North through the Caribbean
Pearl of Persia
Andrew Lock
Wed 2 Apr 2014 19:56
We've spent the last 10 days moving slowly north through the various
islands, Tobago Cays, Mustique, Bequia, St Lucia, Martinique, and Dominica.
We can see plenty of sailboats and most of the time we are in view of one
island or another, so it's more like being on a holiday cruise, rather than
making a long passage. Dominica was a surprise. Rugged and heavily wooded,
and without the golden beaches, few tourists come but the scenery was
spectacular. We were met a couple of miles off shore by a boy in a boat,
offering to show us a good place to anchor, and then arrange to collect
laundry, take us to the customs office and take us on a trip up the Indian
River. Now we had heard that a trip up the river was interesting so next day
we went off in his little wooden boat, under the low bridge and into another
world. Within just a few hundred yards of the beach we were in the cool and
peaceful shade of massive trees hanging over the river. It could have been
deep African Jungle. The boat boy gently rowed for a mile and we sat
enchanted as we moved through a tunnel of green. That afternoon we took a
trip to the highlands and rain forest and passed small 'plantations', really
just clearings in the forest, with families growing bananas, nutmeg,
cinnamon, and vegetables. Today we move on to Les Iles Des Saintes, part of
Guadeloupe and God willing cross our wake from our outward course.
The photographs show:
Some freshly picked nutmegs from the tree
Andrew cooking off on the edge of the Indian River
Both of us at the top of Fort Rodney in Saint Lucia
