02 23 2009 Sint Maarten
Photo 280001

We enjoyed carnival in Dominica. On Monday we hopped on a bus from Portsmouth (north end of Dominica) to Roseau at the south end of the island. We joined several folks who had been participating in j'ouvert or dirty mas. If you recall from last year j'ouvert is a street parade that starts at about 3 am on carnival Monday and is that is notable for the costumes, paint, beverages and loud music. Well, needless to say some of the folks on the bus had partied all night and were a bit inebriated. The driver was sober and even though we had to stop to separate two fellows who were in a shouting match about their heritage, we did make it to town to see many of the t shirt bands marching. Of course it was not as grand as carnival in Trinidad, but I don't think that makes it less enjoyable to the partiers.

We took another three days to sail to Sint Maarten. We did not sail all this way to eat baguettes and brie. We have a date with a diesel mechanic to help us sort out an issue that Hunter has not been able to solve with other mechanics in Trinidad and Grenada. It is not that there are no other good mechanics in between, but both Martinique and Guadeloupe are in the midst of national strikes and the shop here on the Dutch side is known for its good work.

We have not been this far north since January 2007 and we are enjoying contrast of the cooler weather, as well as the French and Dutch culture. It is a bit a culture shock to be in an area jammed with mega yachts. The yachts are mostly powerboats and are in 150 feet range. They have tenders (little boats) about the size of Arctic Tern. Some have helicopters on top. I woke up in the middle of our first night here and looked at all the lights and muttered something about Las Vegas. This is quite a change from the island of Dominica.