From the Saintes, we motorsailed up to Pigeon Island off the west coast of Guadeloupe. The weather was perfect for a visit to the dive sites at the Jacques Cousteau Underwater Park. We timed our departure to arrive at lunchtime. This is when the tour operators are usually changing out the morning and afternoon tourists, and the mooring balls are available. We had to wait about 30 minutes. We finally asked a family whose inflatable was tied up to a mooring if we could share. They were Dutch cruisers, and welcomed us alongside.
I was a little banged up with a stiff knee, so I sat this one out. Cary, Ginny and Tricia dove and said the conditions were wonderful! (Tricia) - Pigeon Island is small. There are dive/snorkel sites on three sides, and we were moored at the southwest corner, which turned out to be the best site. We dropped in 20' of crystal clear water. Visibility was impeccable. Most of the volcanic islands have runoff of dust from the volcanos that makes the water grainy, but not this little gem. Unfortunately, Ginny had trouble clearing her ears, so back to the boat we went. Once Ginny was back on board, Cary and I tried again. At first we tried to go east, toward the other moorings, but seeing little there, other than divers, we turned and headed west. What a sight of healthy corral, sponges, fish big and small, lobster, turtles, and very few anemones. It was the kind of dive you wish you could do again and again, and probably never tire of seeing the beauty. It amazes me how much more vibrant colors are when the water is truly clear. It was, for that reason, one of the busiest dive sites we have seen.
After the dive, it was a quick trip up the coast to Deshaies (Day-Ay) where we anchored for a few days.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Iles de Saintes
We moored in Terre de Haute harbor. The town is lovely. A nice dinghy dock, away from the ferry dock. The shops are small and close together, the streets are narrow. This is OK, as most of the town is either closed to cars, or one way traffic. Tourists are everywhere, just off the ferry. Think Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard, in French. After a few minutes wandering around, I realized my 4 year old Doyle's Cruising Guide to the Windward Islands is out of date. The officer at the Gendarmerie told me where to go to clear in. I understood less than a third of what he said, smiled and said "Merci". A nice shipowner, who spoke no English at all, was able to figure out what I needed and walked me to the LSM Cafe where you check in, do laundry, use WiFi (pronounced Wee-Fee), etc. One Euro later, Music was cleared into and out of Guadeloupe. Gotta love the French! I picked up some baguettes on the way back to the boat.
Later that afternoon, Tricia and I toured the town while Cary and Ginny did homework. We found the market, and boulangerie. We walked all the way to Fort Rouge, a small emplacement on a hill. There we met a nice German man and his son who spoke English well and knew a lot about the Battle of the Saintes. he insisted we needed to hike up to the Fort Napolean built to visit the museum. We also visited with the goats that do a nice job keeping the vegetation under control on the hilltop.
So, next morning, bright and early, we all set out for the fort on the hill. The STEEP HILL. Cary and Ginny left Mom and Dad in the dust. There were about 7 switchbacks on the way up, with spectacular views. The museum was WONDERFUL! They have done a great job restoring the fort itself, and have assembled exhibits on the fort, the island, and the flora and fauna of the island and surrounding waters.
Tired but pleased, we got back to the bottom of the hill where we found the dive shop (look for "Immersion" or "Plonge" signs). If we got the tanks in by 1630, they could fill them the same afternoon. So we raced back to the boat, packed all our gear into the dinghy and headed for the first dive site "Pain de Sucre". Cary dove with Tricia and me. A small reef with fair visibility, some coral and a variety of fish. The highlight was spearing my first lion fish. They are an invasive species in the Caribbean, and are crowding out the native fish since they have no natural predators. They have poisonous spines. The trick is to bring scissors, and cut the spines off while the fish is still on the spear. That went fine. Lion fish are supposedly delicious. Ours was too small to bother. Maybe when I get a big one.
We did two more dives in the Saintes. Good, but not great. But who's complaining. We are getting pretty good at donning our gear in the dinghy, and getting back into the dinghy after the dive.
WiFi was pretty good for our stay. They have a HotHotHotSpot service that is only 10 Euro a week, available in Guadeloupe, and Antigua as well as other islands. So we got some homework done between dives, wondered through the streets, and enjoyed this quiet little French town.
