Bye bye Marvin, thanks for the visit

Last stop was Rodney Bay where Marvin was to meet friends he met on the way down. This is our track through the marina but we finally decided to take a slip (only 33.00 US per night). Seems like Marvin took most of the pictures on this trip so mine are kind of skimpy. HOWEVER, St. Lucia was wonderful…we will go back and plan to stay much longer. Marvin said he wanted to look into renting a house for a month.

Marigot was another hit and miss

Next stop was Marigot which was very pretty, we did not stay long so need to come back. Stay tuned for more infomation on this place.

Soufriere waterfront

This is the waterfront, one of the prettiest we have ever seen.

The falls in the gardens

Still in the gardens at the water fall. Had to get a picture of the ‘buds’ but it kinda looks like the falls are coming out of Marks’ head.

Mark joins a band

Mark found a band he wanted to join in the gardens.

Wagon wheel hair is the norm now...

Hey Dad…when I was a kid you always asked me if I had combed my hair with a wagon wheel. Was this the one you were talking of? This is in the botanical gardens – a must see in Soufriere.

A bar and no beer, how weird is that...

Then the driver took us to a beautiful hotel – I had to take a photo of the only bar in which we did not stop to have a beer!

Can you say volcano...

This is the volcano, they say it is ‘safe’ as long as it is steaming.

Soufriere means sulfur in French

We sailed up to Soufriere (French for sulfur) and took a taxi tour of the island. We had lunch overlooking the Pitons and really enjoyed our tour.

A ladder to customs....only in the islands...

Next we ventured up to Vieux Fort to clear customs into St Lucia.. Who would have thought you would have to climb a ladder to clear customs, but this is definitely part of the ‘island’ experience. Mark and I had never been to St. Lucia so we were looking forward to exploring it with Marvin.

The phone will not fit in any pocket I know of...

They also found a small telephone museum – I wonder what the inventors of the various telephones like this one would think of cell phones?

Wallilabou Bay and we were the only boat...

Wallilabou Bay was our next stop and much to our surprise we found that it was used during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean. Mark and Marvin toured some of the sets left behind.

On to St. Vincent

The next morning we took off and sailed to St Vincent. Marvin and Mark decided to try their luck at fishing but I am sad to report that the only fish we have caught to date is from another fisherman via our wallet.

Moonhole

We sailed around Bequia and took pictures of Moonhole houses – check them out at http://www.paradise-islands.org/grenadines/bequia-moonhole.htm We wanted to tour but unfortunately they were not yet open for the season. We have found that many places are not open as business has been so bad due to the downturn in the economy. So all you folks still working kick it in the &^%$ and get the economy back in shape so we can tour next year. We anchored that night in Friendship Bay but it was a bit rolly. Marvin is able to sleep better on the boat then at home…we think it is because he has no work that he must do here…doesn’t work for me, darn the luck!

Marvin arrives early, I can quit cleaning early

Our first guest, Marvin Theobald, arrives (and early at that) so he had to wait the New York Bar for us to come fetch him.

No Chuck E Cheese in paradise

We met some folks anchored next to us in Grenada (Dave and Rayanne) aboard Nakita a 40 ft. Hallberg-Rassey. They have a 3 and 5 year old – now this takes guts! But they are having a good time, this is Isabelle and Jake. It was Jake’s 6th birthday and we were invited out for pizza (thank GOD there is no such thing as Chucky Cheese here) and after for cake aboard their boat.

Our first Swedish friends

We met some very nice folks aboard a catamaran named Ragazza III, Gitta and Ove from Sweden. We had happy hour aboard their boat and then dinner out. After Marvin arrived we had them over for HH and then dinner…alas no pictures with Marvin included.

the Captain goes on emergency snorkel

The captain went overboard with snorkel gear to check the situation. The chain (on the other boat) was removed from the anchor well and tied to a long rope. This was then fed over our chain then under and back to their boat. The chain was retrieved via the windlass which in turn dragged the their anchor under our hull. They were very grateful that we were calm and competent. What the heck, no new scratches! We untied the lines and off they went….so much for our very first Caribbean ‘raft-up’.

Anchor drag drill

The next morning (Sunday) I heard some voices close (I was below) and popped up to see who was coming to visit. Imagine my astonishment when I saw this boat crosswise in front of us dragging anchor. I told Mark he was needed topside NOW and ran forward to lend a hand. We got the boat along side ours and put all fenders out. These folks were from Czechoslovakia and the captain did not speak any English, however a crewmember did.

Ahhh, Mexican food I did not have to cook....

Then back to Bequia where we stayed put until Marvin arrived, naturally we had to go to the Mexican restaurant to get our ‘fix’.

Just a waterfront scene in Carricou.

Just a waterfront scene in Carricou.

After almost 5 months in Grenada...it is time to go

On to Carriacou to check out of 'Grenada' customs.

Carriacou on our way up

On to Carriacou to check out of ‘Grenada’ customs.

Bye bye Grenada

We left Grenada on and anchored between at Petite Nevis and Petite Martinique. There was a cool looking restaurant / bar on Petite Nevis but alas, it was not open for the season yet.