Welcome to Dominica

With the low pressure system coming closer we really want and need to leave the Saintes, so this morning we went back into the township and tried it once more to check out. We went to the lady in the information center and with the explanation of the bad weather approaching and Sven’s charm she offered to check us out on Tuesday. She stamped our piece of paper with a date and so we were free to leave. We quickly went back to the boat and prepared to leave the Saintes by around lunch time. Dominica here we come! Dominica has deep tropical rain forests and mountains and its isolation has preserved the wild beauty of Dominica and is representing the visitors with a less commercial Caribbean. Dominica is also the home to a number of endangered species, including the red-necked parrots. The distance to Dominica is only 20 miles and in less than three hours we arrive in Prince Ruperts Bay, Portsmouth Town Anchorage, a little friendly comfortable Bay on the North West coast. We were greeted by Eric with his boat Lawrence of Arabia and Toni with his boat Antonia Banderas. Toni offered us fresh Mango and other fruits and Eric welcomed us to Dominica. Once we were settled we checked in and again we were greeted friendly and check in is made easy for cruisers……welcome to Dominica. Afterwards we stop for a drink at one of the bars on the beach and go for a stroll on the beach to check out the neighborhood. We really like what we see and the locals are very friendly and easy going here. We are settling down for an early night on the boat.

Relaxing in The Saintes

We are still in The Saintes and will be for at least another couple of days. Unfortunately we did miss our opportunity to check out on Friday and now the whole Island has gone on holiday for a long weekend with all the offices closed until Tuesday. Never mind they are worse places to hang around :) A bad weather front is approaching from the south, so we have to make sure that we leave early on Tuesday morning, straight after check out, to find a suitable place in Dominika or Martinique to wait out the expected high winds and big swell. We are all doing good, but looking forward to our departure on Tuesday.

Adventure on the Scooter

Today we decided to explore the island on a scooter. Julia and Carlos were very excited about this, as this is something that we hadn’t done before. We put lots of sun cream on and T-shirts that would cover our shoulders; by lunch time the sun is reckless burning from the sky. We went into the township at 9 o’clock and by the time we had registration, helmets and scooters organized it was close to 9.30. The biker gang from the Saintes was ready to rock the Island. Our first stop was the Fort Napelon. This Fort is in very good shape; in actual fact once it was completed it never had to be used to defeat the island. It holds a museum, a nursery and is surrounded by a beautiful well maintained garden. When we roll down the steep hill back to the village on our scooter, we pass lots of people walking up that steep hill to the Fort and I know that it was worthwhile exploring the Island on the scooters. Terre-de-Haut is surrounded by lots of nice little beaches and we make sure that we visited each one of it. We had lots of fun as we drove around and enjoyed the beauty of the Island. For lunch we stopped at the tiny little bakery in the middle of Bourgh and enjoyed a fresh homemade baguette and delicious chocolate croissants. By the time we dropped off the bikes again in the afternoon we are all very close to heat exhaustion. We all agreed that we have to avoid being outside in the middle of the day. It is nearly impossible to drink as much water as we are sweating out. Back on the boat we all have a swim in the very warm water, but to have a swim does not really cool you off anymore. We are getting ready to leave this beautiful Island for our next stop……Dominica.

The Saintes

Our plan today was to snorkel and dive in the Jacques Cousteau National Marine Park, which was only 8 miles away from our anchorage. As it was only a little distance to travel we towed our Dingy behind and did not even bother to put up our swimming platform. However as we came closer to the Park the weather changed and the wind had picked up and actually turned terrible on us. By the time we arrived the Park it was nearly impossible to find neither a safe anchorage nor a mooring. Looking at the anchorage nearby we could see the other yachts rolling forwards and backwards. We had to make a decision to stay there, go back or try to fight our way against the wind towards The Saintes. Once we made the decision to motor against the wind towards the Saintes, we hid behind the rocks to lift our swimming platform up and to we just managed to lift our Dinghy out of the water. We learned one thing out of this situation; whatever distance we have to travel we will always lift the swimming platform and our Dinghy out of the water. An hour later the weather front had passed by and the weather and sea had calmed down again and we did enjoy a pleasant ride to the Saintes. The Saintes Islands are a cluster of eight Islands, considered among the most beautiful in the Caribbean. Their isolation from the plantation system distinguishes them from sister islands and enables them to maintain a way of life in which fishing is still the main occupation and source of income. We made our way to Terre-de-Haut and find a free mooring in front of a little beautiful picturesque fishing village with the name Bourg. Wow….. this is beautiful and if you ever want to experience the Caribbean you have to come here. Terre-de-Haut is French and is just beautiful with its little expensive shops, boulangeries (bakery) and other exciting shops and facilities. The chocolate croissants are to die for and the peace and quietness is just adorable. We have totally fallen in love with this little Island……this is how I had imagine the Caribbean.