Later that afternoon, Tricia and I toured the town while Cary and Ginny did homework. We found the market, and boulangerie. We walked all the way to Fort Rouge, a small emplacement on a hill. There we met a nice German man and his son who spoke English well and knew a lot about the Battle of the Saintes. he insisted we needed to hike up to the Fort Napolean built to visit the museum. We also visited with the goats that do a nice job keeping the vegetation under control on the hilltop.
So, next morning, bright and early, we all set out for the fort on the hill. The STEEP HILL. Cary and Ginny left Mom and Dad in the dust. There were about 7 switchbacks on the way up, with spectacular views. The museum was WONDERFUL! They have done a great job restoring the fort itself, and have assembled exhibits on the fort, the island, and the flora and fauna of the island and surrounding waters.
Tired but pleased, we got back to the bottom of the hill where we found the dive shop (look for "Immersion" or "Plonge" signs). If we got the tanks in by 1630, they could fill them the same afternoon. So we raced back to the boat, packed all our gear into the dinghy and headed for the first dive site "Pain de Sucre". Cary dove with Tricia and me. A small reef with fair visibility, some coral and a variety of fish. The highlight was spearing my first lion fish. They are an invasive species in the Caribbean, and are crowding out the native fish since they have no natural predators. They have poisonous spines. The trick is to bring scissors, and cut the spines off while the fish is still on the spear. That went fine. Lion fish are supposedly delicious. Ours was too small to bother. Maybe when I get a big one.
We did two more dives in the Saintes. Good, but not great. But who's complaining. We are getting pretty good at donning our gear in the dinghy, and getting back into the dinghy after the dive.
WiFi was pretty good for our stay. They have a HotHotHotSpot service that is only 10 Euro a week, available in Guadeloupe, and Antigua as well as other islands. So we got some homework done between dives, wondered through the streets, and enjoyed this quiet little French town.
Martinique- Part Deaux
After our stay in Le Marin, a large harbor on the southern side of Martinique with lots of charter boats, and all the marine services you would ever need, we finally decided to start north. We had a nice lunch at Mango Bay and bid adieu to Joel and Claudine. Then we had a lovely sail around the southwest tip, past Diamante Roche (Diamond Rock) and around the corner to Petite Anse de Arlets. A lovely little village on the coast. Although we only anchored for the night, it was beautiful to see the sun come over the mountains and clear the shadows out of the town, as the bell from the local church tolls the morning hour.
From Anse de Arlet, we sailed up to St Pierre. Winds on the lee of Martinique were fickle once again. Talking with others, you need to be almost 10 miles west of the island to get steady trade winds, We hugged the coast, and were treated to winds from all quarters and ranging from 0-20 kts.
St Pierre, on the NW corner of Martinique is another sleepy little town. We anchored right up next to the town dock in 45 feet of water 100 feet off the beach. We went in right away to find the local dive shop to learn about where to dive. It turns out there are several good beginner sights near the harbor. St Pierre was destroyed in 1902 when the volcano above the town erupted, killing all but two people. The is a wreck in the harbor from that catastrophe, but, although it is 100 yards offshore, it lies in 120 feet of water- too deep for us.
We dinghied to the first wreck and Cary, Ginny and I had a nice dive. Water was very clear, there were some nice fish, and a small, fairly well preserved wreck in 25-30 feet of water. It was my first time diving with Cary and Ginny and, I am proud to say, they did very well.
Tricia, Cary and Ginny did a second dive on the northern corner of the harbor. (Tricia) We should probably back up and explain why we are just starting to write about diving…. Yes, this would only be our first island to dive. We attempted diving long ago in the BVI's, and if you remember, we had equipment failures. No one in the caribbean even knew the manufacturer of our failed BCDs, much less was able to help us. I contacted our dive shop at home who had 'serviced' our equipment, Sea Colony in Severna Park, asking them if they would be able to help us, no blame placed. When the equipment was serviced, either the gaskets to our two used BCDs were missing, or they lost them in the process of servicing. The email I got back from Sea Colony was defensive and useless. Our BCDs are made by Zeagle. There is no way to contact the company via email. So an international call was made. In spite of being unknown, and not easy to contact, they were very helpful, confirming that we were correct with the diagnosis, and they would send us some gaskets, but only to a US address. UGH. Mat's parents were kind enough to bring them down to Jost Van Dyke when they visited us at Christmas, but by then our BVI visa was up, so no diving there.
