The orange ball slowly rises over the lush green hills of Martinique. A calm breeze moves the 75 degree air around me. This is quite a difference from the -2 below zero that I was waking up to in Colorado, yet both have their unique beauty. I had a fantastic time in Colorado spending time with my family for Christmas and then spending time with friends in Summit county, cross country skiing, relaxing, doing projects, and eating wonderful foods.
Today is the second anniversary of Mary’s death. I have shed some tears as my crew mate gave me a very moving writing about 100 ft waves crashing over me trying to bring me down, but I survived by the wonderful memories and the waves over time become smaller and further apart. ( Mary would have just corrected this too long, run on sentence.)They still come and always will but they become happy reminders of a wonderful time in my life.
Arriving in St. Lucia I met my new cremate. She works at the St. Geroge”s University in Grenada and we met last spring when I was getting Mile High Dream ready for the Summer. She is a new sailor but very enthusiastic to learn. It will be a nice break before she gets back into the rigors of academia.
The boat is anchored in St. Annes bay. This bay is located on the southern shore of Martinique. Over one hundred boats are anchored here with us and just around the corner is the largest marina on the island which is full of boats.There is a constant coming and going of boats.
We will be staying here for a few days, getting projects done on the boat, fixing the outboard motor, replacing the chart plotter, fixing the diesel and just getting some more organizing done. My first guest found a variety of ways with the help of Bed Bath and Beyond and the Container Store to help my disorganization become organized. No easy feat but progress is being made.
All work and no play makes for a very dull Greg and crew so a hike to a beach that is suppose to be the most beautiful beach on the island will precede anymore projects for the day.
The excitement we have had so far was trying to get to the ferry that would bring us from St. Lucia to Martinique. We thought we would just get there, buy a ticket and hop on board, But NOOOO. You have to purchase your ticket a day in advance. Fortunately for us our taxi Driver Ian took us to the ferry office and asked the women still working there if we could still purchase tickets since it was after hours. She consented and told us to be there two hours before the departure time of 7:00 am
Getting back to the hotel I set the alarm for 4:15 and arranged for the taxi driver to pick us up at 5:00. I awoke to the sun shining through the window. “Wow the sun is sure rising here earlier than in Colorado,” I hoped to my self but knew we were in trouble. It was 6:09.
My last chance for a real shower was dashed and things were thrown back into the bags and we ran to the front desk. Our cab driver was long gone and the clocked ticked 6:30. The desk person said that we probably would not make it but he would call the driver if we wanted. we said “What the heck, let’s give it a try.”
Our original cab driver returned after having waited for us for over and hour and he rushed us to the ferry. Thank goodness for island time as there was a long line still waiting and we were able to make it. Not quite how we planned to start this section but all is well that ends well.