Highlights

We have traveled to many places since Dahaies so will try to capture some of the highlights. Unfortunately our internet connection is slow so no photos for now.

Guadalupe

In Guadalupe, we visited the Botanical Gardens. Jan, a florist who studied under a Dutch master, was a walking encyclopedia of flora facts, so we received a lesson in tropical botany. As you can imagine, the colors and shapes of some of the plants were unbelievable. Many, however, were familiar as "house plants" back home. And so many varieties of bananas.

One afternoon several of us snorkeled the nearby rocky point. Darrell and Ann are master divers who until recently owned a dive shop in Florida. They are naturals in the water and move calmly and gracefully. Darrell can hold his breath for what seems like an eternity. He showed us so many small critters that we would have normally overlooked. One was a crab that resembled a daddy long-leg spider with small purple claws. Later I noticed something long sticking out of a rock. It was a golden moray eel. When it saw us, it popped back into its hole so that only about the front six inches were sticking out. A nice find. Dave saw an octopus, but it scooted away by the time the rest of us came over. Darrell said that he enjoys showing people critters and we appreciate it.

We needed a little sail repair so Linda went just a little ways up the mast to sew some new webbing on one of the slides and replace a nut on another. Sat in the bosun's chair so I could use both hands. Kind of fun actually.

Iles des Saintes

Sailed to and took a mooring ball off of Ilet Cabrit near Bourge des Saintes on Iles des Saintes. What a quaint and artsy village. We read that because there was no agricultural potential on these small islands, that there were no slaves hence no slave descendents settling the islands as most of the others. Bourge des Saintes has evolved into an artist community. Wish we could have spent more time here.

We celebrated Dave's birthday with, what else, a sundowner on our boat. The treat was bananas sauteed in butter, brown sugar and rum. Yum!

Martinique

We sailed in brisk and bouncy conditions and motor-sailed behind the lee of Dominica where the winds all but died to Fort de France, Martinique. Celtic Rover and Bella Blue stopped over in Dominica for a few hours of sleep. My "rage de dent" was really bothering me so we opted to continue overnight so as to arrive in Fort de France on Friday morning, hoping to clear in and get to a dentist early. Didn't want to have to wait through the weekend, espcially as it was Bastille Day on Saturday. The night sail was glorious with perfect conditions. Scooted right along. Made it to the dentist, got treatment and meds and felt much better. We walked to the open air market where we bought bananas and treated ourselves to the creole chicken special for lunch washed down with a guava and passion fruit smoothie. It was delicious and a lot more expensive than we expected. Ah, well.

Fort de France is a bustling small city with a lovely boardwalk and park where families, swimming kids and smooching couples spend their time. It is alive. We shopped at the local Leader Price market where we were often the only white people in the busy store. Got some good deals. A favorite was Bibb lettuce with the little root ball still intact. So sweet and tender. One thing I noticed was that each of the three times we were there, at least one person dropped a glass bottle on the tile floor causing a big mess. Curious, that.

There were several "five and dime" stores with all sorts of plastic stuff usually run by a Chinese family. In one, we found some interesting potions -- Jinx Removing sprays and Do As I Say bath liquids. With the bath liquid, you are supposed to read a psalm whilst soaking. Wonder how they work?

On Sunday afternoon, Dave and I enjoyed a walk along the promenade where everyone was out enjoying the sun and rain shower. We heard what sounded like live Cajun music and found this human powered carousel. Wonderful.

St. Lucia

We expected 6-foot seas and instead found 2-foot seas and 12 knot winds for a beautiful sail.  Dave caught a small Jack along the way.  We sailed to Marigot, St. Lucia where we picked up a mooring ball in the protected inner harbor.  Bella Blue and Wayward Wind shared a mooring ball and Celtic Rover got her own mooring ball nearby.  All three rafted together which was fun as we could just hop aboard each other’s boats, if needed.  Kim offered to cook up some chicken curry, Jan made a salad and I made rice and brought chocolate chip cookies, so we had a delightful dinner aboard Bella Blue.  Bags of books were brought out for sharing, and we planned our next moves. 

