Christmas in the Caribbean
Flinns
Terry/ Nicola Flinn
Fri 29 Dec 2006 21:01
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14:04.17N 60:57.16W
Bob and Marilyn, Eric and Judy moved into a villa
near Rodney Bay Marina and, as it came with its own private mooring, we decided
to join them and moor the boat there. Nicola did an excellent job of making
the boat look festive.
Terry and Nicola on board Flinesse were awakened on
Christmas Day by carol singers and then we opened huge Christmas stockings
lovingly prepared by Helen and Jenny. We also had a great laugh watching a video
featuring messages from all the family back home; Jenny and Andy clearly have a
future in the movies! It was decided that we would prepare a
traditional Christmas Day meal complete with turkey, stuffing and roast
potatoes, but complemented by local exotic vegetables like yams, christophene
and bacon wrapped plantains to add a Caribbean flavour to the meal; it was
a great success and we spent the rest of the day swimming, playing games and
generally relaxing.
On Boxing Day, we took everyone on board and sailed
over to Pigeon Island. We had a bbq on board and took the
opportunity to go swimming and snorkelling in the warm, clear water which
was teeming with pretty tropical fish.
We decided to sample some of the more touristy
parts of St Lucia. We hired a local taxi driver who took us in his minibus
on a trip to explore the rain forest where we hiked for about an
hour along a trail through tall trees and lush vegetation.
On another expedition, we visited Soufriere
and Marigot Bay, explored volcanic sulphur springs, visited a
lovely botanical garden and admired the breath-taking views over the twin
peaks of the Pitons. On the way home we had a meal in a small cafe and really
enjoyed the local meal of Creole fish. We liked the local cuisine so much
that we asked 2 local ladies to come to the villa one evening and cook us a
Caribbean meal. They served up the national dish of salt fish, with steamed
vegetables, potato salad, dasheen and yams; it
was excellent.
Even though our families were far away, we all
agreed this, indeed, had been a very special Christmas.
Early in the New Year, we will continue our voyage
when we sail south towards the Grenadines.
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