St Maarten final days <— Click for photo link

We delayed our departure from St Martin

till the end of February for a few reasons and glad we did as we continued to have an excellent time. Most days we took a hike in the morning and did chores in the afternoon.

John has a big project going…….he has decided to refinish the entire deck and sides of the boat. When we bought Aeeshah we knew the deck had been painted, this has turned a dull, dirty white that has no shine. The guys at the marina advised John that he could remove the paint with acetone, sandpaper, rubbing compound and sheer hard work. Then he could refinish it with wax. He started and found that it looks 100% better, so that is his new “hobby”

Our various hikes included a visit to Fort Louis

in the French side. Here we found that while much of the original fort is in ruins there are beautiful views of Maragot Bay.

We walked to Shrimpy’s and met Michael. He runs the morning net and various other services to cruisers. His head quarters are off of the French canal.

 

We went iguana hunting

and found some monsters lurking on the rocks by the Simpson Bay Bridge. I love iguanas, they are so prehistoric looking, can run as fast as a dog often on their back legs, plus they dive in the water swim underneath and are amazing rock climbers.

We took a bus ride to

Phillipsburg

and walked all over people watching and window-shopping. It is a lovely town with narrow, old streets, quaint buildings amongst the colorful touristy shops. There are masses of jewelry, watch, electronic and gadget shops as everything is duty free. There were several cruise ships in and the passengers were just starting to fill the beach that runs the entire front.

 

We had an amazing hike

with our usual group. We went by bus that was hired for the day by Mark off of Sealife, to the northern part of the island. We started at

Anse Marcel

and followed the parkland and shoreline around to Etang de la Barriere, just opposite Ilet Pinel.

The scenery was just spectacular, the sea all colours of blue imaginable, crashing on the shore, beautiful beaches, rugged shoreline and hills rising steeply behind. We sat in the shade of the ferry dock and had a picnic lunch at Etang de la Barriere.

I had to smile as Dave had carried a crystal glass and a bottle of wine to go with his packed lunch. Some of the others in the group headed straight to a bar to buy beers to have with lunch. After the picnic in the ferry terminal, the shorter walk people left us to ride our bus back. We then continued along the spectacular shoreline to

 

 

 

 

Orient Beach, all along it and it’s neighboring nudist beach,

which we walked down and then had to walk back in order to find the bus. The nudist beach was a real eye opener, all shapes of people walking, tanning, splayed off and with out exception none of them had any hair except on their heads. So if you intend to visit a nudist beach 1st you must be dehaired, waxed all over or else you will stand out as a hairy beast. (See map)

We had a super Chinese dinner again with a group of friends. John off of Out of Africa and his wife Joanne once again set it up.

 

Another evening was spent at the

Pink Iguana.

All of the hikers plus other friends joined together for a potluck and use of the grill for meats. It was also Robin’s birthday and a fabulous rum cake had been made for her celebration. It was a fun evening; plenty of good food and conversation was had. Then it was time to bid farewell to everyone as we were setting off in different directions. We truly hope to meet up again with all our friends.

 

We are at present enjoying St Barthelemy.

We left St Martin and found that we had to motor sail the entire way to the neighboring island of

Isle Fourchue.                     Isle Fourchue <—-Click for photo link

It is uninhabited, small and rugged. The anchorage has mooring buoys, as it is part of the St Bart’s nature reserve. There we spent the day hiking the “peaks” of the hills that are a few hundred feet tall, rocky and rugged. With my bad knee I found the going up easier than the going down, but I loved the climbing so much that the pain was inconsequential. The views from the tops of the peaks were spectacular. It did rain on and off, but then the sun would poke its nose out from the clouds and the colours from the sea and shore would shine through. We dinged around the shore, swam and had an excellent day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arriving in St Bart’s

                               

St Barts, Nevis and Monserrat <–Click/photos

 

we picked up a mooring in Anse De Colombier and dinged into

Gustavia

to check in. The French are so together, organized and functional that it was an easy process. The rest of the day was spent wandering around Gustavia, which is a mix of old and new, modern and old fashioned, young and old, expensive and cheap. We both really liked the Capitol as it is clean, there aren’t any hustlers and it’s narrow streets offer a feast for the eyes.

There was a wonderful hike from the anchorage in

Anse De Colombier along the shoreline on narrow pathways and lanes that lead to the village of Flamands.

