The five night sail to Jamaica proved a mixed bag of weather, with a couple of windy and wet days followed by a couple of dry and hot ones.

We arrived at Port Antonio late morning, sailing into a beautiful harbour lined with palm trees and lush with vegetation all around. After establishing contact with Errol Flynn Marina we were greeted on the dock by the friendliest welcome we have ever had when entering a new harbour. George, the dock master, welcomed us to paradise and the rest of the shore team introduced themselves, each describing the additional services ("I can get you a flag" / "I can clean your bottom(!)" / "I can get you fish") they could offer.

Errol Flynn Marina is pure luxury to cruising folk, offering showers (first hot water we've had in the Caribbean!), use of the swimming pool and wifi included in the price. It is cheaper to anchor off but we had 3 days alongside to top our water tank and get some much-needed laundry done, as well as get a couple of decent nights' sleep. All the officials were very friendly and welcoming and the copious amounts of paperwork was completed with a smile (and the usual discussion about Portsmouth football team) at each stage.

In the next three weeks we discovered Port Antonio, its surroundings and its people.

The local market was full of characters - Rock Bottom, the wood carver, Marylyn the Rasta bar lady, and Shirley the fruit and veg stallholder to name a few. There is a pungent smell of "ganja" pretty much everywhere you walk but a friendly, calm and happy environment with no threat of any kind felt by us at all throughout our stay - that is, apart from a dodgy bus driver who was overtaking another bus in a "fun" game of chase on blind bends, until Dave had a word in his ear. We have experienced some hairy bus rides since arriving in the Caribbean but none quite beat this one for pure insanity!

We spent a day as the only visitors at Somerset Falls, a natural waterfall which has been turned into a tourist attraction. We lazed by the pool and were rowed up the river and under the falls. The only downside to this place was the poor conditions of small animals kept in cages there. A note to the Jamaican tourism bureau was called for.....

We met Michelle who had just started working behind the bar at the marina and quickly discovered she is from the Portsmouth area too. She invited us up to her house in the hills where her husband, Briggy, cooked us a traditional Jamaican meal of chicken, plantain, rice and beans, yam and other goodies. The meal was probably the largest we had eaten since arriving in the Caribbean but we tried to do it justice!

We went on a drive to Kingston with 4 Dutch folk. Unfortunately, we had picked Ash Wednesday for this trip and therefore spent quite a lot of money for a 12 hour day driving! The waterfalls we visited were very commercialised so Dave and I decided not to pay the entrance fee and when we got to Kingston we discovered the Bob Marley museum was shut so all in all a bit of a wash out but never mind, not every day can be perfect!

Simon and Joanne, who run a local restaurant and bar, became new friends, as well as their son Rio. They are from South London, although Simon is half Jamaican hence the connection, and we had some great times with them. As I write this, we are awaiting news on the arrival of their new baby.

Eventually, a weather window opened for us to leave for the overnight sail to Cuba. It was a good run and better than we'd hoped and we arrived at Santiago de Cuba marina to find our Dutch friends there. We were boarded by a doctor, a vet, a health officer, customs, immigration, and two sniffer dogs. Usually, as we're making our way into harbour after a passage, I tidy the boat below and put it back to normal. On this occasion I don't know why I bothered as everything was inspected, pulled out, and turned upside down. Never mind, it doesn't take long to re-make the bed and after all, I have got the time!

We were not sure what to make of Cuba and wish we could have spent time in more than this one area. The City of Santiago had not much to offer in the way of history, architecture etc and even the cathedral in the centre appears to be dilapidated inside. The Cubans are reasonably friendly but forever asking for anything and everything. This is completely understandable as they appear to have nothing, or little choice. The fruit and vegetable market stocked tomatoes, onions and papaya when we visited - nothing else. Vouchers are used so that everyone gets their entitlement to food - fish, meat etc but there is little or no choice in the supermarkets (which aren't "super" anyway) and what there is is expensive.

We stayed in the city one evening with another Dutch couple we met and were entertained by live Cuban music and fantastic dancing by the locals. A nubile young wench pulled Dave to his feet and he looked almost as amazing as she did as she swirled and twirled around him - I think he went to heaven briefly!

There is an island off the marina which we visited by free ferry boat ride from the marina (Fi had a go at driving which was fun). As there are no vehicles on the island it is very peaceful and some of the locals open their homes into mini eateries, although we didn't take advantage of this on our visit as we were a bit early in the day. We caught another boat from there back to the mainland and walked up to Castillo el Morro on the starboard side of the harbour entrance. The castle is intact and would have been even more interesting if we could read the Spanish explanations to all the exhibits, drawings, etc.

It is difficult to access the internet (and therefore weather forecasts) as it appears that Cubans are not allowed free access. We had show a passport at a hotel reception desk to prove we are tourists, to enable us to buy a voucher to access the internet so it was quite a procedure just to try and get a weather forecast. The main forecasting site we use is American so I'm not sure if that was the reason this particular site was blocked. After a week we decided to head out for Haiti with the forecast looking reasonably promising. It was not to be! The wind was light but coming straight at us so we made the decision after a few hours to head back to Port Antonio and await better weather there.

We sailed into Port Antonio and radioed George, the Dock master at Errol Flynn. He took our lines again and he and the other shore crew all welcomed us "home" which was lovely. In fact before we left he asked us to join him at the bar so he could buy us a drink and we hope we maybe bump into him one day - perhaps when he visits his mum back in the UK....

During this unexpected re-visit to Jamaica we caught up again with Simon and Jo and went to Frenchman's Cove with them for the day. It's a beautiful little cove with a cool, clear, fresh water river running into it through a botanical gardens and a great place to chill for the day. Jo enjoyed herself lying belly-down on a lilo and floating herself and "bump" down the river into the cove whilst Fi tried to help Rio make a fishing line - needless to say no fish were caught. Dave and Simon then tried to pounce on the fish with a net Dave found and Simon finally resorted to diving under and trying to grab one! Surprise surprise, we didn't have a fish supper that evening.

Another highlight was a raft trip down the Rio Grande just outside Port Antonio. Our guide and "punter" was Reebo who is a real character and raft runner of 18 years experience. We had a great day cruising downriver on one of the two-passenger rafts, navigating a few "rattles" (or rapids as we know them). The rafters serve a three year apprenticeship during which time they must retrieve the rafts at the bottom of the river and walk/swim them back up to the starting point, 8 miles upstream, in order to learn the river's idiosyncracies and character at all times of the year, before they can become professional rafters. We stopped off for a swim and a tasty lunch cooked by local women who, incidentally, walk for an hour and a half to the river just to set up their cooking gear in the hope of some passing trade. Today they managed to sell six meals - I don't think I would do that for a living given the choice.....

We were really pleased that we had been persuaded by the weather to return for another visit to Port Antonio which has become one of our favourite places now. However, we had to move on and on 16 March we said our goodbyes, with promises to keep in touch, and headed out for Ile a Vache, Haiti.