Tag Archives: Roseau

Feel the Burn – Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, May 12, 2023

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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

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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.