Swimming with the Turtles – Petit Bateau, Tobago Cays, May 24, 2023
We have spent the last 6 days in Bequia relaxing, snorkeling, and overall just enjoying ourselves. It was time to move on. We had decided to take the short 10-mile sail over to the Tobago Cay Marine Park. It is a protected area and supposedly very popular. It isn’t cheap to go to the park, so we only planned to stay for a couple days. We picked up a mooring ball right next to horseshoe reef but based on the abundance of current we decided to snorkel with our dinghy in tow.
We started with the swim area roped off for the turtles and we lost count at close to 30 turtles. It was like they knew they were protected here and could have cared less that we were there just hanging out with them. We also passed over a bed of nearly 40 giant starfish, half a dozen rays and one was even a spotted eagle ray. Our first one of the season. At one point we were swimming with 6 turtles and a ray. It was amazing and the reefs were in pretty decent shape too. We snorkeled again the next day and say more turtle, and a dozen cuddlefish. The water here is like the Exumas, clear blue and beautiful. I am very glad we came here and it will be a place we come back to early next season.
Paradise Turtle sanctuary Mariposa at home.
On our way out of Tobago Cays, we needed to stop at Union Island to check out of the Grenadines. We had originally thought we would stay there overnight but it was all a bit sketchy there and since we didn’t get a great vibe, we decided to simply high tail it down to Grenada. The island was VERY poor (as in Dominica poor).
Where customs forms go to die.
Our next stop would be our last for the sailing season – Carriacou, Grenada where we plan to haul the boat out of the water and store it for hurricane season.
Stupid Activity of the Week – Admirality Bay, Bequia, May 21, 2023
We spent a long 12 hour day sailing, or should I say surfing down some pretty sporty waves, 71 miles to Bequia. It’s an island I have never heard of but is part of the Grenadines and their “claim to fame” is that whaling is still legal here. It’s pronounced “Beckway,” and used to be a British Colonial Island. It’s pretty cool here (despite the whaling laws), and it’s the best anchorage we have had for several weeks. We have spent the last few days here snorkeling and relaxing. We had decided to skip St. Vincent since there have been a rash of cruisers being boarded, held at gun or knife point, and robbed. This has been a great alternative as it feels very safe, they have good food and some interesting hiking.
The first cool thing we saw when snorkeling was “Moonhole.” It’s another old hotel which was built by a couple back in the 60’s and is still partially used today. It‘s supposedly a very close to nature type experience but since it’s private, we were not able to go and see for ourselves. Normally this would not stop us from taking a peek, however, this looked a bit too unstable for us to just jump ashore and poke around.
Appears the lower parts are unused.
Moonhole is now a protected area and the elkhorn coral here was stunning. We spent a bit of time cutting fishing trash off of some of the mature ones so they could continue to grow. Then after a few days of snorkeling, we decided to try the hike which goes from here over the volcano to Friendship Bay – 5.5 miles. Well, this is where the stupid activity comes in. First off, we got a bit lost as the path wasn’t terribly well marked. Then, we knew it was rated as hard on All Trails app and how much the last moderately difficult hike had kicked our butts. Lastly, it had rained the night before and it was still muddy.
By the time we were done, we had walked over 15,000 steps, climbed the equivalent of 52 flights of stairs, an elevation of 1200 feet, and over just 6 miles.
Straight up the muddy pathCool views from the top
To make matters worse, after finally making it to the top, it started to rain making our decent just that much more challenging than it otherwise may have been. The decent was basically an old riverbed and we could not make it down without touching the trees. This is something we try not to do after learning what poisonwood and manchineel trees are. Half of the climb down we had to do going backwards much like climbing down a ladder since it was so steep. I figured this would fulfill our stupid activity requirement of the week.
Muddy wet and slipped leaves made the decent interesting
If it wasn’t for this little guy, I would say it wasn’t worth it.
We both seemed confused Sally petting the turtles seemed like a good idea.
We spent the rest of the post shower, doing absolutely nothing!!! It’s a good thing beer got delivered to the boat and we enjoyed the local taste of the island.
What’s a Rostafarian? – Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, May 15, 2023
On a boat, no luxury comes without a price. The good news is we spent 4 days basking in our air conditioning, however, somehow we now have a mystery water leak. Ron searched the boat and two good things:
It isn’t a big leak, so the bilge alarm doesn’t go off all that often
It’s fresh water so the boat isn’t sinking but, the fresh water pressure goes off every other hour
We think it is from our air conditioner and since we really have not used it all season, it would not surprise me. Ron got to work unclogging the drain and for now it seems better.
Boat yoga sucks
We decided to rent a car to see a bit of the island as long as we had to wait til Tuesday to travel again anyway for the right weather. St. Lucia is supposed to be dangerous but really only in one of the southern anchorages Soufriere Bay which we have zero intention of going to. The poverty here is clear based on our drive around the island and the average Monthly salary is less than $1,100 USD.
