Caribbean memories - Wind & Leeward islands

Cover photo: Indian River in Dominica

Following on from our last Caribbean update.... we are still heading north, checking out one island at a time.

We left St Lucia (Anse de Pitons), early in the morning. It took us 6.5 hours to Martinique. The reflection of the rising sun made the water look unclean.

Caught a Barracuda along the way. "Google" told us, that Ciguatera toxin tends to accumulate in predator fish in the Caribbean, such as the Barracuda and other carnivorous reef fish. They eat other fish that consume toxin-producing algae that live in coral reef waters. Some people eat a little bite and if nothing happens for 24 hours they eat the rest..... others do other some other tests. We decided to let it go. Ciguatera toxin is harmless to fish but very poisonous to humans.

Martinique island

Martinique is a french island and the country self-check in at St Anne was a breeze and a bit unusual. The check in was at a restaurant called "Boubou":!! We ordered a drink and sat in front of the computer. The restaurant owner reviewed and signed off our check-in papers.

The sign on photo below states "clearance customs" and the food menu is showing just below that.

We explored the small village of Saint Anne

Always an interesting thing to do.....checking out the local fish shop.

Being in France has its perks. We enjoy the French food, patisseries, bred, wines and me also the cheeses (Sven does not eat cheese). Oh là là c’est bon !

A Sailors "car park"...

The Saint-Anne bay was busy but did not have as many boats as the next bay. Can be challenging to find your way back home when its dark and only small anchor lights are glowing. In particular, since the wind changes the directions of the boats and boats are also coming and going. Hundreds of boats... imagine that😳😳😲.

We changed to Le Marin bay (the bay with the many boats) as we needed to get some boat quotes done and also to stock up on food.

The prices and choices for food/fruits/vegetables are fantastic compared to the previous none french islands. The supermarket in Le Marin has its own jetty, so is really popular with sailors.

We also stocked up on sparkling water .. which was not available on the none french islands. The water we make on board has no minerals in it (so its nice to complement it with mineral water). We also use the water we make for showering, washing, tea and coffee.

Our next stop in Martinique was the bay of Anse Four a chaux. We were alone during the day, with a German boat (we have met before) joining us at night.

St Pierre and the green looking Volcano Mount Pelée can be seen in the background.

St Pierre in Martinique was the former capital and a cultural hub of the Caribbean. It was considered the Paris of the West Indies until 1902, when the eruption of Mt Pelee devastated the city and left behind haunting ruins like a Caribbean Pompeii.

Ludger Sylbaris, an Afro-Caribbean was born in 1874 and died aged 55. He was the only survivor in the city of Saint Pierre, when the eruption of Mount Pelee killed an estimated 30,000 people in 1902. He was a prisoner at the time and was held in a cell with no windows and facing away from the volcano. His cell was the most sheltered building in the city, which saved his life (you can see the cell in the picture below). Sylbaris travelled later with the Barnum and Bailey circus and became something of an early 20th-century celebrity. An incredible story and an interesting place to visit.

A 40 minute walk brought us to the Depaz Rhum distillery. Its a beautifully maintained Rhum distillery and has of course a degustation area and a shop.

Summer shade enclosure back and front of the boat. So glad we had them made.

Our boat was very close to underwater sculptures so we went to see them.

The yellow arrow is showing Sven swimming back, then waiting for me on the board (which was attached to a buoy). Hmm I can see how a shark could be tempted with his leg just hanging there.

Sailed from Martinique to Dominica. No fish lunch this time....just sea weed.

Dominica Island

We really liked this island. Dominica earns its title as the "Nature Island" thanks to its unspoiled natural beauty, plenty of bubbling hot springs, mountains, waterfalls and tropical rainforests.

Some information: Dominica island is not the Dominican Republic. There are still indigenous people living here, there are 9 volcanoes, Sulfur springs and black-sand beaches surround the capital city of Roseau. Dominica has the second-largest boiling lake in the world (after New Zealand) and only 70"000 people live on the island.

The locals here are so lovely and just like to chat.

Visiting the Indian River is a touristic attraction of Dominica. Some scenes of the Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's chest were filmed here. We booked a river boat for 7 am, to ensure that we are the first boat on the river. We saw Iguana's relaxing in the trees.

