Thursday 18th March (Lini’s Journal)
Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Sat 20 Mar 2010 13:24
we haven’t tried on our travels, but as Dominica diminished in the
distance, so did the chance of Kubuli tantalising our taste buds. This
beer came from the original name of the island that the Caribs called
Waitikubuli. Translations of the meaning vary, Winstone saying “Nature
and Beauty” and the guide book saying “Tall is her Body”. Either way
it was changed by Christopher Columbus to the day of the week that he
landed there. I was sad to leave beautiful, natural Dominica.
Simon was excited as I was about trying out the lures adapted by
Andrew. As soon as we left Dominican water we threw our lines over the
transom feeling very optimistic. We rigged a peg on the line today to
alert us of a catch, so while the engine was charging the batteries it
seemed a good time to defrost the fridge which was starting to
resemble an igloo. Si must have been very sure of a catch as he’s been
grumbling about the ice but insisted it could wait for another day. We
pulled in the empty lines just before the rocky passage between Îles
des Saintes a couple of hours later. I can’t say I’d noticed these
tiny islands on maps of the Caribbean before, but all looked rather
lovely as we rounded Pain à Sucre which really did look like a sugar
bun plonked on the end of a bay, and swung into the anchorage off
Bourg des Saintes, the only town on the islands. There were many
familiar boats from Dominica and other islands already anchored and it
was no surprise that Si chose to drop the hook just behind beautiful
Swedish Anna on ‘Unicorn’!
Thinking we were having lunch ashore day I hadn’t baked bread and
had to think long and hard what to serve onboard with our few
remaining fresh provisions. The customs office didn’t open until 2pm
by which time Si’s tummy would think his head had been chopped off.
We’d already had couscous salad twice within a week so I retrieved
some tostadas from the back of the snack cupboard and opened Si a tin
of pate. The aroma of freshly baked baguettes wafted from the town.
The guide book had warned us that day boats from Guadeloupe and
cruise ships deposit thousands of tourists every day and the only time
to go ashore was before 9am or after 5pm when they all return. The
sweet little town was absolutely heaving especially as school children
were now on their way home too with many excited kiddies on bikes
dodging the crowds. Scooters are also the main form of transport on
the island so together with the experienced locals, hundreds of
novices wobbled their way round the streets. The town makes its money
from purely feeding and selling things to visitors but unlike many
tourist destinations Bourg des Saintes had a certain charm without all
the souvenir tat that is usually on offer. Many of the shops sold
designer clothes, cute beachwear and local paintings. Cafés overflowed
and the buildings were painted in the prettiest of colours. I added a
hundred more close-ups of window frames draped in flowers to our
collection on Photoshop.
Customs was in the town hall with a great system; you check in
there, they fax it to Guadeloupe while you go for a wander round town,
then the stamped document is faxed back: Wonderful! We grabbed Si an
ice cream and wandered some more, checking out where to provision
tomorrow and restaurants for tonight as well as stopping for a chat
with a Swedish Hallberg Rassy owner who happened to spot the ARC shirt
Si was wearing. On the way back to the dinghy we took advantage of the
wholesale drinks shop right by the dock and stocked up on mixers,
beer, soft drinks and water with the aid of their trolley.
Back on Brindabella Si put his awkward head on. He now decided it
was a good idea to defrost the fridge which is something I’ve learned
to do a certain way after lots of trial and error. Things defrost or
turn bad within minutes of being at ‘room temperature’ ie 90+° in the
galley. In the heat of the afternoon the engine went on (more heat) to
help the batteries as we turned the freezer on to use as a temporary
fridge. After transferring our chilly stuff and washing the boxes I
left Si to defrost the icebox and resumed duties later. I needed my
beer that was offered somewhat earlier than sundown. Si then asked
what we were barbecuing tonight. Aarrhhh!!!! Men! If only I had bought
vegetables this afternoon. I had another beer! There was some Dorado
in the icebox but onion, tinned mini corn cobs and the remains of an
aging yellow pepper didn’t make the best veggie kebabs on wild lime
and ginger rice. Tomorrow I
shall provision, offers of dinner out or not!