While we were moored next to Jeannius at Port St. Louis, it was an ideal opportunity for Moe and Bev to move most of their luggage from our boat to the boat they will sail on to St Lucia. Bev’s father is going to cruise to St Lucia, with Mike and Jean and naturally Bev wanted to spend that time with him. Because the crew also used the spare cabin for all their stuff, we had been unable to accommodate an extra person. As Jeannius settled lower in the water by a couple of inches, we now floated higher.
On the 27th March, we, with 30+ other World ARC participants took the island tour. Because there were too many of us to get into the large coach, a mini bus was also provided. Leaving the marina at 9am we drove along the road above George Town with its lovely Colonial style property. We passed sugar plantations and farms which grew a multitude of crops all mixed together which apparently is better for the soil; bananas grew alongside avocados, cashews, ginger and almonds. We stopped for drinks at the Nutmeg house which sold a selection of items, including organic chocolate, cocoa, jam, spices, t-shirts, etc. before visiting a rum factory but because in was Sunday, there was no-one there to show us around. However, as the guide had done this trip on so many occasions he was more than able to do the honours. No rum tasting though.
Unfortunately, although I had recharged the battery in my camera only the previous day, it went flat at this point, almost as soon as we arrived. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant owned by the Seventh Day Adventists so there was no alcohol on the premises. This was a bit of a shock to some the diners in our party.
There was a small museum on the estate, a goat dairy, though with the recent arrival of newborn kids, there was no cheese available. Organic chocolate was made and sold here and almost everyone on the tour succumbed. There were exotic birds, turtles and tortoises, possibly other animals but I didn’t see them.
Moving on after lunch, we fed monkeys on the edge of the forest. They were quite tame and many of the party had photographs taken of them with a monkey on their shoulder. Late afternoon, Moe and Bev moved off Tucanon and that evening, the party held at the restaurant in the marina was brilliant. The atmosphere was very special. Even World ARC participants, who had not been physically involved in the recent trauma, had been very stressed by it. Now we were all safely together and could relax.
Lady Lisa won the award for fastest adjusted time from Recife to Granada but Sandro gave the prize to Graham from Eowyn, in recognition of his excellent work in coordinating the Mayday.
Next morning we departed Port St. Louis and made passage to the small, Clarkes Court Bay marina, just eight miles away by sea, tying up between two finger pontoons. The metal connection on the boat, for the access of water from the pontoon, came adrift from the boat which caused some consternation before Dick managed to fix it. Then, just as we were about to go to bed, the hose pipe sprang a leak and had to be sorted. Quiet and peaceful, the marina is a little remote though less than a kilometre from a bus route. Twice a week a minibus is run from the marina to George Town. Most evenings there is some sort of organized activity.
Tuesday lunchtime we took a taxi to the airport to fly to Barbados. Initially, when Moe and Bev were aboard, we had planned to sail there but now we were free to fly and spend a week with our friends, rather than just a day or two. The 50 seat plane was not even half full. The 45 minute flight was over before we had time to settle in and then, walking outside into the sunshine, there were our friends waiting for us. We hadn’t seen them for over two years so there was a lot of catching up to do.