James' Visit - St. Lucia

After that great evening we continued celebrating James' birthday by renting a car and driving down south to the Pitons. This area has been decalared a World Heritage Site. Two volcanic piers stand 2500 ane 2600 feet high only a short distance apart - tall and steep, they don't look as though anyone could climb them, although it has been done. Just before them the charming town of Soufriere spreads along a white beach. We drove down the narrow road from Rodney Bay and passed more hairpin turns than we've ever imagined.
   This first view was taken at a popular photo spot where many St. Lucians on vacation were waiting to have their pictures taken. The foliage is very green and dense with flowers everywhere. Once down off the mountains we stopped at a lovely hotel, The Hummingbird Resort, to have a cold drink and walk the beach. It was a Sunday and everyone was out, swimming and enjoying the beach. A little girl was building a sand castle with her father and I stopped to talk to them. James and Scott were up ahead walking (our next picture). The walk took us into the town where a big political rally was occuring. Being British, they have a parlimentary system and the government has been dissolved and an election is imminent. The two main parties are the Labor (ruling) "Red" and the Workers' Party contesting "Yellow". Hundreds of people in yellow and red shirts were milling around in town and a big march was forming. Since then we've had these rallies almost every night.

It was very interesting to us to talk to people about the election and everyone was very open about it. Vans were roaming the streets with election music and campaign speeches and many people were wearing the colored Tshirts with their party colors and slogans. Still most of the people we've really had talks with are discouraged with the existing partys and more pragmatic about what need to be done.
We have enjoyed being part of that process, but another destination was calling. We had heard about the Dasheen Restaurant at the Ladera Resort from many sources, but they all had been unanimous - it was fantastic. And so it was. Our definitive guide book says "it has the most awesome view of any bar in the Caribbean; just to walk in is unforgettable. And they are right. Added to this is the Sunday, all you can eat, Buffet and you've got perfection (especially for my meat eating men, Scott and James).

The table looked out on the two Pitons and the beach between them from about 1000 feet up. A wonderful local band of 70+ year olds who have been making music together for a lot of years played down below us. We had a nice discussion with them about the music and they had all, at one time or another, lived in the States. A buffet of salads, vegetables, and a lot of grilled meat was arranged out in front: a roast pork leg, lamb chops, pork chops, several fishes including tuna, and a host of various sauces - each more delicious than the last. After that the dessert table was spread out attractively.


We ate are all too much but the lovely endless edge pool beackoned. We inquired from the hostess and spoke to the manager, and were allowed the use of the pool. We all changed into our suits, jumped into it and then laid out in the lounge chairs facing the view - and ordered expressos. What a life! By the time we left it was late and it was hours before we returned back to Rodney Bay.
 On the way through Castries we saw a wonderful sunset. It also marked our last night with James and it was bittersweet.

The next morning was hard. We woke up early and had a good breakfast. Although we thought we'd left early, the "rush hour" traffic was much worse than expected. We arrived barely on time and James was rushed into the gates. We know that it will only be a few weeks before we'll see him again. But the hardest part of what we do is missing our family and friends.

James' Visit - Thanksgiving and a visit to a Pirate Lair

This was the first Thanksgiving we had on the boat but it couldn't be other than traditional for me. So we had a whole small turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, salad, and apple pie - all made with two burners and a small oven (our generator is on the blitz, which means no microwave). I believe the turkey was the last one in any of the islands. All of our other friends here went out to dinner but I've never been to a restaurant for Thanksgiving (yet). It was a rainy stormy day so we sat around the boat, playing cards, backgammon and dominos. James and I particularly had running games for two weeks of gin and canasta.

We had forgotten to check out of customs that day and so had to wait to leave until after they opened the next morning. With that late start we decided to stop in St. Vincent for the night. This is a beautiful island but has a bad reputation for theft. With it's steep and wild terrain, it was one of the last to be settled by Europeans. The Caribs (called so by Columbus) were in residence when a slave ship wrecked off the coast. They attempted to subjugate them and managed for a time but they revolted and took Carib women with them and formed a colony, calling themselves the Black Carib. They put up a fierce resistance to British settlement. Finally, in the late 18th century, they were defeated and shipped en masse to Honduras. There are a lot of terrible deeds done in these islands for sure.

Natural Arch off Wallilabou Bay, St. Vincent

As soon as you approach, island men in very small row boats come out to "help" you anchor. These "boat boys" are only trying to make a living but they've put off many cruisers from coming. We refused assistance until we were close to the moorings and realized we needed help with our stern line. So we chose Sean. The anchorage area is small and everyone wants to be close to each other and the restaurant for security purposes, so you take a mooring and then have a stern line tied to either another mooring or the shore.
The harbor of Wallilabou has much more recently been famous as the principal location for "Pirates of the Caribbean". Much of the stage set is still intact and the restaurant was remodeled for the movie as well. We had a lovely lunch there under the Styrofoam and plywood arches, painted to look like stone. After we had sat down our (boat boy not our youngest son) Sean came to our table and asked to borrow our dinghy to bring the police out to the large catamaran near us. Their dinghy motor had been stolen the night before. Needless to say we locked everything down tight that evening. We have dinghy davits and can bring our dinghy up each night and tie it down well.

Restaurant and pirate lair at Walliliabou Bay

Before that though we motored out to the natural arch at the end of the bay and snorkeled around the rocks. There was a wide variety of fish and colored vegetation. Early the next morning, 6:30AM, we took off for St. Lucia and as there was very little wind, motorsailed the whole way - 55 miles. Luckily we had a very positive current with us and pulled into the Rodney Bay Marina by 3:30PM. It was James' birthday and after perusing the guide book, he decided on "Razzamatz" for dinner. This was a terrific traditional Indian restaurant and they sang a rousing Happy Birthday afterwards.

