Martinique and carnival, it does not get much better. We enjoyed it so much six years ago we decided to try and make sure we did not miss it this year. We were in luck and even had friends around to share it with. During the four day holiday of Carnival festivities, the island comes to a stand still. The parades and parties start on Big Sunday and finish on the Wednesday evening when the carnival effigy, the “Vaval” King is burned on a huge bonfire. Monday is the comical wedding, Tuesday red devils where EVERYONE wears red, and Wednesday she-devils and black and white dress.

There are marching groups, all singing and dancing (well girating), painted and dressed in fantastic outfits. Up to 50 people, of all ages, at a time. The energy is addictive, everyone is smiling, laughing and having fun. We never saw anyone out of order, even with the beer and rum that was often flowing. There were also all the youngsters on the cars that they had converted, they sat on the roofs, bonnets, sides and none fell off. We surprisingly did not see any police, although they were probably there just dressed up like everyone else.

A lot of the guys are dressed up as women, especially on the last day and women in all kinds of stockings and fun outfits, showing lots of booty. However, we noticed that the atmosphere was a lot more toned down, still naughty, but not so blatenty sexual. Even the music was not as primal, so the girating was less. So wonderful to see so many people having such a fantastic time. Not to be missed if you are in Martinique in February.

After Carnival we returned to Marin to pick up Russell’s new glasses. He had been to the Opthomologist while we were there, looks like his right eye might need surgery within the next five years, but different glasses have made a huge difference. We had a belated anniversary dinner at the Zanzibar which we would highly recommend to anyone when they go to Marin. Then a final shop for French goodies before we checked out and headed north. It took us five days to get to Dominica as we stopped off at some of our favorite anchorages on the way, enjoying easy days of sailing and snorkeling.

The weather at last has improved and it has hardly rained for the last three/four weeks, even the wind seems to have calmed down at last. Lucky as Russell needs to go up the mast to check our VHF aeriel tomorrow. We have been in Prince Rupert Bay, Portsmouth, Dominica for about ten days and have a visa for two weeks, so we are looking at upping the anchor on Wednesday. We just love Dominica and wanted to spend a decent amount of time here as we only managed a few days on our last visit.

On our arrival we met up with our friends Bryce and Martha on Silver Fern. They are moving north quite quickly as they plan to spend the hurricane season in the states. We are not sure when we will see them again, probably in New Zealand when we are next there or going through the Pacific. We had a wonderful three days together. Went on a fantastic snorkeling trip and we hired a car and had a very amusing day checking out the west coast, Emerald pool and Spanny waterfall. The boat boys here have set up quite the organisation called PAYS. There is no pressure, just lots of help if you want it. We have become friends with quite a few and have been to a couple of their bi-weekly beach BBQs. A great way to meet locals, other cruisers and dance the night away – although the rum punches (no limit) are evil and should be drunk with extreem care.

Since our last visit there has been some change, but mostly for the better apart from a new (low key) hotel they are building near the Fort. The four freighters that graced the town’s shore front have gone and the local shops and buildings seem in much better repair. Luckily there are no big hotels anywhere on the island, it is just a magical, tropical paradise. Dominica has seven potentially active volcanos (most other Caribbean islands only have one) which explains the dramatic scenery. They call it the island of Nature and it has been wonderful exploring the interior. The Forestry Department have made extensive trails and it is possible to hike from the south of the island all the way to the north over 14 segments (2 weeks). A spectacular hike I would imagine, we only did small parts and it was breathtaking.

With our friends Jane and Sean from Happy Hour we took more time off from boat jobs. A must walk is the Cabrits National Park which is in the north part of our anchorage. Here the jungle has taken over part of Fort Shirley, quite eerie, but fasinating. We again hired a car and went to Syndicate and Trafalgar waterfalls, delightful hikes and finished off the day with a swim up Titou Gorge to the falls there. They were quite weird, rather like Petra in Jordan, but in the water – fantastic.

I have put up two albums of pictures, one of Martinique and one of Dominica for you to enjoy.