LIFE: Part 2

Current Location: Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Current Position: 14°4.82'N, 60°57.49'W
Distance sailed since last post: 56 nautical miles

We spent the last week in St Lucia. It was a long slow passage from St Vincent, as we had no wind. But just made our grand entrance more dramatic. I was on watch, and Noel got to wake up at sun rise and just when we were right in front of the world famous Pitons. It was so beautiful.

Our first stop was Marigot Bay, stayed a couple of days. First thing in the morning, a catamaran passed by with the Portuguese flag….I showed off my flag too. They stopped to say hello. They were from Lisboa and had just arrived with the Atlantic rally, ARC.

Next morning we set off for Rodney Bay, stopping along the way at the capital city of Castries. It was Sunday, not much is open. We walked around town along with all the other tourists from the 2 cruise ships that arrived the same time as us. As you can imagine it was pretty busy. I always wonder how these little Islands cope with thousands of people arriving all at once. Taxis are the most busy, as the local vendors always say they don’t buy much.

Then on to Rodney Bay.

This was the final destination for the ARC. We took a long walk through the docks and it was nice to see all the boats coming in from all over the world, mostly from England, Norway and Germany. In that order. Saw another Portuguese boat from Lisboa, spirit of Lusitania. This year there was a total of 250 boats in the ARC. They started in Las Palmas. The average time for most cruisers was about 20 days. This year took longer, because of the calm weather. Some people used the motor a lot, in order to get here before Christmas.

We rented a car and toured the island. Visited some interesting places. It was sad to see a lot of damage from the Hurricane.

We took our dinghy around the Bay to Soufriere and took a ride between the Pitons. From there we rented a taxi that took us to the Volcano and Sulphur Springs. On the way down we stopped at Diamond Falls and Mineral Baths and the Botanical Gardens. Very beautiful and well maintained. They were built in 1785. You can bathe in the warm sulphuric river. The baths were intended to restore the health of the soldiers. The sign said Napoleon’s wife bathed there too.

My favorite evening in St Lucia was the Fish Fest night in the little village of Anse La Raye. Fish Friday, they call it. It happens every Friday, but this time it was special. It was the first time it happened since they had the Hurricane Tomas back in October, which damaged a lot of their crops and properties. They had lots of performers, a Steel band and were also celebrating the opening of a new Park. Besides the good music, they also had their school kids choir singing all Christmas songs. The kids are so beautiful, and when they started singing, and saw all their proud parents watching, wow it sure took me back! I even had a tear…sshhhh.

We got to taste all kinds of fish we never tried before. ( I know that the people that know me, are laughing right now because they know how much I like food…lol) The vendors bring the tables and chairs out to the street and cook the proud fishermen’s catch. We ate Black fish, Marlin, Box fish (yes the pretty one I see when I’m snorkeling, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it in the buffet stuffed and baked) even tried turtle, it was cooked like a stew, kinda tasted like chicken. It was sure a great experience to be out with the locals, and see how they enjoy the simple life. Forget about the Malls and the stress at Christmas time!

Ahh remember I said we like Calalloo? Well it grows everywhere around the islands. As we’re driving I spotted some nice plants right by our car. I told Noel to stop so I could pick some leaves. After I picked a bunch, a guy came running and said it was 5 dollars. I said I just wanted to try these beautiful leaves the locals brag about. He said it was his garden. I told him at this price you should pick some more for me. He did. I paid for it, and apologize for stepping out of my car. After that he even told me how to prepare it. As we drive off I noticed down the hill some metal cover roof, it was probably what he calls home.And it was probably his lonely garden there on the side of the road. I was happy he made 5 dollars. Noel was sitting in the car…smiling!!!!! I was smiling too, for not being arrested for trespassing!! lol

The first time I went to St. Lucia was 30 years ago, in 1980. The next time was four years later, in 1984. St. Lucia was a tropical paradise, and my favorite island. So I was looking forward to a return visit.