Robyn and Milla from Boat Alba joined us.

Tia Dalma's shack from the Pirates of the Caribbean.

We saw many beautiful flowers along the way.

A small path lead us past pineapple plants and Lemon grass fields.

We drank a none alcoholic passionfruit juice at the coconut bar but did buy a home made fruit punch called "dynamite" for later consumption.

We hired a car for 2 days, however, needed to go to the Police station first, to get Sven a local temporary drivers permit.

Our first stop was a Cold bubbling (but smelly) Sulphur spring. We really love all the green hills / landscapes of Dominica.

We visited one of the many Waterfalls and hiked through an amazing rainforest until we were stopped by a man with a red headband and machete in his hand. He said that he is the owner and that we needed to pay him a small entrance fee (we did not negotiate the price with him... he had a knife in his hand after all). He turned out to be an interesting and lovely man.

Seems his family has owned this beautiful part of the island for a very long time. He promised to get us fresh coconut milk and coconut jelly on our return from the waterfalls. He kept his promise.

The pictures do not do the waterfalls and surrounding rainforest any justice. Check out the big rocks which are stuck at the top of the waterfall.

We also visited various attractions in the Calibishie area (North East of the Island).

The Red Rocks have been polished by consistent trade winds and sea water and provide a good outlook over the ocean and bays. We also explored a little cave and squeezed through some cliffs. Camilla and Robyn standing on the red rocks.

We also visited a small Chocolate factory which produces high quality chocolate, with very little automation.

The lady explained the processes involved in drying and melting the chocolate. The liquid is turning for 4 days (seems this process was discovered by accident by the Swiss Lindt chocolate manufacturer in 1897, when he left his machines running by mistake and discovered the conching process. Instead of finding a pile of ruined waste, Lindt found, that the chocolate smelt wonderfully and melted in the mouth.

The lady on the first picture fills a chocolate tray and another lady prints chocolate labels next to her

We found a local shoe repair shop along our way (Robyn is very attached to his worn out but finally giving up sandals). The shoemaker offered to fix them for Euro 3.-

The sign of the shoe shop read: Notice - Mr Credit is lame, Mr Thank you is insane.

We arrived a bit too late in the Kalinago Territory, which is home to the Kalinago. There was only one little mask shop, which was still open. The Kalingo are the descendants of the island's original people and are believed to have originally come from South America and represent the last remaining tribe of the pre-Columbian Carib Indians, going back to about 3000 B.C.

Their life changed with the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the subsequent arrival of European settlers, with whom the Kalinago battled bitterly to keep their lives and lands.

Eventually, they had to flee to the isolated eastern side of Dominica, taking with them rites, rituals, and a way of life that reached back to the island’s original settlers. It wasn't until 1763, when the British gained full control of Dominica, that the Kalinago were officially given 232 acres of land, which was then expanded to 3,700 acres in 1903.

Always good to see your boat again after a full day out.

Crab / lobster cages are lying at the beach

The next morning, we drove 1.5 hours to the South of the island.

We hired some swim wests (mandatory) and swam into the Titou Gorge The swim is short but the canopied light filtering down the mountainside within the gorge is spectacular. A hot spring tumbles down a wall outside the entrance of the gorge and feels wonderful after the cool water.

First picture is the entrance to the Gorge. Second one is of Camila taking a selfie under the hot spring.

Sven and I swimming inside and enjoying the beautiful waterfall at the end of the gorge

The hike from the Titou gorge to the boiling lake takes 6-7 hours and is quite difficult. We would have loved to see it but we just cannot do everything. And rather than doing 1 big thing we decided to do several other activities instead.

Next on our itinerary was a hike around the Freshwater lake (the largest of Dominica’s lakes). The lake lies at the center of an old volcano and allows for spectacular views from all angles... but you have to walk up and down small mountains first

The drive through the villages are really nice, the locals take great pride and plant colourful bushes along the roads.

Hired a better car this time and were able to get up all steep and windy roads (not like on one of the other islands, where we had to let the car roll back down)..

School parade in the street. Adorable!

We parked our dinghy under the bridge at the entrance of the Indian river.

