Caribbean Islands and more

I know, not to be repetitive, but it has been too long since last blog but I have been busy enjoying paradise. Also I have not had a good enough internet connection until I arrived here in Granada, West Indies.

The last blog highlighted my voyage through the Bahama islands. Now it is time to share the same with you as I cruised through the Eastern Caribbean. I am in Granada which is considered the bottom of the Caribbean, best known as part of the windward islands. To arrive here I visited the following islands and anchorages after leaving the Bahama islands. There was also stops at much smaller islands that are off the beaten trail.

Turks and Caicos,Dominican Republic, Puerto Republic, Spanish Virgin Islands, American Virgin Islands, British Virgin Island, St. Martin, St. Kits, Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Bequia, Tobago Cays, Union Island, Carriacou, and finally Granada. Since leaving Panama a year ago last May, I have 3800 nautical miles under my keel. I have experienced everything from complete boredom to terror. That is sailing, and you can switch from one to the other in a few seconds. Despite that, here I am for another year while I wait until the end of another hurricane season. I will be hanging here, doing some local area sailing until November and experience all of that Granada offers. I am hoping that some friends will be joining me in January to sail north to St Vincent. Until then, I will be pushing off from here in March for Panama with a stop in Bonaire. Bonaire is off the coast of Venezuela. This island is one of three islands in a chain that is often referred to as the ABC's all belonging to the Dutch.

Enough of this chatter. It is time to share some photos with a few words of what you are viewing. I wish I could tell you from which islands the photos were taken but I can't remember last week much less last month. I guess it is not important where the photos were taken but more what it shows of the beauty that I experience  down here every day. The people and the islands has been a wonderful experience that I wish all of you could one day can experience.

Here are some representative photos of islands as we approach yet another anchorage. The islands along the eastern Caribbean and very close to each other. The longest distance is 80 km.

Here is a small fishing village where we enjoyed ourselves for a couple of days.

The below island must me one of the three French speaking islands. It is around 10 in the morning and nothing is open. The French are not know to be hard workers. They arrive at work at 10:00, close three hours for lunch a 12:00, open at three and again close at 6:00. Saturday they work only until noon and then off until Monday. NO ONE works on Sundays.

We enjoy hiking and the views it offers from the top of hills.

Dolce Vita is waiting and resting

This is one of the many British Islands in the Caribbean.

This is a copy of a clock in London. Does anyone recognize it?

 We stopped and had fun with these children who were taking a break from their studies at school..

A creature from the black lagoon.

A pleasant garden.

Many of the islands have forts that date back to the 1700 and 1800's. They were either built by the French, Spanish, Dutch or the British to protect the islands that they took over after killing all of the native people.

This point of land is located were the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea.

The fire trees, as they are called, were in full colors. The colors can be white, bright red or orange.

Many of the islands' homes are painted in bright colors. This building is conservative when compared to most.

We went to the beach one evening for eats and drinks and had a great time with the locals. These two owned the small grass hut where we had a fun evening laughing and telling tall stories to each other and the other locals at he bar.

The above photo is of homes that lost their roofs from the last hurricane and have, as yet, not been rebuilt.

My camera went bad so I had to buy a replacement so I deciding to try an under-water camera that might last longer in this salty environment. This is Maggie. For those of you that may have forgotten, Maggie joined be in Key West, Florida to sail with me to Granada. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

A smile that suggests that my new friend is saying "hello strange creature".

The corral at many of these islands is damaged either from the environment or from hurricanes. The governments are doing what they can to rebuild them which will take many years. Many have set up areas were they have created marine parks with restrictions that protect the corral and the fish.

More flame trees.

A small fishing village.

Off we go on another hick.

Here we are taking a trail to the water falls.

Maggie taking a shower.

 Save to poor iguanas so they don't become road kill.

An orange flame tree.

Remember my note about colorful homes and building?

We were anchored near the beach off of down town.

Beautiful church steeple.

I wonder who the architect was for this building.

Time to relax on the beach.

Maggie loves to swim and climb hills. She and a guide climbed up to the shoulder of the hill in the middle of the photo. I stayed behind to protect the boat and the beer from thieves.

There are many more photos and stories to share but if I continue, you will become bored and not finish scrolling through the blog because it has become to long. So I will stop here so you can digest what you have seen and read so far. I will return soon to add another chapter to my adventures at sea. Until then, be safe out there.