Deserted Paradise, Los Roques

Just a Little Patch of Sand is All You Need to Be Happy

This is one of the wonders in the Caribbean well worth to visit. This place is like the big brother to Tobago Cays. In the Los Roques National park, there are 300+ small islands, sand dunes, and patches of land in the middle of nowhere. You can find hundreds of deserted anchorages, where you snorkel off your boat and explore underwater world. This is a remote destination for wealthy Venezuelans, there are no ferries or cruise lines, the only way to get here is to fly your personal jet or take one of the small airplanes from Caracas or Margarita or the Earthling sailor way. This place is so untouched that one could wonder around for a long time before getting tired. In matter of fact next time my path goes by here, I will spend an extended period goggling around Los Roques.

Socialists with private jets, hmm!?

Venezuelan Yachters

The Lagoon Anchorage

It was nerve-racking to enter this area! All you see approaching from east is two large boats that are sitting on the reefs and they have been sitting there for a long time. It’s difficult to see the reefs if you are entering from east at sunset and a reliable GPS system is vital. Thanks to the Garmin, everything is precise. It’s helpful to have someone stay on the bow to spot out reefs. We anchored right pass the long reef and It feels like being in the middle of the blue marble. It reminds me of Antigua’s Nonsuch Bay and Tobago Cays. The wind is constantly blowing and charging the batteries through the wind generator. All you hear is 8-10 ft waves clashing on the reefs as we are sitting in a calm waters a few hundred feet from them. The water is different shades of blue, green, and brown. As the clouds cover the sun and sway around the sky all the colors gradually change to a lighter or darker shade. This is part of paradise that only a few visit, I hope you can see it if you wish so!

Approaching Grand Roque

Los Roques Archipelago

What am doing? Just absorbing!

The Town in Grand Roque

The main Island and the only town is Grand Roque. That’s where the airport, stores, and civilization is! When you enter this town, specially if you have been at sea for awhile, it feels like going back in time! The architecture is Spanish/Mediterranean, the roads and streets are all sand, there are no cars, and during fiesta 2-5pm, it can literally be a ghost town. People walk around barefoot and there are lots of kids. Many of the houses on Grand Roque are Posadas (guest houses). Historically, locals have been hospitable to outsiders. In Chris Doyle’s Cruising Guide book from early 90’s, it says that the locals can make food and even give you a place to sleep if you need it. Now that has changed to charming elegant Posadas. All of them have a bar and kitchen for their guest and reservations can be made for dinning in. Some of the Posadas are absolutely magnificent and peaceful, decorated with pretty flowers and open ceilings and doors! At the Posadas you will find people that speak fluent English but it is useful to know basic Spanish.

Inside a Posada

Side Street

Indulging Arepas, a typical Venezuelan dish

Katherine is so excited, she is up in the air

If you are visiting Venezuela with US Dollars, make sure to negotiate the exchange rate. At the bank the rate is 4 Bolivares to $1 and in the stores you will get anything from 12 to 25 Bolivares. Therefore things can become very affordable for cruisers with foreign currency. We stock up with local beer, Solera, $11 per 24 case in can, cheapest so far in the Caribbean. Everything is made in Venezuela, even if it’s not made here, it will be labeled as if it was! 
The only hills are on the main island. They are visible from miles away and really easy to hike up to, where you get an excellent view over the archipelago. I’ve always wanted to visit Venezuela and for now this is all the taste I get from this country.

