2009-2010 Caribbean / Bahamas Trip
January Pictures
We stopped at Sandy Island at the south end of Carriacou for New Year's Eve
"celebrations." Thought this drift wood looked like a modern French sculpture.
These guys were waiting for midnight for the ball to drop.
We arrived in Grenada just in time for another Saturday morning market. Amy made some wonderful meals while we waited for our wind generator pole to be lengthened.
Worth the Grenada return and the wait. Wind generator back in operation with
a
12" graft of pole. Hopefully this will be enough to keep the blade off the
backstay.
We joined some Californian and Canadian cruisers and finally made it to the Guayve Friday night fish fry.
The main street gets closed down for fish vendors and musicians.
Another bonaza at the Saturday St. George's market. We sure will miss it.
Guayve, the site of the fish fry, as seen on the way to Carriacou
Siri, is this the sorting hat?
Chatham Bay, where we should have anchored on our previous stay in Mayreau rather than the over crowded Salt Whistle Bay.
My fender washer fix is still doing a nice job keeping my battens in place.
Admiralty Bay, Bequia. Last time I was here was 1988 on a charter boat. Not too much has changed.
Very pretty Anglican church on main street
Most of the waterfront has a concrete and stone walkway. Makes for nice touring
Met another PS 40 in the harbor, Eli Blue. Gene Gardner is retracing one of the routes of the Triangle Trade.....Massachusetts/ Senegal/Caribbean.
Another great fruit and vegetable market.
As you can imagine Amy drove a hard bargain
The small print is "Religious Processions"
Have not seen this sign in Newburyport.
Kevin our tour guide goes over the game plan with Amy and Gene
We passed Shango as we headed out of town
Here's the entire harbor
Bequia is still debating whether to do a cash for clunkers program
The oldest structure on the island. An old sugar mill.
Coconut milk farm
A lot of new houses being built on the island
Mostly Canadiens and Americans
1 acre lots go for $250,000. Plus major fees to the government of up to 35%. Then the very high cost of building. Not cheap.
But the view is not too bad
Very impressive facility
Mr. King. He is passionate in his cause. A turtle does not lay eggs until it is 25. This year will be his first year since starting 15 years ago that his own turtles will start to lay eggs and he will be able to increase his output of turtle to the sea. He says that in today's environment, a baby turtle's chance of surviving to age 5 is 1 in 900. Although they are protected by law a black market still exists.
Babies
Big guys
A very pretty place
And a good time had by all.
Gene and I went sailing so I could test his 140 genoa. Amy took some pictures.
Here's Shango's younger sister in her element. We had a wonderful sail.
Don't see this too often.
Proud owner looking back at his boat
An Eco Resort on St. Vincent. We were trying to avoid boat boys and charters
Early AM departure for the Pitons on St. Lucia passing inactive volcano on St. Vincent's.
Wonderful 30 mile beat to the Pitons. They just kept getting bigger.
Big
We were unable to get one of the 10 or so moorings between the Pitons, so we went further north to Soufriere. Not a bad spot either
Off again early to Martinique. These houses looked right at the Pitons.
Approaching St. Anne, Martinique, before the catch/release of my swordfish!
Rounding Diamond Rock on the way to Fort de France
Our traditional library shot this time from Fort de France
Ah the French and their public works projects.....how about this for a dinghy dock!
Sacre Coeur, first stop on our Martinique car tour
Amy felt a sudden inspiration from her Catechism days
Cat guarding the gate.
Everywhere we went the roads were being manicured
A very good source of employment for the locals
The interior was a lush parkway for miles and miles
Morning glory seemed to be the local roadside weed
Banana trees everywhere with these protective plastic bags on the fruit
At the Banana Museum Amy found this very healthy Oleander
The eastern shore was spectacular
Another eastern shore view
A very rude reminder of progress as we returned to the capital, Fort de France.
Leaving Fort de France for St. Pierre
Our first anchorage in St. Pierre with a wonderful view of the now dormant Mt. Pele
Our second anchorage closer to town.
Downtown St. Pierre. Imagine this spot on the day all 29,000 residents were killed by the volcano in 1902....
Everything has been restored and is a bit more peaceful today.
This reminded Amy of something you do to decorate a radish!
30 knots on the nose entering Prince Rupert Bay in Dominica
Fort Shirley, the French fort guarding Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica
Amy guarding the gun
More Fort Shirley
Damien, the Fort Shirley guide and flora and fauna guru
Our car tour of Dominica, looking at our next destination, Les Saintes and Guadeloupe
The eastern shore of Dominica
Say Cheese
Our tour mates Dave and Charda
We passed a farmer selling coconuts, fruits, and veggies. We bought a coconut and Amy hammered him with fruit and veggie questions. He loved it
I'd never seen a coffee bean before
Our car got a real workout climbing these hills on the eastern shore. The views were great.
A yoga retreat in the middle of nowhere.
As always the picture does not do justice to the real thing. These roads were steep and windy.
Downtown Rosseau, the capital of Dominica
Chickens in the streets of the capital
We arrived back in Prince Rupert Bay just in time for the start of carnival. Dancing in the streets.
We took a wonderful Indian River tour with Alexis
Flowers, fish, birds, and snakes.