Guadeloupe

Mixing with the lunchtime crowd in the busy capital city, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. When in Rome - we like to eat like the locals. Great sandwiches.

The large markets in Basse-Terre are the best. We purchased bananas, pumpkin, passionfruit, pineapples, lettuce, pawpaw (papaya), tomatoes, carrots, starfurit, fresh herbs, etc.

Fresh cashews. The fleshy fruit is white, pulpy and sweet. The cashew nut hangs from the fruit and must be roasted to release the meat inside. Imagine harvesting cashews one at a time from a large tree!

The ingredients for hot chocolate, Caribbean style; cinnamon, pure cocoa, nutmeg, vanilla bean and a leaf (we presume from the cinnamon tree, failing any translation to english).

The cemetary in Basse-Terre, overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

The southern end of Guadeloupe, with gorgeous green rolling hills and majestic houses.

Barry on watch, looking out for fishing pots and sight of land.

In Guadeloupe we got to sail our missan staysail for the first time.

Montserrat is Growing.

Anyone for cricket, mon?

I've long wished to visit Montserrat and am only sorry I did not see it before the devastation of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the volcanic activities in the nineties. See Wikipedia. We toured the island with Jim and Wendy of Merengue and our expert tour guide, Joe Phillip (call sign Avalon on VHF 16). Joe tells us that the current West Indies cricket team includes a Montserrat native. We're hoping to catch a West Indies game further south.

A view of the cloud covered Soufriere Hills volcano in the north, taken from the observatory. You can see the pyroclastic flows on the western and eastern sides. Most of the island comes under an exclusion zone. The volcano is still closely monitored.

Before leaving Montserrat we rounded the north west to get a closer view of the airport over on the windward side. It was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow.

The airport in the foreground looks eerie and gives some idea of the magnitude of the flow on to the eastern side.

Our tour guide, Joe Phillip, is well prepared with handouts and photographs to answer our questions. He's a local gem. In his continuing research, he is collecting images taken before the volcano and wants to hear from anyone who can add to his growing collection.

Joe points to the bay by the golf course as it was before the volcano.

Look closely to see the thin line of palm trees running horizontally on the left and appearing as a darker foliage. Compare before and after photos. The island continues to grow in size as mud flows with each rainfall.

The three story house above was a real beauty before it was destroyed by a mud flow. Furniture and fittings are still in place.

Mud flows come with rain these days. The river is buried but still flows subterrainiously. (is that a word?)

Joe parks on the bridge (or at least about 20 feet above the original bridge) and shows before photos of the area.

Artists hands include Sir George Martin, Sir Elton John, Mark Knopfler and Sir Paul McCartney.

Beatles Producer, Sir George Martin, raised funds with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London 1997 to build the Montserrat Cultural Center. The center includes a 450 seat auditorium and was opened in 2007. Martin had operated his recording studio, Air Studios on the island until Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Our anchorage at Little Bay, Montserrat shared with Merengue, a cat and some local fishing boats. It's deep and we were tucked inclose to the cliff.

The official Montserrat website has more info at www.visitmontserrat.com.

Hot, Hot, Hot, Not!

Just when I was on a roll, the hot wifi I paid for because I could get it while sitting on the boat, stopped dead.  I did manage to get to shore and squeezed a few more hours out of it but it stopped again.  If there's one thing that drives me crazy it's "intermittence" (that must be a word).  The other thing I hate is paying for a service that fails me.

We needed to refill our water tanks so while the good lads aboard BR are filling tanks and swabbing decks, Daisie is supervising and I'm connected to a great little wifi in the bar at Jerome's Yacht Club in Terre de Haut, Iles des Saintes.

After picking up the Yacht Club mooring ball, Robert retrieves the water hose.  Jerome has a great service; all the water you want for a small fee and right there from the mooring!  What a great idea.  Thanks Jerome.

Gotta Love the Hot! Hot! Hot! Spot

We're feelin' hot, hot, hot, and enjoying the refreshing rains each afternoon in Isles Des Saintes.   The water is beautiful so swimming is easy.  Just can't stop singing that song!  How ya feelin'?   I'd really love to see the movie "Bend It Like Beckham" again.  If you've seen it you'll know what I'm talking about.

We have a connection to the Hot!Hot!Hot! Wifi Spot right on the boat so I might just get the blog up to date in the next day or two.  I've been 7 locations behind and have just posted 2 updates so check 'em out.  Scroll back past St. Kitts and Nevis to Saba.  Saba is a little off the beaten track so most cruises skip it altogeher.

Still to come are Montserrat, Guadeloupe and Isles Des Saintes, our current and perhaps favourite location.

St. Christopher and Nevis

This striking black and white reflection of a catamaran's webbing or netting caught my eye.