Walking in Guadeloupe

Today we decided to explore Deshaies by foot. In the book it was recommended to follow the Deshaies River that wind its way up into the mountains, with the promise that there was a waterfall at the end of it. We started off at round about lunch time at it was suppose to take 3 hours. We were all equipped with plenty of water, a bite to eat and of course our walking shoes and swimming gear to take a dip in the water pools along the river. It was pleasant cool walking up the river, and fun jumping from bolder to bolder. We stopped to rest in the little water pools and cooled off in the pleasant cool fresh water. After doing it for 3 ½ hours we started to feel our feet and legs…….four hours later we arrived. It was not exactly the waterfall I was expected to see, however it was still beautiful and I suppose it was the whole exercise that made it into a pleasant memory. Walking back we took the road and even though it was not as exhausting however the steepness of it still had its challenge. When we finally arrived back on the boat after 5 hours walking we were all absolutely exhausted. I was very proud of Julia and Carlos they did not moan once, but we finally managed to get them tired and they went to bed voluntarily at a decent hour. The next day we took it easy, Sven and I felt like a bus had run over us. In the afternoon we finally felt like moving again and we did some easy snorkeling in the bay to sooth our aching bones in our body. At night we were invited for dinner on Vicky’s and Mikes Catamaran. Tomorrow we are heading on further down south to Pigeon Island. The main attraction there is the Jacques Cousteau National Marine Park. We are going to do a bit of snorkeling and diving before heading on to the Capital Basse-Terre.

Snorkeling in Guadeloupe

We are on our way to Guadeloupe.....
We made it to Guadeloupe in four hours and it was a very pleasant trip. Guadeloupe lies in midway between Puerto Rico and Venezuela. From the air Guadeloupe looks like a butterfly, as they are two smaller land masses joined by two bridges over a narrow channel called Riviere –Salee. Guadeloupe is French and Basser-Terre is the capital with a population of 431170. We anchored in a little Bay that is called Deshaies near the north end of Guadeloupe’s west coast, it has a picturesque little township that lines the shores of the Bay. Our friends from the Catamarans Calabra and Double Exposure are already anchored and checked in. After an hour we are also checked in and anchored and started to enjoy the view and the Bay. It was very hot and so we decided to go for a snorkel. Wow…….this has been the best snorkeling experience we had on our whole trip. There was so much to see and the variety was amazing. We saw fish that we hadn’t seen before, a gold spotted eel t; we swam with turtles, a striped Burrfish, different types of Morays ….and in amongst all that we also saw some little Crayfish. The next bay over the shore is lined with golden soft sand with a backdrop of green rainforest, exactly how you would see it in the books, perfect. In the late afternoon we had a sundowner with Vicky and Mike, before we retired to bed early. Today was one of those days that I would nominate for the “Best Day ever”!

Trip around Montserrat

We met Jhonna and Monet and family at 9 o’clock at the Dock. Today the name of our driver and guide was Charles. He was already waiting for us and once we had loaded and organized to get our Dive bottles filled, we were on our way to explore the Island. He took us all around the Island and we were stunned by the beauty despite the devastation that this Island has experience the last 15 years. Montserrat like all other Caribbean Island got discovered by Columbus in 1493. It was quiet a place to be and experience a boom with the rich and famous, especially marked through the record studio “AIR” of former Beatle Manager George Martin. Then in 1983 Hurricane Hugo swept over Montserrat and destroyed nearly 90 % of the entire island. The Islander did not give up and it only took them 5 years to clean and to rebuild the Island when the second disaster struck, this time is was irreversible. The Sourfriere Hills Volcano that had been sleeping for over 600 years decided to make itself known. For the next 10 years the Volcano creates a show and works really hard to put himself on the map. He is taking over half of the Island of Montserrat and nothing will ever be the same again. Today Plymouth is covered and buried under the volcano ash and it is forbidden to enter the entire southern part of the Island. Charles took us to the observatory from where we had a great view over the Volcano or what is left of it. The power of nature is still on show and we can see smoke coming from the crater and where the Lava had flown down the Volcano and had made its way towards the ocean. I am shocked and devastated of what has happened there; it is always shocking when you see it on television, but seeing it with your own eyes brings more reality into it. We watch a 20 minute documentary on the eruption and volcano before making our way to our next stop. We are crossing the Lava flow to the other side, which is named Zone B. Zone B is the Zone which has to be evacuated if the there are any signs of volcano activity, otherwise you can still be a resident in this zoning. From our next stop we have a great look onto the buried town of Plymouth and the result of the lava flow; which is now a Zone A. Zone A is an exclusion Zone where everyone had been evacuated and the people are not allowed to go back to their properties. People still have property in the zoning A, but either have now left the Island or have moved to the northern side of Montserrat, which funnily enough was never populated very much before because of its climate. Plymouth was always the more fertile and flat land and popular as it was close and easy accessible from the sea. The population of the Island has dwindled down from 12000 to 5000 people. However we do notice that the people are very friendly here and that the whole Island is spreading a very welcoming and nice vibe. I can understand how people can fall in love with Montserrat. The rest of the afternoon we spend on and around the boat, snorkeling and swimming. We do prepare ourselves to sail down to Gouadeloupe tomorrow.