Grenadines To Grenada

Grenadines to Grenada

Tuesday 10 July – Friday 24 August

We leave the south end of St. Lucia and since the weather is predicted to be calm we opt to go down the windward east shore of St Vincent to get to Bequia. From where we are, not much different mileage wise, and traveling the west coast of St Vincent the mountains block the wind and we wind up having to motor sail. So we decide to see the east coast for a change. We are able to sail almost the whole way to Bequia but the seas do get a little confused making it not as calm of a journey as we had hoped for but still not too bad. We are glad to be anchored off Princess Margaret Beach in Admiralty Bay in lovely Bequia where it is nice and calm. The following morning we say HI again to Promise who are anchored near by with their new boat addition of a lime green 2 seat kayak that they bought from another boat up in St Lucia. Seeing their kayak gets us motivated to get ours out and blow them up. We had heard on the cruisers net that morning that a music jam was taking place at the Fig Tree later that night so we go in with Colleen & Dave and here a really great local singer “Socony”. We spend the next several days just enjoying the beautiful surroundings, swimming, hiking, kayaking and of course a few boat projects thrown in. After a week we decide to head to the Tobago Cays for a few days. I can not say enough about this magical place, part of the marine park, 5 small uninhabited islands surrounded by beautiful turquoise water and a huge reef. Unfortunately the reef is still recovering from damage from storms but the snorkeling is still decent and the swimming off the boat is just heavenly. A few boat vendors come over from Union island seeing if you want to buy a T-shirt, fresh bread or fish but if you say no they just leave you alone, NO high pressure sales pitches from these guys. We kept our kayaks inflated up on deck so we use them to go to the 3 close islands, and one calm day we take our dinghy and along with Dave & Colleen go over to Petit Tabac, the 5^th and more remote of the group, where the snorkeling is much better. It was also the island used for the marooned scene in Pirates of the Caribbean. There's a picture of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow stapled to a tree where the rum was buried. And as another surprise, pieces of a Russian rocket booster. After 3 days of bliss we sadly leave but we are heading to Chatham Bay on Union Island, another great anchorage. Dave & Colleen had not been to Chatham and after hearing us rave about it are looking forward to checking it out with us also. Chatham Bay is on the west side of the island and is almost totally undeveloped. One fancy bar/restaurant/ hotel on the south side of the bay, that is closed for the season, and 6-7 shacks/ bar/ restaurant on the north side of the bay. The locals that run these beach bars are a little more eager for our business so as soon as your anchor is down they come out to tell you about their dinner specials. It is hard to pick one over the other, so we try to go with who gets out first, and then try to visit one or 2 of the others during our stay. We ate out twice this time first at Jerry's then a return to sun, beach & eat and the food was delicious at both places. The water is deeper here so a dark blue color not turquoise but just as clean with as many fish and turtles as the cays. We anchored near a sailboat named Magus that we had anchored near on several of the other islands, so we go over and introduce ourselves. We chat a bit, then go in for dinner, and they join us a little later. A short walk on Saturday up to the northwest ridge that offers great views of our bay and the other side. We meet a local man called “bushman” who takes care of some property up there where they have chickens and ducks and rabbits and goats and cows. Just a small work house on the property now with a lot of animals. Sunday Dave & Colleen join us for a walk this time walking over to Ashton. Once we climb the dirt track/road up from Chatham Bay it is all paved road up & over a few hills. Very little traffic to worry about and beautiful views along the way. Pork is offered everywhere in the islands but you very seldom see any pigs. On our way to Ashton we see & hear one, in someones yard. He is just as happy to see us as we are him as he squeals his excitement at seeing us. Next as we are walking into town in someones front yard is a goat giving birth to 2 babies. We stand and watch as she cleans them off and the try to stand. Explore the town a little, stop for a bite to eat and a drink before heading back. As we pass momma goat and the new babies an hour later they are already walking (a little shaky) and nursing and are so cute. We go back by the property we saw the day before to show Colleen and Dave the views and the animals. Glad we got out as Monday it rains all day, Tuesday rain continues all morning but then it clears and we make the short trip over to Clifton and are re-anchored by 2. It is Steve's Birthday so we make plans to go to dinner in Clifton with Dave & Colleen. Wednesday after hitting the veggie market we all check out, Steve & I head over to Hillsborough on Carriacou to check into Grenada while Promise heads over to see Petit St. Vincent. Once cleared in, we back track north a little to go anchor at Anse La Roche. A very small secluded bay with beautiful clean water and good snorkeling and a great beach. A little rolly but not too bad and well worth it to have this spot to ourselves. Thursday afternoon we head down to Sandy Island, just a little spit of land ½ surrounded by reef just south of Hillsborough and pick up a mooring. There are about a dozen mooring balls here, part of the marine park, but there is just one other boat here at the time we arrive and we are able to get the “first”, closest to island & furthest north AKA the best, mooring. More snorkeling and walking the beach and now have the place to ourselves as the other boat has left. Friday enjoy the day watching more boats come in and just before sunset Promise arrives and picks up a mooring close by. Saturday enjoy the swimming and coming and going of different boats. Sunday along with Dave & Colleen we take our dinghy over to “the main land” Carriacou and walk Paradise Beach at L'Esterre stopping for lunch at Off the Hook. Back to the big boats and Steve and I head over to Tyrrel Bay and anchor next to friends Gordon & Judy on Dream Catcher. We flag them down as they are heading back to their boat and have cocktails on Ocean Star getting caught up on the last 8 months, after drinks we all go in to Lazy Turtle for dinner. So much fun seeing old friends and getting caught up again. Our plan was to be here for the next week for the Carriacou Regatta and maybe get our generator fixed AGAIN. Monday we learn a weather disturbance might interfere with those plans. By Tuesday the weather situation is even more threatening, and even though Carriacou has a good “hurricane hole” in the mangroves without a generator we are thinking heading to Grenada and the Port Louis marina will be a better option for us. Wednesday we hate to leave Carriacou so soon but we say goodbye to Gordon & Judy and get underway. I had called the marina on Monday to make a reservation just in case and am now glad I did as several other boats are all on their way also. We are tied up to the dock by 4 getting one of the last slips available. With the storm threatening the marina is not putting boats on the mega dock so some of those bigger boats are down on the regular docks taking up several spaces. Thursday we go to the store to provision, and later have a happy hour reunion at the pool with Bill & JoAnne on Ultra and a few other boats we knew from last year and a few new boats. Friday we get some rain in the afternoon but it now looks like we will not be in any danger, but the marina is getting prepared. Better safe then sorry we are glad we made the decision to “run” from the storm. And it feels like we are home back here in Grenada, with music jams, museum concerts, hikes, hashes, visiting the familiar local shops and restaurants seeing many friends and meeting new ones. We had just booked a weeks stay at the marina for the storm, but the following week is Grenada's Carnival so we check with the marina and they have room for us to stay. They have also put us in touch with someone to work on our generator problem, this time we are trying to have a pulley made to by pass the alternator bearings seizing up problem. So we are glad to be staying at the marina where we can run the A/C especially since this is being a much wetter season then last year as disturbance after disturbance keeps rolling this way. Nothing has been a direct threat to us but still a lot more rain this year. We are now going on our 3^rd week at the marina !!!! Longest we have stayed at a marina EVER.  STILL waiting on the generator repair and looking into a few other boat jobs/projects to be done. It is nice to be able to walk on & off when ever we want and to take long hot showers (even if they are a 5 min. walk away), BUT we sure miss just jumping off the boat and swimming and it is a lot more expensive staying at a marina then being on the hook. Life is good here in Grenada , so far the storms keep passing us by so we are hoping that trend continues thru September and October as we hang out in Grenada.

