Indian River

We did a trip up the Indian River at 8am this morning. It was fanastic. The guide rowed the boat up the river, under the trees and forest growth. Big crabs were everywhere. They eat them. Did a short walk and our guide picked us some Grapefruit, paw paw and a coconut.

Big Papa's

My birthday dinner at Big Papa's, St Pierre. I had Caribbean Creole chicken and rum punch. A small bay at the town of Portsmouth, Domonica island.

Martinique

This small town of St Pierre on Martinique island was wipped out in 1903 when the volcano erupted. 30,000 people died. Note the dark volcanic beach sand.

Martinique

We are in the wonderful modern city, Port de France, on the French island, Martinique. Sitting having a great coffee in a cybercafe. Last night, Sunday, we walked along the waters edge and watched as the residents came out to relax at the waters edge. Today the city is abuz and the clothing is wonderful. Off again soon.

Wow boat

This strange boat came into Marigot bay as we left. For afar she looks like a sub-marine. She has an axe bow, this keeps the spray away from the boat. It would have been nice to get closer, this was taken on zoom.

Caribbean chart

Here is a chart of the Caribbean islands, hope its big enough to see. You can double click on the picture to enlarge it. Bequia is one of the Grinadines

Bequia Island

This is Bequia island and me doing the Blog thing. The wifi speed was so slow that I could not load much. Each time we come ashore we do so in our rubber duck (tender). Its interesting to see the ways everyone locks their tenders. Theft of these is a problem. This port is Port Elizabeth. We met our new friends from Catacaos again, and had sundowners with them. A young Jersey couple and their 3 yr old. They have been cruising for 2 years now.
This is a quaint island with lots of Conch shells for sale, they blow them and it sounds like a vuvuzela! The meat from the Conch shell is served in restaurants, its called Lambi. We got good vegy supplies, fresh Paw Paw and Mangos.

Tobago Cays

This is the Tobago Cays area, we snorkelled here. The water is this magnificent blue as its very shallow, 3m. There were lots of boats here, its the only way to get here and there is nothing but a few small islands with the reef. We were lucky to see a turtle while underwater. Lots of fish of all colours, really pretty.

Shopping

Shopping in the markets in Grenada

We bought a Reggae cd from this Rasta man. I got fresh cinnamon, nutmeg and curry spices, and a hot chutney for Rob. Also a small fruit that smells like chocolate. They said I could great it into a cake mix for a chocolate flavour. Must still try that.

Day 63 St Vincent

13,57.98N  61,01.62W We snorkeled at Tobago Cays, 

there is a huge variety of fish there and turtles. 

We took the rubber duck close to the reef, picked 

up the bouy and jumped off. The sea so warm its wonderful 

to swim in. On the way back to the yacht we were drenched 

by a thunder shower. The water there is light blue, very pretty.
We then moved on to Bequia Island and slept in 

Chateaubelair Bay. A much poorer community. 

As we anchored an 14yr old called George came to warn 

us not to anchor here, its too dangerous as 'the men get 

drunk and may come to steal from your boat' So we moved 

to the suggested spot closer to the police station. Next to 

the only other yacht. We then bought Pineapples from George, 

a really bright kid. All went well although we did not get much 

sleep as it was Friday night and 3 party spots on the shore, 

were doing a good 'jump up'(local term for party)
We are in wonderful Marigot Bay, St Vincent Isl. Lots of yachts. 

Had a walk around and met South Africans from 

yacht 'Fennesy',it was moored next to us in CT.
Really special here. Will post pictures soon.

Dorado & Wahoo!!

Caught at the same time on the way to Grenada. Dorado (gold) and Wahoo, both great eating. The plastic container is 80cm long as a guide.

Day 59 Grenada

12,02.56N  61,45.30W  We are in St George's town, Grenada. 

We left Scotland bay, Trinidad at 1am yesterday, this was to get 

as far as we could before the wind started blowing and made

 the sea rough, and also its safer at night. There have been 

a few instances of attacks on yachts from small speed boats. 

Not enough to confirm a problem but if we travel at night there 

is little chance of being found as they don't have radar on the 

small boats. It was a bumpy ride but we arrived safely and 

anchored in Prickly bay yesterday. Caught a huge Dorado 

and Wahoo on the way. Met the yachty's at the local 

outdoor bar, happy hour. There is an SA couple there, 

who have been away for 2yrs, lots of good info. 

This is a wonderful island. Its the heart of spices with nutmeg 

and cinnamon growing on the island. Very dry, they are on very 

strict water rations. There are 4 cruise ships here today. 

Off to Tobago keys tomorrow.

Ice cream treat

Golts, from yacht Searenity and Rob enjoying Ice cream and choc sauce. No ice cream on the boat so its a treat!

Off to customs and immigration now for the stamping of passports to leave. At least its all in English this time.

Today we leave for Scotland Bay (around the corner) where we spend the night. I have been warned to keep the hatches closed as the bats could fly in!!

Then tomorrow we leave for Grenada, should be a days trip. Wind and waves will be side on. Not a smooth ride.