Why then, are we just getting to dive? Well….Many of the islands now have rules that require anyone diving to do so with a local dive shop. As nice as that may have been to do, it is cost prohibitive for this trip. St. Martin is not one of those places, but we didn't dive there either, mostly because all of the dive locations are in rough water, not suitable for a dinghy ride. We were able to pick up another BCD, regulator, and tank so that three of us could dive together. Yeah. The second dive in St. Pierre was beautiful as well, with a nice leatherback turtle, and plenty of fish to keep us occupied. The girls haven't dove much, but are right at home in the water, using little air, and following all of the rules. After our dive, we were happy to be able to fill dive tanks right back up, to be ready for the next port of call.
As usual, we enjoyed baguettes, croissants and espresso. We had stocked up in Le Marin, so we didn't do much more in St Pierre. Definitely worth a return trip, as I need to visit the museum of the volcano eruption.
Leaving Martinique to head to Guadeloupe we made an error in judgment. I decided not to deflate the dinghy and stow it on deck. Instead, I removed the engine and towed it astern. About an hour out of St Pierre, in the gap between Martinique and Dominica, the wind and waves picked up. Before you knew it, the dinghy was flying like a kite on its bridle. That's not too bad. But when it landed upside down and tried to become a submarine, I was NOT HAPPY! We crash tacked (helm over, don't release the jib- leaves you essentially hove to) and I was able to right the dinghy. We then returned to shelter behind the point in Martinique, brought the dinghy aboard and deflated it. Lesson to self- dinghy achieves liftoff at 26 kts. With this delay, we wouldn't make Guadeloupe. We tucked into Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica for the night and set out again the next morning.
From Anse de Arlet, we sailed up to St Pierre. Winds on the lee of Martinique were fickle once again. Talking with others, you need to be almost 10 miles west of the island to get steady trade winds, We hugged the coast, and were treated to winds from all quarters and ranging from 0-20 kts.
St Pierre, on the NW corner of Martinique is another sleepy little town. We anchored right up next to the town dock in 45 feet of water 100 feet off the beach. We went in right away to find the local dive shop to learn about where to dive. It turns out there are several good beginner sights near the harbor. St Pierre was destroyed in 1902 when the volcano above the town erupted, killing all but two people. The is a wreck in the harbor from that catastrophe, but, although it is 100 yards offshore, it lies in 120 feet of water- too deep for us.
We dinghied to the first wreck and Cary, Ginny and I had a nice dive. Water was very clear, there were some nice fish, and a small, fairly well preserved wreck in 25-30 feet of water. It was my first time diving with Cary and Ginny and, I am proud to say, they did very well.
Tricia, Cary and Ginny did a second dive on the northern corner of the harbor. (Tricia) We should probably back up and explain why we are just starting to write about diving…. Yes, this would only be our first island to dive. We attempted diving long ago in the BVI's, and if you remember, we had equipment failures. No one in the caribbean even knew the manufacturer of our failed BCDs, much less was able to help us. I contacted our dive shop at home who had 'serviced' our equipment, Sea Colony in Severna Park, asking them if they would be able to help us, no blame placed. When the equipment was serviced, either the gaskets to our two used BCDs were missing, or they lost them in the process of servicing. The email I got back from Sea Colony was defensive and useless. Our BCDs are made by Zeagle. There is no way to contact the company via email. So an international call was made. In spite of being unknown, and not easy to contact, they were very helpful, confirming that we were correct with the diagnosis, and they would send us some gaskets, but only to a US address. UGH. Mat's parents were kind enough to bring them down to Jost Van Dyke when they visited us at Christmas, but by then our BVI visa was up, so no diving there.
Why then, are we just getting to dive? Well….Many of the islands now have rules that require anyone diving to do so with a local dive shop. As nice as that may have been to do, it is cost prohibitive for this trip. St. Martin is not one of those places, but we didn't dive there either, mostly because all of the dive locations are in rough water, not suitable for a dinghy ride. We were able to pick up another BCD, regulator, and tank so that three of us could dive together. Yeah. The second dive in St. Pierre was beautiful as well, with a nice leatherback turtle, and plenty of fish to keep us occupied. The girls haven't dove much, but are right at home in the water, using little air, and following all of the rules. After our dive, we were happy to be able to fill dive tanks right back up, to be ready for the next port of call.