 

link to pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/GrenadinesToGrenada?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMyywJWNnbmNQQ&feat=directlink

 

St. Lucia 2012 (again)

St Lucia 2012

Thursday 14 June – Monday 9 July

Anchored once again in Rodney Bay we talk to friends Linda & John on Kool Kat who tell us they are going in for HH and to watch the J 24 races and ask if we want to meet them to get caught up on our travels since we last saw them in Bequia in January. We have a fun time watching the 24' racing sailboats AKA J 24's maneuver in the tight quarters of the inner harbor, and enjoy catching up on travels with Linda & John whom we had met here almost exactly a year ago. Friday is a rainy day so we hang out on the boat. Saturday Kool Kat heads south as we go into the marina, time to equalize the batteries. We enjoy Saturday & Sunday in the marina with A/C, cable TV and easy access to shore side restaurants. Steve gets the oil changed Monday morning before going back out to the anchorage. The week goes by fast as we hang out, swim, do errands, and revisit familiar places in the Rodney Bay area. Saturday we catch the bus into Castries to go to the “Saturday Market” unlike many other Saturday markets that start very early and end by 1, this one goes on until 4-5 in the afternoon. We get a few things at the market then wander up & down the surrounding streets as all the shops are open and many vendors set up along the streets. So much to look at but I'm with Steve who hates shopping and just looking so I don't get to shop much. We enjoy the atmosphere and the town sites before catching a bus back to Rodney Bay. Sunday as we are looking around the anchorage we notice a boat that looks familiar, using the binoculars we think the boat is Promise. Still not sure, but a little while later see activity on deck as they launch their dinghy, and it is old friends Colleen and Dave, whom we were here with a year ago traveling down to Grenada and who we have not seen since November. Dave stops by on his way back from checking in at customs to invite us to dinner on their boat to get caught up on the last 7 months. Hard to believe it has been that long since we saw them, no trouble picking up like old friends and have a great evening talking about both our travels. Tuesday Steve & I wanted to go over to the northeast side of the island to Cas En Bas to check on some hiking trails and the kite surfing, for when Sean comes to visit. Dave & Coleen go over with us and we fall in love with the place. Unlike the built up area of Rodney Bay this area is almost empty, just one condo / villa with a restaurant and 2 beach bars on a beautiful bay that on this day we have almost to ourselves. The kite surfing place is not open but we get her phone # to call later, then take a nice walk up into the surrounding hills ending with a great lunch at Marjorie's before calling for the taxi ride back to Rodney Bay. Thursday we watch the J 24 races again, this time with Colleen & Dave and Catherine & Bruce from Latitude Thinking. Steve had helped Bruce with his single side band radio and then they had us all over to their boat in the marina for dinner. They have just recently purchased their boat and are new to the area so wanted to talk to people with a little more info on the windward islands as they plan to head to Grenada also. Friday we go to the stores to provision and get the boat ready for Sean's visit. We had arranged for a taxi to pick up Sean and since he was based out of Rodney bay he said we could ride down to the airport with him to meet Sean when he got off the plane. It also gave us a chance to see some country side we have not seen since the airport is on the very opposite side of the island. Sean's flight arrives after a short delay, during a short down pour but it clears as we head back to Rodney Bay giving Sean some great views of the island along the way. That night Colleen & Dave join us for dinner on Ocean Star to help welcome Sean to St Lucia. Sunday Steve & Sean hike up Pigeon Island touring the old fort grounds while I wait on the beach. When they get back we go snorkeling along the headland. Later that night we meet Colleen & Dave over at Jambe de Bois to listen to a great jazz trio playing there. Monday afternoon we rented a dune buggy type car that we thought was going to be an off road adventure over on the trails we saw on our visit to Cas en Bas. We did go over that way but did more on road driving then we did off road. It was a fun day BUT NOT something I would recommend, for the price we could have rented a car for 2 days and driven all over the island. But we did meet another kite surfer on the beach so Sean was able to set up a time for the following day to come back and try his hand at kite surfing again. Monday night we have HH with friends Lilly & Thomas on Blue Heron. They had originally planed to leave their boat in Guadeloupe, where we met them, so we were surprised to see them here in Rodney Bay. Their plans had changed and were now getting ready to leave the boat there in St Lucia. Tuesday we spend the afternoon watching Sean kite surf, the winds had shifted a little to the north so conditions were not the best, he had a busy afternoon getting reacquainted with the skills of kite surfing. That night we go to one of our favorite restaurants in the Caribbean, Spice of India, and have another wonderful meal. Wednesday Sean is ready to move on to another anchorage to see more of St Lucia from the water. We go into the fuel dock to top off on fuel and are underway by 1 sailing down the coast with just the genoa out in nice calm seas. By 4:30 we pick up a mooring in Anse Cochon, the guide book says private yachts are supposed to use the moorings on the south side leaving the ones on the north for the charter boats. It is a little confusing since all we see are the orange dive buoys and what at first looks like a fish trap buoy. But there is a guy out there on a kayak waving us over and says that it is for big boats to use. The lines look good and Steve & Sean go in to double check to make sure it will hold. It is a beautiful little bay and the snorkeling right next to the boat is good. A dive shop runs out of the resort Ti Kaye located right in the bay. We don't get in touch with them until the following morning so we have 30 minutes to get our gear ready, they pick us up and take us to the dock to load the hotel guests on and we are underway by 9:30 to go do 2 dives down by the Pitons. There is actually only one other diver, the 6 other people are being dropped off in Soufriere to do some land tours. We do 2 dives one along the north wall of Gros Piton the other along the south side of Petit Piton. Both are great dives with good visibility and lots of corals and fish life. Sean & I both have a little trouble equalizing but plenty to see as we follow along a little higher up. We both finally get equalized and join Steve and the others down at 60 feet. I was very glad and surprised that I had no trouble equalizing on the 2^nd dive and was able to go straight down, something I can rarely do. Back to the dock to pay for the dives and rinse our equipment off then get dropped off at our boat, ready for lunch. As we are making lunch one of the day charter boats comes up and needs the mooring we are on, they have priority so we have to move. We have since seen a couple of moorings to the south that are probably the ones we should have picked up in the first place but at first looked like they were maybe in a different bay. No one is using the dive buoy out in the middle, since we just need it for about 30 minutes to finish lunch we pick it up. Finish up lunch and head back to the Pitons with our boat this time, picking up another mooring by 5. Thursday we relax, swim, snorkel and enjoying the beautiful water and view of the Pitons. Friday Steve & Sean go to hike Gros Piton!! Not stopping at the resort to call for a cab, they get a work out just walking up to the road. Once in the cab it is a long ride over to the little village where the hike starts. A cute 20-something girl meets them and says she'll be their guide. Sean is happy because first she's cute, and second he thinks the hike is going to be easy if she can do it. Once ½ way up Steve & Sean are feeling the effects of this strenuous hike and have to slow down. The young lady that is their guide and does this several times a week is not even breathing hard, she is actually talking on her phone as she climbs. They make it to the top, Sean does an extra side trip over to the north side of the mountain that overlooks Petit Piton while Steve rests up for the trip down. They get a taxi ride back to the resort, being dropped off right in front so they just have to make it to the beach and dock so I can pick them up. One very tired father and a fairly tired son, dinner out at the resort latter that night after cool off swims and a little rest. Saturday we sail down to the anchorage by Vieux Fort, the guide book shows 2 areas to anchor in but the electronic charts show it all to be a no anchor zone as it is close to the commercial port. We do see one unoccupied boat anchored to the south, but we decide to check out the anchorage in front of the fishing pier, figuring if they don't want us to anchor here someone will come tell us. No one does and it gets a little rolly during the night so we are glad to go ashore the following morning. Martinez greets us at the dock and tells us where to leave the dinghy amongst the fishing boats. He also tells us the town of Vieux Fort is having their own little carnival celebration that afternoon. We take the short walk through town and over to Anse de Sable beach also known for kite surfing. It is a FABLOUS beach, one of the prettiest we have seen and almost no one else there. We walk down to the Reef a bar & restaurant & kite & wind surfing shop but unfortunately the winds are too mild for kite surfing. Sean is disappointed that he will not get a chance to kite surf in this beautiful bay, but we all enjoy the beach and water and have a great lunch at the Reef. Tearing ourselves away from the beach we head back to town in time for the start of their carnival parade. Very small town = very small carnival festival but it is a lot of fun to watch. They are doing their own little one since many of them will be going to St Vincent the following Monday & Tuesday for a much bigger carnival and St Lucia in Castries does another carnival the week after. It was a nice surprise to run into and give Sean another island experience. Back through town stopping by a few street vendors for some food & drink. Move the boat over to the south side anchorage since Martinez said it would not be rolly there and it's not so we have a nice calm night even if it was on a lee shore. Monday Sean has to catch a 3:30 flight so we get a cab and stop by the Reef for another great lunch with a beautiful view, sadly the winds are a little better today and there is a guy out kite surfing, so Sean is a bit envious. We see Sean off at the airport and look forward to his next visit. Steve tries to see customs at the airport but a flight just came in so they are too busy to see boaters, one last stop to customs at the commercial pier then to fishing pier to go back to the boat. Tuesday we sail to Bequia in the Grenadines.