Trinidad, Crews Inn marina

Sea Wolff and Searenity in the Marina. We have access to a swimming pool here, the water temp must be 30C. Only refreshing when you get out and the wind cools you.

Caught the local van taxi (a noisy boom boom taxi) into Port of Spain the capital. We walked the market stalls in the street, clothing and fruit n veg. The city is run down but everyone is friendly. Crime is bad. The bird life is abundant here and I wish we had more time to see it. They have a Scarlet Ibis which is the national bird.

We filled the Diesel tanks yesterday, 5.1 TT dolars a litre. About R6.50 a litre, not as cheap as we thought it would be seeing as we passed the oil fields on the way in.

Stop fishing

Coconuts come in handy when a reality check is needed. Everytime the men catch a fish we have to cook it. Here Mashelle is giving it to Krasni!!

ants

These scary ants were on St Joseph island. I watched them cut the piece of leaf and then carry it. There were thousands of them working on this tree.

The animal life on Royal island was abundant. We watched as these monkeys stole eggs from the chickens.They sat on the roof and sucked them dry. Note the egg in this guys toes, he was not sharing.

This Iguana had such attitude, just sat there knowing he was worth a photo.

Thanks to Rana who identified this chap as an Agoutis. He jumps like a rabbit, sits to eat like a squirel, has long brown hair on his back and the back legs have the shape of a bucks legs. There were lots of them but they were skittish so this was the best pic I got.

Iles du Salut

Iles du Salut (safety islands) is a group of 3 islands. They are covered with palm trees. This is Royal Island. There is a small hotel here and thats all. The rest of the buildings are empty.

This is on St Joseph Island which has old prison like building that we were not allowed to go to. They are about to fall down. There is a French Army post on the island, not friendly. Just a few guys, they must get so bored. The island on the right behind us it Devils Island

8 Fish

Our sacrifice to King Neptune worked as we caught 8 fish the next day! 4 Bluefin Tuna (top) 65cm and and 4 Eastern Little Tuna. We gave 2 to Searenity and cooked the rest. Here you can see the lures we used.

King Neptune

On crossing the equator King Neptune and co (Krasni and Mashelle) arrived to demand snacks, entertainment and a sacrifice to the sea! We obliged and had biltong snacks and sang a song. The offering to the sea, was Rob throwing 3 dead flying fish (that had landed on the deck) back into the sea with his mouth! Good fun.

Brazil fishing boat

These are the little boats the locals go fishing in. We had to speed up to miss this one. Just 2 guys, their nets and cooler boxes. Its so shallow I was worried about them.

Just look at that blue water.

Day 56 Trinidad

At last land, we are in a very protected bay at 'Crews inn' Marina and hotel. Just had the morning newspaper delivered to the boat! Met lots of the other yachties in the pool yesterday, there from Canada, Ireland, USA. Had great supper at a marina restaurant, Rob had a good steak and I shrimp. Good food with mash salads and vegies and I didn't have to make it!
I will load lots of photos now so enjoy.

Day 51 Iles Du Salut

05,17N 052,35W  We got here in rain at midnight and moored in the dark! Searenity went in first so we followed his lights. Thanks heavens for good gps instruments. Went onto the largest island of the 3. It has a hotel and a few old buildings. The wild life was great, huge Iguana, monkeys who stole the chickens eggs while we watched and strange small brown animals, something between a rabbit and a buck? The two Macaw Parrots where spectacular, roaming free. The one likes toes and when I wasn't looking attacked mine sending me running. Day trip tour boats arrive from the mainland, French Guyane, daily. It was Papillon who was imprisoned on one of the 3 islands. The buildings are very broken down and overgrown. The area is covered in palm trees, we broke open a coconut and ate the best fresh coconut ever! Leave for Trinidad tomorrow, last long stretch of 4 days.

Day 49 13 Mar 2010

04,46.95N  51,33.61W  We are in dark green sea, 

diluted by the Amazon river water. The current is 3 knots,

 so we are moving at 10 Knots! The sea is calm so we 

can do this speed. We are trying to move fast to get through 

the fishing boats before dark. Its a nightmare watching 

out for them at night. They set out lines of nets.
Yesterday was a record fish day, we caught 8!! 

4 Blue fin Tuna, largest 10lbs, 65cm. 4 smaller, 

Eastern little Tuna(Mackrel tuna). Today we had 

seared tuna for lunch..yum. Also pickeled some and 

froze some. The best was giving 2 to Searenity who 

were catching, but not landing fish. We drove close to 

each other and threw the fish onto their boat. They 

were a happy crew. NO more rods out!
Its really boring now, we are watching movies twice a day.

 The movie Invictus is great, the world cup rugby story. 

A movie every South African should see.
Tomorrow we will be at Iles du Salut, great, we will be 

on land again. Do you know who was imprisoned here?

Day 46 10 Mar

Today we crossed the equator and King Neptune came to visit. 

Krasni looked great with green plastic (bin bag) hair and a 

Staff (broom with cardboard). We were ordered to provide 

snacks and entertainment. Rob was Flo in my dressing 

gown and makeup. I was Frick in robs springbok rugby 

jersey and cap. As this was our first crossing we had 

to perform It was a fun time.
Not an easy trip as the swell and wind are side on. 