View the complete photo album of Venezuela here

Love Venezuela 

Unexpected visit to Barbados

Wharf River Front, Bridgetown

On my birthday June 27th, Katherine and I had tickets to fly from Grenada to Miami and from there I was going to Chicago and Katherine to New York. American Airline flight was scheduled for 8:50 am and we checked in at the desk at 6:30 am. In the last couple of weeks, I have been stressed out and concerned about my U.S residency card, which is expired. A new card has been applied for and it was send out to my address in Chicago but the post office don’t have any records of delivery.
At the airport in Grenada, I was asked to present a residency card. The lady at the desk  revealed that since the card is expired she has to get a permission to board me from the immigration in Miami. She called the office in Miami airport, but their computer system was down and they could not check my residency status, they asked to call back in 30 min. At 7:30 am, AA agent called Miami again, system still down, call back later. The time for boarding is getting closer and I have no permission to board the flight. Katherine and I decided that she should go ahead and board the plane and hopefully I will be getting a clearance to board last minute. At 8:45 am, I asked the agent to make one more call to Miami, she stated that it’s too late to board the plane but she will call! At this point I already had encountered with most of AA agents. They are not that many in Grenada, since there is only one flight a day. If I missed the flight on my birthday then I had to wait till the following day. Once again the officers in Miami declared the computer system was down. It’s after 9 am and the airplane is about to take off. I went to second floor to witness the flight taking off before I was able to come up with plan B. It seemed like this Boeing 737 was not moving, I waited 30 min by the window looking outside and it wasn’t moving. I went back to the desk and it seemed that all American Airline employees were stressed, the co-pilot was outside the terminal smoking a cigarette. It appeared that the airplane had mechanical problems and it couldn’t take off.
There is no airplane mechanic in Grenada, an engineer had to fly in from Barbados or Puerto Rico. The one in Barbados was not available since he was out fishing flying fish and the next person in Puerto Rico would take at least a couple hours to come to Grenada. Suddenly, I’m so happy the airplane can’t take off. Now I was hopeful again, it must be a miracle I thought, I’m supposed to be on this plane. But now the agents are so busy rerouting all passengers, they don’t have time to assist me, in addition they stated that boarding cards could not be issued after scheduled departure. But kindly I asked John to make a last call.
At 10:30, John called Miami and reported that the flight is delayed and they are going to try to board me if they get a clearance. The computer system worked now and within few minutes the officer in Miami said NEGATIVE! The officer described that I have to go to a U.S Embassy to get a “letter of transportation”. There is a U.S embassy in Grenada, but I already have been in contact with them and they don’t deal with residency issues so the only way is to go to Barbados. Well, I have to fly to Barbados then! Next flight to Barbados is at 14:45 with Liat (Caribbean Airlines). The lady at the Liat desk had seen me walking around the airport frustrated and concerned. I told her the whole story and she was very helpful and sold me a ticket at lowest price it could be sold at the counter. It’s 11 am and the original flight has not taken off yet. I’m concerned that Katherine might miss her connection and she probably has to stay overnight in Miami. There is no way to communicate with her on the other side and she doesn’t know what happen to me. The airport is pretty empty and nothing is going on. All of a sudden, I see somebody coming out from the gate, it’s Katherine. She decided to stay since she would miss her connection. The staff were digging for her luggage on the airplane and she cancelled her flight. Katherine bought a one way ticket to Barbados as well. Great, now I have my mate with me too! 
An hour before the flight to Barbados at the check in, we got to know that you can not fly on a one way ticket to Barbados unless you are connecting. We had to present tickets to our final destination, which we don’t have. They refused to board the two of us even though we told them the story. We had to get a permission from the immigration in Barbados. At this point I am furious. What’s going on today? Is it time to pay back for all the good times I’ve had in the last 8 months? Finally the supervisor agreed to call the immigration in Barbados on our behalf and was able to get permission to board us 20 min before departure. What a day! 

The view from highest elevation

Blue Orchid Beach

Barbados has been a destination of places to visit on my list since the first Mount Gay hat I obtained. Most sailing races in the U.S are sponsored by Mount Gay Rum from Barbados. Within the last five years, I’ve earned a few red Mount Gay hats with the map of Barbados embroidered on them. Therefore, I have been interested to see the Island of Barbados. This island is off the beaten path and it is not a destination many cruisers sail to. In matter of fact there are less than 300 cruising boats that check in Barbados and most of them land here after an atlantic crossing. In addition, there are no protected anchorages around the Island, but there are plenty of pristine pinkish beaches. The visit to Barbados was unexpected. I guess since the thought of visiting this Island has been send to the universe for a long time, now it’s attracting me and I have to visit it for above mentioned reason. This Island has surprised us in many ways. After all, Earthling has sailed and Island hoped almost all the Leeward and Windward islands in the last eight months and I have a understanding of the differences.

