The first day after the CCA/NYYC cruise we slept in and were having breakfast at 11am when Lawrence & Cinde (s/v Bermudian Escape) came by to make plans for Andrew and Cinde’s birthdays the next day. The plan was for an extended celebration starting with reservations that evening at our favorite restaurant in Les Saintes, Au Bonne Vivre. We spent the rest of the day snorkeling off Ilet Cabri and lounging around the boat to rest up for the four course dinner.
March 22nd was a big birthday for Andrew! I spent the day trying to get laundry done (but the islands’ water got shut off) and updating the blog using Multi-Services Wi-Fi (until their customs computer blew up and they decided to close). That evening we celebrated three birthdays on board Bermudian Escape with two other sailors named Mike & Michael, the former a solo sailor and the later cruising with two ladies (one who had a birthday the next day)!!
The next day we moved to a mooring right off the town dock and next to our friends, Bob & Brenda on s/v Pandora. From there it was easier to grab our daily bread, get laundry done and join them for drinks at Cafe de La Marine, before we all sailed off in different directions.
On March 24th, Andrew and I motor-sailed for 3 hours to Marie Gallante, an island neither of us had been to. Friends, Sue & Denny (on s/v Evening Star) who have been there said it was worth the usually challenging beat to get there so we went for it, despite the unfavorable conditions. Andrew caught a large mahi on the way, which in itself made the trip worthwhile!
We arrived at the wide open anchorage of St. Louis that afternoon and Andrew set about cleaning the fish while I defrosted the freezer to make room for some of it. We ate fillets that night, ceviche the next night and we still have half a fish in the freezer!!
The following day, we rented a car to tour the island. This was no easy task since no one seems to speak English and my French classes on Duolingo apparently teach a different dialect. It took 3 providers to find a car but fortunately, pick up in the morning was relatively easy. I was surprised by the $850 required deposit on my credit card but assured that if we returned the car by 4pm, it would be cancelled, so off we went. We drove clockwise around the island from St. Louis, past the beautiful beaches at Mustique and Vieux Fort to Guele Grand Gouffre, which is a large hole in a big black rock that is striking with the aqua blue ocean water passing thru it. The most exhilarating part is that you have to lean over a 50 foot cliff to get a good picture of it! Not sure that my selfie does it justice tho!!
Next, we headed for the Distillere Bellevue, but when we passed a truck full of sugar cane going the other direction, Andrew suggested we had gone too far. Sure enough, we turned around and followed the truck to this old, but still working, rum factory. It’s on a beautiful property with a crusty looking (non-working) wind mill but seemingly the rum making was in full operation with trucks and forklifts moving the sugar cane and hot noise coming from the main building. Since all of the explanations of what was going on were in French, we didn’t linger and spent just as much time in the artisans shop and tasting bar!
After the distillery, we drove the southwest coast of the island to Capesterre, a nice beach town but it was too early for lunch and not much was open so we continued to Grand Bourg. Since this is the capital city, we had high expectations but there were an only few restaurants, a relatively busy ferry dock and a few other souvenirs shops and not much else going on. We decided to drive back to the beach for lunch at Toutouloo, a beautiful venue on the water, where we ordered fritters, ceviche and coconut curry chicken; Caribbean staples made to perfection!
After lunch, we drove back to St. Louis to fill the gas tank in our dinghy and do some provisioning before we returned the car. We were done by 2pm and went by the shop where we originally got the car only to find it locked up. We called the number we used to arrange the car and got some guy that said (en franchise) to come back at 6pm. Trouble was, the lady said I would be charged if not back by 4pm! While trying to figure out what to do, we noticed a french couple returning a car to a competitor nearby. They spoke some English and explained that the lady they rented from said to leave the car unlocked and take a time stamped picture of the car in the lot and the key in the glove box, so that’s what we did!!
Well, the jury is still out on that plan since the charge is still “pending” on my account and I cannot contest it until it goes thru. We left the next day to work our way south for a battery installation in Grenada and are hoping for no surprises on the credit card!!
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