), Janti will be happy to arrange something delicious for you in advance. We recommend a lobster BBQ.
Hours are decidedly — what else — "island time," so it's best to call ahead to make sure the blender's whirling before you drift out there. Another option is to bend your ear toward the island. If you hear music, it's happy hour… but then again, it always is here.
Happy Island is at 12°59' N, -61°41' W in Clifton Harbour, Union Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Learn more at facebook.com/happyislandgrenadines.
Originally published in Beach Happy Magazine, Issue 3