Barbados is a relative flat island, the highest peak in the middle is 1135 ft. It is well developed and it’s evident that tourist have been visiting this island for many decades. There are plenty of hotels, resorts, and villas to choose from. We stayed at Rose Apartments, which is small but it has a pool, jacuzzi and the rooms are clean and spacious. The owner of Rose Apartments, George, was very nice and kind to us and we had a great experience the days we spent there. I have not seen any other Caribbean island aside the French islands that have so many cars and traffic. This Island must also have the highest gas stations per square feet, many of them are 24/7. There are real highways that stretches to the north and around. The public transportation includes government busses that cover the entire island, private busses, and there are zillions of taxis. I would think, out of 285 thousand in population, half are taxi drivers. Don’t be annoyed if locals offer you taxi every few steps you take on the streets by the gap. Locals are friendly here, but after all their economy is dependent on tourism and they will try to sell you products and services. One observation about most local men here is the fashion of gold tooth. It also could be status in society, some have one gold tooth and some gold teeth.

Animal Flower Bay/Cave

Katherine and I got to explore the Island and drove to the caves on most northern part and got a taste of the nature of Barbados. We came across monkeys which was a surprise. Out of all the Islands, I have seen monkeys only in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Unlike other Caribbean islands, Barbados has it’s own currency, Barbados Dollar BBD, $1US is equal to $2 BBD. Furthermore, “No smoking permitted” signs are everywhere and even in some outdoor facilities, smoking laws are not enforced in most Islands in West Indies. Since there are so many tourist in Barbados, there are lots of entertainment, night clubs, live music, Reggie, house music and entertainment for every day of the week. Furthermore, tons of small and big establishments have slot machines and gambling. Right now is the low season, but still there are more tourist here than most other islands in the WI. The majority of visitors are from Trinidad, Brazil, Italy, Canada, U.S, and believe it or not Venezuela. 
Barbados has great sea food, Katherine and I indulged ourselves with Marlins, Swordfish, tuna, and what Barbados is most known for, flying fish. There is also an open diverse culture in Barbados, where we noticed more Asians, homosexuals, and Muslims than any other Island as one of the oldest synagogues in Western hemisphere is located in Bridgetown.
The economy of Barbados is mostly tourism and the Nation is considered one of the wealthiest in the West Indies. Barbados was a little too much for our cruising routine, however it got us ready and prepared for the chaos in Chicago and New York.

Love from Barbados
       
View the Barbados photo album on fb page, click here

Happy Island

Happy Island

The last stop in the nation of St. Vincent and Grenadines was Union Island. One of the most interesting sites to visit here is the Happy Island. The proprietor, Janti, has created an Island out of Conch shells. He collected shells during an environmental clean up in Union Island by stacking the shells into a small Island. Happy Island is like a utopia. Janti catches rain water, he has installed solar panels, a wind generator, and everything is self made. He certainly has done a professional job and made a great business and home out of it. Everything on his drink menu is 10EC, even the local beer “Hairoun”, but don’t worry Janti will serve you at least one complimentary drink throughout the night. He was very generous to us!
Here is a video from Anthony Bourdain’s visit to Happy Island, click here.

Katherine, Janti, and Sven, Happy Island

I thought groceries would be cheaper in Union than the next Island, however that was not the case. Union Island is slightly more expensive than St. Vincent or even Mayreau. A dozen of eggs cost 12EC in Union, 10EC in Mayreau, and 8EC in the main Island St. Vincent. The difference is not significant but in the long run 3EC here and there adds up. Large mangos in Union cost 4-5EC each, which is crazy and none of them were as good as those picked from Gary’s farm in Cumberland. 

New Looks

The first Island in the Grenada Nation Southbound is Carriacou. The day we arrived, both Katherine and I decided to get a new look from the local barbers. I got a full cut and shave and Katherine got her entire head braided. The plan was to stay in Carriacou just for a couple of days, but you never know who you will meet and what your experience will turn out like. The first day, Earthling anchored in a relatively rolly anchorage in Hillsborough Bay, we met Annie. She was barbecuing for the Friday party in town. The chickens on the grill looked and smelled so good that our stomachs would not let us pass by without a taste. The stop at the grill turned into a great relationship with Annie.