Link to pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/StLucia2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCObehpzDntadtwE&feat=directlink

Martinique Again 2012

Martinique Again 2012

Thursday 17 May – Thursday 14 June

WOW we spent 4 weeks in the beautiful country of Martinique this time. Exploring more of some previous visited anchorages and seeing some new ones and even renting a car a couple of times to see part of the inner island. We still did not get to see all we wanted, just so much to see and do!! Here is a summery of our time in Martinique.

We had a fast 4 hour trip down from Roseau, Dominica. Not as smooth as we would have liked with the 20 knot winds and 6 Fort waves but we made 8-9 knots with 1 reef in the main and 2 in the genoa and anchored off St. Pierre, Martinique. Friends on Ultra anchor near by a little while later. Friday morning we go to check in at customs (tourist office) but their computer is broken so after lunch along with JoAnne & Bill from Ultra we take the bus down to Fort de France and check in there. Stopping at a few stores before catching the bus back to St Pierre. The town is having a celebration that weekend because Mt. Pelee, the volcano that DESTROYED the town in 1902, has been quiet now for 110 years. Booths with local artists set up along with food vendors and a stage for music (all in French). Saturday afternoon JoAnne & Bill want to dive a couple of the wrecks here in the bay, of which there are many, some from the volcano others from hurricanes and tidal waves. They are all deep dives and since I am suffering from a head cold, no way I can equalize and get down that deep. So I swim in the beautiful deep blue water while Steve, JoAnne & Bill dive. Dinner on Ultra, delicious home made pizza by JoAnne. Sunday more diving and snorkeling then back into town for more of the festival celebration. Monday we take the walk up to the Depaz distillery, passing through the town looking at the historical ruins from the volcano eruption now a landmark. JoAnne & Bill had made the same mistake we did on our first walk to see the distillery, taking the long hilly road. They had left late in the day so never even made it to the distillery before turning around. So Bill was a little doubtful when we say there is an easy way. He is also surprised at how easy it is and the fact that they did not come this way the 1^st time. The distillery is up and running and the grounds are beautiful and the rum tasting is always good, we load up on free mangoes before walking back. Tuesday is another festival celebrating the abolishment of slavery so we go in BUT can't use the dock for the dinghies as they are loading tons of fireworks to be set off later that night. We find another spot to land the dinghies and enjoy some of the afternoon festivities before going back to the boats for dinner and a great view of the firework show. Wednesday Ultra heads south but we stay to do laundry, & defrost the freezer. We leave Thursday, during a break in the rain, to catch up with them at the anchorage by Schoelcher, just north of Fort de France. We make the 1 ½ hour trip staying dry but once anchored the rain starts up again. Friday still on & off rain throughout the morning. During one break we decide to make a run to shore. Glad we were all wearing our ponchos, as it started to rain on the way in and most of the walk up to the bus stop. JoAnne & Bill are returning for their second trip and our 1^st to the mega supermarket and hardware store located between Schoelcher & Fort de France. We are traveling by bus so limited to what we can buy by what we can carry in backpacks and canvas bags. At least the sun comes out for our return trip. Saturday noon departure for Anse L' Anne. Short trip over and get re-anchored, then take the dinghies over to Anse Mitan to check out town and surroundings. Sunday Into Anse L' Anne to see what is there then out to snorkel around a little island then over to Anse Noire & Anse Dufour for more snorkeling before returning to the boat. Monday I go back to Anse Mitan with JoAnne & Bill to shop :), Steve glad to stay back on the boat. Over to Grande Anse D' Arlet in the afternoon get anchored & settled in, before snorkeling off the boat since we are close to shore line. After snorkeling HH with Joanne & Bill on Ocean Star.

Another sad day as we will be parting ways the following day, as they head south and we stay in Martinique awaiting arrival of guests.

