Our travels from Grand Anse D'Arlets to St. Pierre, Martinique.

We stayed only one night in Grand Anse D'Arlets. After Jorge changed the engine oil, filters and oil in the V-drive, we decided to travel the 1 hour to Anse Mitan. No pictures of Grand Anse D'Arlets.

Boutiques along the main street in Anse Mitan, a very touristy area.

 

After two days in Anse Mitan, we headed to St. Pierre, where we caught up with Diana and Gilbert.

Shop in St. Pierre, 1902 was when Mt. Pelee erupted killing some 30,000 people.

Ruins of the grand theatre.

Our anchorage at St. Pierre.

 

We rented a car with Diana and Gilbert and travelled the north part of Martinique.

 

Mt. Pelee.

View from Mt. Pelee (okay we were in the clouds and couldn't see a thing!)

Banana processing plant.

Lunch at a restaurant in Grand Riveria with Diana and Gilbert. 

Lush vegetation.

 

Enjoying a cold beer after a hard day of touring Martinique!

Colourful fishing boats next to the bar where we had our beer.

 

It was hard to leave Martinique, especially knowing that we were parting our sailing adventures with Diana and Gilbert. We are heading to Dominica, with a one night stay in Portsmouth, and then heading to Les Saintes, Guadeloupe. We love the French islands!

Our travels from Bequia to Ste. Anne, Martinique.

Our last sunset in Bequia.

 

We left Bequia at 0230 and bypassed St. Vincent, the island immediately to the north. The next island north was St. Lucia.

Approaching The Pitons, St. Lucia.

Leaving The Pitons behind.

Sunset in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.

 

Leaving St. Lucia.

Heading to Marin/Ste. Anne, Martinique.

 

Have I mentioned, we had a wonderful sail!

The main plaza in Ste. Anne, Martinique. 

 

The anchorage at Ste. Anne.

Kim on the beach of Ste. Anne.

Leaving Ste. Anne on the way to Grand Anse D'Arlets, (Diamond Rock).

 

No wind today and very calm seas, a 4 hour motor to Grand Anse D'Arlets. 

 

 

Yes we are still allive but oh boy, nothing is ever easy! I have been blogging on the word processor waiting to transfer to my notes to the blog when we got internet and power. Today I have both, but the computer freezes when I try to transfer my work from Word. So . . . I gave up.

From December 8, 2014 to today, we left Bequia and travelled to Martinique, by passing St. Vincent and only spending one night in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia but not going ashore. In Martinique we spent a couple of nights in Ste. Anne, then Grand Anse D'Arlets, then Anse Mitan and finally St. Pierre where we caught up with Diana and Gilbert. We had a last supper with them aboard CS'ta Time, but hung around a couple more days, renting a car with them and travelling a bit of the northern part of Martinique. We had an emotional last evening as we were heading north, home to Canada, and they were heading back to Grenada and spending another winter down here.

The "last supper" aboard CS'ta Time (bad flash)

From Martinique we travelled to Dominica where we stayed one night in Portsmouth, again not going ashore so no need to check in. From there we travelled to Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, where we are currently and plan to stay here another night or two more here.

Remember all those times I cursed the trade winds on our way down? Well, we have had nothing but wonderful wind since leaving Grenada! The sailing has been excellent, very little motoring and we have actually taken our time getting from island to island and enjoying ourselves. The weather has been warm, around 28C, with very little humidity and very little rain. At night we actually need to cover up with a sheet!

As the internet is not free, and I did not transfer my pictures from the camera to the computer yet, I am going to sign off. I'll transfer the pictures to the computer later and post them later. Also it is 1700 and the cafe is closing!

I posted some of the pictures on yesterday's blog.

Jorge transferred fuel from the jerry cans into the fuel tank this morning and then we decided to go into town for a walk. We had lunch at a pizza joint and it was quite good. We then walked along the Belmont Walkway, a lovely cement/wooden walkway along the waterfront, connecting the town to the beach. We walked the entire beach and upon reaching the end, we enjoyed a cold beer and talked with the local owner of the "bar", a simple freezer filled with ice under an old sail on the beach. I take back the statement I made yesterday, it was hot today, 30C but the breeze was nice.