It was another excellent hike with stunning views. In the village we bought a refreshing coconut ice cream and enjoyed it along the way as we hiked to the top to an area called

Colombier. Here we were able to look out over the entire anchorage and over most of the island of St Bart’s. The hike down was equally as enjoyable as it lead through the trees and wound its way into the anchorage. (See map)

We visited Fort Gustave

and the lighthouse there another day. Once again there were beautiful views and the different birds that I saw thrilled me.

We then hiked over to the airport – L’Aeroport – Saint Jean

to see the planes approaching to land. It is another quite famous airport as the approach is between 2 hills and as the runway is so short the planes just seem to head straight down just above the road to hit the runway below. John was thrilled. We also walked down to the beach

– Baie de St Jean – that is the end of the runway. Apparently not long ago a plane did not stop in time and ran right into the water, it’s on utube.

Our last day in St Bart’s was spent walking to Fort Karl

just outside town then to Shell Beach – Anse de Grands Galets –

and uphill across island through Lurin and back again via the airport.

The fort was more of a nature reserve that looked out over the town and ocean. It was very pretty indeed and again I loved the bird life.

Shell beach was just filling up with cruise ship passengers, so we were lucky to get there before it was rammed. It is as its name suggests full of shells, tiny little ones in mounds.

Our following hike was all up hill – 192 meters – it seemed too steep for cars but they zoomed past. We enjoyed looking at the fancy villas. Near the top we heard and saw a strange craft hovering above us. It looked like a UFO but was a drone. We followed it to where a man and his son were operating it, stopped and chatted to them. He had several he had built and they can be used to survey land and anything that requires a video camera from above, very cool indeed.

St Bart’s was a lovely island and we hope to go back. Just out of St Barts John was thrilled to catch a Black Fin Tune of some 20lbs

We are in Antigua, one of our favorites of all. We sailed 1st to

 

Nevis where we over nighted, then to

 

Montserrat

where we had hoped to stay and explore. However once again we did not find the anchorage to be good enough to leave the boat while ashore. So we took a few shots of the volcano that is still spewing steam, smoke and ask and promised to visit in the future.

 

 

Arriving in Antigua

March 5th we promptly checked in and set about getting what we needed. We stayed for 2 days enough time to get laundry done, propane fill, water and fuel topped up and any provisions we needed.

 

 

Then we were off for Barbuda.          Barbuda <—-Click for photo link

During are passage to Barbuda we saw whales and dolphins. The pod of dolphins swam along side for about 15 minutes it was lovely to watch them gliding through the water. They are just amazingly fast and graceful and love to race the bow of Aeeshah. As we approached Barbuda I looked to see if the stories of turquoise clouds above the island were true. Sure enough the first presence of the island is the turquoise clouds that reflect the water. Then you can just about make out the land below the clouds.

We anchored in a beautiful bay Dianna Princess of Wales Beach, off of the southern end to the west of Coca Point and Palaster reef. Coca Point is an exclusive resort, more like a cottage colony, it has its own airstrip. People stay there for 1000s and here we are for nothing – wow we are so fortunate. The beach is several miles long, pure white, fine fine sand. The water crystal clear, sapphire, turquoise, blue. The land above the beach was palm lined, just an incredibly beautiful place. We took the dingy into the beach over the gentle surf, pulled it above the waterline and went for a long walk down the beach. We chatted to the Coca Point “guard” an elderly gentleman, he was feeding song birds on feeders, just charming.

Through the palms we could see structures, which looked like a hotel/cottage development. We went and had a look. What we found was that indeed there had been a guest facility but it now lay abandoned. Everything had just been left, such a waste, so much waste is very difficult to understand. We also saw wild donkeys roaming through this property. Back at the beach we swam and headed back to the boat for the evening.

 

Barbuda is the most exquisite place, just stunning, if you like untouched. The beaches are massive, very wide, miles long, clear turquoise water. There was wonderful weather and we took full advantage.

We took a bike ride after landing the bikes through the surf carrying them up the beach to a sandy road.  We rode all the way to the capitol, Codrington, which consists of maybe 2 grocery/variety store, a bar or 2, and such, with a very sparse population. The whole islands Population is 1600 and its bigger than Bda. From exploring Codrington we headed back the way we had come and took a detour via

River Beach

and to the end of the peninsular where 11-mile beach is found. There we again were surprised to find that the

 

 

Beach House Hotel was deserted and starting to fall apart. From the evidence we saw it looked like it was last open in 2007, what a shame, such a waste of a beautiful property. However we took advantage of an old verandah and had our picnic lunch. Afterwards we explored the hotel some and had a walk on 11-mile beach. To get to the beach we crossed sand dunes with beach plants just clinging on to survival in the burning sun and windy air. The beach was glorious, amazingly huge, deserted with crashing seas. Our ride back was via a castle/fort with a Martello Tower that had been built first in the 1700s and added to in the 1800s. The walls were so thick and the space inside so small. We also saw a bright green iguana and a small hawk.