Tuesday & Wednesday boat chores and swimming. Thursday over to Fort de France, stopping to get fuel first !! What a mistake that was !! We THOUGHT we had gotten fuel there before but as we are approaching the fuel dock we realize that NO we did not because Dave from Promise had come over by dinghy and told us what a horrible set up it is. We were there so decided to go ahead and give it a try. We had to back the boat in to a small space next to a FLOATING dinghy dock with small lines in the water for small boats to use to tie off to. I get off with the stern line trying to find something to tie it to other then the little rubber cleat on the floating dock. No help from anyone at the fuel dock but luckily some men from the near by boat yard were there having lunch and came over to help with the lines tying them to the floating dock. Finding one real cleat onshore to secure the boat so it did not pull the floating dock away. Fueled up and a note made in our log to never get fuel there again. Glad to be away from that mess and over to the anchorage off Fort de France. Into town after lunch to start provisioning. Friday getting more provisions and getting ready for visit from friends Gina & Barry. We had it all worked out (so we thought) Gina's cell phone was set to be able to receive and make international calls, I had a local cell phone and our sat phone. Sitting up on deck around 10:25 pm we see a plane landing saying that's probably them landing now. Plan was to call at 11, by that time they should be en-route if not almost to where we would pick them up with the dinghy. I start calling, but Gina's phone is NOT working. A few more calls and finally at 11:30 I tell Steve we have to go in that there must be something wrong with her phone. We get to the dinghy dock and there is Gina but no Barry !!! Gina is so relieved, her taxi driver did not want to leave her there in the park by the dinghy dock in downtown Fort de France. Unable to speak the language in a foreign place in the middle of the night. He told her of a safe hotel near by just in case she did not find us. The park / dinghy dock might not be the safest place but it was still pretty crowded with families so at that hour it was still not the worst place to have to wait (easy for me to say- Gina might disagree). But we did show up and get Gina only to find out that Barry had missed his connecting flight so he was still in Puerto Rico and would be arriving the following night. Saturday we go into Fort de France walking around town seeing the sights and some stores and the market place. Back to the boat and over to Anse Mitan to anchor where it is much calmer than rolly Fort de France. We had talked to Barry and he would take a taxi here to Anse Mitan when he arrived. Gina & I go into the town of Anse Mitan walking around and shopping. Saturday night Barry arrives, we meet him at the dock and get him back to the boat and settled in. Sunday we go to anchor in Grande Anse D'Arlet. Snorkeling off the boat and visiting town. Monday we do the hike over to Anse D'Arlet have a nice lunch before hiking back, followed by a nice cooling swim off the boat. Tuesday we head over to St Anne, not the best weather prediction to go east but not too bad and with guests on a short schedule we go. To Steve & I it wasn't that bad, just a little rough. Gina & Barry got to learn first hand what the term “beating to weather” means. Not all days are smooth sailing, that is why we anchor in a spot and don't move around so much. Timing our moving with the right weather window – not something you can do when you are visiting for just a week. We get anchored in the lovely bay of St Anne and go into town to walk around. We have another generator problem (leaking shaft seal on the sea water pump) and Steve wants to talk with a guy over in Le Marin about getting it fixed. So on Wednesday morning we decide to take the dinghy over ?!! Even with the new dinghy & outboard with 4 people it was a wet ride, another fun experience of the cruiser to introduce our guests to. Steve & Barry go find out about the part for the generator water pump while Gina & I walk around. Have lunch on the pier then Steve & Barry go back to bring the big boat up to Le Marin while Gina & I do a little more shopping. The guys finally meet back up with us and we get back to the boat to get cleaned up. Thursday we drop Steve off to drop the generator water pump off and we go to rent a car, then go back and pick Steve up by car (FYI – Euro Car cheapest car rental by far). We are heading to a place called MangoFil, in Trois Ilets to go zip lining. Stopping at the Trois Rivieres rum distillery on the way. The French know how to do adventure parks, they cost a fraction of what they do on some of the other islands, giving you a 10 minute orientation and practice then let you go and do the course on your own. This was the first zip line / obstacle course for Gina & Barry and I am glad it was a pretty good one with 40 different sections. They have several spots where getting on or off the zip line is at an awkward angle, they could use some serious adjustments. But for the most part it was a fun course and we had a great time. Found a spot to grab a bite to eat before continuing along the coastline seeing the magnificent views. Back to the boat for well needed showers before going back into town for dinner. Friday Steve picks up the generator pump and Barry returns the car while Gina & I sleep in. This is their last day (so they thought) so they wanted to spend it just relaxing and swimming off the boat so we go back over to St Anne a nicer anchorage for the day. Back to Le Marin as the sun sets and dinner on board as Gina & Barry pack to catch an early taxi to the airport. During dinner Gina gets a text message saying their flight is delayed from an 8:30 departure to 10:30, so she calls the taxi driver to change their scheduled pick up time. Steve drops them off and they are on their way to the airport. Steve back on the boat where he tackles the job of swapping the fixed spare water pump with the still leaking one on the generator – a job that takes major dis-assembly of both the generator compartment (to get access) and the generator. I get the dirty clothes ready to bring to the laundromat the following day. Saturday night just relaxing getting back into our normal routine. Sunday I go and spend a couple of hours doing laundry. That night on FB I see a note from Gina that she is still NOT home ?? We learn a few days later that the text message she received from Delta about her flight change was WRONG and their plane left at the earlier scheduled time without her and Barry. They wound up renting a car Saturday afternoon and driving around more of the country, staying at a hotel near the airport to catch the Sunday morning flight out to Puerto Rico. I hope the air travel problems don't ruin the memory of a fun vacation in between. Monday a few more boat projects, get the 2^nd generator pump in to be fixed. Tuesday Steve & I rent a car and travel up the east coast stopping in the towns of Le Vauclin, visiting the beautiful Clement estate and rum distillery. Among the beautiful grounds and restored plantation they had 3 separate art galleries that had some of the most bizzare modern art that we have ever seen. Seeing the towns of Le Francois, & Le Robert, La Trinite before going out on the Caravelle Peninsula, a Nature Reserve and seeing the ruins of the old Chateau Dubuc. They have some good hiking trails out there but by the time we got there it was too late to do them. Great sights and views all along the drive up the coast making for another great day. Wednesday just took it easy in the morning then after lunch went by customs to clear out, we stayed a few days longer then what we had originally put down when we cleared in, and not that the French care but we knew going to St Lucia they would question the gap in days. But being a Wednesday the customs office was only open a ½ day, same with the post office when we went by there. One of these days we will get the hang of when things are open and closed. Thursday morning a quick trip in to complete Wednesday afternoons tasks, back to the boat dinghy secured and on our way to St Lucia by 11:30. A great sail down 1 reef in both sails wind aft of the beam, 6 ft seas parallel to the boat that we cut thru at 8 + knots. Anchored in Rodney Bay by 2:30 next to friends John & Linda on Kool Kat.

Link to Pictures & VIDEOS ;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Martinique2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLLci4Tw2I3PFw&feat=directlink

