St Martin, yum!

St Martin grew on us and we appreciated it even more after we left. Visiting the Caribbean is a little like taking a trip to Europe. The French influence on St Martin means that it has great bakeries, a supermarket with European quality food and everyone is fashionable. We ate baguettes and drank espresso every day. There are wonderful restaurants and clothing shops. Frances had to buy some clothes of course.  This is the view of Marigot from Fort Louis. It had a cannon facing every direction to protect the town from the British.

This is a house in downtown Marigot. It is typical of a lot of Caribbean houses with heavy shutters that can be closed to lock up at night or keep out high winds.  

There are some strange pastimes for tourists in St Martin. The airport has a short runway that backs up to the beach. The thrill is to stand behind the planes before they take off and withstand the blast from the jet engines. Luckily the guys lived to tell about it.

A town we really liked in St Martin was Grand Caas, a cute beach town with restaurants, clubs and more clothing shops. The group of boats we are traveling with went there as well, Gypsy, Defiant, Mirliflore, Wind Dancer and Kalista. It's fun to explore a new town with a group of cruisers. We left St Martin and are now in Antigua. From Antigua we will go to Guadalupe. We are still having fun and are finding it very interesting to explore the islands. They are all different despite being so close together.

All our best,

Frances and Al

Back in the BVI, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day

We spent New Year's Day on Marina Cay, an island we really like. It has a pretty view, a great beach and a reef close by that's nice for snorkeling. We were also using the laundry facilities all day, too.

The night before was one of the best New Year's Eve parties we have ever attended. Trellis Bay on Tortola throws a party with a buffet of local foods, music, dancing, performances, fire and fireworks. Large metal sculptures are lit with fire all night long on shore. There are bands playing and performances by stilt dancers called "Jumbies". People of all ages are enjoying the evening.  At midnight they light metal sculptures in the water and shoot off fireworks.  It was very dramatic! 

On Marina Cay we ran into a familiar face, the guitar player and singer Eric Stone. He plays 
there at happy hour almost daily. If you request a song you get a free shot of Pussers rum! 

We are now in North Sound on Virgin Gorda. This is a gorgeous spot so we have a lot of company. The big luxury yachts are here along with cruisers and lots of charter sailboats. Cruise ships show up occasionally, too. It's funny that no matter what the size of the vessel we are all doing the same things: checking out the view, going to the restaurants, swimming and snorkeling, and spending time hanging out with friends. We are heading to St Martin early next week with a few of our friends.

Thanks for continuing to follow us on our adventure!

All our best,

Frances and Al