The following day the Dahon folding bikes had to come out of their tote bags for a spin around the Island. Carriacou is a good island for biking,
most of the roads are not as hilly as many other Caribbean Islands. We were informed that the road around the Northern part of the Island is closed for through traffic. Later we realized the gravel road was blocked since big trees had fallen blocking the road. This didn’t stop us from continuing through.

Katherine flying over the tree

In Windward, our paths crossed again with Annie in front of her mother’s house. She was grilling for the locals this Saturday and a nice vibe was present. One conversation led to another and she invited us to her house by Tyrrel bay for dinner the next day. Long story short, Annie and her partner Nigel have served us excellent home made Caribbean dishes the last five days. Last night we invited them aboard and served dishes from the Earthling galley. Apparently today June 7th is a local planting holiday. Katherine and I are going for lunch to their home along with their family and will visit their farm to celebrate and plant for the occasion.

Nigel, Annie, Katherine, and I

Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, high point

Tyrrel Bay, low point

Now in Terryl Bay, it might look busy because of the 70 or so boats anchored here, but it’s very quiet, maybe less than half of the boats are live aboard. There are only a couple restaurants and markets. Nothing much is really going on here, but we have met some interesting people such as Paul Earling Johnson and Eddie. Paul is a legendary sailor, he has been sailing for 65+ years. He has done 39 Atlantic crossings, his first solo crossing on a 19 footer, he’s been a boat builder, and he has tons of never ending sailing stories. Paul and Eddie were talking about Earthling as we walked by. They noticed that the top starboard spreader was slightly upward and not even, that’s how Eddie lost his mast a few years ago! Scary, but good thing they spotted it. Eddie offered to help and went up the mast and evened the spreader out. Eddie is Dominican and he has been living aboard a 22 ft sailboat without an inboard or outboard for ten years. One thing we all have in common is that we row our dinghies to shore!  

Boat building, Winward

Carriacou is also known for it’s boat building. There is not as much boat building done here as in the past but most smaller boats and dinghies are still made here. In Tyrrel Bay, there are many unique looking sailboats as well as a small boat yard of which Earthling might be hauled out in for the Hurricane season. The original plan was to store her in Trinidad, since it’s cheap and below the hurricane belt. However, there are other risks involved of storing in Trinidad so a better deal might work out in Carriacou or Granada. In 20 days, this leg of Earthling adventure will come to an end and I have to fly back to Chicago to earn dinero for the next leg.     

Love from Carriacou

See the photo album of Grenada here!

Boiling lake

Vittororio Walking down the trail

The last exploration in Dominica was a hike to the world’s largest boiling lake. The distance from Portsmouth to the lake is a couple hours by car and the hike itself takes a few hours each way. A group of five Earthlings from various nations decided to rent a car and drive to this site. Virginie from France, Vittorio from Italy, Syd from New Zealand, Nico is Lebanese/American, and I am Persian/Swedish with an American twist.
This adventure was a 12 hour trip back and forth in the spectacular nature of Dominica. Driving up and down the mountains, around sharp turns, on a narrow two way road made me desire a motorcycle ride.

We had to ask for driving directions along the way and it seemed that everyone had different understandings of how long it took to do this specific hike. Some told us it takes 5-6 hours each way and it was recommended to have a guide. The time a hike takes depends on your health condition and the terrain. I have friends in their 70’s that would be able to keep up and go on hikes for hours and others in their 20’s that would run out of breath within minutes. We already knew that Mike and Rebecca on “Zero to Cruising” did it in less than 3 hours, most likely it wouldn’t take us much longer. The trail is well laid out, steps are placed everywhere, and appears to have been around for a long time.  Whoever made it, must have put a lot of time  and labor into it. We certainly appreciated the work. The trail is medium to difficult and in rainy season, it would probably be muddy and challenging. I don’t think it’s necessarily to have a guide, however, as Dominica’s income relies on tourism, it would be kind to hire one when disposable income is available.