Poverty everywhere
St. Lucia was a British colony and the issue with many of these small islands is they have one main crop – bananas – and these plantations get wiped out every couple of years due to hurricanes. This is also a dormant volcano and I have to say driving here is insane. Sailing hubby did a great job considering the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road, and the lanes are only about a lane and a half for what should be a two lane road. Not to mention since it is a volcano, the roads are basically a cliff and windy as heck!
Driving on these Roads are no joke
We had intended for to go hiking through the rainforest here today, however, when we got to our trail of choice (which wasn’t a full scale of Mount Piton – the volcano which requires a guide), it was closed and the gate chained shut. Just our luck once again. Well now what?
No hike for you here today
We started to drive back and tripped on another trail which also appeared to be a parrot sanctuary. It looked open so we parked and when we walked up to it, it appeared to be someone’s house. We were about to leave when a gentleman came out and invited us in and to show us the trail. He ended up being our guide and his name was Ases, who owned the property, and his dream was to turn it into a park and sanctuary. Only Ron and I would walk into the rainforest with a stranger, who handed us a couple hiking sticks, picked up his machete, and off we went up hill.
Along the way we got to know him a bit and he was a Rastafarian. He had spent 12 years living and working as an architect in Canada before buying his father’s property to turn into a park. He had built himself a house on the property, was a vegan (as most Rastafarian’s are) and his religion is all about we are all one and one with the planet.
The hidden treasure. Ases house Cool flowers along the way. Ases harvest a coconut and bananas Drying cocoa. His backyard view.
He was intelligent, articulate, and super interesting. He showed us a cinnamon tree and apparently, we get cinnamon from the bark. We also saw an incense tree and Frankincense is the sap from the tree – who knew? He grew most of his own food and had bananas, citrus, yams, and a bunch more. He was focused on planting a specific type of pear that attracts the parrots so they would come to nest on his land. There is one type of parrot that only lives on St. Lucia, and he is trying to keep is from going extinct. It’s no wonder these are called “the spice islands.”
By the time we reached the end of the path we had a spectacular view of the Piton Volcano, which is two peaks, and their national beer is named after these peaks. He sent us home with fresh locally grown organic bananas and a sour orange. It makes great smoothies with almond milk & bananas!
A bit of canopy to hid from the hot sun. Piton in a distance New island new beer.
After our super interesting time with Ases, we headed over to Diamond Falls. We had enjoyed our last botanical garden experience, and this was a nice end to our day.
Flowers do not get old. Love the contrasting colors The water changes color every few hours due to volcano Diamond falls.
Feel the Burn – Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, May 12, 2023
We had moved to Roseau anchorage off the south coast of Dominica in hopes of getting some relief from our rolly northern anchorage in Portsmith but sadly…it was worse. Ever heard of a “Jump Up?” Let me explain…this is a party on shore where they play very offensive extremely loud music til 6:00am. So, with no sleep whatsoever, we decided to get an early start and make the jump to Martinique. It must be better there, right?
Martinique was a 53 mile sail (so ALLLLL day) and when we got there, it was packed. We Stayed in Grande Anse D’Arlets which is a small bay just south of Fort De France. Fort De France is the main harbor but doesn’t have a great reputation for crime so we had hoped to avoid this by going south. The good news is it was a lovely tourist area with lots of restaurants, dive shops, day tours, and an easy walk to customs to get checked it. It was still rolly but at least they didn’t have the all night parties we had just experienced. Since it was Saturday we knew customs would be closed and we would have to wait til Monday so we grabbed dinner and crashed.
The next morning, we had decided to do another death march up to the top of the volcano to see the bay next door and scout out where the customs office was located. This hike was beautiful and only slightly easier than our last major hike since it was a mile shorter at 4.2 miles.
Every hike is either straight up or down. Not sure the significance The views incredible Wow
Monday morning with paperwork in hand, we decided to take the road and walk to the bay next door instead of another volcano climb which was only about a 40-minute walk. Unbeknownst to us…it is another holiday…Victory Day and customs office was closed. So, home we went, and we took advantage of the day by jumping off the boat and snorkeling at our anchorage which had a lot of current but some nice coral. Then on Tuesday morning…back to customs we went. The check in was easy and the staff was nice so we had a chance to do some more snorkeling for the next couple of days.
Sadly at this point we have been travelling pretty much non-stop for the last 3 years. I guess that is what happens when you sell your house. Anyway, we are starting to really feel the burn of the constantness of all of it all and these islands are really starting to look and feel the same. It was time for a long overdue break.
We checked out and went south again to St. Lucia yesterday and headed to Rodney Bay Marina for a chance to not have a rolly anchorage and sleep in some air conditioning! Woo Hoo! The last time we had this was in Fort Pierce during Hurricane Nicole when we had to get a hotel room. Let me tell you that the islands are really starting to get hot and humid now and this was a very welcome change. My comfort is not getting in my way, that is for sure.
