All is Irie with The Wirie

Over the last few months, Mark and Tim have been working extra hard on improving The Wirie and the website. From his nice, comfortable house in cold Massachusetts, Tim communicated over Skype with his brother Mark in the meager living space of Irie, located in the warm climate and pretty environments of the Caribbean. Together, they figured a whole bunch of stuff out and shared their thoughts and ideas during daily chat sessions. I helped by reviewing documents, writing some PR stuff and making Mark’s (sometimes frustrating) life a bit easier.

The result of our effort, time investment, research and team work is an improved Wirie ready for sale on the website (www.thewirie.com) and for the press. The new stainless steel bracket is custom made to fit horizontal and vertical poles as well as standard antenna mounts, a higher power 1000mW WiFi unit replaces the 500mW unit, the website focuses on Wirie use in the boating and the RV (recreational vehicle) world, Windows 7 got its own manual and the manuals for all the other operating systems (Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac) are updated. The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page is enriched with extra information, other long range WiFi solutions were researched, the product comparison chart has more competitors on it, our customer service department is constantly providing advice and help, more unsolicited testimonials show how pleased our customers are and many more positive changes have been made to the site and the business operation.

Mark and Tim also tested a new WiFi unit that claims to be 2 Watts and supports the N protocol. It didn’t take them long, however, to discover that the internet connections with this unit lack reliability and are actually weaker than the 1000mW unit when used with the more frequently available B and G protocols. They concluded to not use this unit until improvements are made and results show that it is indeed better than the unit we currently use in The Wirie.

Working from pretty places scattered through the Caribbean islands over the last months has been enjoyable enough, but now it is time for the “real world”! Once in St. Martin, Mark and I will have a full time job taking care of boat projects, getting our life back on track, earning some money doing random jobs, advertising The Wirie and running the business with Tim.

With this different kind of blog, I wanted to give some insight about what else is going on in this little boat and this big world of ours. It’s not all sightseeing, relaxing and fun here on Irie, although we can’t complain about this last week. Mark and I decided to go on vacation to Barbuda and actually try to relax a bit. We did succeed splendidly and even read a couple of books, until we found a great internet signal in front of an 11 mile deserted beach! Well, I guess the beach isn’t totally deserted, based on that one building a couple of miles down. That Wirie, I tell ya…

Northbound: Guadeloupe

Point à Pitre is Guadeloupe’s biggest city. It is located on the southern edge of the thinnest part of the country and has a big harbor with a few anchorages. There is a marina area that is very convenient, clean and self-contained. You find marine shops, car rental places, a supermarket, expensive restaurants, and a chiropractor all in walking distance from the dinghy dock. The day after our arrival, “sore backed” Mark visited the chiropractor, who “cracked” him five times. The whole ordeal took less than five minutes and cost 60 euros. In the afternoon, we paid a brief visit to the city.

The following two weeks, we basically stayed put in the harbor, to examine the developments of Mark’s back, work online and “wait for weather”. Mark spent hours on end improving the Wirie website, updating the manuals and preparing for our big launch of The “improved” Wirie. We were mainly anchored off a quiet island, Islet à Cochons, inhabited by little biting bugs. It was a good place to take Darwin to shore, except early in the morning or late in the afternoon. While the captain’s back was resting, the crew carried 70 gallons of water back on deck, filled the water tank, hauled the dinghy up the beach each time we took Darwin to shore and pulled it up our davits every night (a security matter). As good practice, the captain is steering the boat and the crew is lifting the anchor and the sails these days… Sometimes life on shore sounds appealing!

But, it wasn’t all work and bug bites. One day, we rented a car to explore the mainland a bit. Guadeloupe, shaped like a massive butterfly, consists of two islands cut apart by the Riviѐre Saleé. Grande Terre is flat with nice beaches, resorts and agriculture, while Basse Terre is mountainous and lush. Most of this side of the island is a National Park with many hikes, view points, a volcano and water falls. I’ve wanted to check it out for a while and Wednesday, January 13^th was the selected day to do so.