Dominica 2012

Dominica 2012
Wednesday 2 May – Thursday 17 May

Steve gets us checked out of the marina in Antigua. We are med moored, getting off is easier then it was getting in, so we hang on the anchor out in front of our slip as we secure the dinghy. We are under way and out the harbour by 9, seas and winds are not as predicted so the first 2 hours of our journey are a little rough. By 11 the winds have clocked east and the seas are calmer and we are able to shut the motor off and have a great sail the rest of the way to Deshaies Guadeloupe arriving by 2:30. Relax a while then Steve & George go into “customs” (French island just a little cafe/store) and check us in and out as we are just stopping overnight. Wild Thing comes over for dinner and we make plans to leave after trying to get Chris Parker's weather report Thursday morning. Thursday under way by 8 out of Deshaies motor sailing in calm waters in the lee of the island. Just north of Basse Terre winds & waves pick up BUT on the nose so still motor sailing. Clearing the island conditions are not as predicted, winds SE instead of east and seas sloppy, but since we are out there we push through to Dominica, not stopping at Les Saints and are anchored in Prince Rupert Bay in Portsmouth Dominica by 2:30. Reuniting with JoAnne & Bill on Ultra who are still here. They have in the past and currently are using Martin, AKA Providence for a guide so we meet him and talk a little about doing some more tours with him during our stay. Due to some weather down over Venezuela the anchorage is experiencing some swells making it VERY rolly. Not a lot of wind to work with so hard to use a bridle to keep the boat facing the swells, we try several times but mostly just hold on. Wild Thing (and several others) put a stern anchor out to try to reduced the roll. Friday it feels good to get off the boat onto solid ground, we go over to the Cabrits National Park, home of Fort Shirley and several hiking trails. Have lunch under a huge mango tree helping ourselves to mangoes, some workers coming over with a long piece of board to knock some fresh ones off the tree. It is mango season and there are TOO many to eat so everywhere you go you can just pick some up off the ground or pick them from the trees. We have a fun time exploring the fort grounds. Back to the boats for a swim to cool off, boats still rolling we join George & Jan going ashore for dinner. Picked the wrong restaurant, 1 out of 4 dinners was good, the other 3 over cooked, very tough. Saturday we make a quick run into the fresh market at 7, then get picked up at our boats for an island tour at 8:30. Martin has 8 of us on this tour, Steve & I , Jan & George, JoAnne & Bill and Colleen and Pat from Cool Change. Stopping at several scenic views, a little local distillery making bay oil for bay rum, exploring some gardens getting a lesson on some of the local flora, a cold Sulphur Spring and an area known as red rock. Sunday is a cloudy drizzly day, we finally get off the boats late in the afternoon for a walk. Sunday night we had signed up for a BBQ on the beach, put on by the local PAYS (Portsmouth Association for Yacht Security) guys for the cruisers. Weather was not the best. but the food was good for a good price and we got to meet a few other people from the different boats, and met back up with Blue Song, Judy & Jochim who we knew from Grenada. Monday another rainy day dinner on Ocean Star with Wild Thing as they make plans to head south. Tuesday morning along with JoAnne & Bill from Ultra we go over to Wild Thing to say good by again. They have a tighter schedule needing to get south to St Lucia to haul their boat out before going back to Texas. Wanting to see a little of Martinique on the way, and hopefully finding a calmer anchorages they are leaving. They are dear friends we have been traveling with for the last 3 months and we will miss them greatly. We do a few boat chores and some swimming off the boat passing the rest of the day, HH over on Blue Song to catch up on things since Grenada. Wednesday a good day to dinghy over to Douglas Bay to do some snorkeling with JoAnne & Bill. Back to the boats for lunch before going to check out the new IGA supermarket south of town. It is always so funny going to a store not really needing anything just wanting to see what is available. Never fails we always come away with several bags full of stuff even though “we really did not need anything”. Dinner on Ultra talking about another island tour and when to head down to Roseau. Thursday raining again, anchorage still rolly at times, but still a beautiful spot. Friday 8 am pick up for another island tour with Martin / Providence. A group of 10, seeing some different sights and then Spanny Falls. Mostly cloudy day but most of us went in for a swim anyway. Me and another couple waited there as the rest climbed up over the ridge and hiked a little further to another waterfall. A good lunch at Islet View restaurant with lots of rum tasting. They make their own rums using almost every fruit, vegetable and spice found on the island, and several of us had fun sampling a few of them. A few stops on the way back to the boats by 6. Martin / Providence did a great job showing us some of the north end of Dominica. Saturday rain on & off most of the day. Steve went back to market while I slept in, a few more boat chores and a relaxing day getting ready to head down to Roseau, the capital, on the south end of Dominica the following day. Sunday easy ride down past Roseau, get settled on Sea Cats mooring, but we have to tie a stern line to his dock so we don't bump into the huge Cat on the next mooring over. Not the best situation, a lot of tension on that stern line at times, but it works. Early Monday the big Cat leaves and Ultra moves onto that mooring but still not enough swing room. Sea Cat needs a few more moorings better spaced for bigger boats. We get off to a late start (11 am) for another island tour with Sea Cat. He's a great guide, full of fun and very knowledgeable about the country and it's flora and fauna. We stop frequently to sample fruits growing by the side of the road. We have a great time hiking to Middleham Falls, and go for a swim in pool below and climb up a cliff into a cave, then higher up the cliff for a jump into the pool. The water is cold. Next we drive to Titou Gorge and swim up a very narrow gorge to the falls, climbing up and over the first fall into a chamber with another fall. Have fun getting a “falls massage”, then jump over the first fall into the pool below and swim back out the gorge. We start heading back to the boats, then decide to divert to Trafalgar Falls where they're just closing, but let us in anyway since we're with Sea Cat. Time for a few pictures and a quick soak in the hot springs to warm up and ease tired muscles then stop at the River Rock Cafe & Bar for rum punch as the sun sets, getting back to the boats by 8. Tuesday is a perfect day, sunny and calm, for taking the dinghies down along the coast first to Champagne Beach to snorkel then to Scotts Head to snorkel. Champagne beach has warm bubbles coming up from an underwater vent. Scotts Head is part of a marine reserve, and we can see why with it's crystal clear waters and beautiful reefs it is a magical place that on this day we have almost all to ourselves. The bay is even more unique as it is an extinct volcanic crater with some indeterminate depths. The area is breathtaking above and below the water. Wednesday we go into Roseau to walk around, stopping at Ruins Rock Cafe, known to have some of the weirdest rums and they do. Like snake rum, snake fat rum, lizard, to name a few. It was just around 12:30 so we did not try any of these rums, don't think I could at any hour of the day !! A third of the building is full of Caribbean spices, so we spend a good amount of time in there learning and buying spices. A walk up to the botanical gardens with a hike up to a lookout over the town. Stopping at the Drop Anchor bar & restaurant for HH on our way back to the boats. The place is owned & run by a fellow Texan so the 4 of us from Texas felt we had to stop by. She had nachos on the menu so we could not resist, then it started to rain so while waiting for it to stop JoAnne & Bill ordered a fish taco and we ordered a BBQ baked potato. Had not seen those items on a menu in quite some time. Thursday morning we settle up with Sea Cat saying goodby to him and Dominica once again. Knowing that even though we have seen more of this beautiful country there is much we have not seen. To us it is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited, not the easiest to get around, but we are in awe of its beauty.

Link to Pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Dominica2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPI2NjKle-DdA&feat=directlink 