We tried to get money out of an ATM at Domenica. The money did not come out but we did get charged for it (we did make a claim and received the money after a few weeks). One Euro card suddenly stopped working as well and my Australian Bank suspended my credit card because of a suspected fraudulent activity. There is always something to sort out and never a dull moment.

Our next islands are part of the Leeward Islands.

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is another french island. The archipelago consists of several small islands. We visited Grand Illet (where we were the only boat) and Terre-de-Haut.

Terre-de-Haut is one of the most frequented sites of the Les Saintes archipelago of Guadeloupe.

We went for a hike and looked back onto our bay in Anse Galet and the gorgeous village

with its many colorful wood houses, a church, tourist shops and french restaurants. There are no cars on Terre-de-Haut island but tourists can rent electric bikes or golf carts.

It started to rain (a tropical downpour) as we reached the top of the mountain. We just stood in front of a historic watch tower and had the perfect opportunity to go "under cover".

We came across many Caribbean soldier crabs /hermit crabs that live in forests.

It is very unique to see them going so deep and so high up into the lush forests. They spend a lot of time on land but need to journey to the sea ever so often.

Like all hermit crabs, Caribbean soldier crabs occupy the shells of other creatures and need to search the coastline for loose shells to call their own, when the old one gets too cramped. They also need to make their way back down to the edge of the water to reproduce !

Not so sure about the colours of the rice and salad with the coconut milk fish....

Guadeloupe's economy is based on the agricultural sector, mainly banana and production of sugar-rum.

The hot springs of Bouillante (bouillante means boiling in french) is the only place in Guadeloupe that has natural thermal springs which are heated by volcanic activity and is used to make electricity. Many locals and tourist swim near the hot spring exit (the sign states that entry into the river is forbidden due to the hot water) . The ocean water feels like a hot bath and is very relaxing.

Moved the boat to the next bay (Bois Malher) for easier access to shops and to be closer to the Cousteau reserve Island (fantastic for snorkeling)

We took our dinghy across to the island and were amazed by the large, colourful, carefree fish, who were equally fascinated by us (we looked deep into each others eyes and were checking each other out from head to toe/fin). After this immense bonding session it will be more difficult to fish, kill and eat them....😭🐠😭

We had our Go-pro with us but unfortunately no battery left, so below picture was courtesy of the internet. I copied and pasted two of my personal favourite fish below. There were of course sooo many others in many different glorious colours. We did not see the underwater statue of Cousteau.

Like on the other french islands, there is nice bread, pastries, butter, cheese, wine and champagne. Sven carrying the food back to our dinghy.

We enjoyed watching some fishermen from our boat. They often put grass into the water to attract more fish.

We had to be careful and zig zag past many fishing nets and lobster cages (some very poorly marked) . You would not be able sail close to the coast when it is dark.

Sometimes you just feel like eating eating Pizza or Asian food and when you get the opportunity, you just go for it (both times in some very none fancy snack places). Some birds joined us at the local Boulangerie (Bakery) for a croissant and pain au chocolat.

Next stop in Guadeloupe was the pretty fishing village of Deshaies. Lucky for us, there were not many people here. We read that the police series "death in paradise" (where a detective inspector and his police team solve murder mysteries) is filmed here and many fans come with organised tours.

Deshaies colourful village

Where to eat, all the places look special.... decisions, decisions...

Black Pelicans everywhere... the ones in Australia are mainly black and white with a pink peak.

Next bay, just around the corner., was Grande Anse. A huge bay and just us on anchor.

We did not order the 2 nor the 6 litre cocktail options shown on the cocktail menu!

A walk up and down the beach.

This is how Sven's sandals looked after his 20 km hike, 1100m up the mountain and through the rainforest You should have seen his backside... he slipped many times coming back down the hill.

It was a short 4.5 hours sail from french Guadeloupe Island to the English Island of Monserrat Island.

Monserrat Island

Montserrat is a British overseas Territory. The Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in the 1990s, causing significant damage to the south of the island and leading to the creation of an exclusion zone. Two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee, primarily to the United Kingdom, leaving fewer than 1,200 people on the island (now still just below 5000). There is a new town development at Little Bay with £28 million being funded by the UK.

We checked out the volcano activity report before leaving and stayed outside the red lines indicated on the boating app. The yellow arrows show the various Volcanic activity locations on land and the sea.