Mark, Darwin and I loaded up the dinghy and went to the marina area to see whether Cap Caraibes had a cheap car that day. Sometimes, they don’t have any cars at all and you can’t reserve. They don’t care. This is French land. Everything is laid-back and unorganized… We waited for about an hour and got lucky and on our way by 8:30 am in a tiny, crappy Renault Twingo. Well, what do you want for “only” 30 euros ($ 45)? After a few wrong turns because of my awful co-piloting skills, we stopped at a super duper, bigger than American-sized shopping mall to check their closing hours. To get most of our car and day, we would do some shopping here once it got dark.

The trip went on, over the Route de la Traverse to the National Park. Our first stop was a pretty, but busy waterfall, worth the picture. When we saw the National Park sign, however, it became clear to us that dogs were not allowed! We left Darwin in the shady car for a quick glimpse of sights in the busy areas and took him for a long walk up a mountain where no tourists were present. This trail was very challenging and muddy. We need better shoes than flip flops! Darwin loved it and everybody got their exercise and mud bath for the day.

We followed the west coast of Guadeloupe down and passed a few places we had anchored on our way to Grenada. Near the capital, Basseterre, we turned inland to approach the volcano La Soufriѐre. The top was in the clouds and rain was approaching while we drove through the lush environment. The Twingo had a very hard time climbing the steep roads, only allowing Mark to keep moving in first gear. If the car stopped, we were screwed. When that happened, we all got out and pushed. Just kidding! We did roll backwards while Mark floored the pedal in order to go the right way (=up) again. Near the volcano are a lot of interesting looking hiking trails to waterfalls and view points, but we couldn’t leave Darwin for that long. Plus, what’s the fun of going on a big walk without having a happy dog with you? We dipped out toes in a natural hot pool and drove the Twingo down again.

The roads in Guadeloupe are surprisingly good with stretches of highway and passing lanes. Along the southeast side of Basse Terre, we drove inward again to see the most visited and highest waterfalls of the country, the Chutes du Carbet. Because of rock slides, however, the closest falls were closed. The higher falls were accessible, but the day was running out of hours, so we opted for a walk around the serene Grand Etang with Darwin instead. The trail around this lake went up and down over tree roots and rocks with views of a calm pond in between the branches and leaves. It was a nice, but tiring way to end our sightseeing trip.

Back in Point à Pitre, I was excited about checking out the Decathlon outdoor store and the huge supermarket. Mark and I did find some new and affordable swimwear, but the Carrefour supermarket was, just like everywhere else in Guadeloupe, very expensive. When we tried to fuel up our car, the gauge didn’t want to get to the fifth bar, which was how we left the rental place. After a few tries and spending a lot of money, we gave up.

When we searched out a third gas station the next morning, we kept pumping without results. We figured worst case was to fill the tank and ask some money back, since there obviously was a problem with the gauge. By that time, we had spent 43 euros ($ 63) on fuel for this little Twingo! The owner of Cap Caraibes didn’t want to have anything to do with refunding money, blaming us for trying so many times instead of just bringing the car back. Are we too responsible? Or too dumb? The experience made this car rental the most expensive of our lives, costing over $ 100 for a day! Mark hated the fact he didn’t speak French, but I assured him that even knowing French would not have helped in this case as I was the proof of it! No, Mark is still not fond of the French islands…

One day, we moved over to cute and pretty Ilêt du Gosier, an uninhabited little island with a lighthouse, palm trees and a nice beach. Lots of people swim over from the mainland, since it is only 600 yards off shore. The place got quite busy during the day, but was all right in the mornings and the evenings, when we shared the island with the biting bugs. Dogs were not allowed, so we had to sneak Darwin on shore before and after “busy hours”. Not that rules are followed or enforced, based on the many camp fires!

