PHOTOS:—>>Union Island, Bequia, St Lucia and northwards we go 

2nd set of PHOTOS:—–>>>Martinique 

Martinique has been our new home for quite a few days now and we love it. But first our travels here:

Union Island

Upon arriving at Union Island we took a mooring and checked into the Grenadines after a walk to the airport. We then had a stroll around the anchorage area and village. Nothing had changed, still a quiet, quaint village with many of its population dozing in the afternoon sun. That evening we had an amazing dinner at a new restaurant called Barracuda. It was Italian seafood: penne with lobster and was just wonderful!

Bequia

We took advantage of the great sailing weather and set off to Bequia the next day. Bequia is probably the jewel of the Grenadines. There we found the new shoreline walkway was completed so we walked along it, one time with Nancy and Dave and then another time on our way to the eastern shoreline.

The new walkway connects all the beaches and makes for a pleasant stroll. Our hike to the eastern shoreline was to try to get to the Moonholes. We enjoyed the walk along the shoreline and then had a hard slog uphill where we flagged down a bus. The bus took us as far as the airport where we enjoyed walking along the eastern windward shoreline towards where the Moonholes were supposed to be accessible. However when we got to the end of the track there was a gate with a no entry sign. So with no other way in we changed plans and again pushed ourselves uphill to the ridge for the view. Overall an enjoyable half-day the shoreline was lovely and the views wonderful, but disappointing that we never did get to the mysterious Moonholes.

 

 

 

We enjoyed Bequia but again took advantage of the favorable weather to move
northwards.

 

 

 

 

 

St Lucia was the next stop

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Rodney Bay November 6^th after a full day sail, leaving at 5:30am and arriving at 5:30pm.

John was super happy as he had caught a nice Mai Mai while we were crossing. It was enough for 3 dinners for us and 4 dinners for Chico.

Our plan was to enjoy a dinner out with Nancy and Dave, as it was my birthday on the 8th and hers on the 10th. We were going to go to a restaurant in Marriott Bay that Nancy liked, but settled for a sushi lunch on the 7^th at a restaurant in the marina.

Why? Cause there is a problem with security and crime in St Lucia and so leaving the boats for any length of time was just not wise. St Lucia a lovely country that is just being ruined by the lawlessness/corruption of the few. Little did we know then that we would pay later for St Lucia’s crime issues. Anyway lunch was a hit!

 

Sushi is always great. The 8^th we had a day of rain which was quite memorable as it was my Birthday and it was rain that was incredibly hard and fell for the entire day, non-stop! However I really did enjoy the day as Gavin had sent me some Amazon credit, which I spent during the morning browsing all the books on my wish list.

The day after the BIG rain we went for my birthday hike.

I wanted to explore the eastern shoreline where we had been before, but in the other direction.

 

Well, we set off and 1st found the “roads” or “lanes” were somewhat washed out and deep in mud and debris. – to be expected after soooooo much rain! Not to be put off we persevered and managed to get to the bay where we thought there would be the pathway to where we wanted to go.

At the bay we found a very washed out shoreline, debris everywhere even palm trees down. The sea was a muddy mess; the surf was still up and pounding ashore.

Onward we trekked, now with the company of 2 dogs. At the far end of the beach where we hoped to find the path we found a river emptying a mangrove swamp. So, John tried to wade across, he found
quick sand/mud that would have sucked him under if I hadn’t managed to pull him out while laughing at his predicament.

That meant we had to go to plan B, which was walk back along the bay, and find a way around the swampy area. Soooo, we found a path and managed
along with our new dogs to find a grassy hillside with a muddy path, which led to another path, through a swampy area and onto another very muddy lane leading back to the other side of the bay. Well we got there, but it took over an hour to get there and we were covered in mud.

As we were concerned about the dogs we managed to send one off “home” while the other, a male, just didn’t get the message and continued to follow us. In the end John had to get rude with him and finally he disappeared, we hope he’s ok.

Following the path around the bay we went finding that yet another bay stretched out before us. We saw Rastas galloping horses bareback along the beach in the distance.

Upon climbing down the cliff and reaching this beach we realized that as we had been gone for nearly 4 hours we should actually start to head back. The Rastas pointed the way back and told us of a much shorter, easier route to take should we want to get there again. So once we arrived back we had been gone 5 hours most of which had been spent trying to get there and then returning.

It wasn’t the most successful hike but it was exercise and we were exhausted.

That evening John and I did go for a birthday curry at the excellent Indian restaurant at the mall. It was wonderful as usual.

After our “walk” John had decided that he needed cash. He went into the bank’s secure booth in the bank and withdrew the cash. I waited outside. There was nobody around as it was a Sunday. However the next day we were informed via email from Bank of America that our card had been blocked due to someone trying to withdraw all these large cash amounts. Somebody, somehow had stolen John’s card number and pin and had been trying to withdraw all this cash from Vieux Fort, which was way down the southern end of St Lucia. We decided it was time to get out of St Lucia. As in the past St Lucia left a bad taste with us. ……..We also found out later that this was happening pretty regularly to non St Lucians. In fact some days later Nancy and Dave’s card had been compromised, this time probably at a restaurant.

