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Today is our last day in NJ. We’ve stayed at our friends, Anne and Johns, for the last couple of nights celebrating John’s birthday with a BBQ yesterday in good company. Ben, Sam and Jess were invited so we saw them a little more and got to hear them play the piano which Anne and John are looking after.
Today we’ll take Sam shopping for clothes and have a final meet up this evening before we head back to JFK on our way to Grenada. Flight is 5 past midnight. Hopefully we’ll sleep. Back in Grenada we’ll need to move Dignity onto the dock ready for her upgrade.
For now, here is a video of Ben graduating compiled from clips taken by Jess on her camera.
Sunday night, after having a few beers with John and Jill from Stevee Jean we went ashore for the Sunday beach BBQ. As with a week earlier, there were plenty of cruisers there so we had much company. The food was good and the rum punches were plentiful and very strong. This all meant that Monday was a hangover day. The morning was somewhat useless. The only thing that made me feel better was knowing that John was in the same state.
After lunch I popped over to Stevee Jean as I’d promised to show John some checks I’d learned. In the evening, we had John and Jill over for a BBQ. We’d also invited our boat helper / service provider, Alexis, and his girlfriend. It was nice to have them aboard and learn a bit about local life.
Tuesday was our day for the big hike. As it was long and at the other end of the island we had to be ready to leave the boat by 5:30. We managed breakfast and coffee and were ready in time. Alexis picked us up along with another 8 cruisers (including Sharon and Vaughn from Reality and Angie from Cirque de Soleil) and took as ashore where we boarded a minibus which took us to the start of the walk.
The weather started off wet and stayed that way only to occasionally pause and to often get wetter. The walk to the Boiling lake was along a “made” path starting at around 1,600ft above sea level and highest point of 3,200 feet before descending and climbing again. Along the way we came to the Valley of Desolation which was a large area of hydrothermal activity dwarfing the trifling patches we saw nearby close to Trafalgar Falls a few days previously. We spent some time here looking at the various pools and steaming vents. We were quite wet and cold from the wind and rain so we welcomed the warmth that blew over us from this region.
The walk onwards to the Boiling Lake took another hour crossing stream beds with more steep descents and ascents to keep us warm. The boiling lake was eventually reached as we arrived at a plateau looking down at the lake. At times you could not see it due to the mist, condensation and clouds. But when we could see it it was quite awesome; a crater lake looking like a huge boiling cauldron. We took plenty of pics. Many of them had to be deleted due to the lack of visibility.
Here also is another video montage. Unfortunately, the lake itself is hard to see in this.
The way back was hard word. In particular, the ascent from the Valley of Desolation back to the high point of the trail was a real struggle. We arrived back at the start point in very good time only to end up waiting over 2 hours in the rain for the ride back. To add to this, the minivan driver stopped off to pick up a takeaway dinner in Roseau which added to the time it took to get back. We were back on the boat by about 6pm, ate, then fell asleep.
Today we’re a little stiff and plan to rest up. We will be doing some boat prep later today as we plan to sail to Roseau tomorrow and onward to Martinique on Friday.
Yesterday was our car hire day. Jo and George from Sutton Ho had agreed to go in with us so we had good company throughout the day.
We left the boat just before 8 and picked up Jo and George. We dinghied ashore to await the car hire chap who was supposed to drop of the car at the dock at 8am. I guess 8:20 is close enough – particularly island time. Contrary to expectations set we had to go into the office and do some paperwork which slowed us down a bit more. His printer wasn’t working so to prevent him having to hand write the forms I fixed it for him.
Soon we were off. Our first stop was Emerald Pool which we reached with just the one wrong turn. Emerald Pool is one of the national park locations and as with most, it is quite accessible and part of the tourist route. We arrived just after a coach load of cruise ship folks. Knowing that they would be rushed in and out we took our time and soon had the area to ourselves. It was about a 15 minute walk to the waterfalls / pool. The water was cool but very refreshing to dip into. The guides always tell visitors that dipping in these pools takes 10 years off you. Jo, who has been cruising for a few years, has heard this and done this a number of times so she’s pretty close to being reborn.
The path back to the car led us to a couple of view points one of which we could see out to the Atlantic Ocean.