Our last adventure in Guadeloupe took place a couple of days ago. We moved Irie to the south side of the Riviѐre Saleé, the slim body of the butterfly, to pick up a mooring ball that wasn’t there. We anchored for the night and got up at 4 am the next morning, to utilize the 5 am bridge openings. In the dark, we lifted anchor and made our way to the first bridge. Easy enough. The second one was close to the first one, but off set and very narrow. Once in the opening, with a foot on each side to spare, the current pushed us against one of the walls with a small crack as a result. Then, a 30 minute pitch dark slide through the mangroves followed, with some lit and unlit markers “showing” us the way and many no-see-ums. The last bridge was wide enough and we hoped to pick up a mooring ball on the north side until daylight was present. None were to be found, so we had to keep going until we reached the big bay up north. There, we dropped anchor for a few hours before continuing on when the sun was high enough to see the many reefs.

Later that day, we dropped anchor west of Ilêt à Fajou, far away from shore in shallow water. We were the only boat, surrounded by turquoise waters and expansive views. The exercise of the day was wading along some of the beaches and mangroves in clear water avoiding sea cucumbers and star fish and providing the local biting bugs with food for weeks to come. We returned to Irie red dotted, but ready for a day of relaxation. No internet here! Not even with The Wirie. Unfortunately, that meant we couldn’t check the weather again and found ourselves in a dead calm ocean the following day, heading north…

New Year’s Eve in the Caribbean

Mark and I never used to eat out much, mostly for financial reasons. But, once in a while we would like to celebrate something or we (think we) deserve a treat. Those times, we expect some good food and service for the hard earned or hard saved money we spend on a meal. The prospect of no dishes and no cooking in a hot kitchen would be an added bonus.

Performing such an easy task as having a decent, affordable dinner and be pleased is challenging in the Caribbean. Over the last one and a half years, we have tried multiple times and failed more than not. Bear in mind, though, that we are not on vacation, always ask or check prices ahead of time, always look at our bill, hate it to be taken advantage of and, that we have certain expectations, like a friendly face and an honest atmosphere, and certain principles in the lines of “Don’t play (tourist) games with us”! Is that too much to ask for?

So, when Mark and I go out to eat, we never know what to expect, except not to expect too much. We still get excited about treating ourselves sometimes and do give it another try, only to find out that the restaurant of our choice is closed, the prices have gone up, Darwin is not allowed, people are not friendly, many items on the menu are not available, a surprise tax or mandatory tip is added or the bill is wrong.

On Christmas Day, we tried our luck in St. Pierre, Martinique. The only restaurant that looked alive closed at 3 pm and was pretty expensive. Dinner (packaged stuffing, eggplant and slices of lunch meat ham) on Irie was tasty and cheap and I did leave the dishes until the next morning. Not too bad.

On New Year’s Eve, we were serious about eating out and decided to go to Big Papa’s near our anchorage in Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica. The town of Portsmouth doesn’t have much to offer and we were pleased by the atmosphere of this restaurant and by our meeting with Big Papa himself, about five months ago. We started off with a few Happy Hour drinks. The Big Papa rum punch was half price, we were told, so we would get two for EC$ 10 (US$ 4). Two small plastic cups with a yellow liquid showed up and we enjoyed the taste of it, but wondered about the size. It’s a common trick here. They offer a drink for Happy Hour, but reduce the size with the price…

When I asked about the size of the drink, one of the waitresses admitted that the normal rum punches came in a bigger “real” glass. But, it was New Year’s Eve and we were trying to have a good time, so I ordered another Big Papa rum punch, the only thing that seemed to be on special. Mark ordered a local (Kubuli) beer. My ordered drink was orange this time and tasted different than the previous one, not as good, and I inquired. Now, this was the Big Papa rum punch and the previous one was a normal rum punch. OK. Well, then I wanted my second part of the order to be a normal one! This appeared to be the only option, because one of the women declared there was no Big Papa rum punch available. One of the waitresses was leaving, there was some confusion, I made sure they realized that this drink was the second part of my “two for one” rum punch and got another beer for Mark, while wondering what they would charge for my two different punches in the same order.