As usual, we enjoyed baguettes, croissants and espresso. We had stocked up in Le Marin, so we didn't do much more in St Pierre. Definitely worth a return trip, as I need to visit the museum of the volcano eruption.
Leaving Martinique to head to Guadeloupe we made an error in judgment. I decided not to deflate the dinghy and stow it on deck. Instead, I removed the engine and towed it astern. About an hour out of St Pierre, in the gap between Martinique and Dominica, the wind and waves picked up. Before you knew it, the dinghy was flying like a kite on its bridle. That's not too bad. But when it landed upside down and tried to become a submarine, I was NOT HAPPY! We crash tacked (helm over, don't release the jib- leaves you essentially hove to) and I was able to right the dinghy. We then returned to shelter behind the point in Martinique, brought the dinghy aboard and deflated it. Lesson to self- dinghy achieves liftoff at 26 kts. With this delay, we wouldn't make Guadeloupe. We tucked into Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica for the night and set out again the next morning.
Pushing South- Martinique
After our brief but very pleasant stay in Portsmouth, we sailed down to Roseau, Dominica. Our goal was to snorkel at the Champagne Pools. This is an underwater vent for volcanic gases that is said to be like swimming in champagne. Unfortunately, the logistics to get from the mooring in Roseau to the pool to snorkel were more than we were willing to undertake in an afternoon. Roseau is DEEP. Our mooring was in 120 feet of water. But it was calm and protected, at least today. So we napped at the mooring, had a brief dinner, and set sail for Martinique.
The trip across the gap from Dominica to Martinique was fast and fairly easy. The night along the coast of Martinique was challenging because the wind kept changing. I think Cary and I did 4-5 sail changes, from full jib to no jib to staysail and back again. And the wind kept coming further and further ahead until we were close hauled and not making our course. Morning saw us at the south end of Martinique, of Le Roche de Diamonte, or Diamond Rock. The current and wind were against us.The last 15 miles of the trip was due East, and took over 5 hours. Entering Le Marin, a large, well protected harbor, we were surprised by the veritable forest of masts. There were hundreds of boats in what seemed to be a crowded harbor. We ended up taking a mooring of Le Marin Marina, where my colleague Joel keeps his boat. This was also close to the local outfitters. Did I mention the chart plotter GPS died on the way in again? Always something...
The trip across the gap from Dominica to Martinique was fast and fairly easy. The night along the coast of Martinique was challenging because the wind kept changing. I think Cary and I did 4-5 sail changes, from full jib to no jib to staysail and back again. And the wind kept coming further and further ahead until we were close hauled and not making our course. Morning saw us at the south end of Martinique, of Le Roche de Diamonte, or Diamond Rock. The current and wind were against us.The last 15 miles of the trip was due East, and took over 5 hours. Entering Le Marin, a large, well protected harbor, we were surprised by the veritable forest of masts. There were hundreds of boats in what seemed to be a crowded harbor. We ended up taking a mooring of Le Marin Marina, where my colleague Joel keeps his boat. This was also close to the local outfitters. Did I mention the chart plotter GPS died on the way in again? Always something...
St Kitts- the Return of Tricia
Douglas MacArthur said once of an island "I shall return". Arnold Schwarzenegger is always saying "I'll be back". Tricia left St Kitts in 1989 and I'm pretty sure she DIDN"T say anything of the kind. Nevertheless, on Friday, Tricia came back to St Kitts!
We had a lovely, fast sail. We passed between St Eustatius (Statia) and St Kitts about 0100, and, in a nice lee, calmly sailed down the coast. The water is 200+ ft deep right up to the shore. We were so close you could smell the land. The half moon was in and out of the clouds, so the water was dark. I had the 00-0300 watch, and was startled to hear what I believe was a whale blow alongside several times. Couldn't see it in the dark, but later learned that the northwest coast of St Kitts is a breeding ground. After Tricia took over, we hove to at 0400 off Basseterre. We entered the new Port Zante Marina next to the cruise ship terminal at 0700. Our friends on Antares were along the quay. The dock master pointed to the spot behind them and told us that was our berth. Tricia was sure it wasn't 44 feet long, but I felt it was OK. With an onsetting breeze, I modestly must say that I executed a text book approach and landing. 1 foot ahead and 1 foot behind was more than enough room. And no bow thruster!
