At anchor now in Rodney Bay just opposite the Sandals resort which is actually quite peaceful thank goodness… no loud music and not too many jetskis, so all in all much nicer than Carlisle Bay, Barbados.
We intend to sail to Marin, Martinique on Monday 16th about 30 miles away and will stay there for some time I think before heading back to Vieux Fort in the south of St Lucia to pick up Katharine at the end of next month.
Martinique is “on strike” at the moment apparently, just like Guadeloupe was a week or so earlier so we have been listening to local radio (in French!) to find out if it’ll be difficult to get things done. The most important things we have to do there by far are the buying of wine and cheese by the dinghyful as these essentials are in very short supply and also very expensive in St Lucia!
St Lucia has otherwise been very pleasant so far. There is a cooling breeze throughout most of the day and the scenery and wildlife are certainly worth a look at. We shall explore more of the interior, the rainforest etc while Katharine is here. The osprey visited the marina several times a day but I couldn’t get a decent photo unfortunately.
We took the local transport into Castries, the capital, the other day. Another great Caribbean bus journey and only 60p fare compared with around £20 by taxi! I would recommend using these buses anytime except late in the evening possibly. Castries was quite a sight. (A few photographs below). A huge cruise ship was in and so parts of the town were full of visitors but they mostly didn’t venture far, certainly not into the fruit and veg markets in the back streets. We were on the hunt for mangoes and soursop so that I could have a go at some Caribbean cooking.
Pigeon Island is to the North of us about 200 yards away. I don’t know why it’s called this as it doesn’t look like a pigeon and it’s no longer an island either. From this angle, it looks like a bear lying down on the left with a gorilla snuggled up against its legs! Anyway, it’s a nature reserve which costs about £7 to visit until 5pm when it’s free but it’s not worth visiting then as it’s dark by 6.15pm except for the little beach restaurant which we went to last night. The food was good and cheap and the rum punches were rather strong!! There was a family of lovely little cats who were very friendly and more than a little quirky….
It has been absolutely chucking it down on and off for the last few days… lots of squally Atlantic weather hitting the island I think. I have taken the opportunity to wash down some parts of the boat as the rain is so fierce and parts of the boat are so dirty now after 6 months sailing. Niಸೆ!!