Anyway we had a great day, were exhausted, and locked the bikes to a palm tree at the beach. and noticed the surf was way up. Like really rolling in, big rollies, so John says he can handle it and for me to walk down the beach to where the swell was a bit less. At the last minute I grabbed the backpack, as I didn’t feel happy with the situation. I saw him pushing the dingy into the swell, figured he was fine, walked off, looked back and *H!T he was climbing up with an upside down 150 pounds of dingy in the surf. He’d been rolled up.

So I race over to help, we manage to push it over, the swell was relentlessly rolling in, he finally gets the engine up as it had been down. I run around saving all our gear and throwing it in. Then we somehow with the help of an elderly gentleman who was the fellow at the gate to Coral Point and managed to launch the dingy, john heads into the surf and swims it out. Then I had to try to figure how was I gonna get back to the boat, with the backpack that thankful was on my back and not in the dingy. John meanwhile had dropped the dingy anchor and was out there trying to get the engine started, clean out all the sand and salt water. Luckily the bike tools and WD40 had been thrown back in the dingy so he had some resources. So I look down the beach there were about 7 other sailboats at anchor further up, but nobody was ashore, however I started walking down the beach to try to signal someone. Finally a French couple swims ashore with their kids. After they had been rolled up in the surf and gotten sorted I asked for help explaining what had happened. The husband said he’d swim, get his dingy, tow John, stop off shore for me to swim out and tow us out to the boat. Which incidentally was moored the furthest out, way out there. Just as he is about halfway to his boat I see John coming in the dingy, he’d gotten it started. (All this had taken just over an hour) so I wade into the surf with the knapsack over my head. It was holding my wonderful camera, the iphone and ipad – important not to get wet. Well I made it a good 15 – 20 feet out and all was saved. Back to the boat and we started the massive clean up.

Off we go on day two, we took the dingy into the neighboring bay, Gravenor Bay,

a calm shallow bay, beached the dingy by an abandoned “hut” and we hid our gear, took water bottles and set off to hike back and get the bikes. We luckily found a track that led across the salt ponds and cut the journey by half.

Got the bikes, rode all the way back and then as it was lunch we set up camp in the hut out of the sun to eat our picnic. John sets up an old beach chair for me and he takes another beat up chair. During lunch my left hip lower back felt stiff but didn’t think much of it until I went to get up and the pain was incredible. I was well and truly stuck in this chair with severe pain. Oh and we are in the middle of nowhere. So eventually I managed to roll onto my knees and hands (and my right knee is screwed up has been for weeks so its strapped) then I crawl up Johns body and start to try and walk, not good, took some Tylenol from our 1st aid we take with us. Then slowly slowly with John’s aid move to the water where I got my shorts and T-shirt off and somehow managed to lower myself into the warm water. Where we were was an entrance to a tidal lagoon, all sandy and shallow, so I just wallowed till my left hip eased a bit. It must be a pinched nerve, but that water did wonders, I managed to get myself up and we locked up the bikes in the hut and went back to boat. Where I swam some more as it helped. John was still cleaning sand from the dingy.

I was quite bit apprehensive about the next day after 2 days in a row having difficulties of one sort or another, but we were off on the bikes again. My hip was quite painful so I dosed up on Advil and tried to ignore the discomfort. We headed towards

White Bay and Spanish Point

where we found the shorelines to be very beautiful but very different to each other. The calm White Bay where the fishermen were was calm and turquoise while the Spanish Point eastern side was wild with jagged rocks, weather beaten beaches and large surf. From there were rode north trying to get to the end of the road. We stopped along the way to check the views, if there were any, to have water, as it was extremely hot and to check the wild life of which there were lots.

We saw dozens of wild donkeys of all types, small, large, shaggy, fluffy, grey, brown, fawn, in fact every variation possible. We saw many horses again of all sizes and colors, a huge bull that dashed our of the scrub then saw us and high tailed back into the thorny brush and many different types of birds.