After three drinks each (three 2 for 1 rum punches for me and one 2 for 1 rum punch and two beers for Mark), we decided to swallow hard about the unfriendliness and incapability of the staff and go for a Big Papa Hamburger. It was New Year’s Eve after all! When we ordered, the waitress announced that they didn’t do the snack menu in the evening, so we gave in and asked for the bill. Big Papa recognized us (or was it Darwin?) from our last visit and we had a friendly chat. He wouldn’t make us burgers, though, a “cook’s nightmare”, apparently. Not sure why, apart from this being a good way to make more money by “forcing” you to order a more expensive meal. Not us…

We were a little hyped up by now and sure anticipated the bill to be wrong. The drinks should cost EC$ 30 (US$ 12). How bad would it be? Bad! We owed Big Papa’s EC$ 60. Twice the price! They charged EC$ 10 for every single tiny rum punch and EC$ 10 for every beer, which has a fixed price of EC$ 5. Mmmm… After some questioning, the mistake about the beer was obvious, but some more arguments later, the Big Papa rum punch (of which I had 1 instead of 2) appeared to be EC$ 15 during happy hour (????) at which point we gave in and paid the EC$ 35. We’ve learned to sacrifice small amounts of money for everybody’s peace and just never go back. Needless to say, no tip was given and we were very happy about not purchasing a meal there that night.

On Irie, some cheap champagne, a delicious spaghetti carbonara and Belgian chocolates for dessert pleased our tummies and our moods. Once again, we were better off having our dinner at home, but that evening we had realized it in time!

Last year, Mark, Darwin and I thought about the recent loss of Kali and wept ourselves asleep on the trampoline, to be woken up by fireworks at midnight, in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (USVI). This year we didn’t make January 1^st at all, until the next morning. We tried to stay up for a few hours, but were sound asleep by 10:30 pm! New Year’s Eve was pretty much a day like any other day.

Northbound: Martinique

On our way south to Grenada, Mark and I only spent about a week in Martinique, stopping in the capital Fort-de-France and its surroundings and in Grand Anse d’Artlet, not being impressed with the country. The beaches we saw were fair, with “Dogs Prohibited” signs all over them. Luckily, few Caribbean “rules” are enforced and nobody yelled at us. On the other hand, Martinique’s check-in procedures are very quick, easy and free and bringing Darwin into the country is not a problem at all. You got to love the French islands for that. The forms don’t even have a box to check for pets.

This time around, we planned on visiting different places, doing some boat projects and stocking up on delicious French products. After a bumpy crossing from St. Lucia, we arrived in Le Marin, known for its boat services. Never have we seen so many boats together in a bay. There must have been more than a thousand, mostly French registered, sailboats packed in the area. Our guess is a lot of French people come here to work and live on their boat. As a result of this, the water is pretty dirty and grimy looking. Time to do the dishes in our sink and skip showering for a few days…

We are training Darwin every day to be left alone again, starting slowly with 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes in Martinique. During one of those sessions, we scoped out the Leader Price, a favorite grocery store amongst cruisers, because of its reasonably priced French goods. I went back later to load up our fridge and cabinets with cheeses, salami, smoked salmon, pâtés, snacks and affordable European milk and granola. A couple of nights in a row we splurged on these things with fresh baguettes. Mmmmm….

One day we managed to finish two big boat projects that had been hanging over our heads for months, which created a feeling of satisfaction and achievement. I finally decided to do one load of laundry in a real washing machine, because this was needed for a while. Just the washing cost us the equivalent of US $ 10, which is why I do most of it by hand when we have enough (rain) water. The hot water (precious to come by in machines around here) made it worthwhile, this time!

From Le Marin, we moved Irie a bit down the bay, to the cute looking town of Ste. Anne, where we spent a few days. The clear water, nice views and proximity of a good bakery made this place attractive to us, even though Darwin was looked at with fear and annoyance a few times. We ignored the “No Dogs” signs, but felt awkward walking him on the beach.

The biggest draw in this area are the southern beaches. We learned about a 3 mile trail to Salines Beach, the prettiest one in Martinique, and one day, we set out exploring with Darwin. First we had to walk through town and along a hot road for a mile or so, but the hike itself was a wonderful retreat in shaded forests, following an attractive coast, through mangroves and along white sand beaches. We stopped at one of these along the way to cool off, being the only people around. Martinique has many well marked trails and this one runs all along the south coast and up some. It is called “Trace des Caps”.