James' Visit - Moonhole

From Union we went directly to Bequia. There were a lot of islands in between, the wind was up and it was a lovely sail. We had originally planned to spend time in the Tobago Cays - a group of small deserted islands protected by Horseshoe Reef. But the constant strong sun had taken its' toll on James. As a red head and very fair he's always had a problem but living on the boat made it more difficult: he had a bad case of sun poisoning. So we decided to head to a larger island and do more sightseeing. Bequia like many of these islands has a seafaring, fishing and boat building population but one thing is unique. The island has an active whaling station and by IWC agreement, local whalers can take four whales a year, although in some years they don't get any. Few people are left with the skills necessary to hunt them - a daring feat in an open sailing boat, using hand thrown harpoons. The Japanese have been active in all the Carribean islands building parks, schools etc. looking for support for their whaling interests.
We anchored in Admiralty Bay off Princess Margaret Beach (a famous visitor). On the way there we passed the homes at Moonhole and were very curious. Luckily friends had arranged a tour and we were able to join them. We traveled in two jeepneys, first on paved roads and then on a barely passable dirt path.

No - we're not on safari in Africa!

When the late American architect Tom Johnson built the first home here in 1963 under the Moonhole arch, there was no road and or good anchorage. His home grows out of the rocks without straight lines or right angles. All the homes have huge arches, fantastic views, lovely patios, and most windows are open to the elements. They are not connected to the electric lines but some homes have solar panels or wind generators.
Tom's son and his wife, Jim and Sheena Johnson, live there today and showed us around their home and the original house, now abandoned. A huge boulder fell from the arch and landed in one of the beds. Fortunately no one was there at the time. The home reminded us of the Ancient Pueblo Indian dwellings we saw at Mesa Verde, especially from the sea. Built in a series of levels with single rooms and terraces, their favorite spot was a pyramid roof under which still sits their deck chairs facing the sea.

There was quite a crowd of us on the tour

We finished the tour at the Johnson's bar with some of her famous rum punches. They have three pet turtles that roam around. They love to scratch their backs on whomever sits in the hammock. Many of us gave it a try. We wished we had a chance to see some of the other homes, but most were rented or their owners were in residence. Their are 18 in all and have the whole peninsula to themselves.

In this shot it looks like the turtle is holding someone up!

The steep path led along the cliffs and past many of
the house.

The original moon hole home under the arch with the pyramid topped
meditation space

James' Visit - Grenada to Union Island

Our son James flew into Grenada on November 13 from New York City. He lives in Brooklyn and is working at the River Cafe while he studies for the LSATs and applies to Law School. Luckily he was able to take two weeks off and sail with us north through the Grenadines. We only had full day in Grenada so we toured St. George's, had lunch at "The Nutmeg" and then swam and snorkeled off the boat in Prickely Bay. The next day we sailed up to Tyrell Bay in Carriacou. Carriacou is a Carib word meaning "island surrounded by reefs" and the following morning James, Heather and Scott had a chance to see them up close and personal. Scott did his PADI certification course here with Georg and Connie at Arawak Divers. James and I took their introductory course and did a shallow dive in the morning and then a deep dive that afternoon. We went down to 41 feet and stayed down over 40 minutes: pretty good for a first try. We both had some problems with equalizing our ear pressure but resolved it (although it was several days before Heather's ears completely cleared). The variety of fish and coral was wonderful and the time went by so quickly.
Scott joined us for the dive and we all celebrated that night with our friends from "Nereia" and "Seacycle". Jaime and Dan had their boat hauled out there and rented a great cottage nearby. They invited us over for drinks and appetizers - really dinner, there was so much. The next morning we were off again, this time to Petit St. Vincent and Petite Martinique. A squall came in half way and blocked all visability for awhile but it cleared off and the sun came out as we anchored off the PSV resort in crystal clear water. This beautiful elegant hotel has cottages scattered along the beaches with lots of privacy. If you want room service, you send a flag up your flagpole. We had a drink in the bar but decided against eating there after we looked at the prices. We weren't suffering on the boat as I'd provisioned with filet mignons for several meals (with bernaise sauce no less).
We took the dinghy over to Petite Martinique and walked around the community, very local and no tourist development at all. The inhabitants live by boatbuilding, seafaring, and fishing. In the old days, says our guide, they were also smugglers. Children were playing dominos, a variation where you slap down the domino when you play it - a lively scene. Other men were untangling fishing nets and mending them.

We sailed next over to Morpion, a low sand island with a thatch shelter that sometimes gets washed away. Actually it's amazing that it's there at all. At high tide there is almost nothing above water, but it's a beautiful spot - my photo doesn't do it justice. We snorkeled and swam there but when we tried to pull up the anchor we found it was wound around a rock and we were stuck. Scott got his air tank and hookah out and tried to go down and untangle us but the air hose wasn't long enough. He could have tried to do it using the dinghy but meanwhile good Samaratins from a nearby catamarin in full scuba gear came to our rescue and in just a few minites we were free.

Our next stop was Clifton Harbour, Union Island with a what looked like a tricky entrance surrounded by reefs. It turned out not to be that difficult as there were channel markers and the reefs themselves was very obvious in the clear water. We were all tired from too much sun (and Scott had gone through a lot diving the stuck anchor) so we went out to dinner that night at the West Indies Restaurant and had a terrific French Creole meal.