Vacation
I had a blogless existence for a week. I was too busy frying my skin off in the hot sun of the Carribean. I went sailing around the leeward islands with Andrew and his family. It was my first experience living on a boat for a week and I loved it. We arrived in St. Martin late Saturday night and boarded the Catamaran which was stocked up and ready to go. We set sail bright and early Easter morning for St. Eustatius [Statia for short]. It was a choppy ride and we all were still getting our sea legs. I felt fine as long as I was sittting in the same position on the deck and not going below. We arrived at Statia late in the afternoon and found a mooring field to dock on. We spent the afternoon swimming and snorkling [the water felt like 80 degrees] and then did some exploring on land.
On Monday we sailed over to St. Kitts and took a spot on a dock close to town. We took a tour of the island from George the taxi driver and we saw lots of goats, sheep, chickens, monkeys and other 'pets' wandering around the island. Nighttime fun included deckside BBQ's and chumming the water for fish. One of us flipped a piece of beef into the water and instantly heard a big splash. We then took the rest of the dinner scraps and with flashlight in hand watched for the big [big enough for me to second-guess snorkling] fish to jump for their dinner. We all speculated what they were--some of us thought barracuda, a few votes for small sharks and yet another vote for tuna. Whatvever they were, they had teeth. We also got to witness the Queen Mary II pull into the harbor. QMII is currently the largest ship in the world and it's pretty amazing to see up close.
On Weds. before the QM's passengers could flood the town we cruised over to Nevis and got a great spot on a mooring near the beach. More snorkling followed by an afternoon run on land where we saw a few wild monkeys, some cows and a really large bull that thankfully couldn't run too fast.
By Thursday we made our way to St. Barths. The town of St. Barths is very quaint, very french and very chic. I guess it's a duty-free port which means everything is 'cheaper'. Relatively speaking of course because the stores [Cartier, Louis Vitton etc.] rival anything on 5th Ave. I liked the french-ness of the town and the little cafés with baguettes and tiny espresso coffee. All of the buildings were painted in easter-egg colors with brightly contrasting shutters and roofs. We had a great spot on a mooring near the town and had a chance to see some amazing sailboats ready for a race the next day. Big sea turtles were swimming all over the harbor and the ocean floor [which you could see the bottom of at 25 feet] was littered with giant red starfish.
Friday morning we watched the race sail by us as we moved from our moorning to a small beach on the other side of St. Barths. We all went snorkling and then Andrew and I paddled over to a ladder on the beach that lead to a walking path. The path wound around the volcanic rocks and up the hills revealing some of the most beautiful views of the trip.
Saturday morning [already! how time does fly when you're having fun] we sailed back to St. Martin where we packed up our gear and headed home. :'(
I've always been more of a camper/hiker than a boater but I loved the experience. Being on a boat felt like camping with a twist. You still have the BBQ's and the endless stars but you also don't need to wear shoes [or very much clothing besides your bikini] and you can quickly pick up your campsite at anytime for a better view. I loved going to sleep with the porthole open over my head. It felt like sleeping outside with the feel of the ocean breeze and all of the stars but in the comfy-warmness of your own bed. I also loved eating breakfast and then jumping from the 'dining room' into the ocean for a morning swim or paddling over to shore to go exploring. The wildlife is great. It's incredible what colors the carribbean fish are painted.
Back to reality...back to April in CT. I heard rumours of sunshine and 50--biking season is here!!
On Monday we sailed over to St. Kitts and took a spot on a dock close to town. We took a tour of the island from George the taxi driver and we saw lots of goats, sheep, chickens, monkeys and other 'pets' wandering around the island. Nighttime fun included deckside BBQ's and chumming the water for fish. One of us flipped a piece of beef into the water and instantly heard a big splash. We then took the rest of the dinner scraps and with flashlight in hand watched for the big [big enough for me to second-guess snorkling] fish to jump for their dinner. We all speculated what they were--some of us thought barracuda, a few votes for small sharks and yet another vote for tuna. Whatvever they were, they had teeth. We also got to witness the Queen Mary II pull into the harbor. QMII is currently the largest ship in the world and it's pretty amazing to see up close.
On Weds. before the QM's passengers could flood the town we cruised over to Nevis and got a great spot on a mooring near the beach. More snorkling followed by an afternoon run on land where we saw a few wild monkeys, some cows and a really large bull that thankfully couldn't run too fast.
By Thursday we made our way to St. Barths. The town of St. Barths is very quaint, very french and very chic. I guess it's a duty-free port which means everything is 'cheaper'. Relatively speaking of course because the stores [Cartier, Louis Vitton etc.] rival anything on 5th Ave. I liked the french-ness of the town and the little cafés with baguettes and tiny espresso coffee. All of the buildings were painted in easter-egg colors with brightly contrasting shutters and roofs. We had a great spot on a mooring near the town and had a chance to see some amazing sailboats ready for a race the next day. Big sea turtles were swimming all over the harbor and the ocean floor [which you could see the bottom of at 25 feet] was littered with giant red starfish.
Friday morning we watched the race sail by us as we moved from our moorning to a small beach on the other side of St. Barths. We all went snorkling and then Andrew and I paddled over to a ladder on the beach that lead to a walking path. The path wound around the volcanic rocks and up the hills revealing some of the most beautiful views of the trip.
Saturday morning [already! how time does fly when you're having fun] we sailed back to St. Martin where we packed up our gear and headed home. :'(
I've always been more of a camper/hiker than a boater but I loved the experience. Being on a boat felt like camping with a twist. You still have the BBQ's and the endless stars but you also don't need to wear shoes [or very much clothing besides your bikini] and you can quickly pick up your campsite at anytime for a better view. I loved going to sleep with the porthole open over my head. It felt like sleeping outside with the feel of the ocean breeze and all of the stars but in the comfy-warmness of your own bed. I also loved eating breakfast and then jumping from the 'dining room' into the ocean for a morning swim or paddling over to shore to go exploring. The wildlife is great. It's incredible what colors the carribbean fish are painted.
Back to reality...back to April in CT. I heard rumours of sunshine and 50--biking season is here!!
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