We checked out this afternoon and are planning on leaving in the middle of the night to make landfall in Marigot Bay or Rodney Bay, St. Lucia tomorrow in the afternoon. St. Lucia has recently had some problems with people gaining access to bank accounts through the ATM so we decided to withdraw money here in Bequia, however the one and only ATM is out of order! LOL, didn't we have similar problems coming down the islands?

Beach on the Belmont side of Port Elizabeth.

Look closely, there is the Belmont Walkway through the cliff and along the waterway.

 

I am losing patience with the internet so only two pictures today.

November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends!

St. George’s anchorage was not kind to us on our last night there. We had swells from the north making the anchorage very rolly. In fact, it had to be the worst night we had ever spent there. The alarm went off at 0530 and we weighed anchor and were underway by 0620. There was no wind for the first few hours so we motored, which was okay because it charged the batteries. By mid morning the wind had picked up and we motor sailed, trying to keep our speed at 5 kts. Shortly thereafter we were able to turn the engine off and sailed to Tyrrel Bay. The winds were from the right direction, the sun was shining, the temperature was warm, the waves were not too big. In short it was perfect!

We arrived in Tyrrel Bay and had the anchor set by 1320. We ate a late lunch, then Jorge had a short siesta while I read a book. Supper was early, watching the sunset and bedtime was also early as we were planning to catch the next day’s weather window as well.

November 28, 2014

Both Jorge and I had a better night’s sleep than the night before. Tyrrel Bay is good for that, very well protected. The alarm again went off at 0530 and we were leaving the anchorage by 0600, under cloudy skies and some rain. We motored for the first hour or so as the skies were threatening and we were concerned about squalls. Nothing happened. The skies cleared, the sun came out, the winds were again from the right direction and between 11 and 14 kts. We motored sailed again for a while to keep the speed at 5 kts but once more we were finally able to turn the engine off and had a wonderful sail into Admiralty Bay, Bequia, setting anchor at 1430.
 

Shortly after leaving Tyrrel Bay on the way to Bequia.

Lunch was quick, dinghy was down and off to shore we went to clear in. Port Elizabeth was a cute town, clean and well kept with friendly people. After clearing in, we wandered around town, enjoying stretching our legs as we had not been off the boat since Wednesday in St. George. Supper was early as was bedtime.

Self explanatory.

The anchorage in Admiralty Bay.

Anglican church.

 

November 29, 2014

It was good to sleep in and not have an alarm go off at 0530! After lunch we took the computer into a town café and caught up on some news, also checking the weather. Yes, back to weather, weather, weather! We had met a French-Canadian couple here in the anchorage and were invited to their boat for happy hour. Of course we gladly accepted and spent a few hours with them, swapping sailing and land travels, work and family stories. Dinner was a bit late as was bedtime.

November 30, 2014

Jorge had not been entirely happy with the location we had anchored in, being far from town and a bit isolated so he decided we needed to reanchor. We found the holding not so good here and it took us a couple tries in a couple of different spots before we were securely anchored in a spot he was happy with.

We always have our VHF radio on and this morning I vaguely heard a boat calling another boat, the name of which I recognized. I mentioned this to Jorge but then we thought nothing more of it. After lunch Jorge was in the cockpit when he spotted the boat I had mentioned earlier . . . Sophisticated Lady! Rick Moore, previous owner of CS’ta Time and former member of HYC, had anchored right next to us! We made contact via radio. Rick knew we were in the Caribbean but was just as surprised as we were that we were anchored next to each other. He came over later in the afternoon and reminisced about his good times in our boat, then invited us to his for a potluck dinner. Rick had a “crew” of two women aboard and a lady sailing solo also joined the potluck. We left at 2330 after much food, wine and a good time.