Martinique Le Marin

We had never spent any time in Martinique and had decided now was the time to. After arranging for our new card to be sent there to the marina in Le Marin and knowing the weather was closing in we reconciled ourselves to enjoying the French way of life for a good while

Le Marin

is a really huge marina/chandlery/yachty town. There must close to a thousand sailboats and catamarans to be found there. Many are for the charter trade and quite a few seemed to be live aboard’s that have tied up to the mangroves for an extended length of time and become attached to the bottom. In the town you can get any type of supply or food needed. It is an easy place to pass time in.

Hikes

There are also many walking trails and opportunities to be found so nearly everyday we would set off for a few hour to explore in one direction or the other. The best hike we took was from the St Anne area and it headed around the headland – Pointe Dunkerque – to the windward shoreline. From there to Grande Anse des Salines, past Tableau Diable and on to Pointe Baham where we left the trail to head across land and back.

It really was spectacular scenery. There were beautiful coconut palm lined beaches, rough rocky shoreline, magnificent cliffs with islands off shore, salt ponds with stepping stones and small bridges, mangrove areas, beach areas set up for picnics and huge fields of farmland. We walked for about 12 miles and were exhausted upon our return. However we only covered just over a third of that particular hiking trail.

Touring by car

Another day we hired a car and set off to discover more of Martinique. We drove to the windward – eastern shoreline – and set off towards the northern end of the island. We enjoyed stopping at various towns: Le Vauclin, Le Robert, La Trinite along the way to explore them by foot.

Once we reached Base Pointe In the north we purchased a baguette, butter, Gouda, ham, and drinks and had a picnic lunch. Then we headed towards

Montagne Pelee.

We found that the road actually went up to about 2800 feet. There was an incredible temperature change – up there it was 20.5 degrees C whereas it had been had been 31C at sea level. In fact it felt freezing at the top. The pathway to the top looked inviting, but time would not allow us to go further, plus the cloud cover and the fact we were not dressed for the cool temperature. We drove back through the rain-forested mountains,

Mt Pelee on one side and the Pitons Du Carbet on the other. Again the scenery was stunning. The roads were excellent, being French built and maintained, but they had no places for stopping to admire the scenery or the views.

The weather was not comfortable sailing weather, the seas and wind were still just too high for us to leave Martinique. We decided to explore other anchorages.

Other anchorages and hikes:

We first moved to Grande Anse D’Arlet,

which is a lovely quiet village. There we explored both peninsulas. The 1st was Morne Champane. It had been quite rainy so the pathway was a bit more like a hike up a streambed. However it was a fun scramble to the top then we descended into the village on the other side Anse D’Arlet which was a delightful village. From Anse D’Arlet we walked via the main road back.

 

 

 

 

Our 2nd exploration was Cap Salomon.

The lane out of the village joined a pathway that wound uphill, downhill, through the mangroves, along the waterside, over rocky slopes, through an old fortification battery, along a river bed and back to the village. There were some lovely views of the bay along the way. It was a circular exploration, so we ended up where we had begun. I found it quite challenging as my back was paining me. (I had overdone my push-ups and sit ups after not having done them for a while, thus I suffered for a few days)

 

 

We travelled north by three bays and visited Anse Mitan, which is across the bay from Fort De France the capitol of Martinique. Here we explored the touristy town, checking the various shops. The patisserie proved to sell the best pomme du sucre muffins you could imagine.

Ferries left from the marina every half hour for

Fort De France,

so we spent 2 half days exploring the capitol. Again the attraction for me was the architecture. I loved the old buildings, especially the cathedral and the library both of which were made from reinforced iron/steel, with huge reverted beams.

The little alleyways, the different specialist shops and the market were all a feast for the senses. Old forts flank the port;

Fort Louis

on the southern end has just reopened to the public. As it is still occupied by the French Military it was shut to the public after 9/11. However with the diminished threat they have
reopened a section, so we went for a tour. It was interesting to hear the history and the views from the fort of the city were excellent. My favorite was seeing all the iguanas. They said they have over 300 living there.

Sailing northwards:

After nearly 3 weeks the weather was favorable for sailing. We were undecided as to if we should spend time in Dominica or if we should take advantage of the weather window and head straight for Antigua where we hope to spend Christmas.

Dominica:

 Our sail across to Dominica was marvelous. The seas were large but well spread and the wind was just right for a very smooth days sail. We saw dolphins and John caught a Mai Mai.

Chico went wild with excitement. He just loves fish. While sailing he is kept in his harness attached to a safety line in the cockpit. Well he was just so frustrated that he couldn’t sink his teeth into that fish. Even when the fish was safely in the fridge he patrolled the galley to keep an eye out for a chance of entering the fridge. When it came to suppertime and he got his sushi he was just crazy with appreciation.

Our first stop in Dominica was Rousseau. We lost the wind that we were sailing so wonderfully
with and just couldn’t be bothered to motor up the coast. So it was Rousseau for the night. The next morning we departed for Portsmouth, the north of Dominica, which we love and know well. Again we saw dolphins, the weather was brilliant and we still were not sure how long we would stay…..a week? A few days? It all depends on the weather and how we feel……..

I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. – Diane Ackeman

 Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful. – John Maeda