Later that morning, the sport fisherman on the bow left. A charter skipper was assigned that spot. He promptly crashed into the concrete pier and my anchor. His gelcoat suffered worse than my anchor. They only stayed one day. Too bad.
Tricia's turn: So when I was in St. Kitts, from 1987-1989, ugh, the country had only been independent from Great Britain for 4 years. There was no tourism, sugar cane the only source of income, and not much of that. Unemployment was something like 70%. The island was poor, unwelcoming for the most part, and unsafe. I was pleasantly surprised to find not only the new marina (they had none when I was there), but a cruise ship dock, and a town that is trying very hard to embrace tourism. They are building everywhere, mostly homes, but now in addition to Ross School of Veterinary Medicine, there is also a medical school and a nursing school. There is no more sugar cane. There are new restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and shops that cater to tourists. Some of my old hangouts were still in business ( Fisherman's wharf, the chicken shack), and some were gone. Some had been recreated into bigger and better - the bar at monkey beach, which I'll get to....
So as soon as we could get wifi hooked up, I was emailing Adrienne K. ( a former technician at Chesapeake Veterinary Hospital), and Judy C. (my former equine dentist) who now go to Ross School of Veterinary Medicine, my alma mater. Mat hasn't shared much about our phone experiences here, but let me sidetrack for a minute to explain why I couldn't just call Adrienne and Judy. AT&T wouldn't unlock our phones before we left. Mine was still under contract, Mat's came from Alcatel, who wouldn't unlock his, and the girls' were AT&T Go Phones that weren't on my account, so a no go on unlocking those. Our choices were to buy a new phone that was unlocked and get SIM cards in each country we visit, or use AT&T with a $2.50/minute fee. So while we were in BVI's, Mat bought two new phones from Digicel that were 'unlocked'. Digicel lied. Not unlocked. Tried to get a hacker to unlock them while we were in St. Martin, no luck there, after already purchasing (stupid) a St. Martin SIM card. Mat refused to buy anymore phones, so it was wifi or bust.
Luckily, as all college students do, Adrienne and Judy check their email frequently, and we arranged to meet at someplace named The Strip after classes were done. We hoofed it into town, to find that the local buses only go to outlying communities, not to the beaches. The Strip, as they call it, is Frigate Bay Beach. So we hired a taxi for the short ride out of town, with no idea how we'd get back. Frigate Bay beach used to be a Ross hang out, and it still is, but it looks nothing like the old beach. The old beach had one cabana-type bar called Monkey Bar, and a few lounge chairs. The Strip now contains 4-5 bars/restaurants and a series of beach volleyball courts. Monkey Bar has been expanded, cleaned up (no more graffiti), and serves decent mexican food. But gone was the local flavor...a single grill with some local Rastas serving grilled lobster every weekend. In fact, lobster is no longer a once a week food. We haven't even eaten any, as it costs about $30-40 US for a lobster dinner anywhere we have been. I digress...So Mat and Cary played V-ball, students vs. profs, while I caught up with Adrienne and Judy, drank beers, and made plans for the next day, all the while being guarded (students) by private security guards that the school provides.
The next morning Adrienne picked us up and took us to see the new and improved Ross. We had to get passes to get through security, and were chastised for not pre-arranging a visit. Once in, we met up with Judy, and her family and boyfriend who were visiting. All took the tour. What was once three open air buildings and a snack shack is now a real university with more buildings than I could count. The landscaping was beautiful, the upgrades in the teaching facilities top-notch. They even have a poisonous plant garden, a museum, on-site dormitories, and a school for staffs' children. They have air-conditioning! The livestock have real fencing, and the grass that you see in the following picture is cut by hand and brought into the paddocks everyday.
We had a lovely, fast sail. We passed between St Eustatius (Statia) and St Kitts about 0100, and, in a nice lee, calmly sailed down the coast. The water is 200+ ft deep right up to the shore. We were so close you could smell the land. The half moon was in and out of the clouds, so the water was dark. I had the 00-0300 watch, and was startled to hear what I believe was a whale blow alongside several times. Couldn't see it in the dark, but later learned that the northwest coast of St Kitts is a breeding ground. After Tricia took over, we hove to at 0400 off Basseterre. We entered the new Port Zante Marina next to the cruise ship terminal at 0700. Our friends on Antares were along the quay. The dock master pointed to the spot behind them and told us that was our berth. Tricia was sure it wasn't 44 feet long, but I felt it was OK. With an onsetting breeze, I modestly must say that I executed a text book approach and landing. 1 foot ahead and 1 foot behind was more than enough room. And no bow thruster!