Sailing into Little Bay was interesting. We had all kinds of strange weather, from sudden strong gusts, to amazing clouds, rains, waterspouts (but not connecting to the water as we have seen it on one previous occasion - see picture 2). We also saw our first Halo ring around the sun.

High, thin cirrus clouds drifted high above our heads creating the halos you can see around the sun. The halos are from tiny reflecting ice crystals in the Earth's atmosphere.

The high moisture could also mean, that a storm is approaching within 24 to 48 hours.

I was not sure what to think of this island. There were only 5 sailing boats on the entire island, hardly any infrastructure, few locals and a buried city. We were keen to find out more and organised a driver (you need special permits to go to certain areas). Our guide was Sunny brother Lea who told us many amazing stories. I quickly changed my mind and enjoyed exploring the island.

Below are a few of the interesting facts we learned about the Montserrat Island.

We looked at models and pictures of the before and after volcano eruption. We stood at the edge of the water (far away from the Volcano) and were told that, should there be sudden Pyroclastic flows (which are avalanches of hot lava fragments and volcanic ash), it would reach us in 90 seconds! Soufriere Hills Volcano is an active volcano, producing both dome–forming and explosive eruptions.

Montserrat was a hotspot for successful musicians, due to their state of the art AIR recording studio. AIR recording studio was owned by Sir George Martin (producer of the Beatles).

Some of the Music albums Sven and I have listened too have been produced here...

The Police, Dire Straits, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, Simply Red, Steve Wonder, Paul Mc Cartney, Jimmy Buffet, Eric Clapton and more. The song "HOT, HOT, Hot" is by Arrow who was a citizen of Monserrat.

The proceeds from Music for Montserrat's, a benefit concert held in 1997, went towards the restoration and support of the island. The concert raised £1.5 million. Proceeds from the show and DVD were used for immediate relief and also helped fund the building of a new cultural centre in Montserrat. On its completion in 2006, George Martin (producer of Beatles) gifted the centre to the local community,

In the coffee shop we visited (which is owned by Sunny's family), we could look at many photos and artifacts on display.

Sunny also provided details on the Barclays bank robbery. It took place as the people were being evacuated from Plymouth, Three men were later caught and spent only 2 of original 3 months in jail. Seems they became successful business men, but the money was never retrieved. Two of them still live on the island today. We looked at the bank but you can only just make out a little of the roof (next to the roof you can see on the photo)

Ah yes and there is a local prison with a few inmates only. The prison has ocean views!

Some of the many other buildings we saw...

On the 1st picture you can still see the toilet (some of the other floors of the building are buried) and the remains of a supermarket on 2nd picture (you can still see the baby food jars and shopping trolleys).

Looking through the church window, we could see the organ and pipes.

What amazed us the most here is, that the abandoned houses have not been stripped like many others we have seen in Europe. Paper records from Offices to a Hotel lobby and hotel rooms seem untouched. It is as time stood still Tiles and fittings are still in bathrooms. You can just imagine how some scenes of the film Wendy was filmed here, an epilogue of Peter Pan returning for Wendy's daughter Jane (a girls fights to save her family, her freedom when she gets lost on a mysterious island). Very fitting.

An old brochure shows Waterfalls, golf course, resorts, airport... but sadly all is now buried and wiped out.

Buried airport (along the waterfront)

Some other points of interest. We visited an old sugar mill. Unfortunately most of the businesses are no longer around. Textile, Agriculture industries have been wiped out.

Beautiful fresh water. with the sign next to it stating: "If you drink from this burn to Montserrat you will return". Lets see ... we both drank from it. On the second picture you can see the "Monserrat tattoos"... you just press the leaves (which are still covered in ash) against your arm..

We saw many Iguanas on the road, Initially disappearing quickly but as it got hotter, they were very lazy and we had to drive around them. We also saw 2 Agouti but they were too fast (or I was too slow). Agouti are related to and look like large guineapig's but with longer legs.

Another Barber stop. Some words must have gotten lost in translation 😂😂😂. Sven said his standard - just make me look 20 years younger...

First of all this Barber spoke Spanish and before Sven could say anything more, the clippers had done their track across his head already. Watching his shocked face was priceless!