In Salines, there are food stands and cold drinks for sale. The beach is long and quite pretty, backed by greenery and palm trees. No development to be seen and lots of vacationers and families were enjoying the cool, clear water. We hung out for a bit, before making the walk back to Ste. Anne and the dinghy.

For a long time, we were going back and forth about what to do over Christmas. Some people we knew from Grenada were going to have a beach picnic with tasty finger food and that sure sounded good. But, a north swell would be running for a long time to come and we really didn’t want to get stuck in Martinique for weeks because of the weather. We played with the idea to visit St. Pierre in the northern part of Martinique and Roseau in the southern part of Dominica on days with little swell, since these anchorage are quite open to the sea. Swell less days would be far and few between, so we did decide to give it a try and left Ste. Anne on the day before Christmas, mostly because there was no good (read: cheap or free) WiFi there. We spent one night in Grand Anse d’Arlet (with great internet), where we took Darwin for a walk to picturesque Petit Anse ‘dArlet, before arriving in St. Pierre.

We didn’t have to worry about the north swell in St. Pierre. There was none; instead a big swell from the south (because of the rare southeast winds) rolled in, making the place pretty uncomfortable. Since it was Christmas Day, the whole town was dead and we were left rocking on Irie with gorgeous views of the volcano (Mt. Pelée) and a simple meal. A quiet one for us, this year.

The next day, the three of us visited the center of St. Pierre, once completely ruined by the volcano eruption of 1902. Scattered around, you see remnants of this disaster, which killed all but two residents. Old walls are integrated with the rebuilt town and some ruins still exist, like the theatre ruins and the prison cell. This cell saved one prisoner in 1902 because of its thick walls. The clear weather treated us with marvelous cloud free views of the volcano all day long. I couldn’t get enough of photographing this majestic mountain.

On this day after Christmas, we also remembered Kali. We still think and talk about her a lot, but exactly one year ago she passed away and that day we lost something very important to us and our lives. A candle was lit all day, we looked at pictures, recalled stories and reread my incredibly sad diary entry from December 26^th 2008. The following day, we left for Dominica.

(For many more pictures of Martinique, see itsirie.shutterfly.com)

Northbound Again

When Mark, Darwin and I left the Tobago Cays, we wanted to make a quick stopover in St. Vincent before spending some time in the next island, St. Lucia. On the way south, we had spent the night in Chateaubelair Bay without any problems, even though a boat boy had told us about a robbery not too long before. We didn’t sleep very well, but it was the most convenient stop for us. This time, we planned on doing the same, since Chateaubelair is the best jump off point for St Lucia from St. Vincent. So, we motor sailed all along the wind free west coast of the country, to arrive in our bay of choice, despite other cruisers’ warnings it wasn’t safe there.

In some Caribbean islands, boat boys welcome you to the anchorage. They sell all kinds of things from fruit to fish to handmade souvenirs, want to hand you the line to a mooring ball or help you tie up to shore when needed. All in return for some money, of course. When we arrived in Chateaubelair this time, however, a boy that recognized us (or was it Darwin he recognized?), paddled out on his surf board and didn’t want to sell anything. Instead, he warned us not to anchor at this spot anymore. He mentioned something about another robbery that happened recently (and which we read about later in the Caribbean Compass newspaper) and about the police not wanting boats to anchor this far away from town anymore. Mark and I were contemplating. Do we believe him? Does he just want us closer to town so all his friends can try to sell us things? We were tired, didn’t feel like motoring back south to the previous anchorage and wanted an early start the next morning. We did know ourselves enough to realize we wouldn’t sleep in this place, dog or no dog, and we would be happier in a safe bay. So, we picked up our anchor and took Irie back to Cumberland Bay.

Cumberland Bay in St. Vincent is a very deep bay where one needs some boat driving skills. Since it was getting later in the day, more boats had taken a spot than we had seen before and we had to maneuver Irie backwards between two monohulls, towards shore. At the right moment to give us enough scope (length of anchor chain), Mark had to drop the anchor in more than 40 feet of water and then I had to drive backwards between the two parked boats until we were close to shore, where a boat boy tied our stern line to a palm tree for the equivalent of $ 4. It only took us two tries, while all the other boaters, mostly charterers, bluntly watched.

