Lin.....................

BARBADOS

The next day we went ashore into the capital of Barbados - Bridgetown. We were able to take the dinghy up into the careenage which led to a very pleasant setting in the centre of town.

The waterfront is an area on the edge of the careenage where traditional Barbadian style buildings with balconies overlook the water - these are mostly bars, restaurants and boutiques, and as we discovered, are aimed mainly at the cruise liner passengers, who arrive daily in their thousands. After one visit we decided these were places to avoid and we frequented the local Bajian cafes which cater for local people at a fraction of the price.

We found a good internet caf� where we researched flights home for Michelle and Martin's wedding.

Without doubt we found the Barbadian people to be very friendly and helpful especially when they realised we were not from the cruise ships.

I purchased a beautiful outfit for the wedding which although summery will go underneath my winter white coat which has not been worn above twice and I will be able to unveil at the reception - I still have a hat to find though!! The ladies in the very exclusive dress shop were both very friendly, cheerful and helpful and when I returned later to pick up the skirt - which they had shortened for me, they were disappointed that I had not taken Paul with me - I did not like to tell them that it was only my persistent cajoling that had persuaded him to come with me the first time - I had to have someone to tell me if my choice was a wise one!!

We swam most days in the luke warm turquoise water off the white sand beach where we were anchored 150 yards from the shore.

At weekends the Barbadians flock to the beach which became alive with their laughter and jollity although the late night discos which continued until four in the morning tended to interrupt our sleep as we have all the hatches open to allow the air to circulate to keep us cool. Then early in the morning 5.30 - 6.00, we awoke to the sound of local Barbadians chattering to each other as they swam around the anchorage - one morning I counted up to thirty - However we tended to go to bed early as it is dark at 6pm and even though we often read when the discos prevented sleep we were still ready to get up early in the morning - breakfasting in the cockpit before the heat of the day was upon us. The bimini has definitely been a must since our arrival enabling us to sit outside in the cockpit but protecting us from the intense rays of the sun.

We were visited most mornings by a young turtle who was very shy - every time I took out the camera to attempt a photograph it would dive down into the depths and not appear again until the next day.

We had an interesting excursion with Peter to have our gas cylinders refilled at the local Texmex gas depot on the outskirts of Bridgetown. This involved bartering with one of the many taxi-drivers to take the three of us with our empty gas cylinders to TexMex waiting whilst they were filled and returning us to our dinghies. The cost of each cylinder (including the price of the taxi and tip) was less than �2 compared to over �17 per cylinder which we paid in the UK.

Eventually we managed to get a good flight deal home from Antigua so it was time to say our goodbyes to Peter who was heading for Grenada and sail northwards to Martinique on our first leg of the passage to Antigua.

Paul.................

BARBADOS TO MARTINIQUE

Our first stop on leaving Barbados was Martinique on a heading roughly North West. Martinique is a French owned island where we entered Port du Marin after an uneventful and pleasant sail from Barbados taking twenty two hours and thus an overnight passage hopefully our last for some time as most islands in the Caribbean are a day sail from each other.

The entrance to Port du Marin was hair-raising and we had difficulty in finding the buoys marking the shoals and coral reefs leading to the anchorage even with both of us on our toes, charts on deck and binoculars in constant use.

We made it in but passed two wrecked boats that clearly didn't!

There must have been over 100 yachts anchored and a huge full marina - not what we were expecting - and we thought this was the first anchorage for some time where we knew no other boats. However, the next day we discovered 'Imsim' Ton and Tonny's Dutch yacht on which we had spent a lovely afternoon in Lanzarote. We were able to ask them aboard Sareda for the evening and had a wonderful time with these engaging people catching up on all their passage news.

Ashore Marin was a real mixture of France and the Caribbean - French language everywhere and some lovely buildings of the Creole style. We stocked up with items missed for many months, quality cheese, bread, wine etc but decided to move on after three days to keep our schedule for Antigua.

We left Marin on Sunday 3rd February and headed up the East Coast to Sainte Pierre where we were told we could clear customs before our passage to Dominica, however, we hadn't accounted for Carnival which lasts all week and we weren't able to obtain clearance until Tuesday, but this did give us time to enjoy the nightly celebrations and to enjoy this delightful town resting at the foot of Mount Pele� which erupted and destroyed the original town in 1902. Buildings have been re-built in the original style and many of the destroyed buildings have been retained as relics for instance we explored the original jail where ironically one of the only two survivors, a murderer called Cyparis was rescued and over 29,933 people died.

There were about six yachts anchored off the sandy beach and we were the only British yacht for most of our stay. We settled in a beautiful sheltered anchorage looking over the cathedral, sea front with palm trees and a stunning back drop of Mount Pele� summit hidden in the clouds, and lush green tropical countryside.