We accidentally found out we are here during their Jazz & Arts Festival taking place this weekend and we hope to check this out in addition to renting a car to see a bit of this island. Once again, we are waiting for the weather which means our next travel day isn’t until Tuesday. I am sure we can entertain ourselves here with the nice marina, restaurants, and sightseeing. More to come…
Dominica was a bust – Portsmouth, Dominica, May 5, 2023
It was a beautiful 20 mile sail down to Dominica with dolphins and everything. They have “boat boys” here as they did in Luperon which come out to help you get your mooring ball, will arrange taxi, tours, and help with anything you need. It’s also cheap here as they are on the EC dollar and we are back to English as the language with makes things a bit easier. When we initially got off the boat to check out the town, it also feels very Luperonish. The poverty is evident, but the people are extremely friendly which was a great improvement from Guadeloupe where the attitude is much different. I really wanted to like it here but the downside is the cat calling you get on the street and it’s kind of a shit hole since it was 90% destroyed after Hurricane Maria.
After getting ourselves checked in through customs, we walked around a bit and there really isn’t much to the town itself but we found a little place to hang out and try the local beer & dinner. Funny thing, there are no cows, here and lots of goats…this is likely to mean Sailing Hubby didn’t have a cheeseburger, but perhaps a goat burger…not good at all. We will be eating on the boat from here forward so I decided to make some cookies except that when we refilled the sugar container with flour not realizing it was not relabeled…they ended up in the trash and I don’t think Ron will trust me on that one again. Oops.
Some interesting facts about this little island…It is the poorest in the Caribbean. It’s also a volcanic island and called “the nature island.” On the darker side, 58% of the criminal cases heard here are sexual crimes and women under the age of 16 make-up 52% of them. Even more disturbing, 47% of these young ladies are related to their perpetrator. Wow, it’s even worse that the DR which has legal prostitution at age 13 and struggles with sexual tourism as an industry there. I didn’t think that was possible but apparently if is. Scary.
Unfortunately, we struggled to rent a car but after getting one booked, getting Ron a local driver’s license we thought we were ready to go except that the anchorage was SOOOOO rolly that neither of us slept. We decided it wasn’t going to work and it was time to bail. We cancelled the car and headed down to the Capital city of Roseau but sadly, it is no better here. It’s even too rolly to attempt the dinghy dock since I am unsure I would be able to get back in with the consistent 4 foot swell here due to the odd southwest wind we are not supposed to be having. Time to cut bait and we are headed to Martinique tomorrow. Maybe next year? Happy Cinco de Mayo.
The Death March – Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, May 2, 2023
Terre-de-Haute is a lovely little seaside community in a terrific anchorage. It is definitely the touristy part of Guadeloupe but very safe and nice to walk around. On day one here we decided to do a hike marked “moderate to hard” on the all trails map, which what we have used to guide us on all our hikes so far. Note to self, their scale of moderate to hard is different than the “Campbell Scale” (our ability rating scale). The hike was named “Le Pain” and it definitely was! It was 5.5 miles with final elevation of 1,210 feet straight up! Basically, we spent the next 2.5 hours hiking up a steep rocky off-road path up to a little set of ruins. Apparently, this little set of islands has changed hands many times between France, Spain, and Britain due to its strategic location but in the end landed with the French. It was by far the most challenging hike we have done this season and brought both of us to our limits. At least when we got to the top, the views were worth it!
Le pain? Sure seems easy. This is steeper then it appears. Almost to topHe said we would die. Notice to two younger people exhausted. The views incredible. On top of the world. Paved road down thankfully!
Funny story on the way to the trail we passed a little house with about a dozen bird cages one of which was home to a parrot. The only word the parrot knew was “asshole.” Pretty funny as we walk by, he calls Ron an “asshole.” We got a good laugh our of that one.
After that we took a couple days to snorkel which was fun since Guadeloupe is a volcanic mountainous island and the coral against the black sand was really pretty. I haven’t seen this since Hawaii many years ago. The amazing thing here is how big some of the sponges are. They are as big as me! It was kind of nuts but the water is clear and warm as bath water.
Huge sponges
On our next hike we ended up going to Fort Napolean which was a nice little history lesson. It was not nearly as difficult but still a nice little uphill walk. The fort was cool but sadly all the explanations were in French so I ended up doing a little reading when we got home to interpret what I had just seen. The fort itself was huge and the first moat I have seen. Pretty cool overall with a brick oven, cistern, and slits in the stone for gun protection.
Very well preservedFort offered great viewsSo many slaves on board. Humans suck
We had intended to head over to Dominica the next day but not realizing it was a holiday, we did not get to check out. Who know the French Labor Day was on May 1st. We waited and headed to Dominica the following day. The nature island is awaiting.
Cement Donkeys 