Dec 18–Dec 31 One of our packages came, so Jim took the bus to Castries and picked it up at the Post Office, then we moved on to Martinique. It’s good to be back in the French islands again where you can get good bread and pain de chocolates. We stocked up on wine, cheese, pate, and our favorite canned meal that we’ve only seen in the French islands, - lentils and sausage. We splurged and went to Mc Donalds. They don’t have Quarter Pounders here because they weigh things in grams and kilograms, besides they need a slightly more glamorous name, so it’s the “Cheese Royale”. Still sort of strange that they use the English word for cheese. They do have Big Mac’s, but their featured burger was the “Le McDonald”. We anchored off Le Marin for a couple of days to take care of laundry, internet and shopping. We ended up doing our Christmas shopping together. No surprises that way, but still fun. We ended up in a marine consignment shop where we all found treasures that we liked – a reel for the fishing pole, a classic teapot, and swim goggles that Jennifer can use in a pool. Our gas grill was just about rusted through so we bought a brand new Magma gas grill for the boat. One of the chandleries got an order mixed up and got several propane grills by accident. They were trying to get rid of them because they don’t sell propane in Martinique, so Jim got a good deal.
On Christmas Eve we attended a Christmas pageant in St Annes. It was all in French, but the story is still the same. They told the story from when the angel came to Mary through when the wise men came. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem with Mary on a live donkey that was pretty reluctant to be carrying such a heavy load. Mary fell off and the donkey had to be forcefully shoved across the stage so that they could get on with the show. The manager scene was complete with live animals and a live baby. We found it interesting that the baby was white while all the other characters in the pageant were black. To indicate the star of Bethlehem they shot off fireworks all around us when Jesus was born and when the wise men came. Strangely neither the animals or the baby were bothered by all the loud noise.
Christmas Day we had a potluck on the beach with 3 other boats – Alianna, Bold Endeavour and Akunamatata. Lots of food and a gift exchange. Gifts could not be purchased. They either had to be made or be something that was already on your boat. Jennifer made 3 of her sea gypsy bracelets, so she covered our contribution. We ended up with a DVD that we hadn’t seen before, some packets of hot chocolate and a baggies of marshmallows and bandana. Everyone was happy.
After Christmas we made a quick trip back to St Lucia to pick up one more package. (Thanks Jim & Rose. Jennifer loved every bit of if.) Then we headed back to St Annes in Martinique to celebrate Rosie’s birthday on the 29th before moving on to Fort de France, Martinique on the 30th.for their New Years Eve celebration. Not sure why they have it on the 30th, but I’m glad we made it there in time. The fireworks display was fabulous and almost right on top of us. There was more for us in store on New Years Eve though. Wendreda, a sailboat from Ireland with 4 kids aboard anchored right next to us. Boy did Jennifer’s eyes light up when she saw all those kids. I’m not sure who was happier, Jennifer or Michelle, the 14 year old girl with 3 brothers. They invited Jennifer to go to McDonald’s and play in the park with them. After dark we headed to Bold Endeavour to ring in the new year with Sim & Rosie, Roy & Doon and their friend Andrea. By the time we got there, it was already 2010 in New Zealand and in England, we were just waiting for it to get to Martinique. By the time we left to dinghy back to OPUS, it was 2010 in North Carolina as well.
Dec 1–Dec 17 We started out the month with a marathon travel day leaving Bequia, in the Grenadines, about 2am and arriving in Rodney Bay, in St Lucia, around 5pm – 71 miles. The plan was to stay in the Pitons in SW St Lucia, but that was everyone elses plan that day too and they got there and took the good moorings before us. Still it was a good day. We saw our first whales! Initially we just saw them spouting, then we saw their backs break the surface and Linda got to see a tale as they dove down again. After anchoring in Rodney Bay. Jim rowed us over to Alianna to celebrate Sim’s 50th birthday. Some things need to be celebrated no matter how tired you are.
We settled in in Rodney Bay and we’ve been here ever since. Jim is starting to go stir crazy, but Jennifer and Linda are content to stay put. Gregory, who sells fruits and vegetables from his boat, stops by almost every day to keep us supplied in bananas and whatever fruits we need. There’s the Sandals Resort on shore that provides a variety of live music that we hear most nights from the boat depending on the wind direction. On shore there’s a good grocery store and a shopping mall. We spent one afternoon browsing and getting our fill of the Christmas shopping rush, then left empty handed. We’ve visited an old fort on a high hill on shore. The British used it to keep on eye on the French in Martinique, one island over. The trails were steep, but the view was great.
Since we’ve been in Rodney Bay, over 200 ARC boats have come through the harbor and into Rodney Bay Marina. ARC stands for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. They sail 2700 miles as an organized group from the Canary Islands to St Lucia with help from the Northeast Tradewinds. There have been lots of activities for ARC. Jennifer has taken advantage of a few of them so she can meet other kids. She’s been to a Family Day and a Christmas Party. It’s quite a site to see a black Santa all done up in the standard Santa suit dancing around with the kids in 85 degree heat.
We’ve made use of the local bus system and gone on small trips to Castries and Soufriere. Castries is St Lucia’s largest city and a big port for cruise ships. They have a huge market with produce, meat and of course crafts to cater to the tourists. Linda picked up a pair of coconut shell earrings and Jennifer got a magnetic wrap bracelet. Jim was happy just to buy a few local Piton beers. Soufriere is in the SW corner of St Lucia about an hours bus ride from here and what bus ride – up, down, around curves at high speeds. Jim said it was the curviest rode he had ever seen and didn’t enjoy it much. Linda and Jennifer thought it was a lot like a roller coaster ride – quite a deal to get an hour long ride for only $8EC ($3US). While in Soufriere, we saw the Unicorn at the dock. It looks like a pirate ship and we’d seen it almost daily in Rodney Bay full of tourists. Jim wandered up to it an got an invitation to board and look all around. We got to talking with the captain and found out that this ship was used in all 3 Pirates of the Caribbean movies as the Henrietta. It reminded us of the Black Pearl, but the captain told us the Black Pearl wasn’t a real ship, it was built on a barge just for the movie. I guess he’d know, he and some of the crew were in the movies too.
Other highlights of our time here: Jim has been after Jennifer to get her haircut. Well, she did it! That was her Christmas present to Jim. Just before sunset on Dec 9, Jim announced that this may be a good “green flash” night. Indeed it was, not just a little speck of a flash, but the whole top of the sun, about a 90 degree arc, flashed green. We all saw it. Linda is now convinced that the green flash is real. And for all you Scandinavians who celebrate St Lucia Day, you may be interested to know that Dec 13 is a holiday, National Day, in the country of St Lucia – no fair skinned girls with candles on their heads, but apparently there’s a lot of music in their celebration.
Our Christmas decorations have been dug out from under the v-berth and we’re waiting for a couple of packages from the US. As soon as those arrive, and hopefully they will, we’re off to Martinique for Christmas. Alianna and other cruising boats will be there too. If we don’t do another web update before Christmas, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.