The passage from Martinique was good all except for the last 5 NM when we were hit by a rain squall. We had to shorten sail quickly and during the pouring rain, when we wondered why we were doing this, we hit a top speed of 12.8 knots. (Pic) Then we were anchored once more in Rodney Bay, St Lucia by morning coffee.

In case you'd forgotten, Rodney Bay was our destination when we first arrived in the Caribbean, having crossed the Atlantic. Personally, I found the Atlantic crossing easier than some of the passages between islands here.

It seems like we have been here ages. I must admit, our plans have been pretty messed up this year, mainly because of Geraldine. :-) Without going into all the details we rushed back here early from the islands because Geraldine's Canadian visa was not through, and it was difficult for us to organise it while we were constantly moving. Once here, we spent days commuting to Castries on the bus and finally sorted it out, but only after her flight departure date had passed. :-( Next we had to re-book the flight, and it was in the middle of the 737 Max issue, and we had huge problems changing an alternative date. The upshot of this is that she decided to stay until after our visitors Jack & Jude had been (see next blogs), and leave with them. So once all this was arranged, we were sitting in Rodney Bay waiting for Jack & Jude's arrival.

We amused ourselves in various ways. We were fortunate to have our Swiss friends, Hajot & Maja, visit us for a day and have dinner aboard with us. We won't see them for a long time now because they are heading north and then back across the Atlantic to Europe. (Pix) There were the various mundane things to do like shopping, (Pix) and repairing a few small things on In Tune. Since we were anchored here so long the hulls were developing a good growth, so I spent some time most days snorkelling and cleaning the hulls. There were various events that we watched such as an outdoor talent quest in Castries, and a long distance swimming carnival that went right past us at anchor. The yachts arrived that had completed the world ARC - these are boats that had set off 15 months ago from here and have completed a circumnavigation. It was quite emotional for them to have finished and return here; Geri helped with their emotions while I sunk a few beers with them to celebrate. (Pic)

Aboard, we filled in time reading (me), cooking (Geri), watching movies (Geri), playing guitar (me), walking (me), drinks at the beach bar (guess 😀).

We took local buses to different parts of the island - Vieux Fort, Soufriere, and Castries. We love the local buses - following the bus route seems to be optional, and there are no timetable. You stand at the roadside until a minibus comes by. Then you are stuffed in with almost every seat occupied, wedged between hip bones, with corresponding odours. The collection of music stations is anything from gospel and preachers to the island's version of hip hop. Just getting there is an experience on its own.

Anyway, taking the bus up to La Bourne one day where we can see both sides of the island - Atlantic & Caribbean, we walked back to Monchy, past banana, mango, breadfruit, plantain, and papaya Walking through lush rainforest of rich green shades, huge leaves, arm-thick bamboo poles, and if you're lucky, a mango falls directly to your feet, a great experience. Geraldine was in her element - picking veggies that she is familiar with from the Philippines. (Pix) We also took In Tune one day down to Marigot Bay, which had been recommended to us. (Pix)

The islands in general have a simple way of life adapted to the daily routine - simple dwellings, volcanic landscapes overgrown with rainforests, waterfalls, different plants, friendly and reserved people, but also poverty, a population with a centuries-old history characterised by slavery and colonisation. The islanders chill out on rum and marijuana, with cruise ships and tourism providing employment.

We do like St Lucia though. I believe it's a nice mix of some touristy stuff and local life. The tourist resorts are kept low key - max height the top of the coconut trees, and reasonable style and colour. Let's hope they can keep it that way. It's easy to become complacent - we were anchored off a beautiful beach, well sheltered, and are treated to wonderful sunsets almost every day. (Pix) We've made friends with a few locals - one a teenager called Ricky who spruked me to come into their bar; I was teasing him about why he picked me to come into the bar (see pic for bar title!). Of course, for some reason, Geri makes friends and is liked everywhere she goes. (Pix)

We are looking forward to Jack & Jude arrive Friday 26th, so the next blogs will be about their 10 day visit.