Cumberland is an interesting place. It is very small and cozy and even though the locals look a bit out of place, they are very friendly. There is a small shack on the black beach and a fresh river to rinse off the salt water. A lot of people just hang around and some of the boys show how brave and cool they are by hanging on your lines and anchor chain. We didn’t have to put our outboard back on the dinghy during this short stop (we always haul it on deck on crossings between islands), because we could just pull ourselves ashore with our stern line to let Darwin out. When we inquired about the situation in Chateaubelair, the police ordinance was confirmed and the bay is openly called unsafe. We were glad about our decision to move for the night and slept well as a result.

The sail to St. Lucia was gorgeous and to top it all off, we were welcomed to the country by a huge pod of dolphins. They played in front of our bow for 15 minutes and we thoroughly enjoyed their beautiful presence. I filmed part of their activity. You might have seen it in the right column of this page! The sight of the Pitons is always breathtaking and we could see them from pretty far away. That in combination with the dolphins created a truly magical moment. This is a very scenic region in St. Lucia and we hoped to spend some time in the National Park.

We stopped in St. Lucia on the way south to Grenada and were very pleased with the country and its officials. We had no problem checking Darwin in and that was one of the reasons we wanted to come back. This time, things went a bit differently, though. The captain, Mark, went to shore in Soufriere and checked us in. A guy from the agriculture department would arrive an hour later and Mark would have to pick him up, which he did. This “official” came to the boat to “inspect” Darwin, but, instead of scanning his microchip, giving him a quick exam and looking through his vaccination records and handing us a permit for EC$ 45 (US$ 18) like the vet on our southbound trip had done, this guy just looked at Darwin, briefly scanned our paperwork and wrote something on it. All for the round amount of EC$ 150 (US$ 60!). Luckily, Mark could “bargain” this “government fee” down to EC 95 (US$ 38), still a lot of money for us, but what are you gonna do? It sure put a sour taste in our mouth about this visit to St. Lucia. One would wonder why we still go through all the effort, time, hassle and money to check our dog into every country along the way… Do you know anybody else who does? And, just for the record, all this happened after we tried to contact the agriculture department for two weeks about checking Darwin in in Soufriere and hearing nothing back. We also wrote them about this last experience to no avail.

Soufriere is not a place we recommend for cruisers. Checking in is easy, but other than that, the people are very aggressive and unfriendly and boat boys abound wherever you anchor in the bay. The mooring balls which you are obliged to moor on and pay for (they are part of the National Park fee) are very close together, making it very tricky NOT to hit another boat. We managed for one night and then moved to Anse des Pitons, the favorite of many cruisers.

This anchorage is located between the two Pitons and is scenic indeed. On shore, a big resort owns the grounds, but boaters have permission to land their dinghy and walk around. Dogs, however, are not allowed on the private property. They are welcome on the beach, but since that’s where a lot of hotel guests hang out, we didn’t feel very comfortable walking Darwin around, even though we “pick up” after him. So, after one night, we left there as well.

Our next stop was called Anse Mamin, near Anse Chastanet. We were the only boat on the moorings and enjoyed the quiet bay and nice black beach with palm trees. This area is part of another resort, but beaches are public in St. Lucia and we didn’t feel unwelcome here. We discovered a maze of trails in the jungle behind the beach and enjoyed a few walks there. Nice place!

We hoped to spend a few nights in Anse de Canaries, but the fishermen removed all the mooring balls, so we had no way of telling where to put the boat. Instead, we spent the remainder of our park days in Anse Cochon, a pleasant enough bay with a nice beach. Because of its popularity, all the cruise ship passengers taking catamaran tours end up here as well.

To finish up our visit to St. Lucia, we anchored over a week in Rodney Bay, the most comfortable anchorage in the country. The bay is huge and there are different areas to drop the hook. The north side and the south side are very busy with vacationers on the beaches and in the water on jetskis, waterskis or Hoby Cats (little sailing catamarans). We started in the northern part of the bay to have a wonderful meal and evening in Jambe du Bois restaurant and to visit Pigeon Island National Park. Dogs are not allowed on the “island” which is now a peninsula, so I explored the park by myself. There are nice walks to the top of two hills which offer fantastic views, and many ruins dot the property.