Vaporizing Steam

According to some sources, this lake is the last remaining in the world. The other one is in New Zealand and it’s drying out. It feels like some of the places we visit might disappear in our life time. I feel fortunate to see all these hidden places. This site is in the middle of a rain forest, you don’t see many fruit trees and it’s wet and mossy. There is green, black, grey, short, and long moss growing on trees, bushes, steps, and everywhere else. The symphony of twittering birds entertained us most of the way! The closer we got, the more we smelled the "rotten eggs", we joked, and blamed it on each other. The cause of this was from the sulfur mist, springs, and rivers. Sulfur is good for the skin and the opportunity to take a bath in the pool underneath a hot sulfur waterfall was taken advantage of by this group of Earthlings. In the main valley, steam is vaporizing out of the ground and the mustard yellow/red rocks look like they just came out of the oven. It is slightly frightening to walk between these objects and one concern is to not step into a boiling spring. It’s not impossible to get burn injuries!

Edge of the Wall

The view of the lake is absolutely astonishing. The lake is always covered in haze and when the wind blows, the boiling water in the center is clearly visible. I was thinking; while walking the edges of the tall wall alone, that a landslide underneath ones feet is imminent ejection out of paradise. That thought was scary for a second! But by not letting fear in, the land is less likely to slide!


Love from the Boiling Lake

View the complete Dominica photo Album here

Dominica

Carib Resident

Dominica is one of the smallest countries in the world with a population of 73 thousand. People live very simple lives here. There is an abundance of fresh water, but not necessarily every body has running water in their households. Water faucets are on every block and that’s where we fill our tanks as well. The nominal GDP per capita is only $5200, which doesn’t mean much, because there is plenty of food and no body starves here. This country grows enough food for millions of people. Many of the islands in the Caribbean import vegetables and fruits from Dominica. Last year, in the mountains in the DR, we bought a water melon from a street vendor, which was imported from Dominica. Dominican Republic and Dominica sound similar and can be confused, they are 2 different countries, both in the Caribbean Sea, but 450 miles away from each other. This land’s soil is extremely

Custard Apple

fertile. Most of the Islands in the Caribbean are volcanic and Dominica has 7! The hills and mountains are lush, green, and almost anything can grow here. The locals joke that you toss any  seed on the ground, it grows. There are many tropical fruits that I have never seen or eaten before, such as the custard apple. A few days ago after dropping off Kelly at the airport, we visited the Carib Territory. A custard apple tree got our attention and the family that lived there invited us to try the fruit, which was very creamy and sweet.  
Caribs are the original inhabitants of Dominica and their territory is on the east side of the Island. Their facial appearance is asian and lighter in color, however, they have been mixed with the Africans over the last couple hundred years.

"Providence" Martin

Dominica has been nicknamed “Nature Isle of the Caribbean” because of its unspoiled nature. There are an extensive numbers of rivers, waterfalls, and springs. We have hiked to several waterfalls and some were totally deserted with not a single soul around.
There are hot springs and cold boiling springs. Last week, we biked to a hot spring that supposedly only locals know about it. The hot water was running out of a cliff into a pool, where we took a dip. It was just like a jacuzzi, but all natural, in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by tall trees with the sounds of chirping birds and running water. A great place for meditation!
Since the arrival in Dominica, Earthling has been anchored in one spot, Portsmouth. This is the best place to anchor and explore the island by bus or rental car. Most sailors hire a boat boy/tour guide, whom offer yacht services, they bring ice, water, fruits, and they will take you on the Indian

Waterfall,  Carib Territory

river and other tours. We employed Martin who goes by “Providence”. He has been a professional guide for 25 years and has a great reputation. Martin has been telling us where to go or what to visit and during the time Kelly was here, he would come by and check if she needed anything. Moreover, you can do lots of activities on your own. From Portsmouth you can walk or hike to waterfalls, rivers, springs, and so forth.

So far Dominica is my favorite place in the Caribbean, mostly because of it’s unspoiled nature, waterfalls, rivers, springs, fruits, people, and inexpensive food.

Love from Dominica
View the photos Album of Dominica on the fb page.

Bad Boy Dinghy Ride

ATTENTION: Don't try this at home! 

Earthling under full sail from Antigua to Guadeloupe. The trolling line got caught on the dinghy and George bravely or stupidly had to go aboard and untangle the line while under way. A true dinghy cowboy!