The roadways, if you call them that are tracks of sand, rock, and dry bog. Along the sides are every type of thorny bush and cactus that lives in the region, not a hospitable environment, as it is also quite dry and hot. However very starkly beautiful with the differing tones and textures of the landscape and vegetation. We finally found a campsite under a cliff face where we stopped for a picnic. This must have been a “hunters” camp as it was full of tortoise carcasses, a donkey hide across a rock and bones of all types about, quite horrible really.

After our quick picnic we set off for the end of the roadway. Just past this campsite there were dead donkeys that had been shot and left to rot, again a disgusting sight. Further on the trail petered out into a sandy track, which was impossible to ride, so we hiked about guessing it was the end of the trail. There were some cliffs and caves, which we explored and massive beaches, which we looked at, and then we turned around and headed back. Once back at our hideout we both collapsed into the water in the shallow bay and relaxed after a fantastic but exhausting day on the bikes.

 

The next day which was Thursday we spent doing odds and ends aboard and then enjoying the beach ashore. Typically the surf was way down now we had no need to put the dingy on the beach. We walked the beach and swam; it really is a fantastic beach.

 

Our last day, Friday March 14th we set out towards Codrington with the idea of either visiting the famous

Frigate Bird colony/Sanctuary or riding to Two foot Bay at the northern end of Barbuda where there were caves to be seen.

The ride to Codrington took 45 minutes, which is quite quick, but remembering we had the wind behind us so it was easy. At the tour office for the sanctuary the lady hooked us up with Jollah who came in his piroke to take us to the

Frigate sanctuary.

We raced over the water of the massive lagoon towards the sanctuary; from quite a distance we could see hundreds of birds circling in the shies above. Once we were close Jollah slowed and cruised right up to the birds that were nesting in the mangroves. It was remarkable; there were hundreds of Frigate birds of differing ages just there not at all worried by our presence. There were adults soaring above, males puffing their red pouches out to females who were acting coy and ignoring them, babies all in white downy feathers with their mouths gaping, other adults with their throats flapping apparently absorbing water. Truly a real wonder to behold, the largest bird colony outside of the Galapagos.

We stayed for about 20 minutes bird watching, Jollah explained how the birds started mating many months previously and that these were the slow starters, most had mated, fledged and departed for as far away as South America, Florida and Central America only to return when fully mature to procreate. They are magnificent birds being massive, able to soar and swoop at great speed then dive into the sea and procure fish in one deadly strike, just amazing! Their black bodies glisten in the sunlight and with their forked tails they look fearsome. However around their homes/nests they are gentle caring parents. The males woo the females, once they are a pair and mate the female stays where she is as the males gathers twigs to bring to her one by one. She weaves them under herself into a nest for the single egg she will lay later. The male then provides the food until the egg is laid. Then the male raises the chick while the female hunts for flying fish, which is the only food that they eat.

We watched the birds feeding the chicks, trying to attract a mate with their huge red throats, soaring all around and never once did any of them seemed bothered by our presence. It was then a fast ride back to the dock across the lagoon. The lagoon is just massive and most of it very shallow. All over the bottom are upside down jellyfish and all around are mangroves.

Back at the dock we decided, as it wasn’t lunchtime to set off for the north on our trusty bikes. We rode to

Two Foot Bay

along a wide, rocky, sandy track, it was very hot with the sun beating down and not that many vehicles passed us, but when they did the limestone dust was like a storm. At Two Rock Bay the beautiful scenery again entranced us. Here is an area that is considered the highlands, but it’s only about 100 foot. There are caves and rocky outcrops and as usual the most lovely beach shoreline. We could see in the distance the area we had ridden to the previous time, so we had nearly circumnavigated.

Lunch was had under a Bay Grape tree then we climbed through the

Indian cave and out the top to Gun Stop Cliff.

The view was fantastic, Barbuda is just amazingly beautiful. We watched the Longtails – Tropic Birds soaring over the cliffs calling out to each other. Back down on the shoreline we walked the beach and then set off back towards our dingy all the way at the other end of Barbuda.

Barbuda is really another world. The locals want to keep it as it is, no outside can buy land, nobody owns land it is the community that owns Barbuda. The few hotels are on leased land and more are not wanted. We really hope they keep it this way. Another wonderful day!!

It was time to set off back to Antigua, as we needed to soon be in Guadeloupe our launch pad for the UK trip.

 

 

Travel is more than the seeing of the sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.                Miriam Beard

 I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life. It’s a trip more wonderful than I could have imagined.                                          Kerry Washington