How much things have changed! When I was first there, there was one hotel on Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay – The St. Lucia Hotel. And that was it.

The second time there was still just one hotel, but the lagoon behind it had been surveyed and subdivided, with lots up for sale. I wished at the time that I could buy one.

Now Rodney bay has several beach resorts, plus countless restaurants, stores (department stores, hardware and building supplies, chandlers, tourist shops, supermarkets, everything you could want), a huge marina, a haul-out boatyard. Plus literally hundreds of boats – swelled of course by the 250 boats that had just arrived from Europe as part of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

Before our arrival in Rodney Bay we have visited Marigot Bay. This was the idyllic beautiful bay that was the setting for the old Rex Harrison film, Dr. Doolittle. I have an old photo I took of it back in 1980, with just one yacht anchored outside Doolittle Restaurant.

Now, of course, it has a large marina with a charter fleet and, again lots of restaurants and small shops.

We also rented a car and did a tour of the island. Again I was amazed by the amount it has been built up. The road from Rodney Bay to Castries is solid with buildings – and traffic jams. We did however manage to find our way inland to the small towns and villages that were still much as they had been. Though there was an amazing amount of traffic even inland.

Naturally we visited the ‘World’s only drive-in volcano’ – Soufriere sulphur springs. And had to pay a charge to have a guide who we didn’t need to look at the bubbling springs that were now surrounded by a fence. Charges were also in place for various waterfalls and other points of view. We didn’t bother with most of them.

The pitons were, of course, as grand as ever. Especially going up close to them in our dinghy. We tried to do some snorkeling in Anse Chastanet, but the water was rather turbid so visibility wasn’t too good. Just tide related I guess, but still a disappointment as I remember snorkeling there way back and being amazed by the underwater beauty.

Driving back from Soufriere was as bit anxiety provoking. The mountainous road quickly drank up the petrol (gas), but none was available in Anse La Ray. Nor in Canaries. We finally glided into Cul de Sac with the fuel light shinning bright.

We also took a taxi drive to Anse La Raye for Fish Friday. What fun! The whole town was given over to street vendors selling every variety of sea life to eat, including turtle, box fish. Fascinating. Plus they had a stage with some live music, including prize-winning calypso singer Herb Black, who was hilarious with his stories about a friend’s suspicious death in police custody – and about a ‘lady’ called Suzette!

St. Lucia is still a beautiful island, and the people are still very friendly, but if you are looking for a peaceful island paradise this is no longer it. You won’t get away from the tourists here.

So, as I said, overall this was a disappointment to me. St. Lucia is no longer my favorite island. Top contender for that title at the moment is still Bequia.

Current Location: Buccament Bay, St. Vincent
Current Position: 13°11.47'N, 61°16.06'W
Distance sailed since last post: 11 nautical miles

The last time we were in St. Vincent we had booked a guide to take us up the Volcano. Unfortunately the path was impassable owing to debris from Hurricane Tomas – remember? The one that didn’t happen while we were sitting in Port Eggmont in Grenada?

So the guide (Sailor’s Wilderness Tours – excellent) gave us a rain-check for a later date.

So, after a short sail from Bequia we returned to our previous anchorage in Buccament Bay, gave Sailor a call, and went hiking.

This time the path had been cleared. It is quite a trek up, about 3.5 miles each way, and pretty steep. At one point you are traversing a narrow ridge with steep drops off on each side – visible now that the hurricane had removed a lot of the vegetation. But the path is good, and there are no scary bits. Just keep plodding.

As we climbed the vegetation gradually changed. First was tropical rain forest. Then the trees got smaller and sparser, and finally disappeared altogether, leaving the slopes covered in ferns and low lying bushes. From a distance it looked rather like the Scottish highlands. The rocks were volcanic black – the source of all the black sand beaches around most of St. Vincent.

The volcano is perpetually shrouded in cloud. Which means it also rains a lot. And today was no exception. We were absolutely drenched! But it was warm enough, so no problem. At the top it was cool, but still manageable with or without a light wind-breaker coat.

