16 Dec. 2011
Woke up about 7:00, a nice breeze was blowing in through the hatch keeping the cabin cool and comfy. I wandered down to Café Ole, which is located in the marina, for a bacon egg & cheese toastie with a large coffee (16 EC) and to use the internet. Tony got up a little later and we grabbed the bus to Rodney Bay where we picked up some starter booze for the trip, ingredients for my rum punch and also the ATM for some EC. I prefer to use the local currency when I travel, and since we are going to be here for 3 weeks I don’t like to have that much cash lying around. Took the bus back to the marina and picked up a couple coconuts from a vender outside the gate. The refreshing coconut water was just the thing to drive away the effects of last nights fun. We spent some time having a few beers around the pool, and chatting with some local girls that Tony had met. Dan and Em were busy doing maintenance work on the boat and getting it ready for the charter which, doesn’t start until Saturday, so we wanted to stay out of the way. Bored with the pool we bused back to Rodney Bay and walked down the strip to the beach in front of the Bay Gardens Beach Resort.

Reduit Beach
We will be staying at the Bay Gardens Inn after the charter and I wanted to show Tony the facilities at the resort which we can use as guest at the Inn. I took a short dip in the sea, the water was refreshing and the swell wasn’t running too bad. After a while we returned to the marina to get some lunch. I spotted a new restaurant just down the street that advertised rotis so we went there to let Tony try his first. I had the goat roti and Tony had the beef. Both were very large with big chunks of meat and plenty of potatoes, served with a side of salad they were 15 EC each, a couple Pitons (5 EC) rounded out the meal. Be aware that they have very darkly tinted windows and it almost makes the place look closed.

There was a live band at the marina party, they were very good and had the crowd dancing. Chris, the lead singer was the one that introduced Nick to Trendy and John Doe. We met up with Trendy and headed out to the jump up in Gros Islet around 11:00. We were going to take a bus but a friend of his stopped in his very tricked out Dodge Magnum and gave us a lift. We picked up some BBQ chicken and bakes (15 EC) from one of the food stands then headed for the fun. It was quite crowded but we could still make our way through without any problems. We enjoyed some beers and spiced rum and also dancing with the local ladies.

The street was packed with people

Local Artist & Painter Arnold Toulon keeps the beat with an improvised drum set
We stayed around until 2:00 am and then took a bus back to the marina for 5 EC apiece. It was such a nice we I decided to grab a little sleep under the stars and opted for one of the lounge chairs by the pool. A security guard woke me around 4:30 to warn me that it looked like it might rain so I went back to the boat to finish my sleep. This was our first full day in the Caribbean and the jump up was just the ticket to get us in the island mood.