The south side of the bay is very convenient to go ashore in the marina, walk long and nice Reduit beach or do some grocery shopping via the lagoon. After we did all that, bounced up and down during the day because of all the water sports commotion, lied awake all night because of loud music on shore and had a Hoby Cat run into Irie twice, it was time to move to the middle part of the bay. And there we stayed until the weather improved and it was time to sail to Martinique.

(For many more pictures, see itsirie.shutterfly.com)

A Happy Birthday

The day after our visitors left Irie, Mark checked out of Grenada and off we went! Our trip back north started with a first stop at Chatham Bay in Union Island. The long beach is great for walks and the people were very friendly and welcoming. Not many yachts were present, making this a quiet and enjoyable stop for the night.

November 28^th is my birthday and this year, we decided to actually do something fun and make the day somewhat special, by sailing to the Tobago Cays in The Grenadines. Mark and I have wanted to come here many times, but it had never worked out thus far. We tacked to the east for a couple of hours to find some of the prettiest water in the midst of a group of little islands and anchored behind the big horseshoe reef for protection against the seas. We managed to find a nice spot away from the other 50 or so boats. It was very windy and quite swelly, but we dealt with it for the short time we were there.

Before lunch, I checked out the reef with my snorkel gear. Mark had to stay with untrusting Darwin. Swimming into the current to reach the patches of coral was very hard and tiring, but getting back to Irie was a breeze. The choppiness of the sea made the experience less fun, but the coral and the fish were pretty enough. We’ll be back next season to explore this area more…

The best thing about birthdays is that I didn’t have to do ANYTHING! Mark made a nice egg sandwich breakfast, fried hot dogs that “hit the spot” for lunch, prepared a wonderful spaghetti carbonara with garlic bread for dinner and did all the dishes, while I soaked up the beautiful views around us. I even got a gift this year and what kind of one… It sure made up for last year’s “birthday”!

In the afternoon, we relaxed a bit and I took off snorkeling again, this time to see the many sea turtles near one of the beaches. I observed a bunch of these gentle creatures, while they nibbled on sea grass, moved through the water and swam to the surface for a breath of air. Later on, we all explored one of the little islands and enjoyed a nice sunset in Irie’s cockpit, while drinking my favorite cocktail of coconut rum (thank you, Griet and Wim) and pineapple juice. Is this what vacation feels like? I can’t wait until it’s November 28^th 2010!

(For more pictures, check out itsirie.shutterfly.com)

Grenada with Visitors

Mark and I have been very busy lately and the arrival of visitors would mean we HAD to relax and do some fun stuff, at least while they were in Grenada. Irie got put back in the water right in time for the arrival of my cousin Griet and her husband Wim. The preparations were made for a nice, easy vacation and my plans included lots of sightseeing, relaxation on beautiful beaches, anchoring in deserted bays, swimming in the clearest of waters, watching millions of sparkling stars and snorkeling with tropical sea life. Why do I always have high expectations? When will I learn that making plans is impossible while living on a boat? Well, making plans is the easy part; it’s the execution of those well planned activities that require a little more than luck and agreeable weather gods…

For a little bit of extra money, the bus driver dropped me off at Grenada’s airport on Thursday, November 12^th. Mark stayed with Darwin. He can’t be left alone these days and we needed the room in the dinghy for the luggage anyway. Griet and Wim arrived from Belgium a bit tired, but in a good mood and ready to take part in our sailing life. The first evening we had a lot of talking and catching up to do. The cocktails added to a wonderful evening.

The first few days we stayed in Prickly Bay. It’s easy to take a bus from there into the capital St. George’s, which is exactly what Griet, Wim and I did on Friday. Mark had a lot of online stuff to do for The Wirie, since that got neglected a bit in the boat yard, where we needed to focus on Irie. I led my family around Fort George with its nice views of the town and The Carenage (the inner harbor) and we explored one of the many churches, the center and the local market. At night we all went out to the Tiki Bar for tasty drinks and the best pizza in the Caribbean.