A Hidden Paradise

Helicopter Landing by Palm Beach Hotel

It’s amazing to visit places that are so remote from the rest of the world. Barbuda and Antigua are one nation and only 25 miles from each other, yet so different. In Antigua there is an abundance of resorts, hotels, restarurants, and tourists. In Barbuda there are  only 3 resorts, one of which, has been closed for years. The other two, "Coco Point Lodge" and "Palm Beach Hotel" are very private and out of most people’s budget. Coco Point lodge won’t even serve to the cruising community and Palm Beach Hotel has a special pricing strategy, which in simple words, means don’t come here unless you have an endless supply of money. If there was a survey for the most expensive cheeseburger in the world, “Palm Beach Restaurant” would definitely make it in the top ten! A regular beer is priced at $19US and a chesseburger $49US, excluding the 20% tax. We see the same helicopter flying in and out everyday just to drop off guests.

We have anchored in three different places during the 7 day visit to Barbuda. The most scenic anchorage is by 11 mile beach. The sand on this beach has a pinkish color and is absolutely magnificent and reserved for a very few people. The stingrays here are not shy to jump out of the water, gliding over it so elegantly. I wish it could have been captured on camera. We feel very fortunate and lucky to be one of those few people visiting this hidden paradise. There is not a single soul on this beach. What’s even better, is that we setup a bonfire on the night of the full moon. Our friends and us gathered wood for the fire and set up our tent just a few feet from the clashing waves on this long stretched beach. Hotdogs and baked potatoes were made for dinner. We collected enough wood for the fire to last until midnight, then we all crashed in the tent.      


The only town and the capital of Barbuda is Codrington and most of the Island’s population live here. Codrington is named after the family that originally came to the Island in the 1600’s. It’s not even that easy to get to this town. We had to take our dinghy to the beach, pull it across the beach over to Codrington lagoon, and dinghy 1.3 miles to the town. There are taxi services that take people across the lagoon so you don’t have to drag your dinghy, but taxis are out of our budget. Our taxi is the dinghy and the 2  Dahon foldable bikes. We did the trip across the lagoon twice and the second time, the folding bikes were with us on the dinghy. These bikes have carried us to many places and are great transportation. The four of us biked 3-4 miles on a dirt road to get to the windward side of the island to explore some caves.
Why do we like to explore caves? Is it because mankind originally lived in caves? It’s fun to go in caves, and some advice, consider wearing proper shoes to be able to climb up rocks to even get into them. Furthermore, once you get into a cave, beware... there might be creatures living there. As I am stepping into one of these grottos, some kind of  animal started screaming loudly, just a few feet away! It surprised and scared the hell out of me. On top of that, as I am trying to walk away, Mike points out a huge bat hanging on the ceiling of the cave just above me! We later realized that there was no bat and the animal that screamed was just a bird!
      

Locals Commenting on Charlene

One of the Barbudan's Sunday events is horse racing and bike racing. We happened to experience a bit of each of these events. This Island has a bicycle culture, since it’s so flat. Everybody rides bikes and people are very enthusiastic about them. The few locals we connected with, admired our fold-up bikes so much they gave them names, Charlene and Maxene! The horse race was scheduled for 3:30pm and we were there till 5:30pm. They kept saying the race will start soon, and in the the Caribbean, that’s island time. For us cruisers, there are two times, it’s either day-time or night-time. When night-time approaches we have to get going home. Unfortunately, we never got to see the horse races because the night-time was approaching.
If we had spent another day in this town, everybody would have known us by name and we would have seen most of the townsfolk.

Love from a Hidden Paradise

Check out the Antigua photo album on Earthling's fb page

Statia (St. Eustatius)

Statia is only 20 miles southeast of Saba. With the Easterly wind, it took us 7 hours to get here. As approaching this Island, we see barges, tugboats and a couple of tall ships on anchor. I felt an energy of industry and commercialization. St. Eustatius is still under Dutch influence and there use to be a lot of action in the mid 17th century. Apparently, it was the trade capital of the Indies during this time. Even today, Statia seems like it has more cargo traffic than most other Islands around this area. There is only one good anchorage outside of Oranjestad and there are moorings available free of charge when you check in with the marine park.
 