Eventually we reached the rim of the crater. The wind howled, the fog cleared and… what a view! A huge crater with a lava dome poking up in the middle. So dramatic.

Then the clouds came in again, the rain started up again, and we made our wet descent back down into the tropics.

We stopped for lunch (all included in the tour) and then wound our way back down the windward, east coast, around the bottom of the island and back up the other side to Buccament Bay.

St. Vincent is fun. It is mountainous, rugged, undeveloped and poorly set up for tourists, though it does get a few cruise ships coming through. But we found the people helpful and friendly and had no hassles from anyone.

Definitely worth the visit.

St Vincent was our next stop, where we had previously spent some time and tried to hike up to the Volcano. The trail was in bad shape from the Hurricane. The tour guides had been told the trail was cleared. After we spoke about how important it is for the Tourism Industry to have it open, he got together with other guides and cleared the way. Invited us to come back and do the hike. It was amazing! Sure worth another trip back……even when you come back to the bay and your Kayak is gone!

Yes, with so much security around the resort in front of our boat, we thought it would be safe! We figured some kids had taken it for a joy ride. Well, close. They were gone fishing! A fisherman told us not to worry, he saw some boys earlier in a red kayak. He picked up his fishing boat, took us to our home and a few minutes later he returned with the kayak and the boys. They arrived at our boat, they looked so young and innocent, never said a word to us. I saw the pail they had, ask them if they had fun and how much fish they caught. They showed it to me. A few nice fish there, including snapper. Well I was speechless too. That was probably their dinner. I said thank you to the fisherman and gave him some beer. Ironically that morning I had told Noel, we should give away one of our kayaks to the kids in that Village. They probably would love it. But now I feel we really need that spare one in case the next time, the kayak doesn’t return to us and we have no ride home!

St Vincent has a reputation for unfriendly people and thefts on Yachts. I must say, everyone there was nice to us, and went out of their way to please us. They even returned our Kayak after a successful fishing trip.

Current Location: St. Margaret Bay, Bequia, Grenadines
Current Position: 13°0.17'N, 61°14.48'W
Distance sailed since last post: 68 nautical miles

After seeing my parents off on their cruise ship again, we did an overnight sail from St. George’s Grenada, to Bequia, one of the St. Vincent Grenadines.

Ugh, the sail was long and slow and bouncy. And we had forgotten to take our sea-sick pills before we took off, so didn’t feel great either.

Leaving at 9pm we motored through flat calm up the western shore of Grenada. After about an hour the wind filled in from the north east, putting us close hauled on starboard tack. We held this tack for 8 hours, tacking onto port at 6am.

Catamaran’s don’t do well to windward. Especially with the equatorial current always pushing us to the west. But eventually, after a couple more tacks we sailed into Admiralty Bay, Bequia.

Such a beautiful little island! We dropped anchor on the left (north) side of the bay and rushed ashore to clear immigration and customs before they closed.

Back at the boat we had a swim in the lovely clear water and then headed below for a bit more shut-eye.

There was no internet connection here, so the next morning we moved across the bay to Princess Margaret Beach where we got a good connection and I could get a bit of work done.

Bequia is simply lovely. The water is clear and blue. The bay does have quite a few yachts in it, but does not give the impression of being too busy. Mainly, I guess, because the little town is quiet, very friendly and has everything you need without being garish or over=touristy. In fact, probably the vast majority of the tourists there we from the yachts in the bay, which doesn’t actually add up to very many.

Except when the cruise ship comes in. Bequia being so small, the cruise ship has to anchor way out in the middle of the bay and then ferry its passengers ashore with a relay of little bus-boats. Then, for a day, the town is over-run with people. But by late afternoon they are all back on their ship, and the town is quiet again.

We took a hike over the hill to Friendship Bay on the other side. A beautiful big sandy bay with no-one on it. And not even any boats in the bay, even though it is a quiet mooring.

