We are definitely in cruising ships country now, the sea is littered with huge towering vessels blotting the seascape. It is hardly surprising though, St Kitts has Brimstone Fort and Basse Terre, both tourists magnet, and acres of white sandy beaches.
As for Nevis, the slower and quieter pace is more attractive to boaties than cruise liners.
With its volcano towering above the town, Sint Eustatius (Statia), the Dutch Island looks interesting enough to vouch exploring further…not this time though. We have to make do with gazing from afar whilst playing tag with the many anchored tugs and vessels.
We’ll have to come back…
The plan was to stay 2 nights in Anguilla and visit one of the small uninhabited island, the wind put paid to this. With no real shelter and no break in the weather anytime soon, we only have one night in deserted Road Bay. Again, hurricane Irma has played havoc and here the scars are far more visible.
With its luxury boutiques and up-market restaurants, Gustavia is the place to be seen around the Christmas holiday… well, for some people! We are just too early, only one super yacht in the harbour. The island has an unmistakable French flavour and natural beauty. Glad to see that hurricane Irma has left little traces behind… amazing how fast things can be put right when money is not an issue.
No time to linger, a quick stop in Colombier Bay and we are moving on.
Antigua is a gem, we are completely under its charm. The little we have seen so far is just what we imagined. English Harbour, Jolly Harbour and its marina, Hermitage bay and Deep bay are fabulous places. We love St John, its capital, so colourful and cheery. Pearns point and its unforgettable views in the late afternoon sun…
Glad we have made plans to spend Christmas and New Year here. It will give us more time to explore. But before that Ian and Sue are visiting for 2 weeks, we are waiting for them now.
Guadeloupe was our last stop before we ran south to Grenada for the hurricane season. So this is where we start our second season in the Caribbean’s. We could not help going back to the old favourites, le Gosier, Marie Galante & les Saintes. We were pleased to see that Irma and Maria did not wreck these beautiful islands.
Back on Guadeloupe mainland, we explore Basse Terre and climb la Soufriere Volcano. We love Deshaies on Sunday, we had some nice walk along the river and the beaches.
Glad we came back this way, this is definitely one of my favourite place in the Caribbeans.
Like being back home. We are picking up Francesca and Steve on the 1st November. A few days at anchor and then we’ll go to the marina to welcome them in. Another job to do sorting out the Torqueedo, our outboard has been playing up for a while.
Bad weather is following us around. Rain, rain, rain in Martinique too. It does not make our jobs here easy. We hire a car to get to the big Hyper U, but getting back in the wet and dark is not fun. Fortunately, the rain eased up when we reached the dinghy, two trips to get the shopping back on board was bad enough in the dry!
Read more about our few days in le Marin and our shopping trip
Barbados for a week, despite the rain and a bouncy anchorage in Carlisle Bay, we had a wonderful time on the island. It does feel ever so, ever so British. Speightown, our first port of call, was a riot of colours. Bridgetown, the capital, had everything to please, fabulous beach and historic buildings. Loved the buses and the people in them, they were great fun and a good way to see places like Oistins and Silver Sands cheaply. St Nicholas Abbey was beautiful, nothing religious in it, unless rum is your creed, but a beautiful plantation. Shame we had to leave so soon!
We love Tobago, much quieter, slower and secluded than Trinidad, could not spend as much time exploring as we intended to but the few places we saw were beautiful.
Read more about our visit to Scarborough, the capital, Englishman bay and Charlotteville in the north of the island.