Antigua 2012

Antigua 2012

Saturday 14 April - Tuesday 1 May

After a glorious 7 hour sail, in an almost cloudless sky with the calmest of seas, we arrive at the customs dock in Jolly Harbour, Antigua at 2:30 Saturday afternoon. Wild Thing who had an earlier start and took the short cut through the river back in Guadeloupe was just finishing up with customs so the helped us tie off at the dock as we helped them cast off. Steve had filled out the EZ clear form that is supposed to be used here in Antigua but the customs guy just smiled and shrugged as he handed Steve the forms to fill out. To the customs, immigration & port authority personnel it is job security not to use the easy form to clear in, to us it is just a matter of filling out multiple forms asking the same information. Luckily here at Jolly Harbour they are all located in the same little building right at the end of the customs dock so within 30 minutes we are cleared in and heading out to the anchorage. A beautiful anchorage, surrounded by low hills and sandy beaches. After a short rest and showers we head into the marina at sunset for a drink and to find a restaurant for dinner. Since it is dark and we do not know the lay of the town we stop by 2 places right by the dock. Sunday the predicted front comes in and it starts to rain at 4 am and continues through the day, during one break we make a run to shore but get caught in a little shower. Winds have also picked up and it continues to blow for the next few days, luckily the rain stops and we just have partly cloudy skies,making for some cooler temps. Monday and Tuesday morning are spent checking out the area and of course a visit to Budget Marine and the grocery store both very conveniently located next to the marina. Internet wifi is available we have managed to get a signal on the boat, but it is painfully slow. We hear from a friend who is interested in a boat located in Jolly Harbour so Tuesday we stop by to see it. We are going in for lunch with our computers for a faster connection, but the owner of the boat is not there. After lunch with a fast internet connection we stop back by the boat. This time the owner is there, he is Italian and speaks pretty good English so we manage to tell him we want to look at the boat for a friend back in the states. He loves his boat and is happy to show us all around, his wife does not love the boat so he is selling her. The boat just got hauled out and he is in the process of getting it ready to leave but we still get a good feel of her condition and report back to Rick about her. Back to our boat and check with Wild Thing and we are ready to go check out another anchorage, up at Deep Bay. We get there by 4 Tuesday afternoon by which time it has clouded up. Wednesday started a little cloudy with a shower but cleared up so we go to shore to walk up on the headland to the remains of Fort Barrington, great views of our bay and into the the capital of St. Johns, the next bay north. Back to the boats for lunch, then out to snorkel the wreck in the middle of the bay. The water is not very clear, a lot of very fine sand stirred up in the water, too bad as it would have been really neat to see in clear water. This bay is also internet challenged but we can get a signal, but we decide to check out Five Islands Harbour for a change of scenery and to see if we can get a better internet signal. This is a huge bay with very little development, so not much to see or do. But the Hermitage Hotel is on the south side, and has a great internet connection we can pick up out at anchor, hard to beat that. Thursday morning we are under way by 8:30 after cleaning off about 50 lbs of clay/sand mixture from the anchor, makes for great holding. We take 4 hours to do the 2 hour trip as we are sailing very slow so we can make water wanting to go into Falmouth Harbour with full water tanks. As we are approaching Falmouth Harbour we see some of the boats out practicing. We are arriving just in time for the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, and the day before my sister comes to visit. Entering the harbour what a sight it is, full of boats anchored and at the marinas. A big difference form last time we were here back in mid June, maybe 10 boats at the marina and maybe 10 anchored out, everyone already south. Most of the shops and restaurants were also closed, not so this time. We find a place to anchor and it is right next to friends Barb & Stew on La Luna. Get the boat settled and have a quick lunch before launching the dinghy. Stop by to say hi to La Luna, a lot to catch up on so we make plans to do so later in the week. We are out looking for a spot for Wild Thing to anchor, they are about an hour behind us having left later with a stop at Jolly for fuel & water. We find them a good spot and as we are going around in the dinghy are surprised to see how many boats we know. After Wild Thing gets settled we arrange to meet on shore, as I want to go in and get info on the weeks events and to confirm my car rental reservation. This week and the following sailing race week are two major events for Antigua and they do a good job putting out magazines telling you of the weeks happenings. Walking the docks in awe of the beautiful classic yachts, they are just amazing, but I sure would not want to keep up with all the varnishing of the wood work. Oh course not too many of the owners worry about it either, as they have crew for that. Friday morning we go out on Wild Things dinghy to watch the start of the days race. Even with it being cloudy and a few sprinkles it is an awesome sight seeing these beautiful boats under sail. Back to the boats for lunch then Steve & I go get the rental car to pick up Carol, who arrives at 4. We gave ourselves plenty of time not knowing how long it would take and wanting to stop at a hardware store or any anyplace else that looked interesting along the way. As cruisers, we are in the hunter/gather class of humanity. Driving through St. John's the capital and a few other areas on the way also. We still get there early and 1^st Steve goes to use the restroom with me parked out front, since I do not have an Antigua drivers license which a policeman asked about. Next since we did not think we could stay parked there we decided to make the short circle around as I went to use the restroom. As Steve is coming back around to pick me up, 2 cars stop in front of him forcing him to stop, unknown to him in a crosswalk. He pulls forward but the cars are still stopped in front of him so I walk to him to get in the car. Next thing we know a police man is waving us over. We are thinking maybe he wants to help the foreigners, and will tell us where to wait for arriving passengers. NO he wants to give us a ticket !!!! For stopping in a crosswalk that we did not even notice since the crosswalk in front of us had big yellow stripes and was raised like a speed bump, this one was just faded white lines on the road, definitely a trap for those not familiar with the airport. No warning, no have a nice visit, just we need money so here is where you get to contribute. Carol arrives and so does all her luggage so all is good. Back to Falmouth Harbour, it has been a long day of travel for her so we have dinner on board giving Carol a chance to unpack and unwind. Saturday Carol & I decide to get a little exercise and walk up to a lookout point of an old fort to watch some of the races. I had been told about this spot that a lot of people were using to watch the races from, and that there was an easy trail and a hard one. We found the hard one, passing the easy one thinking it was not the way. Enjoy the beautiful views and visit with some other people up there before heading down the easy way. Back to the boat for lunch and get the kayaks out for a trip over to Pigeon Beach. Going in early for dinner to once again walk the docks to look at these multi million dollar boats, such a unique event to see so many of these spectacular yachts in one place at the same time. Sunday I convinced Carol that it would be fun going out on the dinghy to watch the start of the races, it is a beautiful day and she is glad to be able to see this amazing sight up close and personal. Monday Jan & George join us to drive around the island hitting a few of the sights like Devils Bridge and downtown St. John's. Tuesday since there are no cruise ships in we go to do a Zip Line / obstacle course. This is Carol's first one and she does fantastic considering her fear of heights. The zip lines are the easy part, its the walking across suspended rope ladders and tight ropes that gives her a challenge since she can not look down! She makes it all the way through conquering her fear, not sure how soon she will want to do another one, but she did this one. Time to go to the beach for a nice lunch and a relaxing swim. Wednesday we sail up to Five Islands Bay, do some snorkeling and swimming staying there overnight and enjoy a nice morning Thursday relaxing, swimming and reading before heading back to Falmouth Harbour. Friday morning we take Carol to shore to get her taxi to the airport, a week sure went by quick and I was sad to say goodby. Friday afternoon Steve & George go out on a practice sail on a boat they are going to crew on for the upcoming Antigua Sailing Week. Saturday they do the around Antigua race and the boats traveler breaks. The boat has a few maintenance problems as it is left alone most of the year. The owner and his family and friends are not serious racers and are more here for the vacation. Steve & George hang in there with them for a few days being on the rail getting soaked. By Tuesday the winds start to die down so they resigned Monday when they got back in and we make plans to head south. Starting with us coming into one of the marinas here in Falmouth to fuel up and equalize the batteries again as it will be a while before we are near a marina again. We enjoyed our time in Antigua, glad to see and explore a little more of the island this time but only making a VERY small dent in seeing their 365 beaches.

Link to Pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Antigua2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNLewfC4hoCkfw&feat=directlink