Later that morning, the sport fisherman on the bow left. A charter skipper was assigned that spot. He promptly crashed into the concrete pier and my anchor. His gelcoat suffered worse than my anchor. They only stayed one day. Too bad.
Tricia's turn: So when I was in St. Kitts, from 1987-1989, ugh, the country had only been independent from Great Britain for 4 years. There was no tourism, sugar cane the only source of income, and not much of that. Unemployment was something like 70%. The island was poor, unwelcoming for the most part, and unsafe. I was pleasantly surprised to find not only the new marina (they had none when I was there), but a cruise ship dock, and a town that is trying very hard to embrace tourism. They are building everywhere, mostly homes, but now in addition to Ross School of Veterinary Medicine, there is also a medical school and a nursing school. There is no more sugar cane. There are new restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and shops that cater to tourists. Some of my old hangouts were still in business ( Fisherman's wharf, the chicken shack), and some were gone. Some had been recreated into bigger and better - the bar at monkey beach, which I'll get to....
So as soon as we could get wifi hooked up, I was emailing Adrienne K. ( a former technician at Chesapeake Veterinary Hospital), and Judy C. (my former equine dentist) who now go to Ross School of Veterinary Medicine, my alma mater. Mat hasn't shared much about our phone experiences here, but let me sidetrack for a minute to explain why I couldn't just call Adrienne and Judy. AT&T wouldn't unlock our phones before we left. Mine was still under contract, Mat's came from Alcatel, who wouldn't unlock his, and the girls' were AT&T Go Phones that weren't on my account, so a no go on unlocking those. Our choices were to buy a new phone that was unlocked and get SIM cards in each country we visit, or use AT&T with a $2.50/minute fee. So while we were in BVI's, Mat bought two new phones from Digicel that were 'unlocked'. Digicel lied. Not unlocked. Tried to get a hacker to unlock them while we were in St. Martin, no luck there, after already purchasing (stupid) a St. Martin SIM card. Mat refused to buy anymore phones, so it was wifi or bust.
Luckily, as all college students do, Adrienne and Judy check their email frequently, and we arranged to meet at someplace named The Strip after classes were done. We hoofed it into town, to find that the local buses only go to outlying communities, not to the beaches. The Strip, as they call it, is Frigate Bay Beach. So we hired a taxi for the short ride out of town, with no idea how we'd get back. Frigate Bay beach used to be a Ross hang out, and it still is, but it looks nothing like the old beach. The old beach had one cabana-type bar called Monkey Bar, and a few lounge chairs. The Strip now contains 4-5 bars/restaurants and a series of beach volleyball courts. Monkey Bar has been expanded, cleaned up (no more graffiti), and serves decent mexican food. But gone was the local flavor...a single grill with some local Rastas serving grilled lobster every weekend. In fact, lobster is no longer a once a week food. We haven't even eaten any, as it costs about $30-40 US for a lobster dinner anywhere we have been. I digress...So Mat and Cary played V-ball, students vs. profs, while I caught up with Adrienne and Judy, drank beers, and made plans for the next day, all the while being guarded (students) by private security guards that the school provides.
The next morning Adrienne picked us up and took us to see the new and improved Ross. We had to get passes to get through security, and were chastised for not pre-arranging a visit. Once in, we met up with Judy, and her family and boyfriend who were visiting. All took the tour. What was once three open air buildings and a snack shack is now a real university with more buildings than I could count. The landscaping was beautiful, the upgrades in the teaching facilities top-notch. They even have a poisonous plant garden, a museum, on-site dormitories, and a school for staffs' children. They have air-conditioning! The livestock have real fencing, and the grass that you see in the following picture is cut by hand and brought into the paddocks everyday.
There is a heard of donkeys, of cattle, of sheep, and about 6 horses. Bandages seen above are to keep injection sites clean. Adrienne is almost done her time here at St. Kitts. The pic below is of the two of us with the dorms in the background.