Approaching St. Christopher (St. Kitts). Cloud covered peaks are a common sight as we cruise these volcanic islands.

Ballast Bay's black sand beach and wonderful snorkeling were a pleasant surprise in St. Kitts.

At last, we are in Roti territory. The abundance of good food is refreshing after so long in the culinary desert we call the Bahamas. The mix of European, Tropical and Caribbean foods here tastes like home to us. We've been missing Australia's fantastic culinary variety of fresh foods for too long.

Barry is keeping company with a blonde. Daisie doesn't mind making herself comfortable and seems to have "claimed" Barry. It's a short sail fr

om St. Kitts to Nevis. Time for 40 winks.

Nevis. Afternoon rains are common. We are in the tropics and it feels like Queensland.

BR on a mooring ball, near the Four Seasons (closed) between Pinney's Beach and Charlestown, Nevis. St. Kitts in the background.

If you don't like being kept awake all night and half the morning (up to 6am), don't stay near Charlestown, capital of Nevis. The loud music is hard to bear. The mooring field near Pinney's is large and anchoring is not allowed. Checking in was also a challenge here. St. Kitts and Nevis are not the most easy islands we have visited with a fair amount of "chasing" around town to complete the check-in process, however tours of both with local taxi drivers are worth the effort. Daisie does not like the UK islands much at all. She has all her papers and health checks but they make it difficult to bring her ashore. Only after we have paid for a vet to see her is she allowed entry.

Fishermen return to Nevis harbour with a great catch of Dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi)

Fresh eggs at the Nevis markets.

Wherever we go throughout the Caribbean we see portraits of US President Obama. There's a real excitement and a hope that he may be able to work with all nations to bring about a better world.

The restaurant at the Golden Rock Estate in Nevis set in beautiful gardens, perched on a hill overlooking the ocean.

The Three Aussies, Barry, Robert and our taxi driver, Aussie. Aussie is a very well informed man with an interest in the world and everyone in it. He could tell us a thing or two about Australian political history!

The ginger blossom.

Monkeys on the fence at Golden Gate.

Saba, the unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean

May 17, Sunday racing off St. Martin. It was a nice day for a sail and we headed southwest for the island of Saba in the Netherlands Antilles. Saba is the smallest island in the entire Dutch Kingdom.

Yep, a good day for a sail. These instruments don't lie.

On arrival in Saba, we have a short wait before checking in with the Customs and Immigration Officer.

First impressions - sometimes best ignored.

Check-in is in the blue building. It and the noisy power plant sandwich the dive shops. On the right is Pop's Place and a couple of doors away is the main dock and the quarry. The entry port of Fort Bay Harbour at the south west corner of Saba could easily turn cruising visitors off on sight. First we had to pick up a yellow mooring ball among the white, pink and orange ones in Ladder Bay on the leeward side then dinghy over to the harbour. Thankfully the mooring balls are well maintained. We timed our arrival perfectly to see a huge barge being loaded with dusty rock from the quarry. Just lucky I guess.

The proximity of the dusty (can I say obnoxious?) quarry to the dinghy dock, covered us and the dinghy in a layer of black rock dust. Did I say dust? Barry exercises great restraint in describing his first impression as "very unattractive". Arriving back on board after check in he declares he never wants to return to that #@$% hole. We braced ourselves next morning and returned for a tour of the island with our taxi driver, Vincent. What we discovered on our tour made up for the sights, sounds and dust of the harbour and we're all glad we took the trouble to find the island described as the unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean.

Our anchorage at Ladder Bay, where we picked up a mooring ball and rolled mercilessly in about 60 feet of water.

The stairs lead from Ladder Bay to the old check in station on Saba. Imagine climbing those stairs after a long and tiring windward passage.

Saba is popular with divers who fly in or come by ferry to explore Saba's pristine waters. The 13 square kilometer Marine Protected Area encircles the island from the high-water mark to a depth of 60 meters. Fort Bay has a hyperbaric facility donated by the Royal Dutch Navy.

A couple of iguanas beside the road.

Hand printed fabrics at the Artisan Foundation. The islanders also create beautiful lacework.

Catholic church at The Bottom

The main town is called Windwardside. The picture shows the town of The Bottom, at about 1,000 ft. Through the "V" in the mountains is Ladder Bay, where Bristol Rose waits on a mooring ball.

Sabans voluntarily conform to the building and color code of white homes with red roofs and green trim and shutters.

It is not unusual to see homes with a grave or two in the front yard. Space is limited.

Saba airport, pretty short runway. Click here for a cockpit view of a landing.

Looking for a good Med School?

Before enrolling in the medical school at Saba, check out the roller coaster. (you tube - thanks to someone who thought to film the ride).