Guadeloupe Continued

Guadeloupe Continued
Monday 2 April – Friday 13 April

After a quick dinghy trip into town Monday morning Ocean Star & Wild Thing are on their way to the Island of Marie Galante by 11:30. We have a pleasant sail east in calm seas, approaching the island we feel like we are back in the Bahamas with the turquoise shallow waters. Marie Galante looks flat as you approach from the water, but has lovely rolling hills 300 to 600 feet in elevation, with very rich soil making it very green and great for growing sugar cane, still a major crop here. We first go to see the anchorage by Grand Bourg inside a break-wall so well protected. There is a marina here with limited anchoring space right off town, but NO room for us so we head up to the main anchorage off the town of St. Louis. With the light winds and calm seas this winds up being a perfect anchorage, and we are anchored by 3:30. We chose this weather window to come east to this open anchorage, and it worked out great. Boats are able to anchor any where along the western shore with it so calm. We go into town around 4:30 to see what is there, not a lot open at this time on a Monday but we do make a car rental reservation for the following day. Back to the boats where Jan & George bring their leftovers to have with our leftovers for dinner and to plan what we want to see of the island on Tuesday. We get an early start and are at the dock shortly after 8, as we are walking towards town several people are walking out asking if we want a car rental. We realize we just beat the ferry in and all the car rental people are there to meet visitors to rent them cars. We get a better deal than the quote from the day before, so go with this lady and get a nice little MANUAL 4 door Hyundai. I Started to drive, it's been a while since I drove a manual shift and after about an hour of Steve not liking the way I was driving and Jan & George were not being entertained by us discussing my driving abilities we stopped and let Steve drive. Sugar cane is a big crop for this island and with that they have several rum distilleries that you can go visit and of course have free tastings. By 11:30 we had hit all 3 of them and decided we were ready some lunch. Finding a nice little beach restaurant south of the town Capesterre, we enjoy a great lunch with a great view. We have fun driving the roads, most of which do not have street names so we were never quite clear if we were going the right way. But we got around the Island and saw most of the sights. In addition to the 3 rum distilleries, a huge 200 foot sink hole on the north end open to the sea, an ox driven cart that is still used on the island to deliver the sugar cane, and a local honey making shop. She reopened for us since a local Jackie from a bar down the street told us about her wonderful honey. Back to the boats by 5, relax a little before going back in for dinner at 7. Our 1^st choice place was not open, so we walked around checking out a few menus. I do not eat fish, a main dish for this island, and Jan & George try to stick with a plant based diet with fresh local fish, and Steve likes unusual dishes, so finding a restaurant is not as easy as it sounds. We find one and Jan & George & Steve are very happy to hear that Dorado is the fish of the day. We are the only customers and there is only one man running the place, who speaks NO English. Steve does very well ordering in french, so he orders an appetizer and the fish, Jan & George both order the fish and I order chicken. One man operation, so we understand it taking a while to prepare our meals. What a surprise when we finally were served 3 chicken dishes and 1 appetizer and NO fish !!! LOL Trying to correct the meal was out of the question so we all enjoyed what we had, not knowing where the translation went wrong. Wednesday we head out around 8:30 and have a great sail over to Pointe a Pitre the capital of Guadeloupe located on the Grande Terre side of the island. As we are sailing over from Marie Galante, Ultra is sailing over from The Saints. We all arrive around the same time Ultra anchoring out Wild Thing anchoring for lunch before going into the marina, and Steve & I just heading straight into the marina. We tried calling the marina several times on the VHF radio but no one would answer. We pulled up to the fuel dock so we could talk to someone about getting a slip. The harbor master is there so he points over to a slip and tells us to head over there and he will help pick up our mooring line. The marina is all Med Mooring, so you back in in between 2 other boats, tying your bow line to a mooring out in front and your 2 stern lines to the dock. So I throw him the bow line and he secures it to the mooring and we are backing up BUT our bow line is not long enough to get us to the dock. The harbor master is leaving to go help with another boat, I have to yell at him to come back, mean while the wind is pushing us forward over the mooring lines. We get a longer bow line on but now we have to be careful not to catch any lines in prop or bow thrusters. All goes well and we get backed in, a little harder throwing the stern lines with the new arch and dinghy behind us but we finally get settled. The main reason we are coming in to the marina is to have power to equalize the batteries again. Makes it a lot easier to do laundry also and we have a lot of it. Steve is happy to find out that the for the 37.50 Euros a night ($50) INCLUDES water and electricity !! You almost NEVER see a flat all inclusive rate at a marina down here in the Caribbean. So we get to run the AC for a couple of days and give the boat a really good wash down. After lunch Wild Thing comes into the marina and Bill & JoAnne come in by dinghy and stop by to say Tomaz & Lilly on Heron (met over in The Saints) are also anchored out and have invited us all out to their boat for HH. Steve & I do a quick walk around finding the self serve laundry and bathrooms at the marina and the full service laundry up by the marine store and grocery and all the restaurants. I find a hairdresser and make an appointment for the following morning to get a hair cut and touch up of color that is now 7 months old. Thursday morning drop off several loads of laundry at the full service place, I go for my hair appointment while Steve goes for a walk with George to see what else is around before going back to the boats to work on boat projects. Some things are just easier done at the dock than at anchor so most of Thursday is spent trying to do boat projects. It is surprising how quickly the day can disappear with only a small amount of things getting done. JoAnne & Bill came in for a few errands and to make arraignments for a car rental the next day or so. We all wanted to do some exploring of the islands interior and this weekend was a holiday weekend so we wanted to get something set up. It did not go as smoothly as they had planned and the guy did not come through so another rental agency was found and a cars booked for Saturday through Monday. Which worked out well giving us Friday to finish all the boat projects we did not get to on Thursday. Saturday morning we leave the marina and go out to anchor by Ultra, then back in to get rental cars and we are on our way by 11 heading back over to the mountainous side of the island Basse Terre and drive along the scenic road of Route De La Traverse. This road runs through the national park and has several hiking paths along the way. First stop, just a very short walk but one section had a picnic area where we had lunch. The 2^nd hike we got a little more exercise with the 45 minute de Bras David (Davids Arm) trail. Next stop Le Tapeur, Parc Aventure en Foret Tropicale AKA Zip line & obstacle course in the trees !!! This is the best zip line we have been to, good price and they just let you loose to do it on your own. What a blast we had !!! You will have to take a look at a few of the pictures to see, words can't do it justice. After this we are very close to the western shore and our former anchorage off Pigeon Island and the next days planed adventure. So we drive over there to be sure of the location and talk to the guide. I am 98 % sure that I will NOT be able to do the hike up the canyon river and rappel down the canyon walls but we asked the guide and he said you needed to be very sure footed and able to easily climb over the rocks on the canyon floor. With my left knee acting up this is definitely not for me. As the sun begins to set we make our way back across the Island not wanting to drive these winding, unlighted roads in the dark making it back to the marina just after dark. Stop at the pizza place for dinner then back to the boats for a good nights rest. Steve, Jan & George & JoAnne & Bill have a 7:30 am departure Sunday morning to go back across the island to the canyon adventure. They have a wonderful day hiking up the canyon and rappelling down, once again words are hard to describe so take a look at some pictures. I have a quiet day back on the boat. Monday is a sleep in late day for the hikers but we still have the cars so we get underway and head to the beach section along the southern coast of the Grande-Terre ½ of the island finding a beautifully shaded beach for lunch. A swim and walk along the beach, a short nap for some and then continue the drive east along the coast to Pointe des Chateaux. This is at the end of a peninsula where on this holiday Easter Monday the locals have come to spend the day / long weekend along the beaches that border both sides. We spend a short time looking out at the rock formations and beautiful beach but don't do the short hike up to the cross on one of the bluffs as it is getting late and we do not want to be stuck in the line of traffic when all the locals start to pack up and go home. Life is good in the islands. Tuesday cars need to be turned in, still some site seeing we want to do but Steve needs a break from driving the last 2 days, he is not use to it anymore. Boat projects and Wild Thing finally breaks away from the marina to come out to the anchorage. Jan & George & JoAnne & Bill come over to Ocean Star for dinner that evening. Wednesday a few more boat projects and we made arraignments for another car rental for Thursday to go to another section of the national park to see the waterfalls known as the Chutes De Carbet. Thursday we pick up the car as Wild Thing stays behind to finish up on a sewing project while they can still use Ultra's sewing machine. Fill up the little car with back packs, cooler and 4 people & we are under way by 10:30. Guadeloupe has some great roads and we are on the N1 “freeway” heading to the southern part of Basse Terre and the rain forest of La Soufriere mountain. After turning off the main road we wind our way up the very narrow D4 until it ends at the main entrance to the paths to the waterfalls. A 20 minute walk along a path brings us to one of the tallest waterfalls around, at 325 feet, a beautiful sight. But a little disappointed as due to falling rocks you can no longer get close or swim under it, you just see it from an observation platform. There is another slightly taller waterfall but it is a 3 hour round trip hike over some very difficult terrain so we opt to do another 20 minute hike down to a river bed and small waterfall and swimming hole to have lunch by. Driving back down the road we stop at Grand Etang (Big Lake) to hike around the lake. As is typical with island hiking there is NO easy way around a lake or up a hill, this one is no different. A lot of climbing up and down along a path lined with tree roots, rocks and mud. We get a great work out with this hike and are ready to call it a day afterward. Back towards Pointe a Pitre and the boats we make a stop at the near by HUGE Casino Supermarket, think super super Walmart. Our rental car is a very little Chevy Spark, with 4 people and hiking gear not a lot of room left. But we just had to check out the store and being cruisers once inside had to buy stuff. So loading all our purchases into the little car & then into the dinghy was quite a site. Dropped Ultra and thier goods off at their boat then back to Ocean Star to unload and rest our tired bodies. Ocean Star will be heading out Friday morning to go off shore around the island back up to Deshaies before crossing over to Antigua on Saturday. Wild Thing spending Friday finishing up boat projects then taking the short cut through the River Salee that runs between the 2 islands of mainland Guadeloupe on Saturday to head over to Antigua. We are parting ways with Ultra for now, as they will be spending more time in Guadeloupe before heading south to Dominica where we hope to catch up with them again. SO glad we got to explore so much more of this beautiful country and to be able to do it with good friends made it that much better!! Next stop Antigua with my sister Carol coming to visit and Classic Regatta week followed by Sailing week.

