From Simpson Bay Lagoon, it is an exciting, wet dinghy ride into the stiff easterly trade winds to get to Marigot. My first experience, heading in to check in with customs and immigration, left me pretty soaked. Luckily, I got there before they closed for the weekend, and got all our documentation straight. I then collected the rest of the crew and we went for a walkabout the town, primarily looking for WiFi. After touring the market at Marigot, and striking out everywhere, we ended up at the Ft Louis Marina Yacht Club (actually a restaurant). They had WiFi, so we sat down for a drink. While we were there, our waiter's wife and young family came to visit him. Imagine my surprise when I looked over and saw Mom hand the 3 year old the car keys while she fixed the 5 year olds' toy. The 3 year old promptly walked to the rail and threw the key into the harbor. When I told the Mom what happened, I got my first French "Oooh, la la!"
Ultimately, we ended up at a restaurant at Marina Port Royal called "Le Main De La Pate". The paella was excellent, as was the pizza. And the staff were very welcoming, inviting the girls to use a table and their WiFi anytime they wanted to complete their schoolwork.
Tricia and I spent the first few days visiting the different marinas and services in Marigot. Our Westerbeke diesel needs lots of help. It is "making oil", i.e. the oil level goes up. It shouldn't do that. I believe diesel fuel is getting into the oil sump, which dilutes the oil, reduces the viscosity and can ultimately destroy the engine. So I needed to find a diesel guy. And we always need to find the market, the laundry, and a cell phone provider. Tim from Tevai told us about a St Martin institution called "Shrimpy". We found his place over by the French side drawbridge. It is a laundromat/ marine consignment shop. Mike is the owner. Shrimpy is actually one of the dogs. Mike runs the cruisers net on VHF 10 every M-Sat at 0730, used to run a popular bar on the Dutch side, and knows just about everyone and everything you need to know. He put us in contact with Bob, aka Dr. Diesel. We also dropped off a load of laundry, which came back clean and fresh for a good price.
Our day's consist of trips into town for provisions (and chocolate croissants and cafe allonge). Cary and Ginny do homework at the Main. It has been a rainy season, with rain sometime between 05-0600 every morning, and 3-4 other times during the day. The good news is, the sun comes back out, and the steady breeze dries everything quickly.
During the first week, we also visited Pat and Francis at their condo at Divi Little Bay.
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