Every time we get to a new place, I take out the binoculars and check out what’s up on land. I look for where we can land the dinghy, and scope out the scene. It’s fun to look at a place that you have never been to from a distance by water. As I’m watching the shore, I capture a tree full of white-birds & Egrets. Suddenly, two larger Parrot-like birds fly out the tree and start to chase two Egrets away. The Parrot-like birds were green and red and just so unusual. I’ve never seen anything like it before! Later we learned that they are the national bird of Statia, called the “Nahamaya” or also known by the sound they make “Killy Killy”. Kelly was so excited to have a bird named after her!

In Oranjestad, there seems to be an underlying theme of Orange. You see an orange church in the middle of the town. Also, if you pay enough attention, people like to dress in orange, you see orange houses and even their curtains in that color.  We didn’t see  many orange fruit trees though! Orange is such a popular color here because it is said to be a royal color for the Dutch.
Just up the hill from Oranjestad is the Quill. Like most of the other Caribbean Islands, Statia is volcanic. The Quill is an extinct volcano with a large crater. As adventurous as we are, we just had to hike up to the crater. Along the hiking trail, we saw a couple of  snakes (Red Bellied Racers) that were a few feet long. They’re not known to be of any danger, but we still didn’t try to pet them! On the Quill, most of the vegetation is bushy and just a few feet tall, but we did come across some huge trees that must have been a few hundred years old. In addition, we saw many tropical plants, with flowers that have natural medicinal qualities for different kinds of diseases. The Periwinkle, (Catharanthus Roseus) makes medicine that cures diabetes and malaria. I wish I could have collected more of their flowers for some of my dearest friends and family that have diabetes.
Moreover, there were many wild chickens and roosters up on the rim of the Quill crater. When we got there, one of the chickens fell in love with Kelly and followed us around and almost came down to the boat with us. Maybe the chicken misunderstood Kelly with Killy Killy!                 

Love from Statia

View photos of Statia on EarthlingSailor’s page on Facebook

Saba

The Island of Saba

When I was looking at the charts of the Caribbean a few years ago, I saw a Little Island named “Saba”. In my mind I knew I was going to visit this Island when I get there. The name has a familiarity in my world. Saba is a word in Farsi that means a gentle breeze, and I also have dear friends of mine like Dr. Saba. All that is a good reason to visit this Land.

Bottom

You can see Saba 30 to 50 miles away since it’s so elevated. Saba has been on the horizon since we were approaching St. Martin from St. Croix almost a month ago. This Island is very steep for the amount of land it’s on. It’s 3000 feet on a 5.5 square miles of land. Most cruiser’s don’t bother visiting Saba because of the unprotected anchorage and is slightly difficult to get to (big northerly swells makes it an uncomfortable passage). But Earthling style is to visit and go to distant places that are untouched and unspoiled.

We are on a mooring in a hundred feet of water and the vertical mountain looks like a tall wall. It’s a surreal feeling to experience this. It makes you feel small and subconsciously scared. We would not even be able to anchor right here, since 100 feet of water needs at least 400 to 500 feet of chain. Big thanks to the Sabans that put these moorings here.

Saba is also a marine park and if you like to scuba dive or snorkel, here is one good place for that. Every time we come to a new place, it’s like a wonderland. We have never been on this land and there is so much to see and explore. 

Before entering this wonderland, we had a surprise visit by the Dutch coastguard. Two gentlemen came aboard, checked all the documents, recorded information, searched the boat and left. Anytime you deal with officials, you have to be nice, polite, and courteous and give them whatever information they need. Even though I dislike to have a random person come aboard my home and search through my belongings, I don’t have a choice! We thanked the coastguard for giving us a visit and keeping these waters secure! 

