2026-05-23 Touring St. Lucia, and then on to Bequia

Monday we went with Jason and Monica on Breathe seeing sights in St. Lucia.  Had rented a car, and drove a couple of hours south to the Tet Paul Nature Trail.  Short trail but very nice views of The Pitons, which are two volcanic spires on the coast of St. Lucia.

Enjoying the view

Kitty could care less about the view

We followed the short hike, with lunch at a traditional St. Lucia food restaurant, with views of the Pitons.

View from the restaurant "The Beacons"

Next door to the restaurant we walked through the Maranatha Gardens, which is a "prayer sanctuary".  Did not feel the need to pray, but enjoyed the beautiful gardens.  Liked them almost better than the botanical gardens.  We were the only ones there, so it was quiet, and very nicely landscaped while still feeling a bit wild.

In the garden

Dean enjoying the garden

Lots of these guys in the garden

Nice view of the Pitons from the garden

The last stop was to a place where you could see the St. Lucia Amazon - which is a parrot found only on St. Lucia.  Jason and Monica enjoy birding, so we spent an hour or so looking for parrots at an overlook owned by a local fellow.   We enjoyed talking to him, as he had some strong views on life in general.   Dean finally spotted the parrots flying over, and he took a photo with his phone.  Compare that to the photo Jason took with his birding camera - quite the difference.

Those little black specks in the sky are the parrots

And when you have a super telephoto lens, this is the same parrot

Next day we headed out again to the Millet Bird Sanctuary.  We found out when we got there that closed toe shoes are required due to snakes.    It didn't make sense that they needed close toe shoes if shorts were OK, but they explained it was government rules since there were snakes in the area, notably the St. Lucia pit viper, which was poisonous.    We were quite happy not to walk the trail knowing that.  So we instead hung out at the visitor center, and spotted a couple birds that Monica had on her list to see, so not a wasted trip.    Rounded out the day with groceries and lunch.

Hanging out on the deck of the Millet Bird Sanctuary

Snakes, mud, cliffs all dangers on the trail

Kris's favorite bird of the Sanctuary - it did not move fast, and was fun to watch

Wednesday we went and hiked Pigeon Island Park, and had a nice hike. Only when we got done the park ranger said it was still closed.    We were told the previous week it was open, so a bit of confusion, but no worries, she was nice, we paid are park fee and all was good.

View of the St. Lucia anchorage from Fort Rodney on Pigeon Island

Pigeon Island

Fort Rodney on Pigeon Island

Thursday was boat day, but went in and checked out, got final groceries, and then later went back in to have dinner with Breathe, and Alex and Lisa on Hahalua who also own a Manta catamaran.

Nice dinner out

Friday we left early, and did the 70-mile sail from St.  Lucia to Bequia.  Made good time, and were in before dark.   Saturday we went in with Jason and Monica, and checked in, and went for a short walk-up to Fort Hamilton.  Really just an overlook on a short hill with some cannons.

Nice rainbow on the sail south

Dinghy dock entrance in Bequia.  They are very supportive of the cruisers here

There were a ton of these caterpillars on a frangipani tree we saw on the walk.

Relaxed on board the rest of the day.

Will be here in Bequia a couple more days before heading further south, as we need to be in Grenada by June 1 for insurance.

2026-05-17 St. Anne Martinique and off to St. Lucia for a boat week

We took a nice 5-mile hike along the coast to the south and east of St. Anne, Martinique with Breathe.  Nice trail, and mostly flat. 

Trail is nice and goes through some sparsely wooded areas

They paint red on the Manchineel trees to warn people that they can be poisonous

Monday we set sail early, and headed to St. Lucia. Nice sail in 17 to 22 knots on the beam, and our new reef line and block worked just great.   After anchoring we went in and had a nice lunch out with Breathe while waiting for customs to open up as they take a lunch break as well.  Enjoyed a very tasty meal, sitting inside and relaxing in the cool of an air-conditioned area.

Tuesday was a boat day.  Did laundry and relaxed.

Wednesday we took the bus to Mega Massey with Breathe.  Mega Massey is like a mini-Costco with bulk foods, kitchenware, and other miscellaneous. We did not need much, but it is always good to know what they have for re-provisioning when we head back north after hurricane season.

$59.99 Eastern Caribbean dollars for a two pack of Jif.   That is about $22 in USD

Thursday we went to town with Breathe to have a lunch out and check out the other grocery stores and mall about a mile walk away.  On the way there we passed a dentist that some other boaters we know had used, and gave a good review, so we stopped and checked them out.  Kris has not been to a dentist in a bit over 5 years, and 6 years for Dean.  A cleaning was only 60 USD, and they had openings in the afternoon so we booked it.

Continued walking and had a nice lunch out, then walked the mall and shopped at the Massey Gourmet grocery store - expensive but has stuff you won't find elsewhere.  

Lunch out

After lunch Breathe went to the normal grocery and we went to the dentist.

Dean and Kris both got good bills of dental health, no issues - Woo Hoo.   We then met up with Jason and Monica back at the marina, who were kind enough to wait for us - as we shared a dinghy ride in, and back to the boats.

Friday was a boat day.  Dean took the dinghy chaps off, and Kris restitched a lot of seams where the thread had degraded in the sun and was falling apart.

Saturday we decided to try to hike Pigeon Island Park and Fort Rodney, which forms the north end of the bay, but were turned away, as the park was still closed after last week's Jazz festival due to clean up.  With no other hiking close by, we returned to the boats for another boat day.

It has been windy all week, over 15 knots mostly, and we would like to move south, but the seas offshore are imposing, and although not dangerous, would make for an uncomfortable trip south to Bequia, which is our next stop.  It is a 70-mile trip, but about 35 miles is exposed to the rough seas, so that is why we are just hanging out waiting on the seas to subside a bit, as we are not in a hurry.