Men paddle over in small boats to sell fruit, bread and woven baskets.  One was sporting a Latitude 38 T-shirt.  Latitude 38 is the SF Bay Area boating magazine, so we got a chuckle out of that.  

As the weather was still good before the next tropical wave, we decided to press on.  On the south coast of St. Lucia lie the striking Pitons.  Stunning!

Wallilabou, St. Vincent

Had another lovely sail to St. Vincent.  Dave tried to outrun a squall but we were caught by the tail end of it.  Had a gust or two up to 30 knots but not a problem. 

We’d read about the “boat boys,” actually men who approach you in their small boats to “help” you to a mooring and handle your lines.  There is always a fee and you never know the condition of these private moorings.  We’d seen the photo and recommendation of Bagga, a dread-locked guy, so went with him.  Since the anchorage is tight, we had to stern tie to the dock piers as well, so Bagga helped with that.  We paid $8 US for his service.  I also bought a beaded bracelet and an enormous avocado each for $4 US.

Part of the deal with the moorings is that thet cost $8 US but if you eat at the restaurant (owner of the mooring balls), you don’t have to pay for the mooring balls.  We enjoyed mahi mahi, plantains, a fried vegetable that was good but I don’t remember what it was called, along with rice and carrots.  Everything was delicious.  I also had the strongest rum punch I ever had and was smashed after only drinking half.  (Probable cause of aforementioned memory lapse.)  The view was beautiful as we watched the setting sun. 

The film Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in Wallilabou.  The film company built a building set which now houses a gallery of glossy photos and artifacts – coffins and such – from the film. 

In the morning, we intended to have Bagga take us for a hike to the waterfalls, but it rained all morning so we decided we needed to bag Bagga’s hike and head south.  I hope that we can return to these lovely islands to do more exploring.  Alas, hurricane season is nigh.

Bequia

After the rains stopped, we traveled the 15 miles to Port Elizabeth, Bequia where we anchored in Admiralty Bay, a slightly rolly anchorage.  Post Elizabeth is a small town where local boat builders ply their trade on the beach. 

Needing to get some exercise, yesterday we went for a walk up Mt. Pleasant and had a sweeping view of the bay.  Treated ourselves at the top to the local ginger ale.  Lots of lovely flowers along the way including the fiery flamboyant tree and the fragrant frangipani used in Hawaiian leis.  

After lunch we snorkeled Devil’s Table, the reef off of the nearby point.  It was especially nice because it was rocky with various depth levels and little canyons.  Saw a bulbous balloon fish.  Other than that, many small reef fish and abundant coral.  Afterwards, Kim and Scott who have been sailing these parts over the past 23 years and Dave commented on how few large edible fish there are such as groupers and flounders compared to years ago when they were here.  Twenty-three years ago, Scott had visited a local hardware store here and been sold a lure with which he successfully caught many fish.  It was pink.  He said that within thirty minutes, he’d have a fish on the line.  The day before yesterday, Scott visited the same hardware store which had changed locations and spoke with the very same proprietor.  They discussed this lure and the man said that the pink lure doesn’t work anymore.  He also said that there are no more big fish.  At another dock, Scott had seen the locals cleaning an eel and we’d heard that they’d been cleaning rays which supposedly taste like scallops.  It is sad to know that the fisheries are being depleted.  Fortunately many countries are setting up marine parks with no fish zones.  These are wonderful places to explore by snorkeling.  In many, you must take a mooring ball because anchoring chains scour the bottom as the boat swings.  We have seen evidence of this.  Most likely the problem lies with the large commercial fishing vessels.  It is a dilemma. 

Today we will head for the Tobago Cays.  It is a favorite spot of Scott and Kim as it is remote and the snorkeling is incredible.  We’re looking forward to this.  Better get ready.