Windward

Since a while ago we already had decided to camp out on Saba. We put Earthling on a mooring by Fort Bay, packed a tent, sleeping bag, and enough food for 24 hours and rowed ashore. At the check in we were informed that you are not allowed to put up a tent and camp overnight or have a bonfire on the island, which was a bummer. The few roads on Saba are almost vertical. The first road from Fort Bay up the hill to the to the town “Bottom” almost broke my back. I wish I could put the tent on one of the many goats on the roadside to carry it up for me. Within a short time we were 1000 feet up in the skies. As you get up on Saba, you get into a rainforest and the view becomes more and more magnificent. You see trees, plants, flowers and fruits that you have never seen. And when you pass another person, you definitely must greet. Vehicles pass by and wave and it seems like everyone knows each other. At least everyone respects one another. As we are hiking the trails up the mountain into the jungle at higher elevation, I’m concerned about where we are going to sleep tonight. There is not enough time to get back to the boat before dark and we have to find somewhere to settle down. Along the trail toward the “Windward” we sighted an Ecolodge. Just as I’m picking up a tropical fruit underneath a tree, a four wheeler approaches and the owner Ben greets us. What kind of fruit is this, I asked him. It’s a Golden Apple, Ben replied. A Golden Apple is something between a mango and an apple. It’s very juicy and sweet, and its seed looks something like a blowfish. We connected with Ben and he offered us to set up the tent on his property right by a small pond. He also pointed out a fire pit that was covered in big banana leafs. He said, if you clean it up, you can use it. I started chopping the plants and leafs around the fire pit with a machete. Thereafter, we laid all the leaves  underneath the tent for more cushioning. Ben has made a little utopia here, and named it Rendez-Vous. There are 12 or so private lodges and all are solar powered. He grows most of his vegetables and has a restaurant, where some locals hike to for dinner. It didn’t take long before the tent was up and the fire was going under the full moon. In the fire we wrapped potatoes in foil and some left over pasta from the night before in banana leafs. Dinner was just about ready and Ben came over and to give us a bottle of Merlot as a belated Christmas gift. It can’t be better than this. 

The next day we hiked to the “Windward”, which is the other town on Saba. We met and talked to some locals that have been living on Saba all their life. People here are so welcoming and hospitable. This adventure on Saba was the first and might be the last time we visit this pretty island. The memories of it will be a part of our lives forever. 

Love from Saba     

To view photos of Saba, go to Earthlingsailor’s page on facebook.

Back In The Saddle

Earthling is launched and it feels great. The bottom is clean with a new layer of paint, the top part of the hull is waxed, the zincs on the prop are changed and all the through hulls are inspected. We have lots of mosquito bites on our legs and arms, since Earthling was stored by a swamp! But when she was launched and as soon as we left the marina and got to our anchorage, it was all worth it. There is a lot of work involved to keep a vessel maintained, especially when you have very limited access to resources. When this is the case, you have to do it yourself.  And if you are not handy or rich then forget about it!

Our first overnight anchorage by Norman Island, BVI was quiet, beautiful, calm, and excellent weather. It was a little taste of this adventure before we had to get to work on the boat again.
The first passage from Norman Island to St. Croix involved some 8-10 ft waves and wind gusts up to 27 knots, a few wash-overs and we are salted again.  Now we are in our Caribbean home, St. Croix. We call it this mostly because our friends Tony and  Ellen live here and St. Croix is also part of the US.  As we are pulling into the anchorage area in St. Croix, I'm taking down the main sail and Kelly is behind helm, and next to us is Ron & Karyn on Equinox... these are friends we met 8 months ago in Turks and Caicos. What a small world! Tomorrow we are invited for dinner aboard Equinox.

We will be staying here in St. Croix for the next few weeks to work on Earthling, which involves installing new equipment and repairing. The biggest project is sealing the toe rails and stanchions. This project is estimated to take 7-10 days.

Aboard we have had visitors since we got here. The 2 visitors have been keeping us entertained and they made us throw some of our food away. They must have helped themselves to the boat during the last 4 months. These mice were on the boat before we got back and they thought we were visitors! I like pets but so sorry, not mice. A couple nights in a row we couldn't really sleep peacefully because as soon as we went to sleep these guys would come out and play around in the galley and jump around up and down the stairs. Finally,  we had to get a mousetrap and capture these creatures and feed them to the fish.

The last few days it has been windy. They call them the "Christmas Winds", which is good for us because the wind generator is keeping the batteries charged. No need for fossil fuels to generate energy!

Love from St. Croix