We liked Bequia. It is peaceful, beautiful and friendly, yet you can get everything you need – including live lobster delivered to your boat by the fishermen.

Next stop is St. Vincent to climb the Volcano.

Current Location: Prickly Bay, Grenada
Current Position: 11°59.92'N, 61°45.7'W
Distance sailed since last post: 77 nautical miles

Where to start? So much has happened since my last posting! That was in St Vincent where I also took my scuba diving course, I was a bit nervous about Diving, but I was so excited when I actually did it. Wrote the test on my Birthday.

After that, we made another stop at Tobago Cays and snorkel with the turtles again, this time there were even more! We were on the way to Grenada where we had a great one day visit from Noel’s parents who where passing through on a cruise ship. In just one short day we took them on an Island tour, visited the Nutmeg and Cocoa processing places, had lunch on board, and went for a sail! And still we got them back to their ship on time.

I am not sure what Noel wrote on his post ( not connected to internet at the moment) I might just be writing things he already wrote about. Ahhhh …..sssshhhhh, I bet he didn’t tell you he let the fresh live big bicho Lobster jump out of the pot when he was trying to cook it? Yes, he put it in and it jumped out into the galley, up and down on the floor. This time we were not filming! OMG soo funny, I was laughing so much but yet I felt bad about his slow death.

Spent a few days in Bequia, again. We really liked there, small town and very easy to do all your shopping including nice fresh vegetables. Noel and I have acquired the taste for some of their local vegetables, some of our favorites include: Calalloo, green leaves similar to spinach. Also Christophene, pear shaped, I use it as a side dish, on soups and stews. And of course their pumpkin is so tasty. Besides a good pumpkin soup I add on to other dishes a lot. Also their banana-like Plantain is very good pan fried. Just today I decided to boil their local sorrel flowers, and put in sugar. It makes a great juice, taste just like raspberries. Noel thinks we should have a galley cooking show going! It ain’t going to happen. I’m not very good at this camera thing, and we have NO time. Yes just a reminder, we are not in Holidays. It’s a life style!

I sure had had a fantastic day,  lots of sunshine in the morning, a hike through the rain forest big shower, got soaked! Came home got changed and headed to Walliabou, it was the main location for the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.

Gotta love these Caribbean showers!!!! Got soaked again, rain drops were so big they hurt my bare shoulders…..YOU think I cared????

I was walking the grounds where Johnny Depp spent a few months!

Current Location: Buccament Bay, St. Vincent
Current Position: 13°11.45'N, 61°16.1'W
Distance sailed since last post: 46 nautical miles

Leaving from Mustique we had to motor sail until we cleared Bequia. Reason is that there is a lot of westward current, and with the trade winds at almost NE we just couldn’t lay it.

But, once past, we freed off, unrolled the genoa, eased off the mainsail with its one reef in, and let her rip!

With 24kts of wind we were doing a steady 9 kts and, at times, hit as high as 10.4!

The seas were kind too. Rolling swell, but not the same vicious chop we had when we beat from Tobago Cays to Mustique, so we didn’t have all the slamming. Nor did we get as wet from spray.

Sailing a close fetch rather than close hauled took us down the coast a bit, so we stopped at  Petit Byahaut Bay were we had some great snorkeling in very clear waters. Lots of colorful fish, trumpet fish, angel fish, trunkfish and one octopus resting in a shallow crack. And then we saw what looked like a snake wriggling along on the seabed. Turned out to be a sharptail eel.

Plus sponges and corals of all shapes and sizes.

Unfortunately the holding wasn’t good. So we upped anchor and motored around the corner to Buccament Bay, where we found a free wifi connection through the beach resort.

Hoping that we will hear steel drums this evening too.

And now we have a beautiful bright orange sunset.

From Carriacou we had a short sail to the Tobago Cays.

The Tobago Cays are idyllic. You know those brochure pictures of turquoise seas, sandy beaches, a few yachts dotted around at anchor, and turtles swimming just off the beach. Well, this is it.