Sophisticated Lady.

 

Rick and Lucky aboard Sophisticated Lady.

December 1, 2014

Oh, we could tell we had a late night as it was hard to get out of bed this morning. Much to do today as we were thinking of moving on tomorrow. We were planning a stop in St. Lucia, not sure exactly where yet. We have to check the weather, anchorages and then clear out if we do indeed decide to leave.

FYI, I know why people leave their boats in Grenada for hurricane season and return in November to start sailing. We have noticed a significant change in the weather. The temperature has been cooler, around 27C to 28C during the day with very little humidity and a comfortable 26C at night. Sunny with less rain and the sun hot but not as intense as during the summer. Perfect!

After checking the weather, we decided to stay in Bequia another day. Grrrrrrr . .  . the internet is frustratingly slow, disconnecting at times and pictures taking forever to download. Maybe I will have better success tomorrow when I try to download the pictures.

November 23, 2014

Well, it is official, we have started heading north! Our friends, Roy and Freda, left Grenada yesterday (via air) and we left True Blue Resort/Marina today. Our destination was St. George, just around the corner but as True Blue is in one of the southern bays, technically we were heading north.

I did a walk in the morning looking for groceries, only one store is open on Sundays but I was anxious to get started on the provisioning. Jorge started getting the boat ready for the move to St. George.

The trip was a short 1 and 1/2 hour motor, I guess we could have sailed some of the distance but then the wind would have been on the nose, so we were lazy and just motored. We set anchor on the first try surprisingly. If you will recall, St. George is notorious for poor holding.

We had a quiet afternoon and supper, watching the sunset which we hadn't seen in a couple of weeks.

The marina at True Blue, actually HYC (Horizon Yacht Charters).

True Blue Resort.

Ditto.

Piece of lumber that went through the concrete wall during Hurricane Ivan, left as a reminder.

Boutique at True Blue.

Restaurant at True Blue.

 

November 24 - 26, 2014

The last couple of days have been spent getting ready to move, more groceries, propane, laundry, post office, and checking out. Last night the battery bank indicated the batteries needed charging. Jorge connected the Honda generator but the charger on the inverter was not charging the batteries and there was a strong electrical smell. We had to charge the batteries with the diesel engine. Jorge spent all this morning reading manuals and "checking things". He is very good with most boat systems but the electrical stuff really tests his knowledge. The long and short of it is he thinks the inverter/charger is toast. Hopefully the sun will continue to shine and with us beginning to move, the sun and the diesel will keep the batteries charged.

The winds and waves are forecast to be favourable for the next few days so we are off to Tyrrel Bay tomorrow and probably Bequia the next day.

This afternoon we have been saying goodbye to friends, both locals and cruisers, who we have met during our six months here. Hard to believe we are leaving, I can remember the day we arrived as if it was yesterday!

Cruise ship coming into St. George in the morning and . . .

leaving at night.

All the doctors’ appointments went well and we were given the okay to continue on with our adventures in the Caribbean. Yahooo!

We had a great time visiting family and friends, making our trip home totally enjoyable. We even left Canada just before the first major snow storm of the season, how’s that for luck? Well almost.

Jodi's backyard on November 14, 2014.

November 15, 2014

It was a very long day, up at 0200 to catch a 0615 flight. Our daughter, Jodi and her partner Chris, drove us to the airport - on her 31^st birthday! We had two connections on the way to Grenada, one in Washington DC and the second in Miami, where we met up with our friends Roy and Freda who were visiting us for the week in Grenada. We arrived in Grenada about half an hour behind schedule at 2220 (no daylight savings time here). After arriving at our villa, we opened some good Argentine wine (brought back with us in our suitcase) and toasted the arrival in Grenada! To bed at 0130.

Roy and Freda in Miami airport.