Below - all of us had to pet the donkeys. They are very spoilt, but cute! Mat made some comment about this pic - Asses & Asses.... We won't say whose is whose.
From left to right: Cary, Ginny, Adrienne, Me -
We said good-bye to our friends, after being awed by what Ross has evolved into, and made our way back to town. We hopped into Joe's taxi, and were dropped off first at a restaurant along the bayfront for some nice Roti, then off to the other end of the island to see Brimstone Fort. The fort has spectacular views, is well preserved, and offered some good hiking. That's St. Eustatia in the background.
Once back at the marina, we were introduced to a live aboard named Pat Kelley. Turns out he is a small animal prof at Ross, and oh, by the way, Tricia would you be interested in a clinics position at Ross? So, he emailed the head of Clinics, and tried to set up a meeting before we left St. Kitts the following day. Unfortunately, the Head of Clinics was out of town, so a meet and greet would have to wait. As much as I would love to try my hand at that type of work, Ginny was adamant that she could not live and go to high school in St. Kitts. Alas, it will have to wait until the girls have flown the coup. We said goodbye to St. Kitts, and headed south.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
CARNIVAL!!! Martinique Style
My colleague, Joel, invited us to come to Martinique for their Carnival celebration. So we did. Joel is a native of Martinique and has a lovely retirement cottage on the southeast coast at La Vauclave. Cary and Ginny love the lounge chairs, Tricia and I love the view.
Joel lent us his Lnad Rover while we were there. We then piled everyone in, and went to Fort de France for the start of Carnival!! Joel's wife and a brilliant hostess, Claudine, is a real Carnival professional. She put a lot of time into getting the costume just right!
While in Fort de France, we saw the sites. Fort Louis, the museum honoring the leader of emancipation, etc.
We also saw the SIGHTS. Carnival brings out the weirdoes. Plenty of cross dressing males, often inebriated (I wonder if there is a correlation?). Some of the bands and dance groups were amazing.., see for yourself.
Joel lent us his Lnad Rover while we were there. We then piled everyone in, and went to Fort de France for the start of Carnival!! Joel's wife and a brilliant hostess, Claudine, is a real Carnival professional. She put a lot of time into getting the costume just right!
Surprisingly, refillable water bottles and water was made available to the crowd for free, and there was less drinking going on than what we have come to know as our Mardi Gras, but the smell of Ganga was here and there. It was crowded, and loud, I guess like any good party. There was no police presence to be had, but it felt safe, and after three hours of people watching, our Carnival experience was done. The locals, however, partied for days, with each day a different theme to dress up to.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Dominica- Unspoiled Gem
Our first day in Dominica, our guide, Sam, took us on a boat tour up the Indian River. They row the boat using long oars, as no motors are allowed. The river is lined by buttress roots. They are huge, and widely interwoven. They hold the banks together in storms.Dominica was one of the primary locations for the shooting of Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest. The house below was the voodoo witches house.
At the head of the river, we met some other tourists. While we talked to them, Sam made the ladies a surprise. Using only a Leatherman tool and some marsh grasses, he made a heron on a rose. Even the other guides were impressed. These now reside in the Aloe plant on Music.
The next day, Sam took us on a tour of the island. The road was like a roller coaster, with blind switchbacks, and tight hairpin turns on steep hillsides. Sam was extremely knowledgeable about the local flora, stopping every 5 minutes to pick something. A beautiful native flower bouquet. Bark from a cinnamon tree, bay leaves, lemon grass, almonds, cocoa beans, you name it. Dominica exports lots of fruit to the other islands, and the islanders are proud of this fact.
After a lovely lunch, we visited Trafalgar Falls. An fairly easy hike brought us to the overlook. Two of the many high waterfalls on this island, Trafalgar Falls cascades out of the lush jungle onto boulders below. We were able to climb down the rocks and wade in the cool pools. Nearby is a natural hot spring. I was impressed with the two hydro power plants that they have to take advantage of this natural resource. Sam pointed out that they are pursuing geothermal power next.
After a wonderful and informative tour of the island, we were back in Portsmouth. It was Weds night, time for a PAYS Beach Barbecue. PAYS are the group of guides, and they put on a delicious dinner with all the run punch you could drink for all the cruisers. We saw old friends Archie and Colin on Janey, and made new friends, Julia and Adrian on Koala. Spending time with other cruisers is the best part of cruising.
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