Did I say turtles?

Yep. Not just one or two, but dozens of them!  They were grazing off the sea grass at the bottom – maybe 20 feet down, then they would come up for some air, and swim down again for some more lunch.

And then we saw a ray swimming past, just a few inches above the bottom.

Oh, plus the usual amazingly colored tropical fishes.

The next morning we set off for Mustique. To get there we first had to sail out of the Tobago Cays which, since it is surrounded by reefs we had to go all they way out one side, and then double back again.

But once we were out on the open sea it was a fresh force 4 to 6 with some bouncy seas. With a NNE wind and the current against us, it was a tough beat. We sailed for about an hour eastward and then tacked for Mustique. One long tack, and we were almost there, just 2 miles off the shore.

Another tack or two and finally we were picking up the mooring balls and heading for shore.

Ah, Mustique! Probably the most exclusive island in the Caribbean, with homes belonging to Mick Jagger, Shania Twain, Bryan Adams, Tommy Hillfiger and many others is a lovely peaceful little island with a tiny village and a couple of posh restaurants. We took an island tour to see some of those famous houses – all with price tags of $30 million and up. I must  say, the island is very impressively maintained. I reckon half the people employed on the island must be gardeners.

The whole island is owned by the Mustique Company, which is jointly owned by all the home owners. No one can live on the island unless they own a house, or are employed by the company, so there are no lazy layabouts and everyone is very friendly and helpful. All very interesting.

But we got to live there for three days in our waterfront apartment! 🙂

But first we attempted to go to a village barbecue. But when we got there, there were a bunch of people mixing cement in the middle of the bar’s floor!

Hmm, lovely view over the bay, but not wishing to eat in the middle of a building site we decided to go to Basil’s Bar instead.

Here we had a lovely meal, with a delightful chat with the waiter who had served many of the stars over his 7 years there – and had some funny insights into some of them.

However, it seems the stars and their friends basically come to the island only over the holidays, such as  Christmas, so I guess we were just out of luck for some real schmoozing.

Oh well, it is so beautiful here that is isn’t exactly a hardship!

Next stop is St. Vincent …

Current Location: Cariacou, Grenadines
Current Position: 12°27.48'N, 61°29.12'W
Distance sailed since last post: 30 nautical miles

We just arrived in Cariacou but before we left we had to finish our tour of the Grenada. We took the bus to the nearest point and stopped at Seven Falls, where we had a guided tour through rain forest and up to the falls. Although 2004 Hurricane Ivan did huge damage to this Island, especially the rain forest, they say this hike is actually better now, rain forest is regrowing and its just a tropical garden.The views are better as well, from the top we could see the Atlantic ocean. We had lunch at a cute local restaurant and then we took another little hike around Lake Etang, where you often see monkeys and apparently very friendly, but we didn’t see any. We found a picnic table in a nice little park, and we stopped and read our books for a bit before we took the bus back home.

On Thursday, we sailed away just around the corner, and did our snorkeling. The sculptures under water were soooo cool. The water was a bit cloudy that day, not great visibility but it was still nice. Lots of snorkelers around and divers as well.

Next morning we set off again, made a quick stop in Victoria, very tiny village, spent the night there and waited the next morning for the right tides and currents, and it sure was a great sail here to Cariacou, it was a good breeze all through our nice 4hrs trip.

Yesterday went ashore and got my laundry done…..made another curtain for the other forward cabin! skyped with my daughter and grandson I miss so much!! we also had a local come to sell us oysters, and he sat here forever opening them up (it was included in the price!!) lunch time came around and he told me he was taking a break, he had a sore back, so we fed him lunch. He said it was delicious….in the end he asked for a doggy bag, I sent him home with some homemade bread and he was happy!!! The oysters were small but very tasty! Today he was back again, this time he took out our garbage, for a fee of course!!

Today I will go and get some groceries and check out this small island. Noel is doing some work in his internet business.

We will keep having fun in the sun!