2026-05-10 Exploring Martinique by Car

Sunday morning, we rented a car for the week with Jason and Monica of Breathe.  Took Dean and Jason by dinghy about 2 miles by dinghy to a dock that was the closest to the car rental place.  They still had a 3-mile walk after that.    Planned a light day, with a drive up to Carbet, to hike to Waterfall Le Carbet.   We got to the town of Carbet around noon, so decided to have lunch first, and lucked out with a really great place with delicious sandwiches called Bokits.  A Bokit is a sandwich fried in a pan with hot sunflower oil.  They were delicious, but none of us could finish it for lunch it was so large, so took them home for dinner.

Huge but delicious Bokits

Had a nice hike to the falls, which was about a 2-mile hike in, and then back out.  It was a good hike, with part trail, part wading in the river.

View from the parking area at the start of our hike

Lots of big bamboo along the road.  It made a lot of creaking noises when the wind blew

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Jason and Kris fording the stream

Pretty hike along the stream, and mostly in the shade

Some parts were deeper than others, Kris chose the rock path versus chest high wading 

The Carbet falls

We found a nice pool to cool off in away from other folks

Dean found another pool on the way back to cool off in before ending the hike.

Monday we went for a hike up to Morne Larcher.  This is a hill that is 1565' tall and overlooks to the south.   We now refer to the hike as the death march.   The trail is only 2.6 miles, half up and half down.  It is a steep trail, only goes to 1350', but in that short distance it is like climbing stairs for about an hour straight, stairs of different heights.  The trail is basically climbing up the boulder strewn hillside using rocks and tree roots as steps.   Our legs were wobbly, and we were sweat drenched by the time we got to the top.   Supposed to be a great view from the top, and it was, but the hike definitely not worth it.   This is a hike you do for exercise, not for the view, and we would not do it again.

From the road looking up at the Morne Larcher - did not look too bad to climb

Still in good spirits at the start of the climb

This is typical of the trail, large boulders to climb

Legs starting to really feel it on the way up

Made it to the plateau, View looking south to St. Anne

View of Diamond Rock from the top

Same trail on the way down

The way down was better, less aerobic, but still tough on the leg muscles.  We were starving at the end of the hike, so stopped for lunch.

Not as good as Bokits, but hit the spot

After lunch, we checked out the Memorial Cap 110.  It is a memorial to slavery to mark the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in 1998.  It is at a sight were a ship carrying slaves ran aground and resulted in many deaths.  86 survivors out of 300 aboard.

Statues at the Memorial Cap

We then made a brief stop at a cemetery.  Here they are all family tombs, above ground, and most fully enclosed with glass doors.  Interesting to see all the tombs and memorials.

A typical tomb

Tuesday, we needed a break, so a light day planned, of going to the Botanical Garden, Jardin de Balata for a casual stroll, and then to check out some waterfalls near the road - no hiking.  The Botanical Garden was beautiful, and had a short tree top walk as well.

After the gardens, we drove a short distance to see some waterfalls, and had our packed lunch by the river.

Cascade Absalon

Bridge by Cascade Absalon

River and small falls by Cascades de L'Alma where we had lunch

Le saut du gendarme falls

Fresh water fish at the falls

After the waterfalls and lunch we headed into Fort-de-France to walk around downtown.  Not much to see.  We wanted to see the Bibliotheque Schoelcher, which is a library built in France, then disassembled and brought to Martinique, and we did see it, and walked inside, but it was not very spectacular.

Bibliotheque Schoelcher

Nice mural downtown.  No idea what it means

Downtown Market

Old hotel

After that we stopped at the Decathalon store in Fort-de-France and did some shopping.  Great store with really reasonably priced decent quality sporting goods.   Got some new sandals and shirts.   Also hit the grocery store on the way back.

Wednesday we headed out for another long hike, but much less elevation climb.  On the NW side of Martinique is the Caravelle Peninsula.  It has many hiking trails and is a Nature Preserve.  Had a nice 6-mile hike, but only about 250' in elevation to do.   Hiked to lighthouse and around the coast.  Quite the varied scenery, from forest to rocks to mangroves.

Caravelle Peninsula

Looking south 

At the Caravelle lighthouse

Walking along the rocky east coast

Part of the trail

Trail much different down by the mangrove area

After the hike we got some lunch to go and ate on the rocks by the beach

Thursday we kept it simple and headed to Le Marin, after enjoying some pastries at our favorite stop in the Pottery Village for some breakfast goodies.   We were looking for a special bolt for a dinghy lock, but had no luck, but did get our replacement reef line and blocks that we needed.   We enjoyed wandering around Le Marin, and seeing the marina and all the boats.  

 

New reef line and blocks

We made it back in time for Jason and Dean to give the car a wash, fill up with gas and return it to the rental agency, and then the 3-mile walk back to the dock, where Kris picked them up in the dink.

Friday we upped anchor and headed south to St. Anne.   Nice to have just a boat day, and it was a motor trip as no wind in the morning, and then wind on the nose getting to St. Anne.

Charm motoring to St. Anne - photo from Breathe

Diamond Rock

Morne Larcher from the water doesn't look as high as it felt hiking up it.

Saturday was another lazy day, relaxing onboard all morning.  We defrosted the freezer and adjusted our jury-rigged fan we are using until we get a proper one.   In the afternoon we went for a short walk around St. Anne, and some ice cream in the afternoon.

Kris working on the fan

Church and square in downtown St Anne

Very yummy ice cream store.

Today we go hiking again,  - have to burn off that ice cream - and then head to St. Lucia on Monday.