I thought we would find the Caribbean boring, too hot, bad food, too many English speaking tourists, just another holiday destination. Well I can say I was wrong, we have seen so many different worlds within a relatively small area and it's been pretty cool. After spending lovely time with Emily Ben and Patrick in st Lucia they flew back to their worlds ( the old days when there were planes in the sky). We left st Lucia and headed south, the opposite way from home, but had a lovely Christmas with friends old and new in Bequia a beautiful harbor, with fun local shops, great walks and swimming. Bequia finds a nice mix where it's touristy enough to provide all you need but there is also a local life that is not just for tourists, I may be painting myself a rosy picture because we had fun there. After two weeks we headed back north to st Vincent where tourists are not the center of their world and you only have to wander a short distance to find you are the only white face around. In all our time in the Caribbean we never felt worried, everyone was friendly. We had some great rides in crazy minibuses that literally raced from place to place with music blasting and never paid more than a dollar. The sailing from island to island was in some ways more challenging and bumpy than crossing the ocean, the trade winds blow quite hard at that time of year and we waited for weather windows to try and get a good days sail. We got back to st Lucia had a delicious curry in Marigot bay and then headed to Martinique. I had no idea what to expect but we loved it. We anchored in st annes bay and went for some amazing walks along the south east corner, we waded across inlets, walked along deserted beaches, funky hills and forests. It was also just like being in France, good wine, food and very civilized. I think the French keep it a secret because very few English speaking people go there.

I also found a mechanic in le Marin prepared to fix an oil leak in my engine, I would recommend inboard motors, no one else wanted to take the front off my Volvo penta.

We had a quick trip home and to Key West before setting off along the coast of Martinique we stopped at some fun places especially st Pierre were a volcano exploded and 30,000 people died in a moment, over 100 years ago. Next stop was Dominica, the contrast was so stark, Dominica is poor and has been hit hard by two hurricanes. Despite its problems the people are very upbeat and welcoming and the scenery is astounding. Driving across the island you go from sun to cloud to rainforest and back in 45 minutes with magnificent views. Everyone should go to support them and enjoy an amazing place.

A friend called us and told us about a friend of theirs who had abandoned their boat after losing the mast, and the boat had been recovered by fisherman in Marie galant, would we go see it before it was ransacked? Always up for an adventure we set off and a mini drama unfolded that ended well with Martin and Debs boat now sailing back to the uk on a ship.

We set off to isle de saints which charming if a bit to touristy and met up with friends Frankie and Chris, who had also sailed in the arc. We went to the beach for the day and it was delightful, we felt like we were on holiday. The "virus" was becoming an issue for cruisers because there was talk of countries not allowing us in. When the hurricane season comes in July you have to be north or south of the Caribbean and people started to worry about how they were going to do that. After a short stop in Guadeloupe we set off for Antigua, leaving French healthcare but getting an English speaking country and we wanted to visit anyway.
After a few days we got "locked down" which was not really too bad, we could go shopping, swimming and visiting friends during the day, kind of what We normally did. Before we left the restrictions increased but we really grew to like Antigua much more than I expected. We were anchored in Falmouth harbor which is such a beautiful place and had access to good food and friends.

It became clear that things were getting worse and we had to decide how to get home. The original plan was to island hop home through the islands and on to the Bahamas but none of the islands would allow visitors apart from the usvi where a mini fleet of cruisers was gathering to then sail non stop to the USA, about 1000 miles. Rosanna and I sailed overnight to St Croix were we enjoyed a few days before I was joined by a good friend who flew out from the states to sail back to Miami, where I am writing this.