00.43,32N  44.04,09w

Fortaleza skyline

This is a small section of the Fortaleza skyline with a local fishing boat. (Photo from Johan).

We went shopping yesterday to restock, as food in the Carribean is costly. Bought the local favourite meat, Sirloin and did it on the braai! It was fantastic. The meat is really good quality.

Also bought the local cooldrink, Guarana, made from a red fruit the size of a cocktail tomato.

The Avo's are huge, also got great Mango and Pawpaw. Can't buy too much as with this heat it ripens so fast and fridge space is limited.

Washed the boat today and I did the stainless steel and windows.

Tomorrow we leave for Iles du Salut off French Guyane. It will take us 6 days at sea. We will stay far off shore so as to miss any debris coming into the sea from the Amazon River.

Fortaleza supper

We had a wonderful steak at a beach restaurant, under the stars with a live band. From left, Carina, Krazni, Mashelle, Santi, Goltz, Rob and Nadene. Sirloin and Fillet are the most popular cuts.

After dinner it was time for some icecream, this shop had 70 flavours, as you can see Goltz, Johan and Rob were full of chirp.

Coconuts

An east drink anywhere in the city is fresh coconut juice. The little stalls sell them for R4.50 (1 Real) and cut them open for you. Quite nice, much better than the juice of the hairy coconuts.

Caipurinha

Santi and I drinking the delicious Caipurinha! Made of crushed limes, Kachasa cane spirit poured over tsp of sugar and lots of ice. Should be a short glass. Yum. This was on the promonade last night. Its wonderful walking along, hotels one side the beach and clothing markets the other. All the locals are out running, playing beach volley ball (on set courts), skating and relaxing.

Thankyou

A big thankyou to the followers who have signed up and I know there are many others who are also reading the blog. Its great to know your there.
Rob serviced the engines, they have each done 280 hours. New oil and oil filters. So we are all ready for the next 250 hours before they must be serviced again.
Our convection microwave has stopped working! The light comes on and the table turns but there is no microwave heat. The grill still works. Not sure if it may have something to do with the electricity here as we are connected to shore power.

Cathedral, Fortaleza

The Cathedral in Centro (old part of town). We were there at 5pm so the sun was streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows. This is the only place we have encountered beggars. Well looked after inside although the outside is grubby looking.

Hammocks

Rob testing the chair hammock for size!

Santi looking for a sun hat...this was over the top. This shop had everything in it, all leather, wood and straw goods.

There are many wonderful hammocks here and colours are so vibrant. As you can see its an old part of town.

Shopping in this heat is tiring..two red faced shoppers. Rob was happy he had found lures, so we are set to catch again. I found some cool dresses, its going to get hotter as we go further north!

Rotary meeting

We attended the Meireles Rotary club lunch meeting today. Its a very relaxed friendly club of 18 members and we were welcomed by President Maria do socorro Castelo (holding the Brazilian flag). On my left are John Bosco and Mauricio Cariello. I am holding a coffee mug given to me. It was great to speak to some locals. (only 2 spoke English)

Day 39 Marina Park hotel

This is the woderfull pool we use every day to cool off in. As we are in the hotels Marina we have access.

Marina Park Hotel is an RCI resort and a popular marina with SA yachts. Its a stern to mooring on a floating jetty that creaks and groans. Our anchor did not hold in the mud, but we were able to tie up to the permanant anchor of the local boat next to us. This stops us from moving backwards and hitting the jetty!

Day 39 Fortaleza

Time for a chart again for those who have no idea where we are.

Day 38, Fortaleza

We are now in Fortaleza, Northern Brazil. Our mooring is in a marina of The Marina Club Hotel. We have full access to the hotel facilities which includes a wonderful huge swimming pool. We also get free wifi on the boat! Its great to chill on land for a change. We have been warned not to leave the hotel on foot at night, very dangerous in this area! Went to the market and its full of clothing, lace work, hammocks, leather handbags and shoes. More exploring today, we will be here till Sat.

Spinning Dolphins

This was taken while moored in Fernado de Naronha. They are Spinning Dolphins! The red barge came past our boat so I filmed them swimming on the bow. The Dolphins came through the bay both mornings at 7am.

Widow view

This is the view that I had of Fernado de Noronha island from our bathroom.

Rainbow Runner

We caught this pretty fish called a 'rainbow runner' 80cm, with blue and yellow stripes on its side. Great eating, open on the braai.

A huge Flamboyant tree in Fernando de Noronha. Santi, Mashelle and I standing on the decorative bridge.

Arriving in Fernando de Noronha

Rob and I celebrating arriving in Brazil! No Rob did not drink the beer.




This is the Searenity crew in the beach buggy taxi. Good fun.

Landing fish

Catching fish is one thing but landing them is not so easy. You will see on the video the first Dorado took the line against the propeler and was lost. The other was pulled up, the gaff we have is too large and not sharp enough. Always a good adrenalin rush. Remember the boat is moving everywhere as the engines are off.