April 2018 - Caribbean Leeward Islands, Windward Islands

Caribbean | Leeward Islands | Iles des Saintes | Bourg des Saintes | Notre Dame de l'Assumption

Caribbean | Leeward Islands | Iles des Saintes | Bourg des Saintes | La Fringle

Caribbean | Leeward Islands | Iles des Saintes |Bourg des Saintes

April 1, 2018

Happy Easter! We went to Easter Mass at Notre Dame de L’Assumption. The church was full and music involved much rocking and clapping. Father’s sermon in French must have been quite humorous judging by the amount of laughter throughout his homily. It must have been his last Sunday as a gift was given and tearful speeches made after mass. We had a lovely lunch at La Fringale Restaurant seated in a picturesque courtyard garden. I had a tasty tuna steak with pepper sauce and Al enjoyed grilled mahi-mahi with creole sauce. Also ordered Cod cakes for a starter and yummy desserts served with ice cream. Oh and a crisp white wine to complement it all.

Caribbean | Leeward Islands | Iles des Saintes

April 2, 2018

We had a great sail over to Prince Rupert Bay, Portsmouth, Dominica about 20nm. Squall for half hour then cleared up and continued with a nice sail. We arrived about 1630 and Daniel working for Eddison a PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services). This organization provides lots of services to the cruisers line handling, organizing tours, patrols at night in the anchorage and day time security, take laundry, garbage bring bread and ice. . They want to ensure a happy safe visit to encourage tourism.

Dominica | Portsmouth

April 3, 2018

Took the dingy to clear customs 10EC for 2 week clear-in clear-out all in one deal. Stopped at Indian River to get dingy fuel and ATM. Then tied to fishing pier and walked about Portsmouth. The villiage was destroyed during the hurricane but people are working hard and things are being done. We stopped at Ray’s Roti for lunch. Roti is a curry chicken and potato in a wrap. Very good and inexpensive. We stopped at the PAYS office and visited with Eddison and another cruiser. We plan to do some kind of tour tomorrow and Eddison will stop by later to let us know which one.

Dominica | Atlantic beaches

Dominica | Atlantic Beaches

Dominica | Atlantic beaches

Dominica |

April 4, 2018

We had a fabulous 12 hour land trip through Lawrence of Arabia with 3 other American cruising boats. Winston our driver and guide was fun and informative. He took us many places making more stops than expected. We crossed the island first Northern Dominica to the Atlantic coast and visited several beaches including Hampstead Beach and river. These were used in Pirates of the Caribbean Part Two.

Dominica | Atlantic Coast

Dominica | Calibishe | Red Rocks

Dominca | Calibishe | Red Rocks

We stopped at Calibishe and visited Pointe Baptiste Chocolate Factory and red rocks. The factory was not in production as the Cocoa trees lost there first crop due to Hurricane Maria. But the trees are flowering and will be producing later this summer. Pretty garden and views of the red rocks.

Dominica | Emerald Pool

Dominica | Emerald

We visited the Emerald Pool and waterfall and had a swim. Our walk to the falls was in pouring rain but then we had on our swimsuits so it didn’t matter. The skies cleared again upon arrival. We had a nice lunch of curry chicken, fish and many unusual vegetables. We drove through the Kalinargo reservation much of which was destroyed by Maria so no tours.

Dominica | Trafalgar Falls

Dominica | Hot Springs

We visited Trafalgar Falls. The island has 7 potentially active volcanos so we did visit some hot springs a new spa under construction. Lots going on in Dominica and it’s still has some beautiful dramatic scenery despite the damage to trees and vegetation. We can only imagine how spectacular the canopy and rainforest was before. Fortunately the trees though tipped are leafing out and of course not all of the forests were hit as bad.

Dominica | Portsmouth | Indian River Tour

April 5, 2018

Today we picked up laundry and visited the bakery. The 15hp Mercury was acting up so we got a tow from Albert PAYS back to the boat. Al replaced the prop because the rubber dampener wore out Fortunately we had another onboard. We went on the Indian River tour in the afternoon with Ken working for Eddison. Nice man informative and a good tour. Again we can only imagine how majestic the canopy of the river must have been before Maria for just 6 months later the river is already beginning to revive. We stopped at a tiki hut bar up the river and had their signature drink for the Indian River “Dynamite” (rum and several fruit juices)

April 6, 2018

Nice quiet sail 19nm down Dominica coast to it’s capital Roseau. We called Marcus to help with mooring and he is security for the anchorage. We walked into town for lunch. Roseau was heavily damaged during Hurricane Maria but it was very run down before the storm along the streets leading into town. The President’s House is quite impressive. The main part of town needs lots of work but looks like it may have been interesting to explore before the hurricane. We found a nice lunch in Fort Young Hotel at Warner’s Bar. They had a lunch buffet chicken and fish with a variety of salads and vegetables. Loud music in the anchorage on a Friday night.

Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | St. Pierre |

Caribbean | Windward Islands | Martinique | St. Pierre |Hotel de Ville