November 16, 2014

We were up around 0800, had coffee in the villa and then headed to the restaurant for breakfast after which we walked to the main road to catch the bus. Freda and I stopped at Spiceland Mall for groceries while the guys headed directly to GYC to get the boat ready for sailing to True Blue Marina. After Freda and I arrived at the boat, I made sandwiches and we got underway. The winds were very light so it was a motor to True Blue and a good thing too as we were dodging rain cells and Freda, not being a boating person, was feeling a little under the weather (to match the rain!) We secured CS’ta Time at the dock and headed back to the villa where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening, doing what else . . . having wine, appetizers and then supper. Bedtime was early as the four of us were pooched from yesterday.

November 17, 2014

We had breakfast at the restaurant (included in the price of the villa) and then took the bus to the main bus terminal in St. George where we caught the bus to Seven Sisters. There had been a lot of work done on the trail including carving out stairs in some steep areas. Again we dodged rain going and coming out of Seven Sisters. As it has been raining quite a lot here in the past few weeks, the falls and swimming areas were too engorged with water for swimming, too bad but we had a nice picnic lunch and waited out some more rain before heading back. Once in St. George, we walked downtown and around the carenage before catching the bus back to True Blue. We did the usual once back at the villa (eat, drink and be merry) and again had supper in the villa.

Typical morning breakfast at True Blue Resort, Roy, Freda and Kim.
 

Roy and Freda at Seven Sisters waterfalls.

 

 

November 18, 2014

Today was a down day. Breakfast at the restaurant, lunch at the villa, siestas in the afternoon and supper at the Dodgy Dock restaurant (True Blue Resort).

November 19, 2014

We had a lazy morning with breakfast at the restaurant. We then caught the resort shuttle to Grand Anse Beach at 1100. The rain held off and we had a great walk along the beach, bar hopping and swimming, while making our way back to our pick up spot, Umbrellas Restaurant where we had lunch. The rain caught up with us at this point forcing us to grab our lunches and run indoors from the patio. The resort shuttle bus picked us up around 1600 and it was back to the villa where we had supper and a quiet evening.

Roy and Freda at Grand Anse Beach.

 

Roy and Jorge.

Kim, Freda and our cougar catch!

 

November 20, 2014

It was an early morning, up at 0700 as we had an island tour booked for the day. And a full day it was! We were picked up at 0900 and returned to the resort around 1730. The island tour included a visit to a nutmeg processing plant, the Grenada Chocolate Factory and a rum factory still operating in the same way since its establishment in 1785! And what is an island tour without stopping at Grand Etang and seeing the monkeys?

The carenage at St. George with one cruise ship in port.

Nutmeg inside the processing plant.

The Grenada Chocolate Company factory.

The rum factory.

Working water wheel supplying power.

Kim petting the monkey.

A Mona Monkey.

 

When we got back to the resort, we changed clothes and walked to Amici Miel for an Italian supper.

Kim, Jorge, our cleaning lady and Roy inside our villa.

 
November 21, 2014

Breakfast was again at the restaurant at True Blue, followed by a quiet morning in the villa. We caught the bus and got off at the Merry Baker for Friday Build Your Own Burger then we walked to downtown St. George. Freda was looking for souvenirs which we found at Dot’s Place, a store Jorge and I have visited on a number of occasions. On the way back to the bus stop, we sat along the carenage and enjoyed a cold beer. We had supper in the villa and Roy and Freda started packing for their return to Canada. I couldn’t believe the week was up already!

November 22, 2014

We were up early as Roy and Freda had arranged for a 0730 taxi pickup. Their flight left at 0930. Jorge and I had breakfast at the resort restaurant and then started our own packing as we had moved kitchen stuff from the boat to the villa to use during the week. We checked out of the villa at 1100 having successfully moved everything back aboard CS’ta Time. Then came the fun part of unpacking and storing everything, winter clothes included! By mid afternoon everything was back in its place. Jorge topped the boat up with water, the diesel was okay and we will be heading back to St. George with the boat tomorrow to start provisioning for the trip north. It is hard to believe we will be saying goodbye to Grenada shortly!