Link to a few pictures;  https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/GuadeloupeContinued?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJPd5u6H5-HrUw&feat=directlink

More from Guadeloupe

 Monday 19 March – Monday 2 April

After Sunday's birthday celebration for Jan, Steve & I were trying to sleep in Monday morning. First Ultra called 6:30 ish to say they were getting under way when Steve got up about an hour later Wild Thing was already gone so we got ready to leave also and are underway by 8. We are motoring in very light winds on the nose, as we round the north end of the island and are passing the one town on the east side of the island when I look back to our port side and see Wild Thing whom we thought was in front of us. Hail them on the radio and they say yes that's them they had been hanging out in a bay waiting for us and we hadn't noticed as we went by so they were now just behind us and they say Ultra is actually sailing so they are tacking way out trying to get a good angle on the wind. A final look at the volcano as we pass the south east end of the island, once again in awe of the impact to this little island. Once off shore the winds pick up and the angle is better so sails are up and we have a great sail east to Deshaies (Day-ay) Guadeloupe and are anchored by 2:30. Steve & George go in to check in to find customs is closed until 4:30, by which time Ultra has arrived and settled into the anchorage also. Everyone gets checked in and we make plans for the following morning to hike up the Deshaies river to a waterfall. JoAnne & Bill have done this hike several times before so will be our guides. We head out shortly after 9:30 making our way up the river bed along the shore line if possible but mostly going from rock to rock. The few times we do make our way along the shore you can tell how few people do this hike as the trail if there is one is very overgrown. But we have a fun time watching our footing as we make our way up the river. By noon we are at a good size swimming hole, so break for lunch and a refreshing swim. This is where we (Steve & I , George & Jan) learn from Bill & JoAnne that this little 45 minute hike up to the waterfall might take a little longer with this group as we are only about half way there. We gear back up after lunch and push on, when we finally get to a road and car park Jan & I get very excited thinking we made it and Bill tells us it is only another 10 minutes to the waterfall. 10 minutes later with no waterfall in sight and the rocks we are having to climb over getting bigger and bigger Jan & I decide to sit and wait while the others hike on to the waterfall. As Jan & I sit on the rocks in the river we are entertained by some fish in a little pool, and are happy with our decision to sit and wait as it is quite some time before the group returns. Steve & George are glad we stayed behind also as the trail did prove more difficult the closer they got to the waterfall. They all had fun swimming under the waterfall, and Jan & I got to look at the pictures without any injuries. We hike back to the road and walk back to town via the road. “Next Time” we will get a ride up the road and then hike to the waterfall instead of starting all the way down at the bottom. It was a lovely day with a lot of laughs and plenty of exercise to make up for the baguette and cheese we ate for lunch. Wednesday some snorkeling and boat projects, dinner on Ocean Star. Thursday more snorkeling on the way back see another Texas boat, stop by and talk to Melanie & Casey on Bliss from the Austin area. They agree to meet us later at Hemingway's for a drink, and realize Steve & I had briefly met them in Grenada. We all decided to go to the Botanical Gardens the following day. It is not that far but it is straight up a steep road and they provide free transportation so we make arraignments to be picked up 10:45 Friday morning. We love to visit the botanical gardens on the different islands we visit, and are always glad we do. This one Jardin Botanique, is just absolutely beautiful with the added attraction of a koi pond, and a bird section where you can feed the parrots and have them stand on you. They have a fancy restaurant with a great view and a snack bar serving sandwiches, which we choose and it also has a great view from the shaded picnic tables making for another wonderful day in paradise. The walk down the road is not bad, so Steve George, Melanie & Casey tell us, as Jan, JoAnne, Bill & I got a ride back down in the van that picked us up. Meeting back up in town and a short walk up a street on the other side to a grave yard. Not just any grave yard, I have never seen so many mausoleums in such a concentrated area. It stands out so that you see it from our boats so we just had to get a closer look. Saturday all 3 boats depart Deshaies for the anchorage at Pigeon Island, a popular snorkeling and dive spot along the western coast of Guadeloupe. Plenty of room to anchor so once settled in we load snorkel gear into the dinghies and head over to Pigeon Island to snorkel. Steve & I had stopped here on the way down island the first time, it is surprising how few fish there are here in this national park. Slack tide this time so we got to swim around most of the island(s). George was towing our dinghy as he swam along so when Jan & I got too cold we were able to climb out. JoAnne & Bill carry tanks on their boat and wanted to do a dive the next day, saying we would be able to see a lot more. Steve & I would use 2 of their extra tanks and dive with them on Sunday, George came along and snorkeled above us towing the dinghies once again so when we came up we could just climb in, what service !! Sunday was Bills birthday so another celebration on Ultra that evening joined by Marilyn & Kent on M/V Cardena friends Bill & JoAnne met in Grenada. Monday we had 3 snorkelers & 3 divers go around the north point of the anchorage to check out another dive site. This location, still part of the marine park, had a good selection of things to see by both snorkelers & divers. Once back to the boats we noticed that the anchorage had gotten rolly. Poor Jan who had stayed on Wild Thing and gets sea sick at times was ready to get someplace calmer so they headed down to another anchorage. After lunch and getting the dive tanks refilled Ultra and Ocean Star went down to join Wild Thing at Anse a La Barque anchorage. Just a little less rolly and we just barely fit all fit in as it is a very small bay. Tuesday we were underway early for the short trip down to Isles Des Saintes anchoring in the bay behind Pain de Sucre, a short dinghy ride around from the town BUT no mooring balls so still a free anchorage. Wednesday Steve & I moved over to the town mooring field so we could get internet, Wild Thing came over for one night but it was too rolly for Jan so they & Ultra hung out in the other anchorage. Meeting up for snorkeling reefs, diving caves, shopping and hiking excursions over the next few days enjoying all the beauty these islands have to offer even a few boat projects got done. Over to Fort Caroline and de Pompierre beach one day and to Fort Josephine over on Ilet A Cabrit on another. Steve & I can now say we have been to all the forts in The Saints. Sharing many laughs, some at my expense like when I was trying to gear up for a dive in the dinghy and with the weights in my BC & the tank as I leaned back just a hair I fell backwards to the floor of the dink unable to get back up like a turtle on it's back. Thankful George was still in the dinghy and helped me up and into the water. On another dive I came up early getting cold and leg cramps so George used my BC and remaining air and I was going to stay near by for pick up with the dinghy. BUT the motor flooded out and I could not start it so I am drifting further & further away. I'm thinking they have to be almost out of air and will be coming up soon and see I am drifting away and come get me with the other dinghy. Well I was almost to Terre D'en Bas (next island over) when Bill finally got to me. There is a song WHO the F@!% is Alice, they were all saying WHERE the F@!% is Alice when they came up looking for me and the dinghy.

So glad we are getting to see so much more of Guadeloupe this time around and having so much fun doing it with friends. Monday the “plan” is to run into town for a few things and then head over to Marie Galante another Island part of Guadeloupe about 20 miles east of here that we have not been to yet.

link to pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/DeshaiesGuadeloupe?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP3HmuSAzpe0ugE&feat=directlink

link to more pictures; https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/MoreFromGuadeloupe?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMj64r7yhsnnRQ&feat=directlink