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Aislig Bheag - December and January St Lucia Landing



12th December 2014

After 18 days, 3 hours and 19 minutes of non-stop sailing for 2,933 nautical miles and absolutely no engine power we crossed the finish line of Atlantic Rally for Cruiser 2014, in Rodney Bay, St Lucia in the Caribbean.  We were truly ecstatic and quite emotional as we arrived to the sound of horns from many other boats, cheers from fellow sailors and Caribbean drums playing to mark our arrival.  We were presented with a lovely bowl of fruit and Caribbean rum as we took our first steps on dry land.  We all felt quite disorientated walking on land after our bodies had adjusted to the constantly rocking environment at sea. 

That first afternoon on the day of our arrival seemed to pass in an almost dream like state.  John had to attend to all the customs and immigration formalities while the rest of us made contact with family back home to report on our safe arrival.

St Lucia 13th December – 7th January

The following few days we all explored St Lucia by land and sea.  We clubbed together to hire a taxi with a guide who showed us the island including the Pitons, the two pyramid shaped hills in the south of the island.  We also ventured south in the boat for a night in Marigot Bay where we tied stern to the dock of a picturesque restaurant where we had dinner in this idyllic setting, marred slightly by being overcharged and then during the night, Donald wakened in time to disturb an intruder who had boarded the yacht and was in the progress of removing the wash boards in order to enter the cabin.  It was a bit of a wakeup call for us all with respect to securing the boat properly at night after a drink or two and fortunately no harm done and no loss of belongings. 

Don, Kate, Duncan and John were all heading home for Christmas, with only John returning after the holiday period.  Janice, Eilidh and I stayed on to enjoy Christmas in the Caribbean and were joined by Jen and Anna, two friends of Eilidh’s for the festive period in Rodney Bay Marina.   Eilidh befriended a local Rastafarian, Arron, otherwise known as Mr Happy, who became our guide on some great hikes in the hills, both on Pigeon island and inland, south of Rodney Bay.  The latter included a visit to Arron’s extended family who all lived in a little community of their own in a secluded spot in the hills. We enjoyed their warm hospitality showering us with food and fruit from their trees and freshly baked cakes straight from their stove.  We played football with the children and Eilidh and I loved having a cuddle of two of their gorgeous babies.

A most memorable day was Christmas even when all of us along with Arron, Martin, a friend of Eilidh’s who is a skipper on another ARC boat, and other new friends went to spend the day on Pigeon island where we enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in the crystal clear turquoise water and lying on the inflatable lilo bed on the water drinking rum from a coconut and pineapple.  It really doesn't get much better than that!

Eilidh, Janice, Jen and I participated in a day of diving with a local dive organization.  We had two dives of about half an hour each from their boat in the south of the island near the Pitons.  It was a great day although personally I will stick to snorkeling as my ears don’t like the pressure!  Janice unfortunately suffered with a sore eye following the dive which resulted in a visit to the hospital in Castries. 

Janice, after many fond farewells, went home between Christmas and New Year.  At New Year we were invited to a house party near the beach followed by joining in the local tradition of bringing in the New Year on the beach where fireworks filled the sky to mark the occasion of welcoming 2015.

Alison.


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