On Saturday, we planned to rent a car for the day to visit Grenada’s interior. Darwin, however, decided to start ruining our plans. He had gotten into his tail again the previous evening and needed to be taken to the vet. This would be the fourth time! We still hoped to combine the morning vet visit and the island tour, but when Darwin-left alone in the vet office by the doctor for a few minutes- bit his tail until it bled, he and his disappointed daddy went back to Irie. Griet, Wim and I set off inland. Wim did a great job navigating the narrow roads, avoiding the crazy drivers and staying on the left side. I focused on suggesting the correct turns and keeping him from falling off the edge of the road. A high level of concentration was needed!

We had a great day visiting Annandale Falls, avoiding cruise ship passengers, laughing at the absurd tourist traps, enjoying peaceful Grand Etang, observing a couple of monkeys, having a yummy sandwich in a local establishment, driving around the countryside and exploring the Seven Sister Falls, our highlight. After following a narrow, bumpy dirt track, we arrived at the muddy trail to the falls. For about half an hour, we walked and slid through the mud down a hill to two pools at the bottom of nice waterfalls. After some quiet time and a dip in the water, we splashed back to the car.

Our last day in Prickly Bay was spent on a beach with many of our cruising friends. Over drinks and a BBQ, we shared stories and said our goodbyes for the time being or for longer, since all of us have different plans for the winter season.

Then, it was finally time to leave the South Coast of Grenada. Irie and her crew spent two days in Morne Rouge for some snorkeling, beach time and relaxation. Darwin behaved, but only because he wasn’t left alone. Mark and I decided against more tests for now and took the dog to the vet one more time in St. George’s to obtain a health certificate for the trip north. We also went shopping for the last time in a decent grocery store. That day, Griet and Wim did a few more sights in the capital and treated us to a fancy and tasty dinner.

The day before our planned crossing to Carriacou, a part of our outboard engine broke. With a lot of effort, Mark brought the four of us to shore. Our guests went of by themselves again to see their last points of interests on the island of Grenada, while I ran errands in town and Mark tried to locate the engine part for the dinghy. Our dinghy is as important as a car on shore, or even worse, since we can’t get anywhere without it. Having to take a dog to shore at least twice a day makes the dinghy invaluable for us. Darwin stayed home with a huge cone on his head. When Mark and I came back after a couple of hours, he had managed to reach his tail and bite more fur and skin off it! Needless to say, our moods were pretty foul… Mark spent the rest of the day fixing the engine in the beaming sun. He succeeded and I was very proud of him!

Once we left for Cariacou, the sky cleared up, figuratively anyway, because it actually did start to rain a bit more… Our group had lunch and a wonderful snorkel experience in Ronde Island, before continuing on to Tyrrel Bay, where we spent two comfortable nights. We all walked to Paradise Beach, one of the nicest beaches in Grenada and soaked ourselves into the local, relaxed culture of the island.

The following two nights, we anchored at peaceful Sandy Island for some snorkeling and rest. We also hopped over to Hillsborough, Carriacou’s “capital” to run a few errands and book a flight back to Grenada for Griet and Wim.

Next, Irie brought us to Anse La Roche, a cruiser’s secret of a harbor. We were the only boat there and the nice, undeveloped beach, clear water and snorkeling spots belonged to us for the day! Before we headed back to Tyrrel Bay, the next day, we took Griet and Wim out sailing for one last time. The hope was to catch some fish, but we failed. We nevertheless had a wonderful sail and a nice dinner on shore that evening.

All in all, we had a great time together and all of us enjoyed the experiences. Mark and I are very appreciative of Griet and Wim’s attitude on the boat. They were very easy and flexible guests, “taking it as it comes”, making all the things that go wrong less stressful for us. We are happy we could share our “usual” life on Irie with them. Their relaxed and positive moods rubbed off on us, while we have picked up our cruising life once more. Now I just have to get used to doing those dishes myself again!

(For many more pictures, look at itsirie.shutterfly.com)