Next we headed in the direction of Trafalgar Falls near Roseau. On the map it showed there were some sulphur springs nearby and on the internet I had found you could visit a number of them if you visited a place/resort called the Rainforest Shangri-La. We also figured we’d look for a lunch spot around there.
Again, it took only one wrong turn to find our way to the vicinity. We found the Rainforest Shangri-La first and decided to go in. The place was a little mountain retreat with a few bamboo huts, a yoga area, a massage hut and a number of hot tubs fed by water heated by geothermal activities. They offered tours of the grounds where we got to see a number of bubbling pools, steaming caves and sulphurous exhalations. We quite enjoyed this as we really had no expectations on this.
We found a delightful place to eat but unfortunately this required reservations. Nearer to the falls themselves we stopped off at another place which was almost as nice and had lunch.
Trafalgar Falls were quite impressive and had a surprise. There are actually two falls which meet shortly after their respective bases. There are no pools to swim in but the real surprise was a hot spring which ran through sevaral pools in which you could sit. Not having had a bath for over three months I was keen to dip myself in.
We did have the possibility lined up of a third set of falls but by then we didn’t have the time so we headed into Roseau for a big provisioning. In under two weeks we’ll be meeting our friends in Martinique. The strike is still on there and while we are hearing that food can be bought in the towns away from the capital we are taking no chances. Having the hire car was an execellent opportunity to buy in a lot of food that will keep. The freezer and cupboards are now pretty full. Now all we need to do is top off what we have in preparation for our friends visit.
Back at the boats and having dropped everything off we popped round to Sutton Ho for evening tipples before heading back to Dignity to have our dinner and fall asleep. All in all a good day made all the better for the company we had.
I’ll leave you with a video montage and the inevitable pictures.
Before leaving the anchorage we went for a final walk up to a big cross on a nearby hill. We were afforded some new and great view of our anchorage. Pics of course below.
We then shifted the boat around the corner into the town of Bourge de Saintes where we will stay a night or two. From the water it all now feels a lot more crowded. Rather than four or five boats around us we have forty to fifty. On the upside we have an internet connection. This enabled Helen to have a live conversation, using Skype this end, with her brother in Cornwall England whose birthday it is today. They have snow all over which has brought everything to a halt. Poor old Uk. The internet connection is also allowing us to upload our pics so that should be done soon.
Shortly after 11 I took the dinghy to the dock and walked to the baker to pick up fresh bread for lunch. The bread is particularly good here. I also popped into the tourist office and discovered that the gasoline strike is over on the mainland so we should be able hire a car and finally go on some of our planned hikes next week. I did notice that the streets were a lot more crowded today than yesterday. I wonder if the two events are related. I think we were spoilt yesterday. Nevertheless, it’s still nice.
We’ve managed some chores today. I’ve fixed an issue with the sail cars and finally changed the genset oil. Helen managed to sew and fix some holes in her clothes – everything falls apart it seems.
We’ve decided to reward ourselves for our hard work today by eating out again. But before we do that we’ll need some exercise. Soon we’ll be off up the hill to the other side of town to Fort Napoleon and get a peak over to the next bay.
Yesterday afternoon, when Helen and I were walking around town we bumped into a group of four englishfolk: Graden, Sue, David and Margaret who were chartering the sailing boat “Clarabella.” I had bumped into Graden on one of my earlier attempts to clear in. We ended up inviting them around for cocktails later in the evening. It was nice to have them over and speak some English with some of our fellow countrymen.
This morning we walked up the hill to the Botanical Gardens. On the way (and on the way back) we tried again to clear in but customs remains resolutely closed at all times of day.
The gardens were spectacular. Countless varieties of tropical plants were on display. The layout was very similar to a curvy Ikea but there the comparison ends. It was pleasurable for a start. On entering the gardens we were greeted by a coy pond full of ravenous and massive coy. For a few cents you can feed them and they know it.
By end of this morning the weather had turned a little drizzly. Having scoured the town for fresh bread (there was none) we headed back to the boat for lunch. If the weather clears this afternoon, we’ll go for a walk along the Deshaies River. This evening, we may just eat out to treat ourselves.