I later noticed, that the barber shop had just hair clippers and shavers, no scissors. I had planned to trim my hair too, however, after seeing the outcome decided not to.

The next morning, I heard a scream coming from the bathroom. 😱

Sven did not recognise the person starring back at him in the mirror. He also still tried to brush his hair for the next few days but of course there no longer is a need to do so.

Left Monserrat early morning to sail across to Antigua.

After having no head hair left, Sven decided to also attend to his sailing beard whilst being underway. The outside shower is perfect for that. He also has the fishing line out.

Antigua and Barbuda

Wow, what a difference from Montserrat island to Antigua and Barbuda (British overseas territories). Antigua and Barbuda are one of the Caribbean's most prosperous nations thanks to its tourism industry and offshore financial services.

Antigua

Antigua looks very civilised and high end. There are many mansions with private jetty's and huge yachts, well stocked but expensive supermarkets etc. Many celebrities live here.

Our check in for Antigua was done via the online SailClear App - this worked so far for most of the none french islands. However, this time is the first time that we were also asked to fill out a health questionnaire. It took 40 minutes to visit the Customs office, immigration, Health office and the police (despite having filled in the online forms).

Whilst waiting, we made acquaintance with our first mongoose, an Asian species introduced by humans and responsible for almost eradicating the Antigua Racer Snake. The mangoose has been tagged as an Invasive Species.

The water has an amazing colour due to shallow water and white sand. Antigua is hilly.

No idea what tree this is.

It was nice to catch up with Boat Alba and also Boat Anastacia again (we did the Atlantic crossing together)

Barbuda

Sailing into Barbuda is very different to Antigua. It is sooo flat, the white beaches are amazing but you can really see the destruction of the most recent tropical cyclone Hurricane Lee in September 2023, Although the most recent landfall was from Hurricane Paulette in September 2020. Barbuda has only 500 inhabitants.

Sven and I decided to check out Roberto Di Niro and James Packer's new Nobu restaurant. As expected Eye watering prices....

Swim, Snorkeling followed by a walk at the beach and a stop at the beach bar, then BBQ Lobster at the beach.

One man show. He gets the lobsters from the water, kills them, puts them on BBQ, serves dinners and makes drinks. We ordered BBQ Lobsters, the only item on the menu.

A beautiful and simple setting for a barefoot Lobster dinner at the beach.

Small water gym? An exercise bicycle on the water, climbing island and glass rowing boats!!

Conch - We ate them in a restaurant, yet we did not want to eat them now..There are so many everywhere around the reefs.

There is not much to do in Barbuda. The capital consists of a few small buildings and has 500 people living here.

We changed anchorage from Cocoa bay to Low bay .

What a mess. The Lighthouse Bay Hotel, which collapsed into the sea. Who will do the clean up?

Checking out from Antigua and Barbuda.

We decided to book a boat and go to see the Frigatebirds in the mangroves. 😊

The Frigatebird is the national bird of Antigua and Barbuda, with the single males known for their inflatable red gular sacs (to attract females during mating season). We only saw a few birds showing their red gular sac (see below) as most males were already chosen by females. It was nearly the end of the mating season. Instead, we saw many cute young ones in their nests.

After a worthwhile trip to see the birds , we drove the dinghies along the coast to see some pink beaches.

The beach's sand gets its pink from tiny shells and pieces of coral that blend with the white sand. The sand got pinker as we walked along and there were no people here!

Early start tomorrow. We will be leaving Barbuda at 4 am to get early to our next destination. We want to ensure that there is still light when we arrive. There is stronger wind and big waves coming and we do want to hide in a more protected bay. Barbuda is too flat for us with the forecasted weather.

We have seen a lot of devastation from volcano's, hurricanes/tornadoes and feel so sad for the people who were impacted by it.

Greetings to all of you - our families and friends.

The AIS link is currently not working (we are waiting for an AIS replacement)

https://www.marinevesseltraffic.com/vessels/KWILENA/CURRENT-POSITION/1/503113040 

Below is our interactive map of all anchorages and marina stops to date (road trips are not shown on the map).

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1j2hVU8cenT9-aasLyDWIAIpBTASPo44&usp=sharing